AP National News

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of an assistant to U.S. President Joe Biden as the next head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF. Catherine Russell also heads the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and served as the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues from 2013-2017. She

DAVISON, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man who was convicted of killing his wife by spiking her cereal with heroin was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Genesee Circuit Court Judge David J. Newblatt handed down the sentence for Jason Harris of Davison in the 2014 death of Christina Davis, MLive.com reported. A jury convicted

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. budget deficit totaled $356.4 billion in the first two months of the budget year, down 17% from the same period a year ago as a sharp jump in government revenues offset a smaller increase in spending. In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A court appearance is set for next week for a man accused of driving a limousine onto aircraft ramps at Las Vegas’ international airport, donning a clown mask and declaring he had a bomb before surrendering to authorities. No injuries were reported after Matthew Ray Hancock was arrested Wednesday near private

By JOHN ROGERS and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Nesmith, the wool-hatted, guitar-strumming member of the 1960s, made-for-television rock band The Monkees, has died at 78. His family says Nesmith died Friday of natural causes. Nesmith was a struggling singer-songwriter in 1966 when he saw a trade-publication ad seeking “four insane

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorney General Herbert Slatery says he wouldn’t appeal the resentencing of a Tennessee death row inmate to life in prison after initially resisting the move just two years prior. Last month, a trial court judge resentenced Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman to three consecutive life sentences. Now that Slatery

By BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. issued financial sanctions and visa bans on former and current government officials and entities in nine countries Friday — including China, Myanmar and Russia — as part of coordinated actions with Canada and the U.K. to coincide with International Human Rights Day. Canada and the

HONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. senator is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to take the lead in testing to determine whether it’s safe to drink water that the Navy provides to and around Pearl Harbor. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz says the EPA should step in after the Navy disputed the Hawaii Department of Health’s

DENVER (AP) — A federal panel has approved naming a Colorado peak after a Cheyenne woman who facilitated relations between white settlers and Native American tribes in the early 1800s. Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain, which is pronounced “mess-taw-HAY,” honors the influential translator. The renaming of what was known as Squaw Mountain west of Denver comes after U.S.

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The jury’s guilty verdict that Jussie Smollett faked a racist and homophobic attack isn’t the end of legal proceedings for the former “Empire” actor or others. Several lawsuits have been on hold pending the outcome of the criminal charges. A jury on Thursday convicted Smollett on five

By SYLVIE CORBET and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris as their governments work to de-escalate tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The leaders held a joint news conference on Friday during Scholz’s first trip abroad following his coalition government’s swearing-in on

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has banned most abortions since early September under a law that has created the biggest curb to abortion in the U.S. in nearly 50 years. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday again allowed the law to remain in a place in a ruling that

LONDON (AP) — The UK Health Security Agency says the omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly throughout Britain and is likely to become the dominant form of the disease across the country by the middle of this month. The agency says in a technical briefing that omicron is more easily transmissible than other variants.

By BRYAN ANDERSON Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and ex-Rep. Mark Walker are urging U.S. Rep. Ted Budd to agree to participate in a U.S. Senate debate. Budd’s campaign says it considers any conversations premature and “foolish” since candidate filing was recently suspended. The state Supreme

By KHADIJA KOTHIA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Families of four young gay men slain by a sex predator have demanded that the Metropolitan Police be held to account after an inquest concluded that bungled investigations into the slayings probably cost lives. Relatives of the victims called for the police watchdog to reopen its case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amtrak passengers may be facing service cutbacks in January. The rail system’s president is blaming employees who haven’t gotten vaccinated. Stephen Gardner says about 95% of Amtrak workers are at least partially vaccinated. The rest face a Jan. 4 deadline set by the Biden administration. Amtrak’s president says if enough workers resist

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Stocks are higher on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday as investors weigh the latest government reading on consumer prices, which shows inflation is at a four-decade high. The S&P 500 was up 0.6%. The benchmark index has now recovered most of the losses incurred after the discovery of

CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese medical group says renewed tribal clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan’s Darfur region this week have killed at least 33 more people. The statement, released on Thursday, says that fighting in the the town of Jebel Moon and the adjacent Tanjeki village in West Darfur province also left at

DAMARISCOTTA, Maine (AP) — Humans aren’t the only species packing on extra pounds during the pandemic. Some squirrels are letting themselves go, too. One portly critter in Damariscotta doesn’t scamper or scoot. It lumbers and waddles after supplementing nature’s bounty by helping himself to seeds that fall to the ground from bird feeders. Wildlife biologist