France's Mayotte struggles to recover as cyclone overwhelms hospitals

MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — One week after its worst cyclone in nearly a century, and a day after a testy presidential visit, France’s impoverished Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte is still grappling with counting the dead, restoring essential services and aiding a beleaguered population. ...

California declared an emergency over bird flu. How serious is the situation?

California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S. That raises new questions about the virus, which has spread for years in wild birds, commercial...

US flu season is underway, as cases surge in some areas and vaccinations lag

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season is underway, with cases surging across much of the country, health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted sharp increases in several measures, including lab tests and emergency room visits. ...

A judge says Missouri's abortion ban isn’t enforceable, but there's no start date for abortions

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...

A judge says Missouri’s abortion ban isn't enforceable under new amendment, ensuring legal abortions in the state

Regional court faults El Salvador for denying a mother's access to abortion, violating her rights

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Friday found El Salvador’s government responsible for violating the rights of a young Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion of her anencephalic fetus in a country with a total ban on abortions. The...

Alabama profits off prisoners who work at McDonald’s but deems them too dangerous for parole

DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A storm was looming when the inmate serving 20 years for armed robbery was assigned to transport fellow prisoners to their jobs at private manufacturers supplying goods to companies like Home Depot and Wayfair. It didn’t matter that Jake Jones once had escaped or that he...

Minneapolis softens law on obstructing abortion clinics in response to free-speech lawsuit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis has softened an ordinance that prohibited the obstruction of entrances and driveways to abortion clinics after anti-abortion activists sued to challenge it on free-speech grounds. The City Council this month quietly amended the ordinance to exclude...

Texas man whose execution was halted in shaken baby case is again stopped from testifying

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A second attempt by Texas lawmakers to bring a man on death row to the state Capitol over doubts that he killed his 2-year-old daughter failed again Friday, dimming the likelihood of Robert Roberson testifying publicly after a last-minute subpoena halted his execution. ...

Biden and the first lady bring holiday cheer to patients and families at a children's hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, brought some Christmastime cheer to patients and their families at a children's hospital on Friday but a toddler in a light blue jumper entertained, too. The president and first lady visited privately with patients and their...