U.S./World category, Page 393
Israel is perennially swept up in religious conflict, yet many of its citizens are secular
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Israel is a nation perennially swept up in religious fervor and conflict. And yet, strikingly, a large portion of its population is secular, and even its insular ultra-Orthodox community loses a steady stream of members who tire of its strict religious rules. The country is home...
The Biden administration says it is using executive power to allow border wall construction in TexasVideo
McALLEN, Texas — The Biden administration announced they waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction on Wednesday, marking the administration’s first use of sweeping executive power to pave the way for building more border barriers — a tactic used often during the Trump presidency. The...
September sizzled to records and was so much warmer than average scientists call it ‘mind-blowing’
After a summer of record-smashing heat, warming somehow got even worse in September as Earth set a new mark for how far above normal temperatures were, the European climate agency reported Thursday. Last month’s average temperature was 0.93 degrees Celsius (1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 average for September. That’s...
Powerball jackpot up to $1.4 billion after no one matches all the numbers
PINEVILLE, N.C. — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.4 billion after no players matched all six numbers and hit it rich Wednesday night. The winning numbers announced were: 9, 35, 54, 63, 64 and the Powerball 1. Players will next have a shot at the Powerball jackpot Saturday...
Capitol rioter who attacked Reuters cameraman and police officer gets more than 4 years in prison
A man who attacked a police officer and a Reuters cameraman during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than four years in prison. Shane Jason Woods, 45, was the first person charged with assaulting a member of the news media during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection....
A building collapse in Havana leaves 1 person dead and at least 2 injured
HAVANA — A building in the historic center of Havana that housed 13 families partially collapsed, leaving one person dead and at least two injured, Cuban authorities said Wednesday. Rescue teams were trying to access the building where two people remained trapped after Tuesday night’s collapse. While the reason for...
Suspect charged in rapper Tupac Shakur’s fatal shooting makes 1st court appearance in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — A self-described gangster who police and prosecutors say masterminded the shooting death of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 made his first court appearance Wednesday on a murder charge. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 60, stood shackled, wearing a dark-blue jail uniform and plastic orange slippers. He...
San Francisco will say goodbye to Dianne Feinstein as her body lies in state at City Hall
SAN FRANCISCO — Mourners will pay their respects Wednesday to the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in San Francisco City Hall, where she launched her groundbreaking political career and where she spent a decade as the city’s first female mayor. Feinstein’s body will lie in state in the City Hall...
Thousands of U.S. health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages
LOS ANGELES — Picketing began Wednesday morning at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 health care workers go on strike in Virginia, California and three other states over wages and staffing shortages, marking the latest major labor unrest in the United States. Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s larger...
Former Russian state TV journalist gets 8½-year sentence in absentia for Ukraine war criticism
A Moscow court on Wednesday sentenced a former state TV journalist 8½ years in prison in absentia for protesting Russia’s war in Ukraine, the latest in a crackdown on dissent that has intensified since the invasion began nearly 20 months ago. Marina Ovsyannikova was charged with spreading false information about...
The U.S. is forgiving more federal student loans in a bid to tackle ‘unsustainable debt’ for borrowers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden outlined a new round of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday to address the “unsustainable debt” that borrowers accumulate to complete their college education. The announcement comes as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the covid-19 pandemic and...
Bus plummets 50 feet from elevated road in Venice, killing 21 in fiery crash
VENICE — A bus carrying dozens of people plummeted 50 feet from an elevated road in Venice, causing a fiery crash that killed 21 people and injured at least 15, mostly foreign tourists returning to a nearby campsite. Those who died in the Tuesday night crash included at least four...
Trio wins Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on quantum dots, used in electronics and medical imaging
STOCKHOLM — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work on quantum dots — tiny particles that can release very bright colored light and are used in electronics and medical imaging. Moungi Bawendi, of MIT; Louis Brus, of Columbia University; and Alexei Ekimov, of Nanocrystals Technology...
5 people were wounded in a shooting after a homecoming event at Morgan State University in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — A shooting interrupted a homecoming week celebration at Baltimore’s Morgan State University on Tuesday, wounding five people and prompting an hourslong lockdown of the historically Black college. Students hunkered down for about four hours, as police went room to room looking for suspects. No arrests were made. Police...
Tropical Storm Philippe brings increasing risk of tropical storm conditions for BermudaVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tropical Storm Philippe began shifting away from the far eastern Caribbean islands late Tuesday afternoon, but heavy rain and strong wind are expected to continue through Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Philippe’s maximum sustained winds were holding at 45 mph as of 5 p.m....
New Mexico Attorney General charges police officer in shooting death of Black man
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Tuesday announced a police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man during a confrontation at a gas station. Las Cruces police Officer Brad Lunsford was booked on the single charge and...
Man who killed 2 women he met a day apart in north Florida bars in 1996 put to death
STARKE, Fla. — A man who killed two women after meeting them a day apart in north Florida bars in 1996 was put to death Tuesday evening. Michael Zack III, 54, was pronounced dead minutes after 6:14 p.m. after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke. The execution...
New York judge issues limited gag order after Trump sends disparaging post about court clerkVideo
NEW YORK — A New York judge sternly imposed a limited gag order in Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial Tuesday after the former president disparaged a key court staffer. Amid a long day of testimony, Judge Arthur Engoron issued the order, which applies to all parties in the case...
Plans to accommodate transgender swimmers at a World Cup meet scrapped because of lack of entries
BERLIN — Plans for the first “open category” swimming races to accommodate transgender competitors at a World Cup this weekend have been scrapped because of a lack of entries. World Aquatics said Tuesday it had received “no entries” for the open category events scheduled to take place at a World...
Biden tries to reassure allies of continued U.S. support for Ukraine after Congress drops aid request
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday with U.S. allies and partners to coordinate future support for Ukraine after Congress passed — and he signed — legislation that kept the U.S. government funded but dropped his request for billions of dollars to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The...
Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to 3 federal gun charges filed after plea deal collapsed
WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three federal firearms charges filed after his earlier deal imploded, setting the case on a track toward a possible trial in 2024 while his father is campaigning for reelection. President Joe Biden’s son has been charged with lying about...
Biden says that all 10 drugs targeted for the first Medicare price negotiations will participate
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the manufacturers of all of the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare’s first price negotiations have agreed to participate, clearing the way for talks that could lower their costs in coming years and give him a potential political win heading into...
U.S. Rep. Cuellar of Texas back at work after being carjacked by 3 armed attackers near Capitol
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was back at work on Tuesday after being carjacked the night before by three armed attackers less than a mile from the Capitol. Cuellar said he was “good” and even joked about the frightening experience. He said the robbers “came out of...
After fiery first day, Donald Trump returns to court as his fraud trial gets down to business
NEW YORK — After a fiery first day of opening statements, lawyers in Donald Trump’s business fraud trial in New York will move on Tuesday to the more plodding task of going through years of his financial documents in what’s expected to be a weekslong fight over whether they constitute...
Shooting at major Bangkok shopping mall kills 3; suspect in police custody
BANGKOK — A shooter opened fire inside a major shopping mall in the center of Thailand’s capital Tuesday afternoon, killing three people before being apprehended, authorities said. Police said a suspect was apprehended less than an hour after the first reported gunshots at the Siam Paragon Mall, long been seen...
