Trump says he’s withdrawing the nomination of Elon Musk associate Jared Isaacman to lead NASA
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he is withdrawing the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, an associate of Trump adviser Elon Musk, to lead NASA, saying he reached the decision after a “thorough review” of Isaacman’s “prior associations.” It was unclear what Trump meant and the White House did...
31 Palestinians are killed heading to a Gaza aid site, witnesses say. Israel denies responsibility
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — At least 31 people were killed and over 170 were wounded Sunday as large crowds were on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, health officials and witnesses said. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds just before dawn about 1,100 yards from...
Ukraine destroys 40 aircraft deep inside Russia ahead of peace talks in Istanbul
KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, Ukraine’s Security Service said on Sunday, while Moscow pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones just hours before a new round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. A military official, who spoke with...
Mexico’s 1st judicial elections cause confusion and concern among voters
MEXICO CITY — Mexico held its first-ever judicial elections on Sunday, stirring controversy and sowing confusion among voters still struggling to understand a process set to transform the country’s court system. The election appeared to get off to a slow start. Some voting centers in Mexico City, the Gulf coast...
Serbia’s protesting students rally across the country to mark 7 months since train station tragedy
BELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of people on Sunday vowed to keep on fighting for justice and rule of law in Serbia as they demanded that President Aleksandar Vucic call a snap parliamentary election following months of persistent demonstrations that have challenged his firm grip on power in the Balkan country....
An exit poll in Poland’s presidential runoff shows the race is too close to call
WARSAW, Poland — An exit poll in Poland’s presidential runoff on Sunday shows the two candidates are very close and that the race is still too close to call. The results could set the course for the nation’s political future and its relations with the European Union. An Ipsos exit...
Musk put a spotlight on federal spending, but cut less than he wanted
Elon Musk’s effort to dramatically cut government spending is expected to fall far short of his grand early pronouncements, and perhaps even his most modest goals. It didn’t have to be that way. According to experts across the ideological spectrum, a major problem was a failure to deploy people who...
Ernst draws groans at Iowa town hall after retort on Medicaid cuts, saying ‘we all are going to die’
DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst was met with shouts and groans when she said “we all are going to die” as she addressed potential changes to Medicaid eligibility at a town hall in north-central Iowa on Friday. She had been consistent in her message throughout the contentious...
FDA approves Moderna’s new lower-dose covid-19 vaccine
The U.S. approved a new covid-19 vaccine made by Moderna late Friday but with limits on who can use it — not a replacement for the company’s existing shot, but a second option. The new vaccine, mNexspike, is a step toward next-generation coronavirus vaccines. It’s made in a way that...
Death toll reaches 151 in north-central Nigerian town submerged in floods, with thousands displaced
ABUJA, Nigeria — The death toll from devastating flooding in a market town in Nigeria’s north-central state of Niger rose to at least 151 on Saturday, the local emergency service said, amid efforts to find more victims. Torrents of predawn rainfall early Thursday unleashed the devastating flood on Mokwa, about...
Hungry Palestinians in Gaza block and offload dozens of UN food trucks
TEL AVIV, Israel — Palestinians in the Gaza Strip blocked and offloaded dozens of food trucks, the U.N. World Food Program said Saturday, as desperation mounts following Israel’s monthslong blockade while talks of a ceasefire inch forward. The WFP said 77 trucks carrying aid, mostly flour, were stopped by hungry...
Iran has amassed even more near weapons-grade uranium, UN watchdog says
VIENNA — Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, a confidential report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Saturday. In a separate report, the agency called on Tehran to urgently change course and comply with its years-long probe. The report comes at a sensitive...
Appeals court keeps block on Trump administration’s downsizing of the federal workforce
SAN FRANCISCO — An appeals court on Friday refused to freeze a California-based judge’s order halting the Trump administration from downsizing the federal workforce, which means that the Department of Government Efficiency-led cuts remain on pause for now. A split three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals...
Turmoil, worry swirl over cuts to key federal agencies as hurricane season begins
WASHINGTON — With predictions for a busy hurricane season beginning Sunday, experts in storms and disasters are worried about something potentially as chaotic as the swirling winds: Massive cuts to the federal system that forecasts, tracks and responds to hurricanes. Experts are alarmed over the large-scale staff reductions, travel and...
1 dead and several injured when storm rips through Kentucky community, authorities say
SPRINGFIELD, Ky. — The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia on Friday, hours after a harsh storm hit a remote area of central Kentucky, killing one person and injuring seven. In Kentucky, Washington County Judge-executive Timothy Graves said two or three...
Rocky Bleier names Trump ‘honorary Steeler’ during West Mifflin event
President Donald Trump called an audible early in his speech Friday night in West Mifflin, temporarily shifting focus away from a $14 billion agreement between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel to recognize a trio of Pittsburgh Steelers. Former Steelers legend Rocky Bleier, who was joined on stage by current Steelers...
CMU, Pitt students speak out as Chinese student visas are threatened
Mia Cody fears that the diverse student environment she has grown to love in her two years at Carnegie Mellon University is under threat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the Trump administration will aggressively revoke the visas of some Chinese students studying at colleges and universities throughout...
Statue of Stalin unveiled in Moscow subway as Russia tries to revive the dictator’s legacy
MOSCOW — A monument to Josef Stalin has been unveiled at one of Moscow’s busiest subway stations, the latest attempt by Russian authorities to revive the legacy of the brutal Soviet dictator. The sculpture shows Stalin surrounded by beaming workers and children with flowers. It was installed at the Taganskaya...
Dozens sickened in expanding salmonella outbreak linked to recalled cucumbers
Nearly four dozen people in 18 states have been sickened in an expanding outbreak of salmonella food poisoning tied to recalled cucumbers sent to restaurants, hospitals, cruise ships and grocery stores, including Target stores, federal health officials said Friday. At least 16 people have been hospitalized after eating cucumbers produced...
A Palestinian describes 15 minutes of terror trying to get food in the new Gaza distribution system
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Shehada Hijazi woke at dawn. It was his best chance, he thought, to get his hands on a package of food at a new distribution site run by a U.S.- and Israeli-backed foundation in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of others, equally desperate to feed their...
Supreme Court lets Trump end humanitarian parole for 500,000 people from 4 countries
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants for now, pushing the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million. The justices lifted a lower-court...
Japan’s palace confirms former princess Mako has 1st baby
TOKYO — Former Japanese princess Mako Komuro has given birth to her first child, palace officials confirmed Friday, though they gave no details, saying she is no longer a royal member. The Imperial Household Agency said both the mother and child are in good health, but did not disclose the...
Teen arrested in South Carolina party boat shooting that injured 11
LITTLE RIVER, S.C. — A 19-year-old has been taken into custody in Illinois, and authorities said they plan to charge him in a shooting that hurt 11 people after a party boat cruise in South Carolina. The shooting happened Sunday night on a dock in Little River after a fight...
Driver charged with Liverpool soccer parade tragedy appears in court
LONDON — A driver charged with multiple counts of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm for ramming into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team’s Premier League championship was ordered held in custody Friday at his first court appearance. Paul Doyle, wearing a black suit, white shirt and gray...
U.S. inflation gauge cools with little sign of tariff impact
WASHINGTON — A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices, while American incomes jumped. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in...
