News

By AMANDA SEITZ and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — This month’s elections may have offered a preview of the Spanish-language misinformation that could pose a growing threat to Democrats. The party is already anxious about its standing with Latino voters after losing some ground with them last year. After Democrat Phil Murphy won

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — It’s an omnipresent truth: Merriam-Webster has declared vaccine its 2021 word of the year. Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for the dictionary company, tells The Associated Press that lookups for the word vaccine increased 601% over 2020. Even more telling, searches on the Merriam-Webster website increased

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian authorities have announced a third case of the omicron COVID-19 variant as government leaders reconsider plans to relax border restrictions this week. The Northern Territory health minister says a South African man who flew from Johannesburg to the northern Australian city of Darwin last week

By DON BABWIN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The trial of actor Jussie Smollett will boil down to the question of whether the jury believes the actor’s version of what he says was a racist and homophobic attack or that told by two brothers who say they helped the actor fake the attack. Abimbola and

By MARI YAMAGUCHI and FOSTER KLUG Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — As cases of a new coronavirus variant are confirmed around the world, Japan has announced it will suspend entry of all foreign visitors, joining an increasing number of countries that are tightening their borders as fear spreads of yet another extension of pandemic suffering.

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro has claimed victory in Honduras’ presidential election, setting up a showdown with the National Party which says its candidate has won a vote that could end the conservative party’s 12 years in power. “We win! We win!” Honduras’ former first lady

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Lawmakers from all three Baltic states have met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in a sign of further cooperation between European Union nations and Taiwan. It is the first joint visit to Taiwan by members of parliament from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Tsai on Monday welcomed the lawmakers, who are attending

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Nissan is investing 2 trillion yen, or nearly $18 billion, over the next five years and developing a cheaper, more powerful battery to boost its electric vehicle lineup. The Japanese automaker’s chief executive, Makoto Uchida, said 15 new electric vehicles will be available by fiscal 2030.