AP National News

By MALLIKA SEN and NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Indonesia’s leader says inclusiveness and a sustainable, green economy will be among his priorities when he assumes the G-20 presidency next year. Joko Widodo committed to working for the benefit of all, including vulnerable groups, in recorded remarks to the U.N. General Assembly.

By MARGARET STAFFORD Associated Press LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Officials in a suburban Kansas City school district are investigating after a small group of students posted a petition online calling for the return of slavery. The petition came to light last week after the students at Park Hill South High School posted it during a

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis testified Wednesday in the trial of fallen tech star Elizabeth Holmes, saying the entrepreneur misled him into believing she was on the verge of rolling out a blood-testing breakthrough that he hoped would help save lives of

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press Army combat veteran Spencer Sullivan has never felt more victorious. Sullivan spent years fighting to get his Afghan translator asylum after his former platoon’s other interpreter was denied a U.S. visa before being killed by the Taliban in 2017. On Wednesday, Abdulhaq Sodais was finally granted asylum by a court

By KANTELE FRANKO Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge dismissed some of the biggest unsettled lawsuits over Ohio State’s failure to stop decades-old sexual abuse by now-deceased team doctor Richard Strauss, saying Wednesday it’s indisputable Strauss abused hundreds of young men but agreeing with OSU’s argument that the legal window for such

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking filmmaker, playwright and musician whose work ushered in the “blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s and influenced filmmakers long after, has died. He was 89. In statement, his family said that Van Peebles, father of the actor-director Mario Van Peebles, died

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — Scientists have found evidence of a resistant form of malaria in Uganda, a worrying sign that the top drug used against the parasitic disease could ultimately be rendered useless without more action to stop its spread. Researchers in Uganda analyzed blood samples from patients treated with

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal lawmakers have introduced legislation Wednesday that would change 19th century maritime liability rules in response to the 2019 boat fire off the coast of Southern California that killed 34 people. The bill introduced Wednesday would update the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, under which

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — Italy’s fashion capital is again alive with the sound of shoppers swarming boutiques and editors filling socially distanced fashion week venues, a sign of a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. Milan Fashion Week opened Wednesday with 42 live runway shows and 56 in-person

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that’s he’s nominating two major Democratic fundraisers and a former Georgia state lawmaker to serve as ambassadors. Erik Ramanathan, chairman of the public health nonprofit organization Heluna Health and an LGBT activist, was tapped for Sweden; Michael Adler, a South Florida real estate executive,

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will consider an abortion bill similar to one signed into law in Texas that would ban most abortions in the state. Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby filed the legislation Wednesday and it was quickly met with criticism by Democrats. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said it

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — An Illinois woman is wanted in Hawaii after she didn’t show up for a virtual court hearing on her arrest for an alleged fake COVID-19 vaccination card that misspelled Moderna as “Maderna.” At a hearing on the case held via Zoom, Judge Karin Holma said she

By JORGE GARMA Associated Press SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AP) — Taking center stage in a prestigious Spanish film festival to receive a top career award, actor Johnny Depp presented himself as a victim of the “cancel culture” that, he said, has spread across the cinema industry. Depp was addressing questions on Wednesday by reporters at

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s broadcasting regulators extended the license of Discovery Inc.-owned TVN24 at the last moment Wednesday but also adopted a resolution to pressure the American company to sell its majority stake in the TV news channel, which airs coverage that is critical of Poland’s government. The National Broadcasting Council, known by the

By ACACIA CORONADO and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Latino groups are bracing for possible fights over redistricting. None is bigger than in Texas, which is gaining two congressional seats because of its explosive population growth. Half of that growth comes from Latinos. But the state has repeatedly violated the Voting Rights

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled a state law preventing anyone from moving a Confederate monument or changing the historical name of a street or building without the Legislature’s permission is legal. But in the same ruling Wednesday, the justices struck down a requirement that

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mayim Bialik knew she’d be busy around this time of year, but not this busy. Besides returning to production on her Fox comedy series “Call Me Kat,” Bialik was recalled to duty as a “Jeopardy!” guest host in the aftermath of the messy effort to

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A day after assuming his job, Florida’s newly appointed surgeon general on Wednesday signed new protocols allowing parents to decide whether their children should quarantine or stay in school if they are asymptomatic after being exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The new

THREE RIVERS, Calif. (AP) — Growing armies of firefighters battled wildfires in the heart of California’s sequoia country on Wednesday. A big increase in personnel put more than 1,400 firefighters on the lines of the KNP Complex fire in Sequoia National Park, fire information officer Ana Beatriz Cholo said. The fire remained a threat to