National 988 mental health hotline back up after outage
The nation's 988 hotline, intended to help anyone experiencing a mental health emergency, was back up and running Friday after a daylong outage.
Minneapolis becomes 'safe haven' for gender-affirming care
Mayor Jacob Frey signs order shielding city from anti-trans movement.
West St. Paul residents raise concerns about safety of proposed mental health facility
Residents also showed up to support the facility, which would be owned by Dakota County and run by Guild, a nonprofit.
World
Beijing, Shenzhen scrap COVID-19 tests for public transport
Local Chinese authorities on Saturday announced a further easing of COVID-19 curbs, with major cities such as Shenzhen and Beijing no longer requiring negative tests to take public transport.
World
At Shanghai vigil, bold shout for change preceded crackdown
The mourners in Shanghai lit candles and placed flowers. Someone scrawled "Urumqi, 11.24, Rest in Peace" in red on cardboard — referring to the deadly apartment fire in China's western city of Urumqi that sparked anger over perceptions the country's strict COVID-19 measures played a role in the disaster.
Business
Nevada toad in geothermal power fight gets endangered status
A tiny Nevada toad at the center of a legal battle over a geothermal power project has officially been declared an endangered species, after U.S. wildlife officials temporarily listed it on a rarely used emergency basis last spring.
Business
Ex-children's hospital doctor charged with sex crimes
A former medical director of a Virginia hospital that serves vulnerable children has been charged with four felony sex crimes in connection with abuse that authorities say happened at the facility years ago.
Nation
Correction: Abortion-Wisconsin story
In a story published December 1, 2022, about prosecutors filing responses in a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's abortion ban, The Associated Press erroneously reported that district attorneys Ismael Ozanne and John Chisholm filed motions to dismiss the case. Ozanne and Chisholm filed answers to the lawsuit preserving their right to file dismissal motions as the case progresses.
Nation
Indiana judge won't block probe over 10-year-old's abortion
Indiana's Republican attorney general can keep investigating an Indianapolis doctor who spoke publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from neighboring Ohio, a judge ruled Friday.
Business
G-7 joins EU on $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil
The Group of Seven nations and Australia joined the European Union on Friday in adopting a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, a key step as Western sanctions aim to reorder the global oil market to prevent price spikes and starve President Vladimir Putin of funding for his war in Ukraine.
Nation
US plans end to mpox public health emergency in January
The federal government plans to end in January the public health emergency it declared earlier this year after an outbreak of mpox infected more than 29,000 people across the U.S.
Nation
Flu season worsens as 44 states report high activity
The U.S. flu season keeps getting worse.
Nation
Spray-painted house highlights affordable housing crisis
A message spray-painted on a two-story Janesville rental home accuses a tenant of not paying her rent. The vandalism not only makes a public spectacle of a landlord's ongoing dispute with a renter he's trying to evict, it also shines a light on the need for affordable housing in the city.
Business
EXPLAINER: 5 key takeaways from the November jobs report
For nearly nine months, the Federal Reserve has relentlessly raised interest rates to try to slow the U.S. job market and bring inflation under control.
Business
US hiring stays strong, complicating Fed's inflation fight
The nation's employers kept hiring briskly in November despite high inflation and a slow-growing economy — a sign of resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes.
World
Tibetans in India support 'zero COVID' protesters in China
About 150 Tibetan exiles held up blank pieces of paper as they rallied in India's capital on Friday to express solidarity with people in China protesting its "zero COVID" policy.
World
WHO pleased to see China ease harsh zero COVID policies
A top official at the World Health Organization said the U.N. agency was "pleased" to see China loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions, saying "it's really important that governments listen to their people when the people are in pain."
Business
Top exec at pharmacy in deadly meningitis outbreak sentenced
A former co-owner of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy at the center of a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak that resulted in more than 100 patient deaths has been sentenced to a year in prison for conspiring to defraud the federal government.
Business
China fines former NBA star Lin over quarantine comments
Former NBA star Jeremy Lin, who plays for a Chinese team, was fined 10,000 yuan ($1,400) for criticizing quarantine facilities, China's professional league and a news report said Friday, as the government tries to stop protests against anti-virus controls that are among the world's most stringent.
World
Hong Kong divided over China's COVID-19 protests
The recent wave of protests against China's anti-virus restrictions was a ray of hope for some supporters of Hong Kong's own pro-democracy movement after local authorities stifled it using a national security law enacted in 2020.
World
Prosecutor drops Australian Parliament House rape charge
An Australian prosecutor on Friday dropped the rape charge of a woman who was allegedly assaulted in a parliamentary office after he determined that the stress of the trial would put her life at risk.
Nation
10 Los Angeles students appear to OD on cannabis edibles
Ten Los Angeles students appear to have overdosed on cannabis edibles Thursday at their middle school in the San Fernando Valley, officials said.
World
China security forces are well-prepared for quashing dissent
When it comes to ensuring the security of their regime, China's Communist Party rulers don't skimp.
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