Pence’s former top aide cooperating with Jan. 6 panel
WASHINGTON — The former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence is cooperating with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Justice Department sues Texas over new redistricting maps
AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department sued Texas on Monday over its new redistricting maps, saying the plans discriminate against minority voters, particularly Latinos, who have fueled the state’s population boom.
Trump gets wish in Georgia, sparks ‘a political civil war’
ATLANTA — Less than a year after losing the presidency, Donald Trump has set out to reshape the GOP in his image across the nation’s top political battlegrounds, sparking bitter primary battles that will force candidates and voters to decide how much to embrace Trump and his grievances.
Emmett Till investigation closed by feds; no new charges
JACKSON, Miss. — The U.S. Justice Department said Monday it is ending its investigation into the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till, the Black teenager from Chicago who was abducted, tortured and killed after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman in Mississippi.
Biden to warn Putin of economic pain if he invades Ukraine
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is ready to warn Vladimir Putin during a video call Tuesday that Russia will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine as the U.S. president seeks a diplomatic solution to deal with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the Ukraine border.
Desperation drives thousands of Afghans a day across borders
HERAT, Afghanistan — Over the course of an hour on a recent night, the bus waiting in the Herat station filled with passengers. Mostly young men, they had no luggage, just the clothes on their backs, maybe a bag with some bread and water for the long road ahead of them.
Beyond Ukraine, plenty of issues for Biden-Putin talks
WASHINGTON — Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine will be the top focus of talks between President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, but there are plenty of other thorny issues on the table as well, including cyberattacks, human rights, and US-Russian relations that a Kremlin spokesman says are overall in “a rather dire state.”
British woman testifies about grooming by Ghislaine Maxwell
NEW YORK — A British woman testified Monday that Ghislaine Maxwell pressured her into giving Jeffrey Epstein sexual massages when she was still a teenager, assuring her she would have “fun” with him.
Israel stops plan for contentious east Jerusalem settlement
JERUSALEM — Jerusalem municipal officials on Monday froze plans to build a contentious large Jewish settlement at an abandoned airport in east Jerusalem.
US plans diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing t o protest Chinese human rights abuses, the White House confirmed Monday, a move that China has vowed to greet with “firm countermeasures.”
Survivors gather to remember those lost at Pearl Harbor
PEARL HARBOR — A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor are expected to gather Tuesday at the site of the Japanese bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II.
Navy halts use of fuel storage complex above Hawaii aquifer
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM — The U.S. Navy announced Monday that it is suspending use of a massive World War II-era fuel storage complex above a Hawaii aquifer that supplies nearly 20% of Honolulu’s drinking water — following days of complaints that tap water smells like fuel and has sickened some people.
Dangerous storm threatens havoc across Hawaiian archipelago
HONOLULU — From the empty shores of Oahu’s Waikiki Beach to the snowy summit of the Big Island’s highest peak, an unusually strong winter storm is clobbering the Hawaiian Islands and raising the threat of dangerous flash floods, landslides and crashing tree limbs.
More omicron detected as hospitals strain under virus surge
New York announced three more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus Saturday, bringing the number of state cases linked to the new variant to eight.
Penobscots don’t want ancestors’ scalping to be whitewashed
PORTLAND, Maine — Most Americans know about atrocities endured by Native Americans after the arrival of European settlers: wars, disease, stolen land. But they aren’t always taught the extent of the indiscriminate killings.
Stuck jet stream, La Nina causing weird weather
America’s winter wonderland is starting out this season as anything but traditional.
CNN fires Chris Cuomo for helping brother deal with scandal
NEW YORK — CNN fired anchor Chris Cuomo on Saturday after details emerged about how he assisted his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as the politician faced sexual harassment allegations earlier this year.
Bond set at combined $1M after Michigan parents enter pleas
PONTIAC, Mich. — A judge imposed a combined $1 million bond Saturday for the parents of the Michigan teen charged with killing four students at Oxford High School, hours after police said they were caught hiding in a Detroit commercial building.
Biden, Putin set video call Tuesday as Ukraine tensions grow
MOSCOW — Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will speak in a video call Tuesday, the White House and Kremlin said, as tensions between the United States and Russia escalate over a Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border that’s seen as a sign of a potential invasion.
Indonesia’s volcano spews ash, gas; 1 dead, dozens hurt
LUMAJANG, Indonesia — The highest volcano on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java spewed thick columns of ash, searing gas and lava down its slopes in a sudden eruption triggered by heavy rains on Saturday. At least one villager died from burns and dozens were hospitalized.