U.S./World category, Page 351
Defense Secretary Austin treated for prostate cancer, urinary tract infection, doctors sayVideo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer, and his recent secretive hospitalization was for surgery and later to treat a urinary tract infection related to that operation, his doctors said Tuesday. The cancer revelation answers the main question about Austin’s hospitalization, which has now lasted eight days. But...
Sprawling storm wallops U.S. with tornado reports, damage and heavy snow, closing roads and schoolsVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — A sprawling storm hit the South with tornado warnings and strong wind that blew roofs off homes, flipped over campers and tossed about furniture in Florida on Tuesday. Another storm brought cities across the Midwest to a standstill with more than half a foot of snow,...
White House orders Cabinet secretaries to notify when they can’t perform duties after Austin illness
WASHINGTON — The White House chief of staff on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members or secretaries to notify his office if they ever can’t perform their duties, as the Biden administration, reeling from learning of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s surprise illness last week, mounts a policy review. Jeff Zients, in a...
Return of bullfighting to Mexico’s capital excites fans, upsets animal rights groups
MEXICO CITY — In the center of a desolate and cold Plaza Mexico stadium, a young matador raises a red cape and leaps to the right as he gets charged — not by a bull, but by a bull’s head on a cart. A bellowing colleague is pushing the wheeled...
Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers deal prompts California controller to ask Congress to cap deferred payments
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Controller Malia M. Cohen wants Congress to change the tax code to cap deferred payments, a change that could ensure the state is owed more money from Shohei Ohtani. Cohen made the request four weeks after the two-way star and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to...
Former gang leader charged in killing of Tupac Shakur is allowed $750K bail and house arrest
LAS VEGAS — A judge set bail Tuesday at $750,000 for a former Los Angeles-area gang leader charged with orchestrating the killing of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur in 1996 and said he can serve house arrest with electronic monitoring ahead of his trial in June. Court-appointed attorneys for Duane “Keffe...
New rule tightens worker classification standards; Uber, Lyft say their drivers won’t be affectedVideo
The Biden administration enacted a new labor rule Tuesday that aims to prevent the misclassification of workers as “independent contractors,” a step that could bolster both legal protections and compensation for millions in the U.S. workforce. Major app-based platforms including Uber, Lyft and DoorDash expressed confidence that the new rule...
Aid group says 6,618 migrants died trying to reach Spain by boat in 2023, more than double 2022
MADRID — More than 6,600 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by boat last year, a Spanish non-profit organization said Tuesday. The figure is more than double the number in the previous year, when the organization, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders), said 2,390 died. The organization said 2023 was the...
Pope Francis calls for a universal ban on surrogacy. He says it exploits mother and child
ROME — Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on what he called the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity. In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy...
Intensified Russian airstrikes are stretching Ukraine’s air defense resources, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s recent escalation of missile and drone attacks is stretching Ukraine’s air defense resources, a Ukrainian air force official said Tuesday, leaving the country vulnerable in the 22-month war unless it can secure further weapons supplies. “Intense Russian air attacks force us to use a corresponding amount...
South Korea’s parliament passes landmark ban on production and sales of dog meat
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s parliament on Tuesday passed a landmark ban on production and sales of dog meat, as public calls for a prohibition have grown sharply over concerns about animal rights and the country’s international image. Some angry dog farmers said they plan to challenge the bill’s...
With Trump present in court, judges express skepticism of claims that he’s immune from prosecution
WASHINGTON — With Donald Trump listening intently in the courtroom, federal appeals court judges in Washington expressed deep skepticism Tuesday that the former president was immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The panel of three judges, two of whom were...
Explosion at historic Texas hotel injures 21 and scatters debris in downtown Fort Worth
FORT WORTH, Texas — An explosion at a historic Texas hotel in Fort Worth on Monday blew out windows, littered downtown streets with large sections of debris from the building and injured 21 people, including one who was in critical condition, authorities said. The blast flung doors and entire sections...
France gets its youngest-ever prime minister, Gabriel Attal, as Macron shakes up government
PARIS — Gabriel Attal was named Tuesday as France’s youngest-ever prime minister, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right. Macron’s office announced the appointment in a statement. Attal, 34, rose to prominence as the government...
Israel’s military says no damage was caused in a strike on an army base in northern Israel
GHANDOURIYEH, Lebanon — Israel’s military said no damage was caused to one of its army bases in northern Israel after Hezbollah said it launched explosive drones Tuesday toward the area, while an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon killed three members of the militant group, officials said. The Israeli military did...
Spain investigates contamination of Atlantic shore by countless plastic pellets spilled from ship
MADRID — Spanish state prosecutors have opened an investigation of countless tiny plastic pellets washing up on the country’s northwest coastline after they were spilled from a transport ship, posing a possible major ecological problem in the area. The state prosecutor’s office made the announcement late on Monday after having...
Filing alleges ‘improper’ relationship between Fulton County DA, top Trump prosecutor
ATLANTA — District Attorney Fani Willis improperly hired an alleged romantic partner to prosecute Donald Trump and financially benefited from their relationship, according to a court motion filed Monday arguing the indictment was unconstitutional. The bombshell public filing alleged that special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a private attorney, paid for lavish...
White House, Pentagon will review Defense Secretary Austin’s lack of disclosure on his hospital stay
WASHINGTON — Both the White House and Pentagon said Monday they would look into why President Joe Biden and other top officials weren’t informed for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized. A Pentagon spokesman pointed to one reason: A key staffer was out sick with the flu....
Explosion at historic Texas hotel injures 21 and scatters debris in downtown Fort WorthVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — An explosion at a historic Texas hotel in Fort Worth on Monday blew out windows, littered downtown streets with large sections of debris from the building and injured 21 people, including one who was in critical condition, authorities said. The blast flung doors and entire sections...
Man caught on camera accosting a Las Vegas judge in court is sentenced in an unrelated attackVideo
LAS VEGAS — The same judge accosted by a defendant in a Las Vegas courtroom last week sentenced her attacker Monday to up to four years in prison in an unrelated case. Deobra Delone Redden leapt over the bench and attacked Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus in...
What to know about the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet that suffered a blowout
NEW YORK — An emergency landing by an Alaska Airlines jetliner has prompted U.S. federal authorities to ground some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, adding another episode to the troubled history of Boeing’s Max lineup of jets. Here is what to know about the Max 9 plane involved, and what...
Jonathan Majors says he was ‘shocked’ when assault case verdict was handed down
In his first interview since his assault and harassment conviction last month, actor Jonathan Majors said he was shocked by the New York jury’s verdict. “I was absolutely shocked and afraid,” Majors said in the interview that aired Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “I’m standing there and the verdict...
U.S. fighter jets to fly over Bosnia in a sign of support to the country as Serbs call for secession
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Two U.S. fighter jets are set to fly over Bosnia on Monday in a demonstration of support for the Balkan country’s integrity in the face of increasingly secessionist policies of the Bosnian Serb pro-Russia leader Milorad Dodik. The U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons will fly as...
Alaska Airlines’ decision not to ground Boeing jet despite warning signs comes under scrutiny
PORTLAND, Ore. — The decision by Alaska Airlines to stop flying one of its planes over the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii due to warnings from a cabin-pressurization system — yet keep flying it over land — is raising questions about whether the jet should have been in the air at...
Palestinians flee from central Gaza’s main hospital as strike kills Hezbollah commander in Lebanon
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Medics, patients and displaced people are fleeing from the main hospital in central Gaza as the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants draws closer, witnesses said Monday. Losing the facility would be another major blow to a health system shattered by three months of...
