U.S./World category, Page 472
Kentucky governor vetoes sweeping GOP transgender measure
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s Democratic governor issued an election-year veto Friday of a Republican bill aimed at regulating the lives of transgender youths that includes banning access to gender-affirming health care and restricting the bathrooms they can use. The bill also bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in...
Unwelcome spotlight falls on NHL team Pride night events
Pride nights, held annually for several years by National Hockey League teams to show support for the LGBTQ community, are in the spotlight following several high-profile incidents this season. A handful of players have objected to participating in pregame warmups that included Pride-themed jerseys, most recently Florida’s Eric and Marc...
Much of drought-plagued West Coast faces salmon fishing ban
SAN DIEGO — As drought dried up rivers that carry California’s newly hatched Chinook salmon to the ocean, state officials in recent years resorted to loading up the fish by the millions onto trucks and barges to take them to the Pacific. The surreal and desperate scramble boosted the survival...
Gwyneth Paltrow expected to testify in ski collision trial
PARK CITY, Utah — Gwyneth Paltrow is expected to testify Friday in a trial over a 2016 ski collision at a Utah ski resort, where a man claims that the movie star’s recklessness on the slope caused broken ribs, brain damage and lasting physical injuries. Paltrow and Terry Sanderson, the...
Hyundai, Kia recall vehicles due to fire risk
DETROIT — Hyundai and Kia are telling the owners of more than 571,000 SUVs and minivans in the U.S. to park them outdoors because the tow hitch harnesses can catch fire while they are parked or being driven. The affiliated Korean automakers are recalling the vehicles and warning people to...
Hong Kong fire forces 3,400 people to evacuate
HONG KONG — Hong Kong firefighters were battling a blaze Friday at a warehouse that forced 3,400 people to evacuate, including students, police said. Thick smoke was seen pouring out from the building where the fire broke out around 2 p.m. at the warehouse on Fat Tseung Street in Cheung...
North Korea claims ‘radioactive tsunami’ weapon test at sea
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea claimed Friday to have tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone designed to generate a gigantic “radioactive tsunami” that would destroy naval strike groups and ports. Analysts were skeptical that the device presents a major new threat, but the test underlines the North’s commitment to raising...
Radioactive water leaks at Minnesota nuclear plant for 2nd time
MONTICELLO, Minn. — Water containing a radioactive material has leaked for a second time from a nuclear plant near Minneapolis and the plant will be shut down, but there is no danger to the public, the plant’s owner said Thursday. A leak of what was believed to be hundreds of...
U.S. launches airstrikes in Syria after drone kills American worker
BEIRUT — A strike Thursday by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said. American forces said they retaliated soon after with “precision airstrikes” in Syria targeting facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,...
Court blocks covid-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. government workers
NEW ORLEANS — President Joe Biden’s order that federal employees get vaccinated against covid-19 was blocked Thursday by a federal appeals court. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected arguments that Biden, as the nation’s chief executive, has the same authority as the CEO of a...
Skeptical U.S. lawmakers grill TikTok CEO over safety, content
WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers grilled the CEO of TikTok over data security and harmful content Thursday, responding skeptically during a tense committee hearing to his assurances that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned. Shou Zi Chew’s rare public appearance came at a crucial...
Pentagon: Budget readies U.S. for possible China confrontation
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military must be ready for possible confrontation with China, the Pentagon’s leaders said Thursday, pushing Congress to approve the Defense Department’s proposed $842 billion budget, which would modernize the force in Asia and around the world. “This is a strategy-driven budget — and one driven by...
Ukraine president visits front-line areas as new phase nears
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s president on Thursday made his third visit in two days to areas that have felt the brunt of Russia’s war, with a trip to the southern Kherson region that was retaken from the Kremlin’s forces, and as a senior Kyiv commander hinted that a brewing Ukrainian...
Idaho hospital stops baby delivery in part due to politics
A rural hospital in northern Idaho will stop delivering babies or providing other obstetrical care, citing a shifting legal climate in which recently enacted state laws could subject physicians to prosecution for providing abortions, among other reasons. Bonner General Health in Sandpoint will discontinue obstetrical services in mid-May. It also...
Trump slams Manhattan DA Bragg as an ‘animal’ as hush money indictment looms
Former President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that he is “100% INNOCENT” in the Stormy Daniels hush money case and attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as an “animal.” In his latest outburst, Trump accused Bragg of “carrying out the plans of the radical left lunatics” by investigating him for paying...
NYPD officer rappels down building to stop man from jumping
NEW YORK — A police officer rappelled down a Manhattan skyscraper to stop a man — who was facing financial fraud charges — from jumping out of a 31st-floor window. The daring arrest happened after federal agents went to the man’s apartment near Carnegie Hall on Wednesday morning to take...
South Carolina comptroller to resign after $3.5B error
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Embattled South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom will resign next month after a $3.5 billion accounting error in the year-end financial report he oversaw. The state’s top accountant will leave the elected post he has held for 20 years on April 30, according to a copy of...
Police: Driver veered into Baltimore highway work zone, killing 6 workers
WOODLAWN, Md. — New details are emerging about a crash along the Baltimore beltway Wednesday that left six construction workers dead after a driver lost control of her vehicle, which went careening into a work zone, according to Maryland State Police. Lisa Adrienna Lea, 54, was identified as the driver...
Russia’s security chief blasts West, dangles nuclear threats
MOSCOW — A top Russian security official warned Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying that such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany. Dmitry Medvedev,...
What made Beethoven sick? DNA from his hair offers clues
NEW YORK — Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven’s death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him. They weren’t able to crack the case of the German composer’s deafness or severe stomach ailments. But they...
Library association reports record book ban attempts in 2022
NEW YORK — Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association being released Thursday. More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total...
Holy month of Ramadan begins for Muslims across the world
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began at sundown on Wednesday, as the faithful prepared for a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting intended to bring them closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate. For the next 30 days, Muslims...
Trump lawyer ordered to turn over Mar-a-Lago case documents
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in a sealed order Wednesday directed a lawyer for Donald Trump to turn over to prosecutors documents in the investigation into the former president’s retention of classified records at his Florida estate. The ruling is a significant win for the Justice Department, which has...
Bipartisan support emerges for Senate railroad safety bill
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan consensus that Congress should act to toughen regulations on railroads emerged Wednesday as senators heard fresh testimony on the fiery hazardous train derailment last month on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee peppered Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw with questions...
Report: 119K people hurt by riot-control weapons since 2015
SALEM, Ore. — More than 119,000 people have been injured by tear gas and other chemical irritants around the world since 2015 and some 2,000 suffered injuries from “less lethal” impact projectiles, according to a report released Wednesday. Physicians for Human Rights and the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations,...
