U.S./World category, Page 358
The rapper Ye, who has a long history of making antisemitic comments, issues an apology in Hebrew
The rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has a long history of making antisemitic comments, apologized to the Jewish community in an Instagram post written in Hebrew on Tuesday. “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions,” Ye wrote. “It...
Guesthouse blaze in Romania leaves 6 dead, several others missing
BUCHAREST, Romania — A massive fire at a guesthouse on Tuesday morning in Romania left six people dead, including at least one child, authorities said. Emergency intervention teams were deployed to the blaze in the village of Tohani in Prahova county, where 26 people were staying at the guesthouse, according...
6-year-old boy traveling to visit grandma for Christmas put on wrong Spirit flight
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight for the Christmas holiday to visit his grandmother in southwest Florida instead was put on the wrong plane and ended up 160 miles away in Orlando, Florida. When the grandmother, Maria Ramos, showed up on Thursday at Southwest...
Americans ramped up spending over holidays despite some financial anxiety, higher costs
NEW YORK — Holiday sales rose this year and spending remained resilient during the shopping season even with Americans wrestling with higher prices in some areas and other financial worries, according to the latest measure. Holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.1%, a slower pace...
56 French stars defend actor Gerard Depardieu despite sexual misconduct allegations
PARIS — More than 50 French performers, writers and producers published an essay Tuesday defending film star and national icon Gerard Depardieu amid growing scrutiny of his behavior toward women during his five-decade career. Advocates for sexual abuse victims expressed dismay at the outpouring of support. Depardieu was handed preliminary...
The right to protest is under threat in Britain, undermining a pillar of democracy
LONDON — For holding a sign outside a courthouse reminding jurors of their right to acquit defendants, a retiree faces up to two years in prison. For hanging a banner reading “Just Stop Oil” off a bridge, an engineer got a three-year sentence. Just for walking slowly down the street,...
Russian naval ship in Crimea damaged in airstrike by Ukrainian forces, Russian Defense Ministry says
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian naval ship in Crimea was damaged in an airstrike by Ukrainian forces, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The landing ship Novocherkassk was hit at a base in the city of Feodosia by plane-launched guided missiles, the ministry said, adding that two Ukrainian fighter jets were...
Israeli military says Gaza ground offensive has expanded into urban refugee camps
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding the crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate. Gaza’s main telecom provider announced another “complete interruption” of services in the besieged territory. The military’s announcement of the new...
Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 U.S. troops injured in drone attack in Iraq
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack...
Holiday travel is mostly nice, but with some naughty disruptions again on Southwest Airlines
Conditions were mostly nice this year for travelers flying ahead of and on Christmas, but some naughty disruptions again plagued those flying with Southwest Airlines. For millions of people traveling over the holiday, this year was much better than last. Christmas morning put a bow on a relatively smooth weekend....
Ukraine says it shot down Russian fighter jets and drones as the country officially marks Christmas
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday hailed the shooting down of two Russian fighter jets on Christmas Eve and said “this Christmas sets the right mood for the entire year ahead.” In a Christmas message marking the first time the country has officially observed the holiday on...
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Navalny located in penal colony 3 weeks after contact lost
MOSCOW — Associates of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that he has been located at a prison colony above the Arctic Circle nearly three weeks after contact with him was lost. Navalny, the most prominent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year sentence on...
Pope Francis denounces the weapons industry as he makes a Christmas appeal for peace in the world
ROME — Pope Francis on Monday blasted the weapons industry and its “instruments of death” that fuel wars as he made a Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of...
Netanyahu vows to expand the Gaza operation, says war ‘isn’t close to finished’
CAIRO — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will expand its Gaza ground offensive in the coming days despite international efforts to halt the fighting. Speaking to members of his Likud Party on Monday, Netanyahu said the war “isn’t close to finished.” Netanyahu spoke after returning from a visit to...
1 dead, 3 injured after gunfire erupts at a Colorado mall on Christmas Eve
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A man was fatally shot and three people were hurt as gunfire rang out at a shopping center in Colorado on Christmas Eve, police said Sunday. A fight broke out between two groups of people in the afternoon at the Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs and...
Police in Serbia fire tear gas at election protesters threatening to storm capital’s city hallVideo
BELGRADE, Serbia — Riot police in Serbia fired tear gas to prevent hundreds of opposition supporters from entering the capital’s city council building on Sunday in protest of what election observers said were widespread vote irregularities during a general election last weekend. Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic said it was...
At least 68 killed in central Gaza in airstrike, adding to weekend’s bloodshedVideo
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — At least 68 people were killed by an Israeli strike in central Gaza, health officials said Sunday, while the number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat over the weekend rose to 15. Associated Press journalists at a nearby hospital watched frantic Palestinians carry the dead, including...
With the Supreme Court on sideline for now, Trump’s lawyers press immunity claims before lower court
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was acting within his role as president when he pressed claims about “alleged fraud and irregularity” in the 2020 election, his lawyers told a federal appeals court in arguing that he is immune from prosecution. The attorneys also asserted in a filing late Saturday night that...
A man is killed and a woman injured in a ‘targeted’ afternoon shooting at Florida shopping mallVideo
OCALA, Fla. — Authorities in central Florida issued an arrest warrant Sunday for a 39-year-old man accused of fatally shooting another man at a shopping mall two days before Christmas in which police say the victim was “targeted.” As of Sunday afternoon, the suspect hadn’t been located, and the Ocala...
Inmate dies after he was found unresponsive at highly scrutinized West Virginia jail
BEAVER, W.Va. — An inmate at a West Virginia jail scrutinized in lawsuits citing inmate deaths and alleging poor living conditions was pronounced dead Friday morning, officials said. Correctional officers at Southern Regional Jail found the 24-year-old man unresponsive in his cell and attempted life-saving measures, according to a Division...
Alabama woman with rare double uterus gives birth to two children
DORA, Ala. — An Alabama woman with two uteri and two cervixes has given birth to two babies after carrying one of them in each uterus. Kelsey Hatcher of Dora, about 28 miles northwest of Birmingham, gave birth to two girls Wednesday and Thursday after a combined 20 hours of...
1 killed in shooting at Florida shopping mall
OCALA, Fla. — A man died in a shooting at a shopping mall in central Florida two days before Christmas in which the victim was apparently “targeted” for the attack, police said. Ocala police Chief Mike Balken told reporters Saturday evening the man was killed after he was shot multiple...
SpaceX launch sends up booster flying for record 19th time
ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX sent up another Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral early Saturday with a first-stage booster flying for a record 19th time. The Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 6-32 mission with 23 Starlink satellites launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at 12:33 a.m. This marked a record...
Israel and Hamas measures get a look as most U.S. state legislatures meet for first time since Oct. 7
Most U.S. state legislatures will reconvene in January for the first time since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked a war in Gaza and protests worldwide — and they’re preparing to take action in response, symbolic and concrete. Legislatures in at least eight states that were in session late...
Bidens make traditional pre-Christmas visit to children’s hospital
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden joined his wife, first lady Jill Biden, on Friday for a Christmas season visit to Children’s National Hospital to meet young patients and their families. The first lady read the children “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” as the president waved and flashed smiles at the...
