U.S./World category, Page 295
Biden administration says 100,000 new migrants are expected to enroll in ACA’s health care next year
WASHINGTON — Roughly 100,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children are expected to enroll in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance next year under a directive the Biden administration released Friday. The move took longer than promised to finalize and fell short of Democratic President Joe Biden’s...
U.S. loosens some electric vehicle battery rules, potentially making more EVs eligible for tax credits
DETROIT — The U.S. government has loosened some rules governing electric vehicle tax credits a bit, potentially making more EVs eligible for credits of up to $7,500. The Treasury Department announced final regulations for the credits under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act on Friday, giving automakers more time to comply...
People can’t be detained just for trying to avoid police, California Supreme Court says
LOS ANGELES — Police officers cannot detain someone on the street just because that person tries to avoid contact with them, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The decision has immediate implications for police officers working all across the state, restricting the grounds under which they can stop and hold...
China sends a probe to get samples from the less-explored far side of the moon
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China on Friday launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. It is the latest advance in China’s increasingly sophisticated space exploration program,...
Kenya president postpones reopening of schools as flood-related deaths pass 200
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan President William Ruto has postponed next week’s planned reopening of schools until further notice, as heavy rains and floods that have killed more than 200 people continue. The president in his state of the nation address on Friday said that “meteorological reports paint a dire picture,”...
Police move in to clear NYU encampment as U.S. campus arrests grow to 2,200 in pro-Palestinian protests
LOS ANGELES — Police moved in to clear an encampment at New York University on Friday at the request of school officials, the latest development in weeks of pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses nationwide that have resulted in nearly 2,200 arrests with police sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and...
U.K.’s governing Conservatives set for historic losses in local polls as Labour urges general election
LONDON — Britain’s governing Conservative Party suffered heavy losses in local election results Friday, further cementing expectations that the Labour Party will return to power after 14 years in a U.K. general election that will take place in the coming months. Labour won control of councils in England it hasn’t...
French police peacefully remove pro-Palestinian students occupying a university building in Paris
PARIS — French police on Friday peacefully removed dozens of students from a building at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, who had gathered in support of Palestinians, echoing similar encampments and solidarity demonstrations across the United States. Students waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in...
German foreign minister says Russia will face consequences for cyberattack — NATO, EU show support
BRUSSELS — Germany’s top diplomat on Friday said Russia will face consequences after accusing its military intelligence service of masterminding an “absolutely intolerable” cyberattack, as NATO and European Union member countries said they will not let Russia’s “malicious” behavior in cyberspace go unanswered. Relations between Russia and Germany were already...
A bus plunges into a rocky ravine in northern Pakistan, killing 20 people and injuring 30 others
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A bus plunged into a rocky ravine in northern Pakistan on Friday after its driver lost control, killing 20 people and injuring 30 others, officials said. The bus was traveling to Hunza on the Karakoram Highway in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district when the accident occurred, senior police officer...
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. The Sept. 2, 2019, blaze was the deadliest maritime disaster...
Maternal deaths have fallen to pre-pandemic levels, new U.S. data says
NEW YORK — U.S. deaths of moms around the time of childbirth have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, new government data suggests. About 680 women died last year during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, according to provisional CDC data. That’s down from 817 deaths in 2022 and 1,205 in 2021,...
Judge declares mistrial after jury deadlocks in lawsuit filed by former Abu Ghraib prisoners
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after a jury said it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict in the trial of a military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq two decades ago. The mistrial came...
Report: Non-white pedestrians more often end up in the ER for vehicle-related injuries
Pedestrians who are not white ended up in the emergency room for traffic-related injuries at higher rates than white people, according to a new federal report published Thursday. There were more than 137,000 emergency room visits involving a pedestrian injury between January 2021 and December 2023. Asian pedestrians went to...
Maryland officials say rebuilding bridge will cost up to $1.9 billion, take over 4 years
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland plans to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in just over four years at an estimated cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion, a state transportation official said Thursday. As salvage efforts continue, authorities also announced late Wednesday they had recovered the body of a fifth...
Arizona’s Democratic governor signs bill to repeal 1864 ban on most abortionsVideo
PHOENIX — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has relegated a Civil War-era ban on most abortions to the past by signing a repeal bill Thursday. Hobbs says the move is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. But the repeal may not take effect...
Mary J. Blige enlists Taraji P. Henson, Marsai Martin and more for women’s summit in New York
LOS ANGELES — Mary J. Blige is bringing her mission to empower women beyond her music to her hometown — with the help of the singer’s superstar friends. Taraji P. Henson, Tiffany Haddish and Jill Scott and other stars and experts will join Blige for her Strength of a Woman...
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rises for again, reaching highest level in 5+ months
LOS ANGELES — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage climbed this week to its highest level in more than five months, pushing up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers in what’s typically the housing market’s busiest stretch of the year. The rate rose to 7.22% from 7.17% last week, mortgage...
Halle Berry shouts from the Capitol, ‘I’m in menopause’ as she seeks to end a stigma and win funding
WASHINGTON — Halle Berry is joining a group of bipartisan senators to push for legislation that would put $275 million toward research and education around menopause, the significant hormone shift women go through in middle age. The legislation calls for the federal government to spend more on clinical trials on...
Russia is violating UN limits on petroleum shipments to North Korea, the White House says
WASHINGTON — Russia is shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that exceed U.N. Security Council limits, the White House said Thursday, signaling it will impose new sanctions against those involved in facilitating the transfers. The United Nations had set an annual 500,000 barrel global cap on refined petroleum...
Biden says ‘order must prevail’ during campus protests over the war in Gaza
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right to protest but insisted that “order must prevail” as college campuses across the country face unrest over the war in Gaza. “Dissent is essential for democracy,” he said at the White House. “But dissent must never lead to disorder.” Tensions...
Biden expands 2 national monuments in California significant to tribal nations
President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded two national monuments in California following calls from tribal nations, Indigenous community leaders and others for the permanent protection of nearly 120,000 acres of important cultural and environmental land. The designations play a role in federal and state goals to conserve 30% of public...
A fiery crash involving tanker carrying gas closes I-95 in Connecticut in both directions
NORWALK, Conn. — Both sides of Interstate 95, the East Coast’s main north-south highway, were shut down in southwestern Connecticut — causing “horrendous” traffic jams — following an early morning crash Thursday involving a passenger car, a tractor-trailer and a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline. Connecticut Ned Lamont...
‘What do we got to pay for this?’ Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call
NEW YORK — Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president. A visibly irritated Trump...
Police in Fort Worth say 4 children among 6 people wounded in drive-by shooting
FORT WORTH, Texas — Four children are among six people wounded in a drive-by shooting at a Fort Worth, Texas, apartment complex, according to police. The six were shot about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and five were taken to a hospital while one refused treatment, according to Officer Brad Perez of...
