U.S./World category, Page 357
Gypsy Rose Blanchard out of prison years after persuading boyfriend to kill her abusive mother
Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the Missouri woman who persuaded an online boyfriend to kill her mother after she had forced her to pretend for years that she was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses, was released Thursday from prison on parole. Blanchard was released early in the day...
Texas has arrested thousands on trespassing charges at the border. Illegal crossings are still high
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Before settling in New York City like thousands of other migrants this year, Abdoul, a 32-year-old from West Africa, took an unexpected detour: Weeks in a remote Texas jail on local trespassing charges after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. “I spent a lot of hours without sleeping,...
North Korea’s Kim vows to bolster war readiness to repel U.S.-led confrontations
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for bolstered war readiness to repel what he said were unprecedented United States-led confrontational moves, state media reported Thursday, as rival South Korea vowed a stern retaliation against any provocations by the North. Kim’s comments during the key political...
Cargo ship picking up Ukrainian grain hits Russian floating mine in Black Sea, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — A civilian cargo ship struck a Russian mine in the Black Sea near Ukraine’s Danube ports Thursday, injuring two sailors, officials and analysts said, in an incident that underscored the dangers faced by those exporting Ukrainian grain during the war. The Panama-flagged vessel struck the floating mine...
Israeli strikes across Gaza kill dozens of Palestinians, even in largely emptied north
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza overnight and into Thursday, killing dozens of people in an air and ground offensive against Hamas that has widened to most of the territory and forced thousands more to flee from homes and shelters. The...
U.S. postal inspectors: Don’t fall for counterfeit stampsVideo
While mailing holiday cards and presents to loved ones, there’s a distinct possibility that you were frantically looking for more stamps at some point last week. In fact, you may have been tempted to buy them in bulk, at a discounted rate, through any number of websites or email links....
Herb Kohl, former senator, owner of Milwaukee Bucks, dies at 88
Herb Kohl, a former Democratic U.S. senator from Wisconsin and former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, has died. He was 88. His death Wednesday was announced by Herb Kohl Philanthropies, which did not give a cause but said he died after a brief illness. “More than anything, Herb...
Las Vegas opens marriage license pop-up in airport for New Year’s Eve
Las Vegas has opened a pop-up marriage license bureau in the airport for couples getting married in Sin City on New Year’s Eve. Open through Dec. 31, the location in Harry Reid International Airport was created for people tying the knot on 12/31/23. “Bringing the pop-up marriage license bureau to...
Head-on crash kills 6, critically injures 3 on Texas highway
CLEBURNE, Texas — A pickup slammed head-on into a minivan on a north Texas highway, killing six people and critically injuring three, Texas authorities said Wednesday. The deadly crash happened Tuesday near Cleburne, about 33 miles south of Fort Worth, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. A preliminary investigation...
Trump ballot ban appealed to U.S. Supreme Court by Colorado Republican Party
DENVER — The Colorado Republican Party on Wednesday appealed the state’s supreme court decision that found former President Donald Trump is ineligible for the presidency, the potential first step to a showdown at the nation’s highest court over the meaning of a 155-year-old constitutional provision that bans from office those...
Trapped in crashed truck, Indiana man rescued after 6 days surviving on rainwater
PORTAGE, Ind. — A 27-year-old man survived for six days on only rainwater while pinned tightly inside his crashed pickup beneath a highway bridge in northwest Indiana, police said. His ordeal ended when two men scouting for fishing spots Tuesday afternoon noticed the badly damaged vehicle, its white airbag deployed,...
2 robots patrol Denver parking garages, curbing thefts, vandalism
LoDoMus Prime and his sidekick, Dave, roam two downtown Denver parking garages every day, watching people park their cars and rush off to appointments in nearby office buildings. If a person lingers too long, LoDoMus Prime or Dave will start a countdown: “Five, four, three, two, one.” Then the robots...
