National

CHARLOTTE, N.C (TNS) — Coronavirus transmission is once again spiking in California entering the winter holiday season — and a new subvariant may be partly to blame, officials say. This latest subvariant, JN.1, is now estimated to account for roughly 44% of COVID-19 cases nationally, according to t…

CHARLOTTE, N.C (TNS) — Flu activity is rising rapidly as we head into Christmas week, according to the latest figures from the Georgia Department of Public Health released Friday. Flu activity has reached “very high” levels in Georgia, according to DPH. The latest flu report for the week ending Dec…

(Reuters) — A drone launched from Iran struck a chemical tanker in the Indian ocean early on Saturday, the U.S. Department of Defense said. “The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at approximately 10 a.m. local time …

LONGMONT, Colorado (Reuters) — Two Colorado paramedics were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide by a jury on Friday for their role in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who died after police roughly detained him, put him in a choke hold, and the medics injected him with a…

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday his government will reinforce measures to contain migration as he seeks to help the United States cope with record numbers of people trying to reach the U.S. border. Lopez Obrador’s comments come a day after …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. prices fell in November for the first in more than 3-1/2 years, pushing the annual increase in inflation further below 3%, and boosting financial market expectations of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next March. The report from the Commerce Department on F…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law the U.S. defense policy bill that authorizes a record $886 billion in annual military spending and policies such as aid for Ukraine and push-back against China in the Indo-Pacific. The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Iran was “deeply involved” in planning operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and its intelligence was critical to enable Yemen’s Houthi movement to target ships, the White House said on Friday. Iran-backed Houthis, who say their attacks are in…

(Reuters) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday that COVID subvariant JN.1 accounts for 39% to 50% of cases in the United States as of Dec. 23, according to the agency’s projections. This is an increase from the estimated 15% to 29% of cases in the United …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States on Friday reopened two rail crossings between Texas and Mexico, five days after their closure in response to increased migrant traffic cut off a key export route. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said operations resumed at 2 p.m. ET at the internatio…