AP National News

By ACACIA CORONADO Report for America/Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ lieutenant governor is blaming unvaccinated Black people for rising COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates. His comments were quickly denounced as racist. Republican Lt. Governor Dan Patrick made the comments Thursday night on a Fox News segment. Patrick said the biggest group in most

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have filed new indictments against four men in connection with a plot to damage a power grid somewhere in the northwest U.S. Two of suspects were former U.S. Marines who had been stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The U.S. Department of Justice says the four men were

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota has gone to federal court to block a lawsuit over Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project from proceeding in tribal court. The novel case names Manoomin as the lead plaintiff. Manoomin is the Ojibwe word for wild rice. Wild rice is sacred in Ojibwe culture. The lawsuit in White Earth

By KELLI KENNEDY and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press A photograph of people laying down on the floor in pain while waiting for antibody infusions at a treatment site in Jacksonville, Florida, has become a vivid illustration of the huge demand for COVID-19 drugs amid a surge in infections. Monoclonal antibodies remain one of a handful

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The mayor of Orlando is asking residents to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars for at least a week. Mayor Buddy Dyer said Friday that water usage needed to be cut back because of the recent surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations. The Orlando Utility Commission

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A former tour manager for R. Kelly has testified that he paid a $500 bribe to get the singer, Aaliyah, a fake ID so Kelly could secretly marry her in 1994 when she was 15 years old. The ID helped clear the way for the R&B

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and TERRY SPENCER Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Florida officials are threatening to withhold funds equal to the salaries of school board members if school districts in two counties don’t immediately do away with strict mask mandates. The order comes as the state continues to battle through high hospitalization rates. School

By EVENS SANON and MATÍAS DELACROIX Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — Haitians left hungry and homeless by a devastating earthquake are rushing relief shipment trucks and in some cases stealing desperately needed supplies. People stole foam mattresses, tarps and food Friday in the small, hard-hit port city of Les Cayes. In the town

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Democrats say the Legislature will return to Springfield to redraw political districts that will be used for legislative elections over the next decade, this time using data from the 2020 census. The announcement came as Republicans said census data released last week show the maps that

PHOENIX (AP) — The former president of the union representing Arizona’s corrections officers has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for embezzling money from the union’s treasury. The Arizona Attorney General’s office announced the sentencing of Darren Sikes on Friday. He was president of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association from 2016 to 2019.

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military says Syria’s air defense forces have shot down 22 of 24 missiles launched by Israeli warplanes during an airstrike against targets in Syria. Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit, head of the Russian military’s Reconciliation Center in Syria, said six Israeli fighter jets targeted facilities in the provinces of Damascus and

By MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who claimed he had a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol has told a federal judge he has not taken his “mind medication” and was ordered to undergo a mental competency hearing. Floyd Ray Roseberry appeared Friday before a judge in Washington

By DAVID PITT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor says an Iowa man seen in a videotaped confrontation with a police officer during the Capitol insurrection should be returned to jail until trial because he violated terms of his release by watching anti-government internet videos about the Jan. 6 attack. Douglas Jensen

By ABDUL SATTAR Associated Press QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s interior ministry and police say that a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a vehicle carrying Chinese workers in the restive southwest, killing two Pakistani children playing by the roadside. A Chinese and two other Pakistanis were wounded in the attack in Baluchistan province. A

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Soccer officials are liaising with governments to try to evacuate players from Afghanistan after the Taliban regained control. The world players’ union FIFPRO says it is trying to establish a plan “to bring as many people to safety as possible.” Concerns have been raised about

By MATTHEW BROWN and JOHN FLESHER Associated Press FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by former President Donald Trump’s decision to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive hunting and

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter suspended the account of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary for violating rules on “abusive behavior” after The Associated Press said her conduct led to a reporter receiving threats and other online abuse. The DeSantis aide, Christina Pushaw, saw her account locked for 12

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A killer whale has died unexpectedly at SeaWorld San Diego and the reason is not yet known. The aquarium and theme park says in a statement that the 6-year-old female orca named Amaya died Thursday and the cause of death will not be known until results of a post-mortem examination are

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have designated a top independent TV channel as a “foreign agent,” intensifying pressure on critical media ahead of next month’s parliamentary election. The Justice Ministry announced Friday that the Dozhd (Rain) TV channel and the Vazhnye Istorii (Importrant Stories) investigative online outlet have been added

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has imposed new sanctions on three Russian ships and companies involved in constructing a controversial gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. The move comes as lawmakers from both parties criticize the administration for not doing enough to halt the Nord Stream 2 project.