AP National News

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, JENNIFER PELTZ and ALI SWENSON Associated Press This year’s holiday season was supposed to be a do-over for last year’s subdued celebrations. Instead it’s turning into a redux of restrictions, cancellations and rising angst over the never-ending pandemic. Lines again stretch around blocks at some COVID-19 testing sites. Refrigerated mobile morgues are

CHICAGO (AP) — An arbitrator has ruled that several unions representing Chicago firefighters and other city employees must follow Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s COVID-19 vaccination policy. The ruling issued Wednesday means the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 and some other unions means that union employees will lose pay if they do not receive the first shot

By BRIAN MELLEY and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors are blaming a Texas oil company’s negligence for a crude spill that fouled Southern California’s coastline. A criminal indictment from a federal grand jury released Wednesday says fatigued workers failed to properly act when repeated alarms signaled an offshore pipeline rupture.

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press Researchers hired by the city say the Census Bureau undercounted more than 8% of the occupied homes in 10 Detroit neighborhoods during the 2020 census. They said Thursday that if that oversight rate is applied citywide, it could mean that tens of thousands of Motor City residents were missed. Detroit

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) — Security researchers say they discovered two different types of commercial spyware on the phone of a leading exiled Egyptian dissident, documenting for the first time a hack by a little-known competitor of Israel’s notorious NSO Group. They say it’s the latest evidence that the hacker-for-hire industry

By DAVID PITT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three media organizations and their reporters are suing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, alleging she has repeatedly violated the state’s open records laws by ignoring requests for government records. In the lawsuit filed Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa is representing Laura Belin, who

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators are lifting long-standing restrictions on how women obtain the abortion pill. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it will no longer require women to pick up the medication in person. The decision is certain to spur legal challenges and new restrictions in

By DANICA KIRKA and MIKE CORDER Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Soaring infections in Britain driven in part by the omicron variant of the coronavirus are rattling Europe. The renewed spread prompted new restrictions on the Continent and fueled a familiar dread on both sides of the Atlantic about entering a new phase of the

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ Republican governor has told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that the state will not direct its National Guard members to comply with a Biden administration order requiring all members of the military to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Gov. Greg Abbott’s rejection of the order Thursday

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa, Florida’s big pirate celebration and parade is coming back after a year off because of virus-related concerns. Now officials have a message for those planning to take part in the Gasparilla parade: don’t throw plastic parade beads into the bay. The parade and other events

By The Associated Press It was the year that mental health took a prominent position in the sports world — led by two female athletes, Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka. Biles came back to earn a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics after taking herself out of several competitions to deal with a dreaded mental

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say all of the military services have now begun disciplinary actions and discharges for troops who have refused to get the mandated coronavirus vaccine, with as many as 20,000 unvaccinated forces at risk of being removed from service. On Thursday, the Marine Corp said

By The Associated Press One photo shows a man lying on the beach of a Spanish enclave in northern Africa after swimming there from Morocco. Another image shows a group of migrants just rescued in the Mediterranean. Their eyes are filled with tentative hope. Or take a glimpse from above at the long dirt road

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking steps aimed at reducing lead in drinking water, releasing $2.9 billion in infrastructure bill funds for lead pipe removal. It has also announced plans by the Environmental Protection Agency to impose stricter rules to limit exposure to the health

KANSAS CITY, Mo (AP) — Three people were killed when a firetruck collided with a sport utility vehicle, then plowed over a sidewalk and into a building in a Kansas City entertainment district. Police said the collision happened Wednesday night as the truck was headed to an emergency call with its lights flashing and sirens

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press U.S. health advisers are recommending that most Americans get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot. Thursday’s recommendation came after government advisers reviewed new safety data about rare but potentially life-threatening blood clots linked to J&J’s shot. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A congressional report says the federal agency overseeing the lease of the luxury hotel that Donald Trump’s family company runs in the nation’s capital failed to carry out its basic responsibilities. The report by a Democratic-run House committee says the General Services Administration never tracked the

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Technology companies led stocks mostly lower on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as investors weighed the implications of higher interest rates as the Federal Reserve prepares to begin raising rates next year to fight inflation. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid

By AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kim Potter’s police chief at the time she shot and killed Daunte Wright testified at her manslaughter trial, calling Potter “a fine officer” and saying he “saw no violation” of policy in Potter’s actions at the scene. Tim Gannon resigned as chief in the

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Officials say the 10 people who lost their lives in a massive crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston died from compression asphyxia.  One medical expert says the 10 victims essentially had the air squeezed out of their lungs, lost consciousness and died from