U.S./World category, Page 426
Indiana Supreme Court upholds abortion ban, says state constitution gives only limited protections
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state’s abortion ban doesn’t violate the state constitution, removing a major hurdle to enforcing the ban Republicans approved last summer. The court’s decision overturns a county judge’s ruling that the ban likely violates the state constitution’s privacy protections, which she...
Student loan payments start again soon. Supreme Court’s ruling means higher bills for many
WASHINGTON — In a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about $200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn’t factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost $300 a month. The pause in repayment has been...
5.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Indonesia’s main island, damaging several buildings
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — A strong earthquake shook parts of Indonesia’s main island of Java on Friday, damaging several buildings and prompting panic. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.8 quake was centered 84 kilometers (52 miles) southwest of Bambanglipuro, a village in...
French president urges parents to keep teens at home, faults social media as rioting spreads
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron urged parents Friday to keep teenagers at home and proposed restrictions on social media to quell rioting spreading across France over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver that has resulted so far in the arrests of 875 people. After a second crisis...
Supreme Court rejects plan to wipe out $400B in student loans; Biden vows ‘fight is not over’
WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Biden administration overstepped its authority in trying to cancel or reduce student loans for millions of Americans. The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the Biden administration overstepped its authority with the plan, and it leaves...
Supreme Court rules for designer who doesn’t want to make wedding websites for gay couples
WASHINGTON — In a defeat for gay rights, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled on Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples. One of the court’s liberal justices wrote in a dissent that the decision’s effect is to...
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy meets Greta Thunberg and others to address the war’s effect on ecology
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Thursday with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and prominent European figures who are forming a working group to address ecological damage from the 16-month-old Russian invasion. The meeting in the Ukrainian capital came as fighting continued around the country. The governor of...
Affirmative action is out in higher education so what’s next for college admissions?
Colleges across the country will be forced to stop considering race in admissions under Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling, ending affirmative action policies that date back decades. Schools that have relied on race-conscious admissions policies to build diversity will have to rethink how they admit students. It’s expected to result in...
Judge rejects Donald Trump’s request to toss out defamation claims by columnist
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s claims that absolute presidential immunity and free speech rights shield him from the defamation claims of a New York columnist were rejected Thursday by a federal judge. The writer, E. Jean Carroll, can continue to press claims that Trump owes her at least...
Trump ‘standing order’ to declassify documents not found by DOJ, Intelligence agency
A “standing order” that former President Donald Trump has claimed authorized him to instantly declassify documents removed from the Oval Office could not be found by either the Justice Department or Office of Director of National Intelligence. The disclosure by the agencies was made in response to a Freedom of...
New York City school food chief convicted in bribery case tied to tainted chicken tenders
NEW YORK — A man who oversaw food service for New York City schools was convicted Wednesday in a bribery case that picked apart how chicken tenders riddled with bone and bits of metal were served for months in the nation’s biggest public school system. Former city Department of Education...
Biden’s Iran envoy placed on unpaid leave pending a review of his handling of classified documents
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s special envoy for Iran has been placed on unpaid leave and had his security clearance suspended pending a review of allegations he may have mishandled classified information, U.S. officials said Thursday. Rob Malley has led administration efforts to revive the faltering Iran nuclear deal and...
Report: Chinese spy balloon was made with off-the-shelf American parts
The large Chinese spy balloon that floated over half the U.S. before being shot down by a fighters jet in February was reportedly made in part with off-the-shelf U.S. equipment. It’s unclear if materials used to make the balloon were acquired legally, according to ABC News, which is a cause...
Man wanted on Jan. 6 charges arrested in former President Obama’s Washington neighborhood
WASHINGTON — A man armed with explosive materials and weapons, and wanted for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested Thursday in the Washington neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives, law enforcement officials said. Taylor Taranto, 37, was spotted by law enforcement...
Michigan officer performs CPR and saves the life of 2-year-old girl whose mother had stabbed her, chief says
ALBION, Mich. — Quick action, including CPR by a Michigan police officer, saved the life of a 2-year-old girl whose mother had stabbed her and tried to drown her, a public safety chief said. Albion police Lt. Aaron Phipps broke through the door of a bathroom Saturday, pulled the girl...
Ex-GOP Ohio House speaker sentenced to 20 years for role in $60M bribery scheme; appeal expectedVideo
CINCINNATI — Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for his role in the largest corruption scandal in state history. The 64-year-old Republican appeared before U.S. District Judge Timothy Black, who meted out the punishment, about an hour after he and his...
Deputy acquitted of all charges for failing to act during deadly Parkland school shootingVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida sheriff’s deputy was acquitted Thursday of felony child neglect and other charges for failing to act during the 2018 Parkland school massacre, concluding the first trial in U.S. history of a law enforcement officer for conduct during an on-campus shooting. Former Broward County Deputy...
Expect a hot, smoky American summer — and here’s why you’d better get used to it
The only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly, forecasters say. And then the smoke will likely come back to the Midwest...
Hiroshima peace park, Pearl Harbor memorial park forge sister park deal to promote peace
TOKYO — Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor, two symbols of World War II animosity between Japan and the United States, are now promoting peace and friendship through a sister park arrangement. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui signed a sister park agreement on Thursday for Hiroshima’s...
Supreme Court solidifies protections for workers who ask for religious accommodations
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday used the case of a Christian mailman who didn’t want to work Sundays to solidify protections for workers who ask for religious accommodations. In a unanimous decision the justices made clear that workers who ask for accommodations, such as taking the Sabbath off,...
Supreme Court outlaws consideration of race as a factor in college admissions
WASHINGTON— A divided Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor and forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies. The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions...
Applications for U.S. jobless benefits retreat after 3 weeks of elevated claims
Applications for unemployment benefits fell significantly last week after claims appeared to stabilize at modestly elevated levels in recent weeks. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 26,000 to 239,000 for the week ending June 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists were expecting the elevated claims numbers to continue...
3 people stabbed in Canada university building, police say a person is detained
TORONTO — Three people were stabbed on Wednesday in a university classroom in the Canadian city of Waterloo and a person has been taken into custody, police said. The extent of the injuries in the attack in the University of Waterloo’s Hagey Hall was not immediately known. The victims were...
Scientists have finally ‘heard’ the chorus of gravitational waves that ripple through the universe
NEW YORK — Scientists have observed for the first time the faint ripples caused by the motion of black holes that are gently stretching and squeezing everything in the universe. They reported Wednesday that they were able to “hear” what are called low-frequency gravitational waves — changes in the fabric...
A jury found Trump responsible for sexual abuse. Now he’s suing his accuser for saying she was raped
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump is trying to turn the tables on the advice columnist who won a $5 million jury award against him in a sexual abuse lawsuit, saying in a countersuit that she owes him money and a retraction for continuing to insist she was raped...
