U.S./World category, Page 284
Russia smashes train tracks in battered Ukrainian border region where children are being evacuated
KYIV, Ukraine — A nighttime Russian attack destroyed trains and tracks in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said Friday, and authorities organized the evacuation of children from the area as it is being pummeled by the Kremlin’s forces in a powerful new offensive. The overnight strike on rolling stock and...
Prosecutors appeal dismissal of some charges against Trump in Georgia election interference case
ATLANTA — A Georgia prosecutor on Thursday appealed a ruling dismissing some of the criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and other defendants in an election interference case. The notice of appeal filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis does not say why an appeals court should reverse...
Dangerous brew: Ocean heat and La Nina combo likely mean more Atlantic hurricanes this summer
WASHINGTON — Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina. There’s an 85% chance that the Atlantic hurricane season that starts in June will be above average in...
Border bill fails Senate test vote as Democrats seek to underscore Republican resistance
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans again blocked a bill meant to clamp down on the number of migrants allowed to claim asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sought Thursday to underscore GOP resistance to the proposal. The legislation, negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators, was...
Baltimore’s former top prosecutor spared prison for mortgage fraud and perjuryVideo
GREENBELT, Md. — A former Baltimore city prosecutor who achieved a national profile for charging police officers in a Black man’s death was spared any prison time in her sentence Thursday for perjury and mortgage fraud. Marilyn Mosby’s sentence includes 12 months of home confinement, 100 hours of community service...
Remember last year’s Memorial Day travel jams? Chances are they will be much worse this year
You didn’t think summer travel would be easy, did you? Highways and airports are likely to be jammed the next few days as Americans head out for Memorial Day weekend getaways and then return home. AAA predicts this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8...
Louisiana Legislature approves bill classifying abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances
BATON ROUGE — Two abortion-inducing drugs could soon be reclassified as controlled and dangerous substances in Louisiana under a first-of-its-kind bill that received final legislative passage Thursday and is expected to be signed into law by the governor. Supporters of the reclassification of mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly known as “abortion...
Norfolk Southern will pay $15 million fine as part of federal settlement over Ohio derailment
The federal government agreed to a modest $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the railroad promised to pay more than $300 million to complete the efforts to improve safety that it announced after the crash and address community health concerns....
Wind towers crumpled after Iowa wind farm suffers rare direct hit from powerful twister
OKLAHOMA CITY — A wind farm in southwest Iowa suffered a direct hit from a powerful tornado that crumpled five of the massive, power-producing towers, including one that burst into flames. But experts say fortunately such incidents are rare. Video of the direct hit on the wind farm near Greenfield,...
Pro-Palestinian protesters leave after Drexel University decides to have police clear encampment
PHILADELPHIA — Protesters packed up their belongings and left a pro-Palestinian encampment at Drexel University on Thursday after the school announced a decision to have police clear the encampment. University President John Fry said in a statement that he decided to have campus police and public safety officers join Philadelphia...
Russian missiles kill 7 in Ukraine’s 2nd-largest city where Moscow’s troops are pressing
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. At least 16 people were injured...
Strong winds topple stage at a campaign rally in northern Mexico, killing at least 9 people
SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCIA, Mexico — A strong gust of wind toppled the stage at a campaign rally Wednesday evening in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, killing at least nine people — including a child — and injuring 63, the state’s governor said. The collapse occurred during an...
U.S. intelligence agencies’ embrace of generative AI is at once wary and urgent
ARLINGTON, Virginia — Long before generative AI’s boom, a Silicon Valley firm contracted to collect and analyze non-classified data on illicit Chinese fentanyl trafficking made a compelling case for its embrace by U.S. intelligence agencies. The operation’s results far exceeded human-only analysis, finding twice as many companies and 400% more...
How does this end? With Hamas holding firm and fighting back in Gaza, Israel faces only bad options
JERUSALEM — Diminished but not deterred, Hamas is still putting up a fight after seven brutal months of war with Israel, regrouping in some of the hardest-hit areas in northern Gaza and resuming rocket attacks into nearby Israeli communities. Israel initially made tactical advances against Hamas after a devastating aerial...
Iowa tornado killed 4 people, officials say
GREENFIELD, Iowa — Four people died and at least 35 were hurt in a tornado that devastated a small town in Iowa on Tuesday, officials said. It’s believed that the number of people injured is likely higher, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said Wednesday. The names of those killed...
Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report says
WASHINGTON — A second flag of a type carried by rioters during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was displayed outside a house owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, The New York Times reported Wednesday. An “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown outside Alito’s beach...
Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu, becoming 2nd U.S. case tied to dairy cows
NEW YORK — A Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu — the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows. The patient had mild eye symptoms and has recovered, U.S. and Michigan health officials said in announcing the case Wednesday. The worker had been...
Prosecutor in Trump classified papers case calls claims of hostility toward co-defendant ‘garbage’
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A lawyer for Donald Trump’s personal valet accused federal prosecutors Wednesday of targeting the valet because he refused to cooperate against the former president in the classified documents case. A prosecutor called the claim “garbage.” Walt Nauta was charged alongside Trump last year in a federal...
Hunter Biden’s tax trial set for September as judge agrees to delay, with gun trial still in June
LOS ANGELES — Hunter Biden is scheduled to stand trial on federal tax charges in September after a judge on Wednesday granted his request to delay the California trial that had been approaching next month. U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi agreed to delay the trial until Sept. 5, citing...
Judge signs off on $600 million Ohio train derailment settlement but residents still have questions
A federal judge has signed off on the $600 million class action settlement over last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio, but many people who live near East Palestine are still wondering how much they will end up with out of the deal. Preliminary approval for the settlement...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of 2003 sexual assault in lawsuit
NEW YORK (AP) — A former model accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her at his New York City recording studio in 2003 in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the latest in a series of allegations against the embattled hip-hop mogul. The woman said she was a successful 22-year-old model...
Graceland foreclosure sale halted as Presley estate’s lawsuit moves forward
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A judge on Wednesday said Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland is fraudulent as he halted a foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction. Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued a temporary injunction against the proposed auction...
Use of Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs soars among kids and young adults
At 17, Israel McKenzie was so burdened by obesity that he stopped going to high school in person and was embarrassed to speak to people at his restaurant job. “I was in a really dark place,” says McKenzie, whose weight had climbed to 335 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame, despite...
How is the violent unrest in New Caledonia impacting global nickel prices?
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Global nickel prices have soared since deadly violence erupted in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia last week. The overseas territory, which has been under French rule for over 170 years, is a major global producer of the critical material that is needed to make electric...
Aviation experts to begin probe of Singapore Airlines turbulence incident that left British man dead
BANGKOK — Aviation investigators arrived in Bangkok Wednesday to learn how and why severe turbulence sent a Singapore Airlines plane into a sudden dive that tossed passengers and crew around the cabin, leaving a British man dead and dozens others injured. Twenty people remained in intensive care in hospital after...
