U.S./World category, Page 298
Judge raises threat of jail as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him $9,000 at hush money trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned,...
Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah ‘with or without a deal’ as cease-fire talks with Hamas continue
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, as cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam. Netanyahu’s comments came...
Protesters in custody after Columbia University calls in police to end pro-Palestinian occupation
NEW YORK — Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. Hours earlier, police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that...
Winner of $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
SALEM, Ore. — One of the winners of a historic $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week. Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, of Portland, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery...
Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police sayVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers approached a home to serve a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm, police said. Some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighborhood Monday afternoon...
Philips will pay $1.1 billion to resolve U.S. lawsuits over breathing machines that expel debris
Medical device maker Philips, one of Westmoreland County’s largest employers, said Monday it will pay $1.1 billion to settle hundreds of personal injury lawsuits in the United States over its defective sleep apnea machines, which have been subject to a massive global recall. The Dutch manufacturer did not admit any...
Affluent Americans are driving U.S. economy and likely delaying need for Fed rate cuts
WASHINGTON — Since retiring two years ago, Joan Harris has upped her travel game. Once or twice a year, she visits her two adult children in different states. She’s planning multiple other trips, including to a science fiction convention in Scotland and a Disney cruise soon after that, along with...
French media: Actor Gérard Depardieu is in custody for questioning on sexual assault allegations
PARIS — French media are reporting that actor Gérard Depardieu is in police custody for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien reported that the 75-year-old actor was summoned Monday morning by Paris police and...
Tractor-trailers with no one aboard? The future is near for self-driving trucks on U.S. roadsVideo
On a three-lane test track along the Monongahela River, an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rounded a curve. No one was on board. A quarter-mile ahead, the truck’s sensors spotted a trash can blocking one lane and a tire in another. In less than a second, it signaled, moved into the unobstructed lane...
Israel-Hamas war protesters and police clash on Texas campus, Columbia University begins suspensions
NEW YORK — Protesters and police clashed Monday at the University of Texas in a confrontation that resulted in dozens of arrests, and Columbia University began issuing suspensions as colleges around the U.S. begged pro-Palestinian demonstrators to clear out tent encampments as commencement ceremonies approach. From coast to coast, demonstrators...
Ahead of visit to Israel, Blinken presses Hamas to accept new proposal for Gaza cease-fire
JERUSALEM — The United States stepped up pressure for a cease-fire deal in Gaza on Monday as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators. Israeli airstrikes killed 26 people in Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah,...
Putin likely didn’t order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, U.S. official says
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination. While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions...
Police officer hiring in U.S. increases in 2023 after years of decline, survey shows
PHILADELPHIA — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to a historic exodus of officers, a survey shows. More sworn officers were hired in 2023 than in...
3 Louisiana officers wounded by gunfire in standoff with shooting suspect, police sayVideo
KENNER, La. — Three Louisiana police officers were wounded by gunfire Sunday in a standoff with a man suspected of shooting three other people in the past week, authorities said. The injured officers were taken to a hospital after being shot Sunday morning at a home in Kenner, about 15...
Tornadoes kill 4 in Oklahoma; governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid power outagesVideo
SULPHUR, Okla. — Tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma have flattened buildings across one rural town, killing at least four people, causing widespread power outages and leaving a trail of destruction, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday. Nearly 30,000 people remained without power after tornadoes began late Saturday night. The damage was...
Blinken bound for Saudi Arabia in latest Middle East visit
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for his seventh Middle East trip since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, setting off a war in Gaza that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and threatened to widen into a regional conflict. Fresh...
Texas power prices signal grid stress in another long, hot summer
A surge in Texas power prices for August suggests another summer of heavy electricity demand — and potential grid strain — to meet air conditioning needs. Traders start looking at prices months in advance to gauge the outlook for demand. Already, in mid-April, August power prices for Dallas soared to...
Residents begin going through rubble after Nebraska, Iowa tornadoes
OMAHA, Neb. — Residents began sifting through the rubble Saturday after a tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Neb., demolishing homes and businesses as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slamming an Iowa town. The Friday night tornadoes wreaked havoc in the Midwest, causing a building to...
How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat
SAN FRANCISCO — If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form? Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social...
United Methodists endorse change that could give regions more say on LGBTQ, other issues
United Methodist delegates have overwhelmingly endorsed a constitutional amendment seen by advocates as a way of defusing debates over the role of LGBTQ people in the church by giving rule-making autonomy to each region of the international church. Delegates voted 586-164 on Thursday for the “regionalization” proposal on the third...
U.S. announces new Patriot missiles for Ukraine as part of new $6 billion aid package
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday. The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot air defense systems and are part of a package...
Trump’s lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution’s lead witness in hush money trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s defense team in his hush money case sought Friday to undermine the testimony of the prosecution’s lead witness and his account that a tabloid’s practice of helping to bury embarrassing stories about Trump was part of a scheme to aid the Republican’s 2016 campaign. Returning...
U.S. probes whether Tesla Autopilot recall did enough to make sure drivers pay attention
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating whether last year’s recall of Tesla’s Autopilot driving system did enough to make sure drivers pay attention to the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Friday that Tesla has reported 20 more...
Fed’s preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures stayed elevated last month
WASHINGTON — A measure of inflation closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained uncomfortably high in March, likely reinforcing the Fed’s reluctance to cut interest rates anytime soon and underscoring a burden for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Friday’s report from the government showed that prices rose 0.3% from February...
These apps allow workers to get paid between paychecks. Experts say there are steep costs
NEW YORK — When Anna Branch, 37, had her hours at work reduced in 2019, she suddenly noticed ads for an app called EarnIn. “You know how they get you — the algorithms — like they’re reading your mind,” Branch said. “The ad said I could get up to $100...
