Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, criticized Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas for signing an executive order banning vaccine mandates, and said that it does not supersede President Biden's orders requiring vaccinations for many kinds of employees.

Dr. Brent Blue, the Teton County, Wyo., coroner said that the young woman had died by strangulation and determined her death to be a homicide. Ms. Petito's disappearance attracted national attention after she was reported missing in September.

President Emmanuel Macron of France said his country would spend $34.6 billion on developing small nuclear reactors, green hydrogen power and other strategic investments over the next five years to revitalize and decarbonize the French economy.

The Alisal fire, which has consumed thousands of acres, is threatening to destroy more than 100 houses or buildings. Hundreds of firefighters have been assigned to the fire, according to the Santa Barbara Fire Department.

Over 2,000 Southwest flights were canceled between Saturday and Monday. The airline cited causes including weather, air traffic control and an inability to move flight crews and planes.

Severe weather moved across the Southern Plains, spawning at least two tornadoes in Oklahoma and bringing lightning and heavy rain to parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas.

Gyms, barber shops and pubs were finally allowed to reopen, with some restrictions, after more than three months of lockdown. With vaccinations rising and new coronavirus cases falling, residents cautiously celebrated 'Freedom Day.'

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the overhauled agreement would open a new chapter in which the countries would work as equal partners to confront criminal activity and the flow of illegal drugs.

The federal investigation, known as Operation Varsity Blues, snared more than 50 parents, coaches, exam administrators and others in a scheme that had children fraudulently admitted as athletic recruits to some of the most prestigious universities in the country.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to Dmitri A. Muratov, a Russian newspaper editor, along with a fellow journalist, Maria Ressa of the Philippines, for their work seeking to bolster press freedoms.