AP News Summary at 11:50 p.m. EST

By The Associated Press

Tucker Carlson amplifies Jan. 6 lies with GOP-provided video

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to unleash a trove of Jan. 6 Capitol attack footage to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson has launched a wholesale Republican effort to rewrite the history of the deadly siege. Carlson aired the first installment of some 41,000 hours of security footage on his prime-time show and promised more Tuesday. The conservative commentator is working to reverse the narrative of the attack that had played out for the world to see into one more favorable to Donald Trump. It comes as Trump is again running for president and executives at the cable news giant have admitted the network spread the former president’s false claims about the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Survivors of deadly Mexico abduction returned to US

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Officials say two survivors of a deadly abduction in Mexico are back on U.S. soil. They were brought to a hospital in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday. Two other Americans were killed after the group got caught in a drug cartel shootout last week. Officials say the group was on a road trip to Mexico for one of them to get cosmetic surgery. The Americans were hauled away in a truck. The region’s governor said Mexican authorities frantically searched as the cartel moved them around. They were eventually found Tuesday in a remote area near the Gulf coast in a wood shack.

Oklahoma voters reject legalizing recreational marijuana

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma voters have rejected a state question to allow recreational use of marijuana. The state question was the only issue on the ballot Tuesday. It would have legalized pot for those over the age of 21. Oklahoma would have been the 22nd state to legalize adult use of cannabis. It would have been among the most conservative to do so. Similar proposals were rejected last year in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota. The state already has one of the most robust medical marijuana programs in the country. The question was opposed by various religious leaders, law enforcement and prosecutors. They argued more legal marijuana would harm children and lead to more crime.

US to relax COVID testing rules for travelers from China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is preparing to relax COVID-19 testing restrictions for travelers from China as soon as Friday. That’s according to two people familiar with the decision who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. They say the administration has decided to roll back the testing requirements as cases, hospitalizations and deaths are declining in China and the U.S. has gathered better information about the surge. The restrictions were put in place on Dec. 28 and took effect on Jan. 5 amid a surge in infections in China after the nation sharply eased pandemic restrictions.

Governments criticized for keeping women from peace talks

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — On the eve of International Women’s Day, leading women’s rights campaigners at the United Nations and the African Union and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate criticized male-dominated governments for excluding women from peace negotiations. They said governments are ignoring a U.N. resolution adopted in 2000 demanding equal participation for women in talks to end conflicts. Sima Bahous is head of the U.N. agency promoting gender equality and she lamented Tuesday about “the regression in women’s rights” and called for “a radical change of direction.” Liberian peace activist and Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee warned that “we will continue to search for peace in vain in our world unless we bring women to the table.”

Safety agency opens probe of Norfolk Southern rail accidents

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal investigators have announced a special investigation into railroad Norfolk Southern. The move follows a fiery derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in February and several other accidents. The most recent accident led to a train conductor’s death early Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board says it will begin a broad look at the railroad’s safety culture. It says it has sent investigation teams to look into five significant accidents involving Norfolk Southern since December 2021. The agency also says it was urging the company to take immediate action to review and assess its safety practices.

What to do if you’re concerned you might be laid off

NEW YORK (AP) — The job market in the U.S. remains strong overall, but recent high-profile layoffs at technology and media companies and predictions of a recession later this year have raised concerns about job security. If you’re worried you could be laid off or if you’ve lost your job, experts have some recommendations for how to cope. If you’re worried you could lose your job, you should start thinking about building an emergency fund and keeping your resume and contacts up to date so you’re reaady to look elsewhere. If you have lost your job, prioritize your mental health and make sure to apply for unemployment benefits.

How passengers teamed up to restrain man on chaotic flight

BOSTON (AP) — A passenger who helped restrain a threatening man on a weekend flight from Los Angeles to Boston says the entire chaotic episode was over within seconds thanks to teamwork. Federal authorities say the man tried to open an airliner’s emergency exit and then tried to stab a flight attendant. Speaking Tuesday, passenger Simik Ghookasian says he heard the suspect make loud threats. Ghookasian says he was among five or six passengers who piled onto the suspect and took a modified metal spoon from him. The suspect is expected to appear in court later this week after being arrested Sunday, when the plane landed in Boston.

When Hollywood needs a movie villain, the tech bro answers

NEW YORK (AP) — “A toast to the disruptors,” Edward Norton’s tech billionaire says in Rian Johnson’s Oscar-nominated “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” And why not a toast? Sunday’s Academy Awards won’t give a prize for best villain, but if they did, Miles Bron would win it in a walk. Bron is an immediately recognizable type: a visionary (or so everyone says), a social media narcissist, a self-styled disrupter who talks a lot about “breaking stuff.” And he’s just the latest in a long line of Hollywood’s favorite villain: the tech bro. When looking north to Silicon Valley, the movie industry has found perhaps its richest resource of big-screen antagonists since Soviet-era Russia.

Women sue Texas over abortion ban, say it risked their lives

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Five women who said they were denied abortions even when pregnancy endangered their lives are suing Texas over its abortion ban. The lawsuit filed Monday in state court said the Texas law is creating confusion among doctors, who are turning away some pregnant women experiencing health complications because they fear repercussions. The Texas ban is one of the strictest in the country. According to the lawsuit, one of the women was forced to wait until she was septic before being provided an abortion. Similar legal challenges to abortion restrictions have arisen in states across the country since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.