AP National News

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg has announced he is stepping down just two months after taking over from predecessor Sebastian Kurz. In a written statement Schallenberg, a former foreign minister, said he would leave as soon as the conservative Austrian People’s Party names a new leader. Kurz was

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 60 organizations are urging the U.N. General Assembly to establish an investigative body to gather and preserve evidence of serious human rights violations during Yemen’s seven-year conflict – including possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. The organizations, including Amnesty International and Human

By KELLI KENNEDY Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The official Art Basel show is back in Miami with all its eccentric glory, a dizzying list of celebrity attendees and dozens of spin-off shows already generating buzz, including a 10-year-old child painter and a $4 million Banksy sale. Fashion continues to play a prominent role with

By ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy Grantmakers are increasing spending on education, hoping to turn the pandemic into an opportunity to fine tune the use of educational technology, develop better lesson plans, and build connections with families and after-school programs that could help reduce students’ mental-health challenges due to COVID.

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant, the delta form of the coronavirus isn’t finished wreaking havoc in the U.S., sending record numbers of patients to the hospital in some states, especially in the Midwest and New England. The U.S. recorded its first known omicron infection

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press Prosecutors are recommending a three-month prison sentence for a North Carolina woman accused of bringing her 14-year-old child into the U.S. Capitol when she and her husband stormed the building on Jan. 6. In a court filing Thursday, prosecutors say Virginia Marie “Jenny” Spencer and her husband, Christopher, had the

By STEVE KARNOWSKI and AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A 10th juror has been seated in the trial of the suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April. Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter is charged with manslaughter in the death of Wright, a 20-year-old

CAMDEN, Ala. (AP) — Residents of a west Alabama county are remembering a retired sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty. Madison “Skip” Nicholson retired from his job as a deputy with the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Department, but he never really left. He was still around the office many days, partly because

NEW YORK (AP) — The United Nations headquarters in New York City has been locked down for several hours, after a man was seen pacing outside one of its main gates with what police said appeared to be a shotgun. Police negotiators were speaking with the man, who appeared to be in his 60s. Police

By KELLI KENNEDY Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The official Art Basel show is back in Miami with all its eccentric glory, a dizzying list of celebrity attendees and dozens of spin-off shows already generating buzz, including a 10-year-old child painter and a $4 million Banksy sale. Fashion continues to play a prominent role with

By BEN FINLEY and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Election officials in Virginia are painstakenly recounting votes in one of two unresolved races that will settle whether Virginia Republicans have reclaimed the majority in the House of Delegates. Elections officials and representatives from both parties in Virginia Beach took part Thursday

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida police say a homeless man fatally stabbed a 14-year-old boy riding his bike during a random encounter and without apparent motive. Palm Beach Gardens police charged 39-year-old Semmie Lee Williams with first-degree murder for the Nov. 15 slaying of Ryan Rogers. The boy had

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States, European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed simultaneous sanctions on dozens of officials, organizations and companies in Belarus. The EU is taking special aim at those accused of participating in a “hybrid attack” on the bloc using migrants. The four have targeted Belarus since

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is being feted at The Citadel, where a Republican group is making her the first woman to receive its highest honor. It’s the former South Carolina governor’s first speech in her home state since departing the Trump administration. On Thursday night,

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say the omicron variant of the coronavirus has been found in a Minnesota man who attended an anime convention in New York City in November. Officials said Thursday that the man tested positive after returning home and that his

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Jussie Smollett’s lawyer is suggesting an aspiring actor and his brother committed an anti-gay, racist attack against the former “Empire” actor because they didn’t like him, then tried to get Smollett to pay them each $1 million not to testify against him. Defense attorney

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says it held a second video call with Peng Shuai. But again it didn’t release any video or transcript nor did the group make any reference to the tennis player’s sexual assault allegation against a former Chinese government official. The Grand Slam doubles champion and three-time Olympian

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Starbucks is fighting an expanded effort to unionize its stores. The effort comes even as a union vote proceeds at three of the coffee chain’s locations in Buffalo, New York. Union organizers from three additional Buffalo-area stores appeared before the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday, asking to hold

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer New government autism numbers suggest more U.S. children are being diagnosed with the developmental condition and at younger ages. In an analysis of 2018 data released Thursday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found that among 8-year-olds, 1 in 44 had been diagnosed with autism. That compares with

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A University of Florida professor has filed a grievance against the school, saying administrators told him he couldn’t use the worlds ‘critical’ and ‘race’ together in describing a new study concentration. The grievance filed last week by Prof. Chris Busey says administrators told faculty members doing