Democratic mayors criticize drop-offs of migrants from Texas, seek help
CHICAGO — The mayors of Chicago, New York City and Denver renewed pleas Wednesday for more federal help and coordination with Texas over the growing number of asylum-seekers arriving in their cities by bus and plane. The mayors’ requests come as U.S. cities have struggled to manage the increasing number...
Pro-Palestinian protesters block airport access roads in New York, Los Angeles
NEW YORK — Pro-Palestinian protesters briefly blocked entrance roads Wednesday to airports in New York and Los Angeles, forcing some travelers to set off on foot to bypass the jammed roadway. As U.S. airlines contended with a rush of holiday travel, the demonstrations snarled traffic on the outskirts of New...
Social media companies made $11 billion in U.S. ad revenue from minors, Harvard study finds
Social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday. The researchers say the findings show a need for government regulation of social media since the companies that...
Trump says he didn’t know his immigration rhetoric echoes Hitler
NEW YORK — Donald Trump has centered his unlikely rise from reality television star to onetime — and potentially future — president on the idea that he’s wiser than Washington’s bumbling political class, once going so far as to label himself a “very stable genius.” But when it comes to...
Argument over Christmas gifts turns deadly as 14-year-old kills his older sister, Florida deputies sayVideo
LARGO, Fla. — A Florida woman holding her 11-month-old son in a baby carrier was fatally shot by her 14-year-old brother while trying to defuse an argument over Christmas gifts he was having with a 15-year-old brother who also was armed, authorities said. The 15-year-old brother then shot his 14-year-old...
Russian presidential hopeful loses appeal against authorities’ refusal to register her for the race
MOSCOW — A Russian politician calling for peace in Ukraine on Wednesday lost her appeal against election officials’ refusal to accept her nomination for the country’s presidential race that President Vladimir Putin is all but certain to win. Former regional legislator Yekaterina Duntsova has promoted her vision of a “humane”...
Heat exhaustion killed Taylor Swift fan attending Rio concert, forensics report says
RIO DE JANEIRO — Heat exhaustion is the cause of death of a Brazilian fan who attended a concert of singer Taylor Swift in November, a forensics report obtained by the Associated Press on Wednesday shows. Ana Clara Benevides, 23, passed out during Swift’s second song in the Nov. 17...
Israel launches heavy strikes across central, southern Gaza after widening its offensive
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel launched heavy strikes across central and southern Gaza overnight and into Wednesday after broadening its offensive against Hamas to more areas where the military had told Palestinians to seek shelter earlier in the war. Residents reported heavy bombing in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in...
After recalls and infections, experts say safer eyedrops will require new FDA powers
WASHINGTON — When you buy eyedrops at a U.S. store, you might assume you’re getting a product made in a clean, well-maintained factory that’s passed muster with health regulators. But repeated recalls involving over-the-counter drops are drawing new attention to just how little U.S. officials know about the conditions at...
Police investigating incidents involving Colorado justices after Trump removed from state’s ballot
DENVER — Police said Tuesday they are investigating incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court justices and providing extra patrols around their homes in Denver following the court’s decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot. The Denver Police Department declined in an email to provide...
Court reverses former Nebraska U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s conviction of lying to federal authorities
LOS ANGELES — An appellate court on Tuesday reversed a 2022 federal conviction against former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, ruling that he should not have been tried in Los Angeles. Fortenberry was convicted in March 2022 on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution...
Teen tourist sisters stabbed in random attack at Grand Central Station
Two teen sisters visiting New York from South America were stabbed in a random attack at Manhattan’s Grand Central Station on Christmas morning, police said Tuesday. The two girls, ages 14 and 16, were eating with their family at Tartinery Cafe in the station’s dining concourse when workers asked Steve...
Ice storms, blizzards pummel central U.S. on the day after ChristmasVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — From an ice storm in North Dakota that sealed windows shut to blizzard conditions in Colorado causing hundreds of airport delays and cancellations, a winter storm pummeled much of the central United States on Tuesday, the day after Christmas. “The heavy snow conditions in the Plains should be...
