AP National News

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have defeated a bill by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz that would have slammed sanctions on a Russian natural-gas pipeline to Germany. Democrats denounced it as a Republican political gesture that would have harmed relations with Europe at a time when the allies are trying

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will nominate three people for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed and Treasury official, for the top regulatory slot and Lisa Cook, who would be the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board. Biden

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s governor has rejected releasing Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan from prison more than a half-century after the slaying shook the world in 1968. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday rejected a recommendation from a two-person panel of parole commissioners. Newsom said Sirhan, now 77, poses

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A judge has granted a North Carolina police chief’s request to release body camera video recorded moments after the fatal shooting of a Black man by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy. The Fayetteville Observer reports that Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons issued his ruling Thursday, two days after Fayetteville Police

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will nominate three people to the Senate for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. They include former Fed official Sarah Bloom Raskin for the top regulatory slot, and Lisa Cook, who would be the first Black woman to serve as a governor. Biden

BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted Baltimore’s top prosecutor on charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications in the purchase of two Florida vacation homes. The Maryland-based U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the four-count indictment Thursday. It alleges Marilyn Mosby lied about meeting qualifications for coronavirus-related distributions from a city retirement plan

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has berated the Biden administration for imposing fresh sanctions against the country over its latest missile tests and warned of stronger and more explicit action if Washington maintains its “confrontational stance.” The Biden administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five North Koreans over

By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer For big companies across the country, it’s now up to them to decide whether to require employees to get vaccinated. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that OSHA doesn’t have authority to impose a vaccinate-or-test requirement on businesses with at least 100 employees. Many companies are silent so far

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Microsoft says it is opening an inquiry into how it responds to workplace sexual harassment and gender discrimination. That includes its handling of allegations about company co-founder Bill Gates. The review is a response to pressure from Microsoft investors. Nearly 78% of shareholders at Microsoft’s Nov. 30 annual meeting

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A judge in western Illinois who sparked outrage when he threw out the sexual assault conviction of an 18-year-old man is no longer presiding over a criminal court docket. The (Quincy) Herald-Whig reports an administrative order filed Thursday by Chief Judge Frank McCartney of the Eighth Judicial Circuit assigned Adams County

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Thursday saw a closed-door huddle by an embattled President Joe Biden with his own party’s senators, apparently for naught. There was an eyebrow-raising speech on the Senate floor by a recalcitrant Democrat. And a defiant news conference by the top House Republican. None of the events were

By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Virgin Orbit rocket released from a jet flying off the California coast has carried seven small satellites into space. The launch Thursday kicks off a year in which the company plans a total of six missions, including two originating from Britain. Virgin Orbit’s modified Boeing

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A far-right social media personality who calls himself “Baked Alaska” was sentenced to 30 days in jail for misdemeanor convictions arising from an encounter in which authorities say he shot pepper spray at an employee at an Arizona bar. Tim Gionet was convicted of assault, disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing in

By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Virgin Orbit rocket released from a jet flying off the California coast has carried seven small satellites into space. The launch Thursday kicks off a year in which the company plans a total of six missions, including two originating from Britain. Virgin Orbit’s modified Boeing

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge has sided with conservatives, ruling that absentee ballot drop boxes cannot be located anywhere other than at offices of local clerks and that no one other than the voter may return such a ballot. Thursday’s ruling, if it stands, means that no ballot