U.S./World category, Page 362
EU struggles to unify around a Gaza cease-fire call but work on peace moves continues
BRUSSELS — As the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to mount, a number of European Union leaders sought on Friday to use growing concern about Israel’s military offensive against Hamas to convince their partners to rally around a united call for a ceasefire. “The killing of innocent civilians really...
U.S., Israel discuss when to scale back Gaza combat, agree fight will take months, envoy says
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The U.S. and Israel have discussed a timetable for scaling back intense combat operations in the war against Hamas, even though they agree the overall fight will take months, an envoy said Friday, amid growing American unease about the mounting death toll in Gaza. U.S. national...
Man, daughter find remains of what could be a ship that ran aground during Peshtigo Fire in 1800s
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Wisconsin archaeologists are crediting a man and daughter with discovering the remains of what could be a ship that ran aground during the deadly Peshtigo Fire more than 150 years ago. Tim Wollak and his 6-year-old daughter, Henley, of Peshtigo, were fishing on Lake Michigan in...
Jurors deciding how much Rudy Giuliani must pay for lies in a Georgia election workers’ case
WASHINGTON — Jurors began deliberating Thursday to decide how much Rudy Giuliani must pay two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about them that led to a barrage of racist threats and upended their lives. The jury left for the day without announcing a decision and were expected to...
Former Michigan GOP spokesperson testifies fake elector defendants were misled
A former communications director for the Michigan GOP testified Thursday that he believes an attorney for then-President Donald Trump’s campaign “took advantage” of some of the 15 Republicans who face forgery and another charges for allegedly serving as false electors. Anthony Zammit testified during the second day of a preliminary...
Students treated after eating gummies from bag with fentanyl residue, sheriff’s office says
AMHERST, Va. — A group of Virginia elementary school students sought medical attention this week after eating gummy bears from a bag that contained residue that tested positive for fentanyl, according to the county sheriff’s office. Seven students at Central Elementary School experienced a reaction after eating the gummy bears...
Against the odds, European Union agrees to open membership negotiations with Ukraine
BRUSSELS — The European Union decided Thursday to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, a momentous moment and stunning reversal for a country at war that had struggled to find the backing for its membership aspirations and long faced obstinate opposition from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. European Council President Charles...
Ohio boy, 13, charged after allegedly planning mass shooting in a synagogue
CANTON, Ohio — A 13-year old boy from Canton, Ohio, has been charged with allegedly planning a mass shooting of a local Jewish synagogue. The teenager, who is unnamed in court documents because he is a minor, is charged with inducing panic and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. He’s accused of...
Men charged with killing 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, to sell on black market
Two men killed about 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, during a “killing spree” on Montana’s Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere, then sold eagle parts on a black market that has been a long-running problem for U.S. wildlife officials, a federal grand jury indictment says. The men worked with...
EPA begins formal review of vinyl chloride, toxic chemical that burned in Ohio train derailment
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has initiated a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic black smoke following a fiery train derailment earlier this year in eastern Ohio. The Environmental Protection Agency said it will review risks posed...
Bull on tracks disrupts trains between Newark and New YorkVideo
NEWARK, N.J. — A loose bull in New Jersey’s largest city found its way onto train tracks, snarling rail traffic for a while Thursday before it was captured, authorities said. The ruddy brown bull with long, dark-tipped horns stood on the tracks at Newark Penn Station, prompting a police response...
Ex-FBI counterintelligence official gets over 4 years in prison for aiding Russian oligarch
NEW YORK — A former top FBI counterintelligence official was ordered Thursday to spend over four years in prison for violating sanctions on Russia by going to work for a Russian oligarch seeking dirt on a wealthy rival after he finished his government career. Charles McGonigal, 55, was sentenced to...
Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans hit gas rather than brakes on spending
NEW YORK — Americans picked up their spending from October to November unexpectedly as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring the power of shoppers despite elevated prices. Retail sales rose 0.3%, in November from October, when sales were down a revised 0.2% according to the Commerce Department on Thursday....
Amazon won’t have to pay hundreds of millions in back taxes after winning EU case
LONDON — Amazon won’t have to pay about 250 million euros ($273 million) in back taxes after European Union judges ruled in favor of the U.S. e-commerce giant Thursday, dealing a defeat to the 27-nation bloc in its efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance. The ruling by the EU’s top...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fall again as labor market continues to thrive
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite high interest rates and elevated costs. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 202,000 for the week ending Dec. 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Analysts were expecting around 224,000....
U.S. Coast Guard and cruise line save 12 passengers after boat sinks near Dominican Republic
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A boat carrying 12 passengers sank north of the Dominican Republic during inclement weather, and all have been rescued, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Six of the passengers who were aboard a raft were rescued Wednesday by a Carnival Cruise Line ship in the...
Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until his goals, still unchanged, are achieved
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there would be no peace in Ukraine until the Kremlin realizes its goals, which remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting that has sent tensions soaring between Moscow and the West. Speaking at a year-end news conference that offered him an...
Putin says Russia is in dialogue with the U.S. on exchanging jailed Americans Gershkovich, Whelan
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Moscow is in dialogue with with the United States on the issue of bringing home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich and the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution,” even though “it’s not easy.” Putin spoke about Whelan and Gershkovich during...
House approves impeachment inquiry into President Biden as Republicans rally behind investigation
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The 221-212 party-line vote put the...
Judge in Trump election case pauses court deadlines as appeal is heard on presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington will be put on hold while the former president further pursues his claims that he is immune from prosecution, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, agreed in a three-page order to pause...
Testimony ends in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, but the verdict isn’t expected until next month
NEW YORK — After 10 weeks, 40 witnesses and bursts of courtroom fireworks, testimony wrapped up Wednesday in former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial. But a verdict is at least a month away. Closing arguments are set for Jan. 11, and Judge Arthur Engoron has said he hopes...
A common abortion pill will come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s how the drug works
Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs used — mifepristone — will now go in front of the U.S. Supreme Court next year. Demand for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol has grown as states have imposed bans or...
Appeals court denies Trump’s ‘presidential immunity’ argument in defamation lawsuit
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump gave up his right to argue that presidential immunity protects him from being held liable for statements he made in 2019 when he denied that he raped advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. A three-judge panel of...
The Supreme Court will rule on limits on a commonly used abortion medication
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year. The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and...
Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena in visit to the Capitol, risking contempt of Congress charge
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting outside the U.S. Capitol that he will only testify in public. In a rare public statement, the Democratic president’s son slammed a...
