AP National News

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and James Lankford, R-Okla. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Chris Coons, D-Conn. __ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas;

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency Friday, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor’s total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump’s far-reaching first term, when he filled three seats on the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,

Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge ruled Friday that Missouri’s near-total abortion ban is unenforceable under a new constitutional amendment, though Planned Parenthood said the decision is still not sufficient for it to resume providing abortions in the state. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang said the abortion ban “is directly

PECOS, Texas (AP) — Federal officials investigating the deadly West Texas collision between at Union Pacific train and a tractor-trailer hauling a heavy equipment said Friday they were trying to determine why the tractor-trailer was stopped on the tracks, leading to the crash that derailed the train and propelled the heavy equipment into the air.

Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Johnny Zuagar says he tried to hide his worries about a potential government shutdown from his three boys as he weighs how much to spend on Christmas presents. Like thousands of federal workers, the statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau was navigating the holidays with the spirit of the

AP Business Writer Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. The strikes that started Thursday and Friday followed other recent standoffs

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The trailing Republican in a tight North Carolina Supreme Court race has suffered legal setbacks in his bid to overtake his Democratic rival. First a federal judge refused on Friday to block immediately the State Board of Elections from issuing a certificate that Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs won

Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s governor has commuted the sentence of a white Kansas City police officer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man. Gov. Mike Parson decided Friday to free Eric DeValkenaere, who was serving a six-year prison sentence after he was convicted in

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — A sheriff in rural, coastal Oregon says he’s concerned about letters asking residents to collect information on immigrants. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says the letters have been circulating throughout the county. KPTV reports that the letter asks people to write down the license plate numbers of cars believed to

LUSAKA, Zambia. (AP) — Two people have been arrested for allegedly plotting to harm Zambia’s president Hakainde Hichilema using witchcraft. Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said Friday in a statement that the two suspects, Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, 42, and Leonard Phiri, 43, were allegedly hired by Nelson Banda, the young brother to fugitive lawmaker Jay Banda.

CULPEPER, Va. (AP) — Three Black men who were lynched by mobs in Virginia during the 1800s and early 1900s have been declared innocent by a judge. The Washington Post reported Friday that the men were Charles Allie Thompson, William Thompson and William Grayson. Each was killed in rural Culpeper County. Circuit Court Judge Dale

PHOENIX (AP) — It’s necessary to regulate groundwater in the state’s rural southeast, allowing the designation of a controlled area to stop rapid depletion of the water through agricultural use, the Arizona Department of Water Resources announced Friday. The department’s Director Tom Buschatzke said data analysis of hydrologic conditions in the state’s Willcox basin shows

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Norfolk State officially named Michael Vick its head football coach Friday, the latest hire of a talented NFL player with no college coaching experience to lead an HBCU program. Vick’s addition was unanimously approved by the school’s board of visitors, Norfolk State athletic director Melody Webb said in a release from

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee says he is pardoning 43 people who have served out their sentences in what he says is “very different” than President Joe Biden’s recent wave of commutations. Lee’s latest clemency moves are nearly double his next highest total for a single year. But Lee

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of gunning down United Healthcare’s CEO outside a Manhattan hotel is now jailed in New York, awaiting arraignment Monday on a state murder indictment after he was returned to the city in dramatic fashion to face charges in multiple courts. Shackled and wearing an orange prison