MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments can be considered children under state law. The decision, issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled Friday that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — One woman was killed and five more were wounded when an argument escalated to gunfire at a Waffle House restaurant in Indianapolis early Monday, police said. Officers responded to a report of a shooting at the restaurant around 12:30 a.m., the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The latest in a series of wet winter storms gained strength in California early Monday, with forecasters warning of possible flooding, hail, strong winds and even brief tornadoes as the system moves south over the next few days.

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (AP) — A suburban Minneapolis community was in mourning on Monday after authorities said two police officers and a firefighter were killed by a heavily armed man who shot at them from inside a home that was filled with children. The shooting on Sunday in a tree-lined neighborhood of Burnsville, Minnesota, left a third officer wounded. The suspect, who officials said had multiple guns and large amounts of ammunition, also died.

Three of the biggest airports in New England are slated to make improvements to control towers, gates and mechanical systems under a nearly $1 billion federal plan to strengthen the nation's air travel infrastructure.

Samantha Sumiko Pinedo and her grandparents file into a dimly lit enclosure at the Japanese American National Museum and approach a massive book splayed open to reveal columns of names. Pinedo is hoping the list includes her great-grandparents, who were detained in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II.

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Two police officers and a first responder were shot and killed early Sunday and a third officer was injured at a suburban Minneapolis home in an exchange of gunfire while responding to a call involving an armed man who had barricaded himself inside with family, including seven children. The suspect in the shooting also died, officials said.

One firefighter was killed and nine others were injured when an explosion in a Washington, D.C., suburb on Friday leveled a home where they were investigating a gas leak. Two civilians were also injured.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The mass shooting that unfolded amid throngs of people at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, authorities said Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that the 22 people injured in the shooting ranged between the ages of 8 and 47 years old, half of whom were under the age of 16. A mother of two was also killed.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Eight children were among 22 people hit by gunfire in a shooting at the end of Wednesday's parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl win, authorities said, as terrified fans ran for cover. One person was killed, identified by her radio station as a DJ.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A coalition of environmental groups has sued the federal government to try to force the finalization of ship speed rules that the groups say are critically important to save a vanishing species of whale. The proposed ship speed rules would require vessels off the East Coast to slow down more often to help save the North Atlantic right whale.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A quick-moving snowstorm hit the Northeast on Tuesday canceling and delaying flights, making roads slippery and prompting many school districts to cancel classes or switch to remote learning —- or at least try to switch. In New York City, the online learning system that serves the nation’s largest school district experienced technical problems first thing in the morning, preventing many of the 915,000 students from logging in.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden welcomed Jordan’s King Abdullah II to the White House Monday for talks on how to end the months-long war and plan for what comes afterward. The meeting with Abdullah comes as Biden and his aides are working to broker another pause in Israel's war against Hamas in order to send humanitarian aid and supplies into the region and get hostages out.

HOUSTON (AP) — A woman’s motive for opening fire in celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch was unclear Monday, a day after the shooting sent worshippers rushing for safety in between busy services. Police say two off-duty officers working security at Lakewood Church, one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., shot and killed the suspect. Two other people were also shot and wounded, including a 5-year-old boy who entered the church with the shooter and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

HOUSTON (AP) — A woman in a trenchcoat opened fire with a long gun inside celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Texas before being gunned down by two off-duty officers who confronted her, sending worshippers rushing from the building between busy Sunday services, authorities said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized again Sunday to address a bladder issue as he continues to recover from prostate cancer and has transferred authorities to his deputy, the Pentagon said. Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and continues to deal with complications from his treatment.

The first tornadoes ever recorded in Wisconsin in the usually frigid month of February tore through mostly rural areas on a day that broke records for warmth, setting up the perfect scenario for the type of severe weather normally seen in the late spring and summer.

Federal authorities have launched an investigation to determine why a private jet tried to make an emergency landing on a Florida interstate, colliding with a vehicle and sparking a fiery crash that left two people dead.

NEW YORK (AP) — The flu virus is hanging on in the U.S., intensifying in some areas of the country after weeks of an apparent national decline. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Friday showed a continued national drop in flu hospitalizations, but other indicators were up — including the number of states with high or very high levels for respiratory illnesses.

PHOENIX (AP) — Heavy snow shut down parts of major interstates in northern Arizona on Thursday while low-lying clouds delayed dozens of flights in Phoenix, after storms earlier this week battered California and left a muddy mess. The mountainous region of northern Arizona recorded 2 feet of snowfall or more in some locations with more expected into the weekend.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Five U.S. Marines aboard a helicopter that went down during stormy weather in the mountains outside of San Diego are confirmed dead, the military said Thursday. Authorities say the CH-53E Super Stallion vanished late Tuesday night while returning to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego after training at Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rescuers were battling heavy snow Wednesday to reach a Marine Corps helicopter carrying five troops that went down in the mountains outside San Diego. The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter — the largest helicopter in the military, designed to fly in harsh conditions — had gone missing as a historic storm dumped heavy snow and record rain over California.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A storm that parked itself over Southern California for days, unleashing historic downpours that caused hundreds of landslides, was expected to move out of the region after one final drenching Wednesday, but authorities warned of the continued threat of collapsing hillsides.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the wettest storms in Southern California history unleashed nearly 400 mudslides in the Los Angeles area after dumping more than half the amount of rainfall the city typically gets in a season in just two days, and officials warned Tuesday that the threat was not over yet.

Toby Keith, a sometimes polarizing figure in country music who crafted an identity around his macho, pro-American swagger, has died. He was 62. The “Beer For My Horses” singer-songwriter, who was battling stomach cancer, died peacefully Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted on the country singer's website. “He fought his fight with grace and courage,” the statement said. He was diagnosed in 2022.