Report: Congress orders probe of Hegseth boat order
WASHINGTON — Republican-led Senate and House committees say they will increase scrutiny of the Pentagon after a report said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of all crew members of a vessel suspected to be carrying drugs, The Washington Post reports. The Post reported earlier that Hegseth had given...
Several people injured after shooting in Stockton, Calif., authorities say
STOCKTON, Calif. — Several people were injured in a shooting incident in Stockton, authorities said Saturday night. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were investigating and several victims were taken to hospitals. Authorities provided no further details or information about the condition of the victims. Officials said the...
Consumers should do their research before giving in to Travel Tuesday temptation
NEW YORK — Chain stores have Black Friday. Online marketplaces have Cyber Monday. For local businesses, it’s Small Business Saturday. In the last 20 years, more segments of the retail industry have vied for their own piece of the holiday shopping season. The travel trade has firmly joined the trend...
Trump says Venezuela’s airspace should be viewed as closed. It’s not clear what that means
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety,” an assertion that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The White House did not respond to questions about...
U.S. halts all asylum decisions after shooting of National Guard members
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has halted all asylum decisions and paused issuing visas for people traveling on Afghan passports days after a shooting near the White House that left one National Guard member dead and another in critical condition. Investigators continued Saturday to seek a motive in the shooting,...
Snow, rain and cold in store for some Thanksgiving holiday travelers
A major snowstorm in the Midwest and Great Lakes is bringing winter to some Thanksgiving travelers with forecasters saying the northeast U.S. could get its own early winter storm next week. Winter storm warnings and advisories extended from Montana to Ohio, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters warned there could...
Northwestern to pay $75 million in deal with Trump administration to restore federal funding
Northwestern University has agreed to pay $75 million to the U.S. government in a deal with the Trump administration to end a series of investigations and restore hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding. President Donald Trump’s administration had cut off $790 million in grants in a standoff...
Shoppers spend billions on Black Friday to snag holiday deals, despite wider economic uncertainty
NEW YORK — Despite wider economic uncertainty hovering above this year’s holiday season, shoppers turned out in big numbers for Black Friday — spending billions of dollars both in stores and online. Adobe Analytics, which tracks e-commerce, said U.S. consumers spent a record $11.8 billion online Friday, marking a 9.1%...
College freshman flying home for Thanksgiving surprise is deported despite court order
CONCORD, N.H. — A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan International Airport on...
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff resigns as Ukraine corruption investigations widen
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who was also the country’s lead negotiator in talks with the U.S, after Yermak’s residence was searched by anti-corruption investigators. The unprecedented search at the heart of Ukraine’s government come at...
Suspect in shooting of National Guard members facing 1st-degree murder charge
WASHINGTON — The charges against the man who authorities say shot two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced Friday. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were hospitalized in...
Eel populations are falling, and new protections were defeated. Japan and the U.S. opposed them
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Eels are the stuff of nightmares — slimy, snakelike creatures that lay millions of eggs before dying so their offspring can return home to rivers and streams. They’ve existed since the time of the dinosaurs, and some species are more poorly understood than those ancient animals. Yet...
Death toll from floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra rises to 174Video
PADANG, Indonesia — The death toll from flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island Friday rose to 174 on Friday with 79 people missing, authorities said. Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment. The death toll in North Sumatra province rose to...
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency arrests 8 over apartment tower fire that’s left 128 dead
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency said on Friday it arrested eight people connected to the renovation of the high-rise apartments that were engulfed in a massive fire that left 128 people dead. The seven men and one woman, from 40 to 63 years old, include scaffolding subcontractors, directors...
Israeli forces kill at least 13 in southern Syria raid, officials and residents say
DAMASCUS, Syria — Israeli forces in southern Syria raided a village and opened fire when they were confronted by residents on Friday, killing at least 13, Syrian officials said, as Israel fights on a number of fronts while the shaky ceasefire in Gaza moves forward. Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in...
Trump vows to ‘permanently pause’ migration from poor nations in anti-immigrant social media screed
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump vowed on Thanksgiving to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations in a blistering late-night, anti-immigrant screed posted to social media. The extended rant came in the wake of the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members who were deployed to patrol Washington,...
Here’s what to know about the federal ban threatening the market for THC-infused drinks and snacks
MINNEAPOLIS — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years. But...
Israeli forces kill Palestinian men in West Bank after they appear to surrender
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces on Thursday killed a pair of Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank after they appeared to surrender to troops, drawing Palestinian accusations that the men were executed “in cold blood.” The Israeli military said it was investigating. The killings, captured in videos shown on two...
Floodwaters subsiding in southern Thailand as deaths exceed 80
BANGKOK — The death toll from severe flooding in southern Thailand climbed to more than 80 people as floodwaters began to subside Thursday, officials said. About 1 million households and more than 3 million people have been impacted by floods triggered by torrential rains in 12 southern provinces, the Department...
Trump says 1 of 2 West Virginia National Guard members shot by Afghan national has died
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — President Donald Trump said that one of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot by an Afghan national near the White House had died, calling the suspect, who had worked with the CIA in his native country, a “savage monster.” As part of a...
Scientists capture crackling sounds of what they believe is lightning on Mars
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA’s Perseverance rover. The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday. The researchers documented 55 instances of...
Putin sees U.S. peace plan as starting point as he warns Ukraine’s army to withdraw
U.S. proposals to end the war between Russia and Ukraine offer a starting point for talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, as he told Ukrainian forces to pull back or be overrun by Russia’s bigger army. “We need to sit down and discuss this seriously,” Putin told reporters at...
What’s open on Thanksgiving? Not much, as many stores wait for Black Friday
WASHINGTON — With Thanksgiving and the formal launch of the holiday shopping season this week, Americans will again gather for Turkey Day meals before knocking off items on their Christmas gift lists. Most big U.S. retailers are closed on Thanksgiving Day. However, many will open early the following day, Black...
Indonesia intensifies search for victims after floods and landslides kill 69 people
MEDAN, Indonesia — Rescuers searched Thursday in rivers and the rubble of villages for bodies and possible survivors after flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island left 69 people dead and 59 missing. Monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst their banks in North Sumatra province...
What to know about the Hong Kong apartment fire, which has killed at least 94
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s worst fire in memory was still smoldering in several apartment towers Thursday as firefighters struggled to rescue dozens of people who remained unaccounted for. At least 94 people were known to have died in the blaze that broke out Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court in...
