AP National News

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is warning that “difficult decisions must be made” as Democrats weigh trims to President Joe Biden’s expansive budget proposal. The $3.5 trillion proposal for expanding social services and fighting climate change is being chiseled to about $2 trillion, all paid for with

By CODY JACKSON and ANDREW DALTON Associated Press VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — As William Shatner prepares to be beamed up at age 90 for his first real-life spaceflight, he’s bringing out the awe in people around a rural Texas spaceport. The mayor of Van Horn, the nearest town to the port where Shatner on

LONDON (AP) — Authorities in London say a fire erupted on the 20th floor of an apartment building in the city’s southwest, causing dozens of residents, including children in pyjamas, to flee the tower and injuring one woman. The London Fire Brigade says 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines rushed to the high-rise building in

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia county has unanimously voted to remove a “genocide cannon” from a city square where it resided for more than a century. The cannon in Decatur has ties to the Indian War of 1836 and has become increasingly controversial. It has been criticized by local activists who say it represents the

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A coroner in Wyoming says slain cross-country traveler Gabby Petito was strangled. The 22-year-old woman’s body was found last month near an undeveloped camping area in remote northern Wyoming along the border of Grand Teton National Park. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said in a

By TATIANA POLLASTRI and DIANE JEANTET Associated Press APARECIDA, Brazil (AP) — Tens of thousands of Brazilian worshippers have braved the pandemic to make a pilgrimage to the vast Aparecida basilica in the interior of Sao Paulo state. Some traveled on foot for days to make Tuesday’s celebration of the nation’s patron saint, Our Lady

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — The former youth protection director for the Boy Scouts of America says the organization isn’t doing enough to protect children from sexual abuse and is still trying to maintain a veil of secrecy over decades of past abuse. Michael Johnson said Tuesday that Congress needs to

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SANTEE, Calif. (AP) — Recordings show a twin-engine plane nose-dived into a San Diego suburb despite a concerned air traffic controller warning the pilot to climb to a higher altitude. A National Transportation Safety Board investigator arrived Tuesday to examine the path of destruction in Santee a day after the

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press An Indiana hairdresser linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory has been sentenced to 14 days in jail and 60 hours of community service for joining the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Federal prosecutors have cited Dona Sue Bissey’s online support for QAnon. But the federal judge

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Heath officials have authorized the first electronic cigarettes in the U.S., saying the R.J. Reynolds vaping products can benefit adult smokers. The Food and Drug Administration said data submitted by the company showed its Vuse e-cigarettes helped smokers either quit or significantly reduce their use of

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Police are investigating a shooting at a Tennessee post office. Authorities say the shooting occurred Tuesday at the post office branch in the historic Orange Mound neighborhood, southeast of downtown Memphis. The street leading to the post office was blocked by police Tuesday afternoon. Federal authorities

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A coroner in Wyoming says slain cross-country traveler Gabby Petito was strangled. The 22-year-old woman’s body was found last month near an undeveloped camping area in remote northern Wyoming along the border of Grand Teton National Park. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said in a

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks ended an up-and-down day mostly lower on Wall Street as traders wait for more data on inflation and corporate earnings this week. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Tuesday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%. The Nasdaq slipped 0.1%, but small-company stocks ended

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Group of 20 nations have warned about a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan as the European Union pledged 1 billion euros ($1.15 billion) in support for Afghan people. G-20 leaders demanded at a virtual summit Tuesday hosted by Italy that Taliban leaders allow humanitarian access across the

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — A rare two-headed diamondback terrapin turtle is alive and kicking — with all six of its legs — at the Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center in Massachusetts. A threatened species in the state, the tutle hatched two weeks ago. Staff say it is feeding well on blood worms and food pellets. They’ve

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative think tank and former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ decision excluding the group’s writers from press briefings, which lower courts have said was legal. The John K. MacIver Institute

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — With the governor of Texas leading the charge, conservative Republicans in several states are moving to block or undercut President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for private employers before the regulations are even issued. The growing battle over what some see as overreach by the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A replica of a mysterious pre-Hispanic sculpture of an Indigenous woman has been chosen to replace a statue of Christopher Columbus on Mexico City’s most prominent boulevard. The statue was unearthed in January in the Huasteca region, near Mexico’s Gulf coast. It’s known as “The Young Woman of Amajac,” after the

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The county government that’s home to Florida’s capital has been fined $3.5 million by state health officials for requiring its employees to get COVID-19 vaccines and for firing 14 workers who failed to get the shots. The Florida Department of Health issued the

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have promised to drop their case against a former Wake Forest University coach charged in the college admissions bribery scandal if he pays a $50,000 fine and follows certain conditions. A deferred prosecution agreement unsealed Tuesday in the case against William Ferguson says that