U.S./World category, Page 163

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A battle of wreaths erupted Wednesday when a Russian diplomat in the Arctic town of Kirkenes in northern Norway reportedly put his garland on top of Norway’s at a monument for the 1944 liberation of the region by Soviet troops. Magnus Mæland, the municipality mayor, then angrily...

Dozens of states, including California and New York, are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for allegedly harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. A lawsuit filed by 33 states claims Meta...

JERUSALEM — Eighty-five-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz spoke of a “hell that we never knew before and never thought we would experience” as she described the harrowing Oct. 7 assault on her kibbutz by Hamas militants and the terror of being taken hostage into the Gaza Strip. Lifshitz was the first of...

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The U.N. warned Wednesday that it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory blockaded and devastated by Israeli airstrikes since Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel more than two...

In some states, higher-income families can now use taxpayer money to cover private school tuition — and more people than projected are taking the offer, which might force scrambles to shore up state budgets. It’s especially an issue in states like Arizona and Iowa, where at least some families whose...

HELENA, Mont. — The first major snowstorm of the season is expected to hit the northern Cascades, Rockies and North Dakota this week, sending residents searching for their winter coats, gloves and boots and facing much different driving conditions after a warm fall in many places. The National Weather Service...

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed efforts to prevent the conflict between Hamas and Israel from escalating during a phone call Tuesday, the White House said in a statement. The two spoke about “ongoing diplomatic and military efforts to deter state and non-state...

NEW ORLEANS — The toll from a series of crashes on a Louisiana interstate rose to eight dead and 63 injured Tuesday evening, a day after a “super fog” of marsh fire smoke and dense fog snared more than 160 vehicles in the fiery pileup, authorities said. Lance Scott was...

WASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday “prudent contingency planning” is underway to evacuate Americans from the Middle East in case the Israel-Hamas war spreads into a broad regional conflict. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed there are no “active efforts” to evacuate Americans from the region...

WASHINGTON — Mark Meadows, the final chief of staff to Donald Trump, has been given immunity from prosecution in the election-interference probe against the former president in Washington and has testified before a grand jury hearing evidence in the case, according to a person familiar with the events. In his...

PORTLAND, Ore. — An off-duty airline pilot riding in an extra cockpit seat on a Horizon Air flight said “I’m not OK” just before trying to cut the engines midflight and later told police he had recently taken psychedelic mushrooms as his mental health worsened, according to charging documents made...

WASHINGTON — Republicans chose Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest nominee for House speaker late Tuesday, hours after an earlier pick, Rep. Tom Emmer, abruptly withdrew in the face of opposition from Donald Trump and hardline GOP lawmakers. Johnson of Louisiana, a lower-ranked member of the House GOP leadership team,...

DETROIT — A strike by auto workers against General Motors is expected to cut pretax earnings by $800 million this year, and another $200 million per week after that, the company’s chief financial officer said. And those figures include only factories that are on strike now with less than a...

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union has turned up the heat on General Motors as 5,000 workers walked off their jobs Tuesday at a highly profitable SUV factory in Arlington, Texas. The walkout comes just a day after the union went on strike at Stellantis ’ huge pickup truck...

A man killed by Wisconsin police was acting erratically at a car repair shop and in the parking lot of a suburban Milwaukee school and unsuccessfully tried to enter the building before climbing on its roof and exchanging gunfire with officers, authorities said Tuesday. Dozens of students were in the...

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — At least 50 people were kidnapped in two separate incidents over two days in northern Cameroon, local authorities said Tuesday. The kidnappings occurred Sunday and Monday afternoons by an unknown armed group near the border with Chad, the mayor of Touboro town, Celestin Yandal, told the Associated...

BERLIN — Two cargo ships collided in the North Sea off the coast of Germany on Tuesday and one of them sank, German authorities said. At least one sailor died and rescuers were trying to find another four. The vessels collided shortly before 5 a.m. about 14 miles southwest of...

JERUSALEM — Since Israel activated the Iron Dome in 2011, the cutting-edge rocket-defense system has intercepted thousands of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. The system has given residents a sense of security, and Israelis can often be seen watching the projectiles flying through the skies and destroying their targets...

WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Donald Trump are raising new challenges to the federal election subversion case against him, telling a judge that the indictment should be dismissed because it violates the former president’s free speech rights and represents a vindictive prosecution. The motions filed late Monday in the case charging...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s long after midnight when the bustling operating room suddenly falls quiet — a moment of silence to honor the man lying on the table. This is no ordinary surgery. Detrick Witherspoon died before ever being wheeled in, and now two wide-eyed medical students are about to...

HONG KONG — A Washington state senator was arrested in Hong Kong for carrying a gun that was not registered in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, his website and local media reported. He was released on bail Monday. Jeff Wilson, a Republican from Longview, was arrested after landing at the Hong...