AP National News

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The first trial in the sweeping college admissions bribery scandal will soon be in the hands of the jury. Lawyers gave closing arguments Wednesday in the case against Gamal Abdelaziz and John Wilson. They are accused of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to help get

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has denied former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin’s request to have a public defender represent him as he appeals his murder conviction and sentence in the death of George Floyd. The court said Chauvin has not established that he’s entitled to a public defender. The decision was made

By SUZAN FRASER and ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has ratified the Paris climate accord, joining the global fight against climate change weeks before the start of a key summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Legislators unanimously approved the agreement on Wednesday. Though Turkey was among the first countries to sign the Paris

NEW YORK (AP) — Melinda French Gates, already one of the world’s most prominent philanthropists, will now take on the job of publisher. Gates has formed a nonfiction imprint with Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan. The imprint, announced Tuesday by Macmillan, is called Moment of Lift Books and will launch with three releases about

By JAMEY KEATEN and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press ZURICH (AP) — President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to hold a virtual working meeting before year’s end. That’s according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly. The agreement for a more formal leaders’ meeting came as White

By STEFANIE DAZIO, MATTHEW BROWN and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Some of the oil that spilled from a pipeline into the waters off Southern California has been breaking up naturally in ocean currents. That’s according to a Coast Guard official who spoke to reporters Wednesday. Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier says

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization has endorsed the world’s first malaria vaccine and said it should be given to children across Africa in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. The WHO’s director-general called it “a historic moment”

By JAMIE STENGLE and JILL BLEED Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Police have arrested a student suspected of opening fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school, leaving four people injured. Police say 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins fled from Timberview High School in Arlington. He was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon and is

MOSCOW (AP) — An organization that monitors human rights in the Russian military and provides legal support for conscripts says it is ending its work because of new restrictions that could lead to its being designated a foreign agent. Wednesday’s announcement by the Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg follows an order by the Federal Security

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California judge says Wednesday that she plans to resentence Scott Peterson to life in prison Dec. 8 while she separately considers whether he deserves a new trial in the 2002 murders of his pregnant wife and unborn son. Peterson has spent more than 15 years

By JAMEY KEATEN and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press ZURICH (AP) — Top diplomatic advisers to President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have met for talks in Switzerland as the United States looks to improve communication at a time of rising tensions between the global powers. The White House said Biden’s national security adviser

By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are falling and the number of new cases per day is about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months. All are encouraging signs that the summer surge is waning. Government leaders and employers not wanting to lose momentum are looking at

By JAMIE STENGLE and JILL BLEED Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Police in Texas have arrested a student suspected of opening fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school, leaving four people injured. Police say 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins fled from Timberview High School in Arlington and drove away in a 2018 silver

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles leaders have voted to enact one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates. The sweeping measure requires the shots for everyone entering bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms and even a Lakers game. The City Council on Wednesday voted 11-2 in favor of the ordinance and

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new trial date of April 4 has been set for the man who killed ex-NFL star Will Smith in New Orleans in 2016 following a confrontation over a traffic crash. Cardell Hayes remains free on bond after his earlier manslaughter conviction in Smith’s death was

By COLLIN BINKLEY and RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A growing number of school districts in the U.S. are using federal pandemic funding on athletics projects. One school district in Iowa is spending $100,000 on a weight room renovation, while another in Wisconsin is spending $1.6 million on new synthetic

LONDON (AP) — Police in Northern Ireland have announced an investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse at church-run institutions that housed unmarried women and their children. Wednesday’s announcement came a day after an independent panel recommended a public inquiry to examine human rights abuses in the homes, so-called Magdalene laundries and workhouses. A

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Searching for flights on Google just got “greener.” The tech giant on Wednesday debuted a new tool on Google Flights that tells users which flights in a search result have lower carbon emissions. Flights with significantly lower emissions are highlighted in green indicating what

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is poised to sue government contractors and other companies who receive U.S. government grants if they if they fail to report breaches of their cyber systems. That’s according to the Justice Department’s No. 2 official. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the department is

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization has recommended that the world’s first malaria vaccine be given to children across Africa, in a move that officials hope will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. The WHO’s director-general called it “a historic moment” after a