U.S. abortion numbers have risen slightly since Roe was overturned, study finds
The number of women getting abortions in the U.S. actually went up in the first three months of 2024 compared with before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a report released Wednesday found, reflecting the lengths that Democratic-controlled states went to expand access. A major reason for the increase...
Software upgrades for Hyundai, Kia help cut theft rates, new HLDI research finds
Anti-theft software upgrades provided for Hyundai and Kia vehicles regularly targeted by thieves has cut theft rates by more than half, according to new research from the Highway Loss Data Institute. Theft rates of the affected automobiles soared after thieves discovered that certain car models lacked engine immobilizers, an anti-theft...
Federal infrastructure funding is fueling a push to remove dams and restore river habitat
BOONE, N.C. — On the whooshing Watauga River, excavators claw at the remains of Shulls Mill Dam, pulling concrete apart piece by piece and gradually opening a waterway kept in check for nearly two centuries. Removal of this privately-owned hydropower dam in western North Carolina will be a boon for...
Part of a hotel on Germany’s Mosel River collapses, killing 2 and trapping others for hours
BERLIN — Part of a hotel in a winemaking town on the Mosel River in western Germany collapsed, leaving two people dead and trapping seven others in the wreckage overnight, authorities said. By Wednesday afternoon, all but one had been rescued. Fourteen people were in the hotel in Kroev when...
Putin accuses Ukraine of a ‘large-scale provocation’ with its raid in southwestern Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described a Ukrainian incursion into the country’s southwestern Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation” as his officials asserted that they were fighting off cross-border raids for a second day. Ukrainian officials remained silent about the scope of the operation. Putin met...
U.S., Australia, Canada, Philippines stage naval and air force maneuvers in disputed South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines — The United States, Australia, Canada and the Philippines held air and naval maneuvers Wednesday in a show of force that they said aimed to promote the rule of law in the disputed South China Sea, where China has increasingly asserted its territorial claims. In an apparent response,...
5 people killed in a helicopter crash in the mountains northwest of Nepal’s capital
KATHMANDU, Nepal — All five people on board a helicopter were killed when it crashed Wednesday in the mountains just northwest of Nepal’s capital, authorities said. The bodies of four men and a woman were pulled from the wreckage, said Krishna Prasad Humagai, the government administrator of Nuwakot district. Police...
Tropical Storm Debby churns up the East Coast, and affects weather as far away as the Great Lakes
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Tropical Storm Debby pushed bad weather up the East Coast on Wednesday, colliding with other systems and bringing no respite to residents as far away as the Great Lakes and New Jersey, where heavy rain flooded highways and streets and stranded motorists. Officials in New York told...
Wesley Bell defeats ‘Squad’ member Cori Bush after pro-Israel group spends $8.5M to oust her
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has defeated U.S. Rep. Cori Bush in a Democratic primary in St. Louis, marking the second time this year that one of the party’s incumbents has been ousted in an expensive contest that reflected deep divisions over the war in...
Michigan will choose between Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate
LANSING, Mich. — Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers has secured the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan and will face Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the November election. Slotkin and Rogers, long considered the front-runners for their respective party nominations, will now shift focus to the general...
Grove City College president to retire
Paul J. McNulty, whose tenure as Grove City College president has seen campus growth on multiple fronts, will retire after the 2024-25 academic year, school officials announced Tuesday. McNulty, a 1980 graduate of the Christian liberal arts and sciences college, returned to his alma mater after a 30-year law career...
JD Vance attacks Democrats for treatment of Shapiro in 1st visit to Pa. as Trump’s running mate
PHILADELPHIA — In his first visit to Pennsylvania since becoming former President Donald Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance argued that Vice President Kamala Harris had bowed to her party’s left wing in choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. “When given the opportunity she will...
Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers rousing speech at Kamala Harris rally after VP snub
PHILADELPHIA — Anticipation grew over the past several weeks that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would join Vice President Kamala Harris onstage in Philadelphia for Tuesday’s announcement of the new Democratic ticket running this fall for the White House. As expected, Shapiro was onstage, but not in the role many envisioned...
Pakistani man with ties to Iran charged in plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil
WASHINGTON — A Pakistani man alleged to have ties to Iran has been charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil, the Justice Department said Tuesday in disclosing what officials say is the latest murder-for-hire plot to target American public figures. Asif Merchant traveled to New...
What polling shows about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate
WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate pick, will need to introduce himself to the vast majority of Americans. But his track record in his home state offers clues on what he might bring to the Democratic ticket. According to AP VoteCast, in 2022, he...
5 things to know about Tim Walz
MINNEAPOLIS — Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in her bid for the White House. The 60-year-old Democrat and military veteran rose to the forefront with a series of plain-spoken television appearances in the days after President Joe Biden decided not...
Energy Department awards $2.2B to strengthen electrical grid and add clean power
The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced $2.2 billion in funding for eight projects across 18 states to strengthen the electrical grid against increasing extreme weather, advance the transition to cleaner electricity and meet a growing demand for power. The money will help build more than 600 miles of new...
Suburban New York county bans wearing of masks to hide identity
MINEOLA, N.Y. — Lawmakers in a suburban New York county have approved a bill to ban masks in public places with exemptions for people who cover their faces for health reasons or religious or cultural purposes. Supporters said the bill approved Monday by the Republican-controlled Nassau County Legislature on Long...
5th inmate dies at Wisconsin prison as former warden set to appear in court on misconduct charge
MADISON, Wis. — A fifth inmate died at a maximum security Wisconsin prison as the former warden who was there when four others died was scheduled to make a court appearance Tuesday after being charged in June with misconduct in public office. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the...
Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast with rain, high water as it drifts along the Atlantic coast
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Tropical Storm Debby drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina, stirred up tornadoes and submerged streets with waist-high floodwaters Tuesday in what is just the beginning of a prolonged storm that could dump staggering totals up to 25 inches of rain. Charleston and Savannah took the...
Bangladesh’s president dissolves parliament, clearing the way for elections to replace ousted leader
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s president dissolved parliament Tuesday, clearing the way for new elections to replace the longtime prime minister who resigned and fled the country following weeks of demonstrations against her rule that descended into violent unrest. President Mohammed Shahabuddin also ordered opposition leader Khaleda Zia released from house...
Supreme Court shuts down Missouri’s long shot push to lift Trump’s gag order in hush-money case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday shut down a long-shot push from Missouri to remove a gag order in former President Donald Trump’s hush-money case and delay his sentencing in New York. The Missouri attorney general went to the high court with the unusual request to sue New York...
Justice Clarence Thomas took undisclosed 2010 trip with GOP megadonor, Democratic senator finds
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to publicly disclose additional travel on GOP megadonor Harlan Crow’s private jet, a top Democratic senator who is backing an election-year push to tighten the high court’s ethics rules said Monday. Thomas and his wife, Virginia, took a round-trip flight between Hawaii...
Rural Nevada sheriff probes potential hate crime after Black man says he was racially harassed
RENO, Nev. — A rural Nevada sheriff is investigating a potential hate crime after a Black man who was collecting signatures for a ballot measure recorded a confrontation with another man he said directed a racial slur at him and said “they have a hanging tree” for people like him....
Trump-backed Georgia Election Board seeks new rules and focuses on Fulton County
ATLANTA — With a right-wing majority embraced by Donald Trump, an increasingly politicized Georgia Election Board plans Tuesday to review allegations about the 2020 vote count and finalize a new rule for certifying elections this fall. Trump praised three of the board’s Republican members by name at his Atlanta rally...
