AP National News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Hospitals in the heart of California’s Central Valley are running out of beds in their intensive care units because of an influx of coronavirus patients. State officials announced Friday that hospitals in the 12-county San Joaquin Valley region have had fewer than 10% of staffed adult ICU beds for three consecutive

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is again urging countries to withdraw all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya, saying they continue to operate throughout the conflict-stricken North African country in violation of last October’s cease-fire agreement “with no discernible abatement of their activities.” The U.N. chief

By WAYNE PARRY and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press MANVILLE, N.J. (AP) — One after another, storm evacuees in Manville, a central New Jersey town along the rain-swollen Raritan River, told the same story: an urgent late-night knock on the door, a wall of water crashing into their apartments, being rescued by boat and taken to

NEW YORK (AP) — Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft said Friday they will cover the legal fees of any driver who is sued under the new law prohibiting most abortions in Texas. The Texas law bans abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks and often before women know they’re pregnant.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Marine Corps on Friday halted waterborne operations for its new amphibious vehicle that resembles an armored seafaring tank after identifying a problem with its towing mechanism. Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger said Friday the Marine Corps made the decision “out of an abundance of caution. The service was rolling

By MOHAMED IBRAHIM Associated Press/Report for America MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and her progressive congressional allies have urged President Joe Biden to stop construction on Enbridge Energy’s much-contested Line 3 project. Omar and three other congresswomen said the pipeline project would worsen climate change and violate Native American treaty rights. But Enbridge

By MELINDA DESLATTE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The owner of seven Louisiana nursing homes that were evacuated to a warehouse where four residents died after Hurricane Ida amid conditions deemed squalid faced criticism after a prior evacuation-related death two decades ago. He faces new calls for his nursing home licenses to be

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press SACRAMENTO (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made his leadership during the pandemic a centerpiece of his campaign to keep his job, warning in life-and-death terms that his Republican rivals in the recall election are anti-vaccine crusaders who would expose people to a new wave

By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. wildfire managers have started shifting from seasonal to full-time firefighting crews to deal with what has become a year-round wildfire season as climate change has made the American West warmer and drier. The crews also could remove brush and other hazardous fuels when not battling

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Opponents of a sweeping Republican elections overhaul in Texas sued Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, going to court even before he had signed into law changes that would further tighten the state’s already strict voting rules. Two lawsuits, filed in separate federal courts in Texas,

By AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man charged with attempted murder after firing at Minneapolis police officers in the chaotic protests that followed George Floyd’s death has been acquitted of all charges against him. Jaleel Stallings argued self-defense during his July trial, testifying that he fired at the unmarked white van after

By ALEXANDRA OLSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Tyson Foods is offering its front-line workers paid sick leave for the first time, part of an agreement that secured union support for its mandate that all U.S. employees get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The meatpacking giant said 90,000 — or 75% — of

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Health experts and medical groups are pushing to stamp out the growing use of a decades-old parasite drug to treat COVID-19, warning that it can cause harmful side effects and that there’s little evidence it helps. With a fourth wave of infections, more Americans are turning

FRANKLIN, Wis. (AP) — Police have killed a man outside a suburban Milwaukee Walmart after he allegedly kidnapped a man and led officers on a high-speed chase. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and police in Franklin and Oak Creek issued a joint statement saying deputies and officers shot the man Friday morning. The statement said

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group on Friday said it recovered the bodies of three men from a smuggling tunnel along the Egyptian border. The statement gave no cause of death. But a day earlier, the group accused Egypt of pumping poisonous gas into the tunnel. Such accusations could escalate

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Government and Venezuelan opposition representatives on Friday continued a dialogue aimed at finding a common path out of their country’s political standoff. The groups met in Mexico City two weeks after signing a memorandum of understanding that marked the start of the negotiations. The delegates of

LAFITTE, La. (AP) — Emily Boffone used to refer to herself as “Heinz 57” for the way her mixed ethnic heritage, including Indian and Filipino ancestry, reminded her of the brand’s advertised “57 varieties” of products. She was also an amazing cook. But Nora Indovina mostly remembers her mother for the big heart that led

NEW YORK (AP) — The chief executive of Tinder-owner Match Group has sharply criticized the new law prohibiting most abortions in Texas and says she is setting up a fund to help any Texas-based employees who need to seek an abortion outside the state. Rival dating app Bumble also criticized the law and announced on

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — School officials say an Arizona student’s father was arrested after he and two other men carrying zip ties threatened a “citizen’s arrest” on the school principal over virus rules. The principal of Mesquite Elementary in Tucson said Friday she felt violated and scared. The father, with his son in tow, showed

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man freed after nearly 23 years in prison filed a lawsuit Friday against the district attorney who prosecuted him six times in the killings of four people at a small-town furniture store. Curtis Flowers was released in December 2019, about six months after