PALMDALE , Calif. (AP) — America’s newest nuclear stealth bomber made its debut Friday after years of secret development and as part of the Pentagon’s answer to rising concerns over a future conflict with China. The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years. Almost every aspect of the program is classified.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season keeps getting worse. Health officials said Friday that 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flu-like illnesses. That's as high as the peak of the 2017-18 flu season and higher than any season since. The annual winter flu season usually doesn’t get going until December or January, but this one began early and has been complicated by the simultaneous spread of other viruses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats voted Friday to remove Iowa as the leadoff state on the presidential nominating calendar and replace it with South Carolina starting in 2024, a dramatic shakeup championed by President Joe Biden to better reflect the party’s deeply diverse electorate. The Democratic National Committee's rule-making arm made the move to strip Iowa from the position it has held for five decades after technical meltdowns sparked chaos and marred the results of the state's 2020 caucus.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed a bill Friday to avert a freight rail strike that he said could have plunged the U.S. into a catastrophic recession. At the White House, Biden signed a measure passed Thursday by the Senate and Wednesday by the House. It binds rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the railroads and union leaders in September but rejected by several railroad unions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s 988 hotline, intended to help anyone experiencing a mental health emergency, was back up and running Friday after a daylong outage. The call service, which was launched in July, was restored shortly before midnight on Thursday. People experiencing a mental health crisis were still able to reach a mental health counselor by texting 988 or by visiting 988lifeline.org to start a chat.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s newest nuclear stealth bomber is making its public debut after years of secret development and as part of the Pentagon’s answer to rising concerns over a future conflict with China. The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years. Almost every aspect of the program is classified. Ahead of its unveiling Friday at an Air Force facility in Palmdale, California, only artists’ renderings of the warplane have been released.

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — The lava from the world's largest volcano is so hot and bright that the sky has turned orange. At night, throngs of people have been gathering to witness nature's spectacular light show in Hawaii. Some spectators left an offering of flowers on the black lava that had poured from Mauna Loa in earlier eruptions. Pele, the Hawaiian volcano deity, is revered by many Hawaiians. Mauna Loa, which last erupted 38 years ago, is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii.

BOSTON (AP) — The Prince and Princess of Wales embarked Wednesday on their first overseas trip since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, aiming to showcase the younger face of a monarchy that is tackling important issues like climate change as it attempts to remain relevant in a modern, multicultural Britain. The three-day trip to Boston is focused on Prince William’s splashy initiative to award millions of dollars to a new generation of environmental entrepreneurs who are developing everything from cleaner burning stoves to alternatives to leather.

HONOLULU (AP) — Prayer. Bombs. Walls. Over the decades, people have tried all of them to stanch the flow of lava from Hawaii's volcanoes as it lumbered toward roads, homes and infrastructure. Now Mauna Loa — the world's largest active volcano — is erupting again, and lava is slowly approaching a major thoroughfare connecting the Big Island's east and west sides. And once more, people are asking if anything can be done to stop or divert the flow.

WASHINGTON (AP) — What many Americans hoped would be the first normal holiday season in three years has instead been thrown into crisis by inflation, with Christmas on the horizon. Food banks and charities across the country are reporting higher than expected levels of food insecurity as prices rise and food becomes less accessible to millions of American families.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s attorney general has asked the state medical licensing board to discipline an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect. The complaint alleges Dr. Caitlin Bernard violated state law by not reporting the girl’s child abuse to Indiana authorities and violated patient privacy laws by telling a reporter about the girl’s treatment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries has been elected House Democratic leader and will become in the new year the first Black American to lead a major political party in Congress. Democrats met Wednesday behind closed doors for the internal party elections as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside. House Democrats are ushering in a new generation of leaders.

WETUMPKA, Ala. (AP) — Tornadoes damaged numerous homes, destroyed a fire station, briefly trapped people in a grocery store and ripped the roof off an apartment complex in Mississippi and Alabama. Two deaths were reported as the storm front continued to threaten parts of the Deep South on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to allow police to use potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations. The vote Tuesday was 8 to 3. Civil rights advocates opposed the proposal, saying it would lead to further militarization of police. The San Francisco Police Department said it would like the option to deploy robots equipped with explosive charges to disable suspects when lives are at stake.

WETUMPKA, Ala. (AP) — Dozens of tornadoes struck overnight from Louisiana to Alabama, wrecking numerous homes, destroying a fire station and ripping the roof off an apartment complex. More than 50,000 people have been without power, and forecasters said Wednesday that the “threat for supercells capable of all severe weather hazards” continues in southern Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida panhandle.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced a new initiative that would allow authorities to more aggressively intervene to help people in need of mental health treatment. The mayor said in announcing the program Tuesday that there is “a moral obligation” to act, even if it means providing care to those who don’t ask for it. The mayor’s directive would give outreach workers, city hospitals and police the legal authority to involuntarily hospitalize anyone they deem a danger to themselves or who is unable to care for themselves.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Walmart employee who survived the mass shooting at a store in Virginia has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the company. Employee Donya Prioleau claims in her lawsuit that Walmart continued to employ the shooter “who had known propensities for violence, threats and strange behavior.” The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Chesapeake Circuit Court. Walmart, which is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Residents in several towns across Louisiana and Mississippi have taken cover amid the blare of tornado sirens amid a severe weather outbreak erupting in the Deep South. There were no immediate reports of damage from the potent storms late Tuesday, but multiple tornado warnings were issued. More than 25 million people are in the path of the vast storm system moving from Texas to Indiana and Georgia.

HONOLULU (AP) — Lava is shooting into the air and flowing downhill as Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano erupts for the first time in nearly 40 years. For now, lava is not threatening any homes or communities and no evacuation orders have been issued. Lava could eventually reach neighborhoods on the eastern side of the Big Island though it could take a week or more for molten rock to reach populated areas. Mauna Loa is spewing sulfur dioxide and other volcanic gases which combine with other particles to form volcanic smog, or vog.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The gunman who massacred 10 shoppers and workers at a Buffalo supermarket has pleaded guilty to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges. Payton Gendron entered the plea Monday in an Erie County courtroom. The charges carry an automatic sentence of life in prison. The 19-year-old used a legally-purchased semiautomatic rifle to gun down victims at the Tops Friendly Market in May.

HOUSTON (AP) — Officials say more than 2 million people in the Houston area remain under a boil order notice after a power outage caused low water pressure at a water purification plant. The order — which means water must be boiled before it’s used for cooking, bathing or drinking — also prompted schools in the Houston area to close Monday. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says the city believes the water is safe but a boil order was required because of the drop Sunday in water pressure.

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, has started to erupt for the first time in nearly four decades, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby. The U.S. Geological Survey says the eruption began late Sunday night in the summit caldera of the volcano on the Big Island. Early Monday, it said lava flows were contained within the summit area and weren’t threatening nearby communities.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Violence ran riot in several Belgian and Dutch cities after Morocco’s 2-0 upset win over Belgium at the World Cup. Police detained about a dozen people after they deployed water cannons and fire tear gas to disperse crowds in Brussels. Dozens of rioters overturned and torched cars, set electric scooters on fire and pelted cars with bricks. Police moved in after one person suffered facial injuries.

A 12-year-old boy is dead after playing Russian Roulette with peers in Jackson, Mississippi, police say.

SPRINGDALE, Utah (AP) — A woman died and a man was rescued and treated for hypothermia after they were caught in extreme cold weather while hiking in Utah's Zion National Park, officials said.