AP National News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears is thanking fans who have called for years to #FreeBritney after major changes in the conservatorship that has long controlled her life and money. Spears’ posts on Twitter and Instagram Monday were her first public comments on the case since a judge suspended her father as her conservator last

By MORGAN LEE AND SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Progressive mayors are seeking reelection to New Mexico’s largest city and its fast-growing state capital as voting begins Tuesday, contending with challenges from Hispanic candidates from the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party. The Nov. 2 election is a preamble

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prime Minister Scott Morrison says international tourists won’t be welcomed back to Australia until next year, with the return of skilled migrants and students given higher priority. Morrison says Australia is expected to reach the vaccination benchmark on Tuesday at which the country could begin to

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — Refugee admissions to the United States fell to a record low during the 2021 budget year despite President Joe Biden’s pledge to bring back the program that was decimated by the Trump administration. A total of 11,445 refugees were allowed into the United States during the

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland is directing the FBI and U.S. attorneys to meet with federal, state and local law enforcement to address the increasing threats targeting school board members, teachers and other employees in the nation’s public schools. Last week the National School Boards Association asked President

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A regulatory commission in Mexico has fined three manufacturers of tampons and diapers just over $15 million for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for the products. Mexico’s Commission on Economic Competition said Monday the price-fixing probably cost consumers about $73 million in artificially inflated prices. The three companies did not respond

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An aspiring actor has pleaded guilty to running a massive Ponzi scheme that raised at least $650 million from investors in phony Hollywood film licensing deals. Zachary Horwitz pleaded guilty Monday in Los Angeles to federal securities fraud. Prosecutors say Horwitz secured loans for his film company by falsely claiming the

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Police say an alligator attacked and injured a homeless woman who fell into a Florida canal. St. Petersburg police say the woman was resting on a sea wall when she fell into the canal early Monday. News outlets reported that the woman is in her 50s. She was taken to

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal jury in Los Angeles has awarded $6.3 million to actor Shannen Doherty in a lawsuit alleging that State Farm failed to pay for damage to her house in a 2018 California wildfire. The jury found State Farm’s failure to pay benefits for Doherty’s Malibu home were “unreasonable and without

By CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press / Report for America SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is thanking attendees of the New Mexico Oil And Gas Association’s annual meeting for their contributions to the economy. Fossil fuel mining is the state’s largest government revenue source and directly funds education. Lujan Grisham

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent investigator will look into whether Federal Reserve officials broke the law with financial trades last year that have come under congressional scrutiny and sharp criticism from outside the central bank. The Fed said its independent Office of the Inspector General will investigate whether the

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — An Illinois law firm has filed lawsuits against Amtrak and BNSF Railway on behalf of seven passengers who were on an Amtrak train that derailed in Montana last month, killing three people and injuring dozens of others. Clifford Law Offices sued Monday in federal court

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines has become the latest U.S. airline to say that it will require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Dallas-based company said its workers must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8 in order to continue working at the airline. Employees can seek approval to skip the shots due to

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle’s police oversight office says the abandonment of a precinct by officers during last summer’s racial justice protests didn’t violate laws or departmental policies. The Office of Police Accountability on Monday released its findings from a monthslong investigation into the abandonment of the precinct on June 8, 2020, after 10 days of

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A regulatory commission in Mexico has fined three manufacturers of tampons and diapers just over $15 million for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for the products. Mexico’s Commission on Economic Competition said Monday the price-fixing probably cost consumers about $73 million in artificially inflated prices. The three companies did not respond

WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — The busiest border crossing between Canada and the U.S. has fully reopened following a police investigation into possible explosives found in a vehicle. Police say they detained one person in connection with the probe that for nearly seven hours significantly hampered traffic Monday across the Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario, with

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say a nurse shot and killed a co-worker at a Philadelphia hospital before fleeing and being shot himself in a later exchange of gunfire with police. Philadelphia’s police commissioner said the 55-year-old gunman was wearing scrubs when he shot and killed a 43-year-old certified nursing assistant early Monday at Thomas Jefferson

By MARK GILLISPIE Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Jurors have heard opening statements in a federal court trial to determine whether retail pharmacy chains created a public nuisance in how they dispensed addictive painkillers in two Ohio counties. Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland say the cost of abating the ongoing crisis is $1 billion

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is outlining procedures for employees to request medical or religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations. Just weeks remain before federal workers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to comply with President Joe Biden’s mandate. The Office of Management and Budget released the new guidance Monday afternoon

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas agency has approved a request that George Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for a 2004 drug arrest made by a now-indicted ex-Houston police officer whose case history is under scrutiny following a deadly drug raid. Monday’s unanimous recommendation by the seven member Texas