U.S./World category, Page 297
30 people are injured when a trailer overturns in southwestern Germany
BERLIN — An accident involving a trailer in southwestern Germany on Wednesday left 30 people injured, 10 of them seriously, police and local media reports said. According to the German news agency dpa, the accident happened near the city of Freiburg. Police say it took place in the village of...
United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers. Delegates voted 692-51 at their General Conference — the first such legislative gathering in five years. That overwhelming...
Explainer: What marijuana reclassification means for the U.S.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis, but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use. The proposal would move marijuana from the “Schedule I” group to the less tightly regulated...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene vows to force a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike JohnsonVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Wednesday she would call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson, forcing her colleagues to choose sides in a difficult showdown after Democratic leaders announced they would provide the votes to save the Republican speaker’s job. Speaking outside the...
Workers, activists around the world hold May Day rallies urging greater rights, more pay
ISTANBUL — Workers, activists and others around the world took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over the pressure of rising prices and calls for greater labor rights. Pro-Palestinian sentiments were also on display. Police in Istanbul used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to...
Kremlin parades Western equipment captured from Ukrainian army at Moscow exhibition
MOSCOW — An exhibition of Western military equipment captured from Kyiv forces during the fighting in Ukraine opened Wednesday in the Russian capital. The exhibit organized by the Russian Defense Ministry features more than 30 pieces of Western-made heavy equipment, including a U.S.-made M1 Abrams battle tank and a Bradley...
Ford recalls Maverick pickups in U.S. because tail lights can go dark
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford is recalling nearly 243,000 Maverick small pickup trucks in the U.S. because the tail lights may not illuminate. The company says a computer can falsely detect too much current on one or both of the tail lamps, causing them to stay dark while the trucks are...
Blinken urges Israel and Hamas to move ahead with a cease-fire deal and says ‘the time is now’
JERUSALEM — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders Wednesday in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying “the time is now” for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war in Gaza. Blinken...
Arizona’s Democratic leaders get enough votes to repeal 19th century abortion ban
PHOENIX — Democrats in the Arizona Legislature made a final push Wednesday to repeal the state’s long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions, which a court said can be enforced. Voting wasn’t complete but the Senate had the 16 votes it needed to advance the bill. Fourteen Democrats in the Senate...
Former students of the for-profit Art Institutes are approved for $6 billion in loan cancellation
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will cancel $6 billion in student loans for people who attended the Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges that closed the last of its campuses in 2023 amid accusations of fraud. Saying the chain lured students with “pervasive” lies, the...
Utah cat with a fondness for cardboard takes surprise trip to California in an Amazon box
Galena, a 6-year-old house cat from Utah, likes hiding and playing with cardboard. Earlier this month, the combination of the two made for a stressful trip in an Amazon package, a feverish search, a California rescue and a tearful reunion. Her family is still waiting to “reintroduce cardboard to her...
What’s causing the catastrophic rainfall in Kenya?
NAIROBI, Kenya — The torrential rains and deadly floods that have hit Kenya since March have been some of the most catastrophic in the country in recent years. At least 169 people have died due to the heavy rains, with at least 91 missing, according to the latest government figures....
Haiti’s transitional council names a new prime minister in the hopes of quelling stifling violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s newly installed transitional council chose a little known former sports minister as the Caribbean country’s prime minister Tuesday as part of its monumental task of trying to establish a stable new government amid stifling violence. Fritz Bélizaire was chosen in a surprise move to replace current...
Scammers stole $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, FBI report says
WASHINGTON — Scammers stole more than $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, according to an FBI report released Tuesday that shows a rise in losses through increasingly sophisticated criminal tactics to trick the vulnerable into giving up their life savings. Losses from scams reported by Americans older than 60...
Mammograms should start at 40 to address rising breast cancer rates at younger ages, panel says
Regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer should start younger, at age 40, according to an influential U.S. task force. Women ages 40 to 74 should get screened every other year, the group said. Previously, the task force had said women could choose to start breast cancer screening as young...
A massive Powerball win draws attention to a little-known immigrant culture in the U.S.Video
PORTLAND, Ore. — Cheng “Charlie” Saephan wore a broad smile and a bright blue sash emblazoned with the words “Iu-Mien USA” as he hoisted an oversized check for $1.3 billion above his head. The 46-year-old immigrant’s luck in winning an enormous Powerball jackpot in Oregon earlier this month — a...
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
LONDON — A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said. A 36-year-old man was subdued with a stun gun and arrested on suspicion of murder in a...
4 officers killed in North Carolina were at disadvantage as shots rained from above, police say
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Law enforcement officers with an arrest warrant demanded that a man come out of a house in North Carolina before four were killed by gunfire, the victims unable to survive shots coming from inside the dwelling, a witness and officials said Tuesday. Still reeling from Monday’s attack...
8 U.S. newspapers sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Microsoft for copyright infringement
NEW YORK — A group of eight U.S. newspapers is suing ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the technology companies have been “purloining millions” of copyrighted news articles without permission or payment to train their artificial intelligence chatbots. The New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post and other papers...
A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane
KYIV, Ukraine — A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 6 miles alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety. Lidia Stepanivna Lomikovska and her family decided...
U.S. challenges ‘bogus’ patents on Ozempic and other drugs in effort to spur competition
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are challenging patents on 20 brand name drugs, including the blockbuster weight-loss injection Ozempic, in the latest action by the Biden administration targeting industry practices that drive up pharmaceutical prices. The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sent warning letters to 10 drugmakers, taking issue with patents...
U.S. poised to ease restrictions on marijuana in historic shift, but it’ll remain controlled substance
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White...
Supreme Court leaves in place a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify users’ ages
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify the age of their users. The justices rejected an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. The provision of House Bill 1181, signed...
U.S. and Mexico will boost deportation flights and enforcement to crack down on illegal migration
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are moving swiftly on new steps to crack down on illegal migration that include tougher enforcement on railways, on buses and in airports as well as increased repatriation flights for migrants from both the U.S. and Mexico. The...
EPA bans consumer use of a toxic chemical widely used as a paint stripper but known to cause cancer
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of methylene chloride, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems. The EPA said its action will protect Americans from health...
