National News

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Even Christmas trees aren’t immune to the pandemic-induced shortages and inflation plaguing the economy. Extreme weather and supply chain disruptions have reduced supplies of both real and artificial trees this season. Industry officials say American shoppers should expect to have fewer choices and pay up to 30% more for both types…

WASHINGTON (AP) — A person in California has become the first  in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant of COVID-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci said the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. The person was vaccinated but had not…

OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school, killing three students, including a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy’s patrol car on the way to a hospital. Eight other people were wounded, some critically. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says investigators are still trying to…

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case and restore his conviction. In a petition released Monday, they wrote that courts should not equate a decision announced in a press release to lifetime immunity. They believe the Pennsylvania Supreme Court erred when it overturned Cosby’s conviction…

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on health care workers in 10 states that had brought the first legal challenge against the requirement. The preliminary injunction issued Monday applies to Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South…