U.S./World category, Page 722
General promises U.S. ‘surge’ against foreign cyberattacks
The general who leads U.S. efforts to thwart foreign-based cyberattacks, and punish those responsible, says he’s mounting a “surge” to fight incursions that have debilitated government agencies and companies responsible for critical infrastructure. In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Gen. Paul Nakasone broadly described “an intense focus” by...
Foreign minister says Taliban government won’t allow militant attacks on others
KABUL, Afghanistan — The foreign minister in Afghanistan’s new Taliban-run Cabinet on Tuesday said the government remains committed to its promises not to allow militants to use its territory to attack others. The first press conference by Amir Khan Muttaqi since the Taliban formed an interim government a week ago...
Census: Relief payments staved off hardship in covid crash
WASHINGTON — The share of Americans living in poverty rose slightly as the covid-19 pandemic shook the economy last year, but massive relief payments pumped out by Congress eased hardship for many, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. The official poverty measure showed an increase of 1 percentage point in 2020,...
Putin to self-isolate, virus cases in inner circle
MOSCOW — The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is going into self-isolation because of coronavirus cases among his inner circle. The announcement came Tuesday in the Kremlin’s readout of Putin’s phone call with Tajikistan’s president. Putin has been fully vaccinated with the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V. He received...
Secretary of State Blinken defends Afghanistan withdrawal at congressional hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — Facing often-hostile questioning by some Republican lawmakers Monday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken vigorously defended his department’s handling of the massive, if incomplete, evacuation from Afghanistan of U.S. citizens, green card holders and other at-risk Afghans. The top U.S. diplomat testified in the administration’s first public congressional...
Child tax credit payments go out this week. Here’s what to know.
Eligible families are set to receive a third round of monthly child tax credit direct payments this week. The temporarily enhanced tax credits — included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed into law by President Biden in March — provide eligible parents with up to $3,600 per child...
Nicholas gets stronger, threatens to hit Texas as hurricaneVideo
HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Nicholas gathered strength Monday and threatened to blow ashore in Texas as a hurricane that could bring up to 20 inches of rain to parts of the Gulf Coast, including the same area hit by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and storm-battered Louisiana. Although the system was...
Police arrest California man carrying machete, bayonet in truck near DNC headquarters
WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police on Monday arrested an Oceanside, California, man outside the Washington headquarters of the Democratic National Committee on suspicion of possession of prohibited weapons. Around midnight, an officer on patrol noticed a black Dodge Dakota pickup truck with a swastika and other white supremacist symbols outside...
Oldest U.S. veteran of WWII celebrates his 112th birthday
A Louisiana man who is the oldest living World War II veteran in the United States has marked his 112th birthday. Lawrence Brooks celebrated Sunday with a drive-by party at his New Orleans home hosted by the National World War II Museum, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. He also...
Covid vaccine for ages 5-11 could be ready for fall, early winter: reports
The former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a Pfizer board member said Sunday that a covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 could be ready as soon as Halloween. Appearing on CBS News “Face the Nation,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, said that Pfizer expects to have...
Sept. 11 monument is defaced by vandals in South Carolina
GREENVILLE, S.C. — A large granite monument honoring 9-11 victims was defaced by vandals who spray-painted “Taliban” on it in two places, authorities in South Carolina said. The granite statue is made of two towers, each weighing 4,000 pounds with a light beam outside a Greenville County business, WYFF-TV reported....
School starts for 1 million NYC kids amid new vaccine rules
NEW YORK — About a million New York City public school students went back to school Monday in the nation’s largest experiment of in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic. The start of the school year coincides with several milestones in the city’s pandemic recovery that hinge on vaccine mandates. Nearly...
Indonesia arrests key leader in al-Qaida linked group
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s elite counterterrorism squad has arrested a convicted militant and suspected leader of an al-Qaida-linked group that has been blamed for a string of past bombings in the country, Indonesia police said Monday. Abu Rusdan was seized late Friday in Bekasi near the capital of Jakarta, along...
5 dead, including multiple children in Akron, Ohio, house fire
AKRON, Ohio — Five people, including three children, died in an early morning fire Monday in northern Ohio, which left four others injured, authorities said. Two adults and three children were killed, the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Four people were taken to hospitals, the fire department said. Their...
Out West, Biden points to wildfires to push for big rebuild
MATHER, Calif. — President Joe Biden on Monday used his first Western swing in office to hold out the wildfires burning across the region as an argument for his $3.5 trillion rebuilding plans, calling year-round fires and other extreme weather a climate change reality the nation can no longer ignore....
Tropical Storm Nicholas threatens Gulf Coast with heavy rainVideo
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Nicholas headed toward the Texas coast Sunday night, threatening to bring heavy rain and floods to coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and storm-battered Louisiana. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said a hurricane watch was issued for the central portion of the Texas coast...
North Korea says it tested long-range cruise missiles
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Monday that it successfully tested newly developed long-range cruise missiles over the weekend, the first known testing activity in months, underscoring how the country continues to expand its military capabilities amid a stalemate in nuclear negotiations with the United States. The state-run Korean...
California voters: Less Republican and white than in 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It’s a familiar refrain among California’s recall watchers: 2021 is not 2003. Yes, the state again is in the middle of a recall election that could remove the Democratic governor from office. But today’s California electorate looks far different than it did 18 years ago: It’s less...
Internet funding rule could favor rural areas over cities
Cities and urban counties across the U.S. are raising concerns that a recent rule from President Joe Biden’s administration could preclude them from tapping into $350 billion of coronavirus relief aid to expand high-speed internet connections. Biden has set a goal of delivering fast, affordable internet to every American household....
FBI releases newly declassified record on Sept. 11 attacks
WASHINGTON — A declassified FBI document related to logistical support given to two of the Saudi hijackers in the run-up to the Sept. 11 attacks details contacts the men had with Saudi associates in the United States but does not provide proof that senior kingdom officials were complicit in the...
Ex-President Bush slams U.S. violent extremists as ‘children of the same foul spirit’ as 9/11 terrorists
Former President George W. Bush used the occasion of a 9/11 speech to take a thinly-veiled slam at the Jan. 6 insurrectionists and other U.S. political extremists. “We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within,”...
Unity a theme as 3 presidents commemorate 9/11 in New York
Three American presidents stood somberly side by side Saturday at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, sharing a moment of silence to mark the anniversary of the nation’s worst terrorist attack with a display of unity. Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton gathered at the site...
Pope: Aim to counter fundamentalist violence with schooling
Unchecked poverty and ignorance help fundamentalist violence to take hold easily, Pope Francis said as he urged fellow religious leaders and others to counter the phenomenon by promoting schooling. Francis made the call in a message to a four-day meeting that began on Saturday evening in Bologna, Italy, with the...
‘Don’t focus on hate’: World marks 20th anniversary of 9/11
The world solemnly marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday, grieving lost lives and shattered American unity in commemorations that unfolded just weeks after the bloody end of the Afghanistan war that was launched in response to the terror attacks. Victims’ relatives and four U.S. presidents paid respects at...
U.S. gives 1st public look inside base housing Afghans
The Biden administration on Friday provided the first public look inside a U.S. military base where Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan are being screened, amid questions about how the government is caring for the refugees and vetting them. “Every Afghan who is here with us has endured a harrowing journey...
