AP National News

By The Associated Press NEW YORK Newly unredacted documents from a state-led antitrust lawsuit against Google accuse the search giant of colluding with rival Facebook to manipulate online advertising sales. The CEOs of both companies were aware of the deal and signed off on it, the complaint alleges. The original redacted lawsuit, filed in December

CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois judge could be facing discipline after he mocked an attorney in comments that he apparently did not realize were being broadcast live on YouTube. Cook County Judge William Raines made the comments about attorney Jennifer Bonjean after she appeared before him during a court call. Bonjean is a New York-based

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A district attorney says Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton violated the state’s open records laws by withholding or failing to retain his communications relating to his appearance at a pro-Donald Trump rally that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last year. The Austin-based Travis County district attorney’s office told

By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The president of the University of North Dakota is publicly defending  the school’s draft gender inclusion policy. Andrew Armacost says the intent is to align the Grand Forks-based school with existing federal and state laws and policies to better protect LGBTQ students from harassment and discrimination.

By TOM FOREMAN Jr. Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Two witnesses say a man shot by an off-duty North Carolina sheriff’s deputy jumped onto the hood of the deputy’s truck. Their statements are included in videos that the Fayetteville Police Department released on Friday, a day after obtaining a judge’s permission. In one of

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is condemning the seizure of a United Arab Emirates ship and demanding that Yemen’s Houthi rebels immediately release the vessel and its crew. A press statement from the U.N.’s most powerful body on Friday called on all sides “to resolve the

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thieves have been raiding cargo containers aboard trains nearing downtown Los Angeles for months, leaving the tracks blanketed with discarded packages. CBSLA reported Thursday that the sea of debris left behind included items that the thieves apparently didn’t think were valuable enough to take. While CBSLA cameras were on the scene,

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Outgoing Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is leaving a progressive legacy behind when he steps down Saturday after eight years. Herring started in 2014 by reversing the state’s legal opposition to gay marriage. He wrapped up his term this week by overturning racist legal opinions

CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois judge could be facing discipline after he mocked an attorney in comments that he apparently did not realize were being broadcast live on YouTube. Cook County Judge William Raines made the comments about attorney Jennifer Bonjean after she appeared before him during a court call. Bonjean is a New York-based

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota legislative committee has approved a bill championed by Gov. Kristi Noem to ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports leagues that match their gender identity. The Republican governor has aggressively pushed the bill this year. It received approval in the

By ALEKSANDAR FURTULA and MIKE CORDER Associated Press VALKENBURG, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government has eased its coronavirus lockdown, allowing non-essential stores, universities, sports clubs and “contact businesses” like hairdressers to reopen for the first time in nearly a month. But while many businesses can open Saturday until 5 p.m., bars, restaurants, museums and

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut state lawmaker says she plans to introduce legislation requiring all hockey players to wear a neck guard or a similar protective device during practice or games. The proposed legislation follows the death last week of a 10th-grade player, 16-year-old Benjamin Edward “Teddy” Balkind, whose neck was cut by a

By MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. (AP) — An inspection of voting machines in a heavily Republican county in Pennsylvania is being stopped just as it was about to get underway. The state Supreme Court on Friday granted a request by lawyers for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf over the Fulton County

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press LITCHFIELD, Conn. (AP) — A symbol of support for U.S. troops is now the centerpiece of a contentious free-speech debate in the small Connecticut town of Litchfield. Yellow ribbons had adorned trees on the Litchfield Town Green since the 2003 start of the war in Iraq. But the five remaining

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — More than 150 former Environmental Protection Agency employees are writing to the Virginia Senate, asking the Democrat-controlled chamber to oppose the nomination of former EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler to GOP Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin’s Cabinet. Youngkin announced last week that he had selected Wheeler to serve as

PRAGUE (AP) — The new Czech government will allow some workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus to stay on the job, in an extraordinary measure to ease possible staff shortages caused by an anticipated surge of the omicron variant. Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said Friday the measure, which was also used during the

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Americans overlooked shortages, spiking prices and uncertainty over the omicron variant to break spending records during the critical holiday shopping season. But figures released Friday show that after spending robustly early in the holiday season, consumers sharply slowed their purchases from November to December. The

HOUSTON (AP) — A judge has found no probable cause to support a charge a Houston mother faces after being accused of placing her 13-year-old son in the trunk of her car in an attempt to isolate him after he tested positive for COVID-19. The 41-year-old mother had been charged by prosecutors with endangering a

By MICHAEL PHILLIS and SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Biden administration is moving to tighten oversight of projects that benefitted from Trump-era loosened water protections. However, some projects including a controversial Georgia mine will likely be able to escape new scrutiny. It’s the latest twist in a long-running dispute over the