AP National News

Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Hundreds of Bolivian devotees have arrived at the municipal cemetery of La Paz carrying human skulls adorned with flowers for the Ñatitas festival. It is a custom rooted in the Andean region, but not recognized by the Catholic church. According to Bolivian belief, devotees ask Ñatitas for health,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Spain’s largest telecommunications operator will pay more than $85 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into a scheme to bribe Venezuelan officials with a lavish Caribbean vacation and expensive watches. The agreement with Telefónica S.A. announced Friday is the second time that the telco giant has faced bribery accusations in

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie says he will make streets safer, help small businesses and squash the open-air drug markets that have tarnished San Francisco’s image in recent years. Lurie spoke Friday at a park in Chinatown, making his first public remarks since San Francisco Mayor London Breed called

Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to launch a mass deportation of millions of undocumented people is a top focus for Canada s the country plans to deal with a possible influx north. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau re-established a special Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations this week to address his administration’s concerns

Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $12 million to a woman who lost her job at a Michigan insurance company after declining to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Much of the award is for punitive damages against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Lisa Domski worked at Blue Cross for more

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. government has extended avocado import permissions to Guatemala, but don’t expect that to result in cheaper guacamole anytime soon. For nearly 30 years, Mexico has been practically the only source of imported avocados — along with small amounts from South America — because of concerns that plant diseases and

Associated Presss WASHINGTON (AP) — A good-governance group is warning of severe consequences if President-elect Donald Trump continues to steer clear of formal transition planning with the Biden administration — inaction that it says is already limiting the federal government’s ability to provide security clearances and briefings to the incoming administration. Without it, says Max

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is expected to try next week to pass a Social Security-related bill to ensure benefits for workers who are also eligible for other pensions. The effort comes despite a surprise move by hard-right Freedom Caucus leaders to derail the bill. The legislation, if approved, would repeal the provisions that reduce

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police said that unidentified gunmen in a black car killed at least one person and wounded another three Friday afternoon at Sao Paulo’s international airport in Guarulhos. Police said the fatal victim is Antônio Vinícius Lopes Gritzbach, who had previously received death threats from the First Command of the Capital,

HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Rafael has weakened into a tropical storm as it swirls through the Gulf of Mexico where it is expected to break apart after plowing through Cuba, knocking out the country’s power grid and collapsing hundreds of houses. On Friday night, the tropical storm was located 240 miles (390 kms) north of

Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Women have won 60 seats in the New Mexico Legislature to secure the largest female legislative majority in U.S. history, stirring expressions of vindication and joy among candidates who knocked on doors and found voters were ready. New Mexico voters are sending 11 additional women — Democrats and

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky police officer has been reprimanded for firing non-lethal rounds at a TV camera crew during street protests over Breonna Taylor’s death in 2020. A crew from WAVE-TV was filming live as Louisville Police Officer Dustin Dean fired pepper rounds at them in May 2020. The first protests over Taylor’s

Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Chinese national is jailed on trespassing charges after police say he tried to enter President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in violation of a court order that he stay away following a previous attempt. Zijie Li was being held Friday without bond after being arrested Thursday when he

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the Pentagon is easing restrictions to allow a small number of private American defense contactors to work inside Ukraine, helping repair and maintain equipment. The officials say the contractors will be far away from the front lines during Russia’s invasion and will not be taking part in

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump put billionaire Elon Musk on the line with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when the Ukrainian leader called to congratulate the incoming U.S. president, according to a Ukrainian official with direct knowledge of the phone call. The person, who was not authorized to comment on the matter publicly,

Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California air regulators have voted to approve changes to a key climate program aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions that could increase gas prices statewide. The program has garnered backlash from a wide swath of critics from environmentalists to the oil industry. The rule requires the state to

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Former first lady Michelle Obama’s brother and his wife have settled a lawsuit they filed in 2022 alleging a private school in Milwaukee refused to reenroll their children after the couple raised concerns about racism. Craig and Kelly Robinson alleged in the lawsuit that the University School of Milwaukee terminated their

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has filed a new request for bail, saying changed circumstances, along with new evidence, mean he should be allowed to prepare for a May trial from outside jail. Lawyers for Combs filed the request in Manhattan federal court on Friday. His requests for bail have been

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man has been charged with staging a car accident for insurance fraud purposes last month in a case that received wide publicity after the victim shared dashboard camera footage of the crash. Prosecutors say the 28-year-old Brooklyn man was in a car whose driver cut

Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The National Institutes of Health decided to relocate nearly two dozen retired research chimpanzees from a facility in New Mexico to a sanctuary in Louisiana, a move celebrated Friday by animal advocates who have been fighting for years to get the animals moved. NIH representatives confirmed in an email

AP Sports Writer CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — University of Miami president Joe Echevarria has had football season tickets since 1978, the year he graduated from the school. The seats he buys now are as good as most people can get, field club seats right behind one of the goalposts. He doesn’t use them. He’s

AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — It looks like the 2025 Grammy Awards may be a different kind of award show. Beyoncé leads the nods with 11, bringing her career total to a record-breaking 99 nominations. There’s an incredible diversity of genres represented across the major categories, and women continue to succeed. So… who

Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday proposed tighter restrictions on oil, solar and wind energy development across more than 6,500 square miles (17,000 square kilometers) of federal land in the U.S. West to protect a declining bird species. However, it is doubtful the changes would survive under President-elect Donald