Data shows hurricanes and earthquakes grab headlines but inland counties top disaster list
Floyd County keeps flooding and the federal government keeps coming to the rescue. In July 2022, at least 40 people died and 300 homes were damaged in flooding across eastern Kentucky. It was the 13th time in 12 years that Floyd County was declared a federal disaster. These are disasters...
Newsom issues executive order for removal of homeless encampments in California
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies Thursday to start removing homeless encampments on state land in his boldest action yet following a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces. This executive order directs state agencies “to move urgently to address...
A woman is killed and a man is injured when their upstate New York house explodes
LINCOLN, N.Y. — A woman was killed and a man was injured when their upstate New York house exploded, authorities said. The house exploded just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the town of Lincoln in Madison County. Crews from several police and fire departments arrived at the scene and...
NASA says chances are growing that astronauts may switch from Boeing to a SpaceX ride back to EarthVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — What should have been a quick trip to the International Space Station may turn into an eight-month stay for two NASA astronauts if they have to switch from Boeing to SpaceX for a ride home. There’s lingering uncertainty over the safety of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule,...
Uvalde, Texas, school officer pleads not guilty to charges of failing to protect kids during 2022attack
UVALDE, Texas — A former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Thursday. Adrian Gonzales was one of the nearly 400 law enforcement personnel who responded to...
Analysis: Why J.D. Vance might not carry Trump’s MAGA torch into the future
WASHINGTON — It’s too soon to brand Sen. J.D. Vance as the surefire heir to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” throne. At least that was the consensus of some Republican delegates and lawmakers interviewed as they milled about the Fiserv Forum or the vast space outside last week in...
Melania Trump to tell her story in memoir, ‘Melania,’ scheduled for this fall
NEW YORK — Former first lady Melania Trump has a memoir coming out this fall, “Melania,” billed by her office as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.” It’s the first memoir by Trump, who has been...
A year has passed since Niger’s dramatic coup. Life has become more dangerous and desperate
ABUJA, Nigeria — When a group of military officers appeared on state television in Niger one year ago to announce a dramatic coup, they said they deposed the West African nation’s elected government for two key reasons: its security and economic crises. But those challenges have persisted, even worsened. The...
NORAD says it tracked Chinese and Russian long-range bombers off AlaskaVideo
BEIJING — In the first such flights, two Chinese strategic bombers and two Russian long-range bombers were spotted flying together in a patrol near Alaska, prompting a joint U.S. and Canadian command to track and intercept the warplanes. The Chinese H-6 bombers and the Russian Tupolev Tu-95s were flying over...
NATO member Romania says more Russian drone debris from the Ukraine war has landed on its territory
BUCHAREST, Romania — Debris from what is believed to be a Russian drone landed in a rural area of Romania, the country’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, in the latest apparent incident of drone wreckage from the war in neighboring Ukraine falling onto the NATO member’s soil. Since the war started...
House votes to form task force to investigate shooting at Trump rally, recommend legislative fixes
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to form a task force to investigate the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on July 13. The vote underscores the bipartisan outrage over the shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump came within inches of losing...
Senate committee signs off on stock trading ban for legislators
WASHINGTON — Legislation that would prohibit members of Congress and their family members from trading stock in individual companies passed its first committee hurdle Wednesday. In remarks during a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on the bill, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said the proposed stock...
Biden uses Oval Office address to explain his decision to quit 2024 race, begins to shape legacyVideo
Insisting that “the defense of democracy is more important than any title,” President Joe Biden on Wednesday will explain in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and to throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. The address offered the public their first chance...
Democrats poised to virtually nominate Harris — and her running mate — by Aug. 7
WASHINGTON — Democratic National Convention delegates can make Vice President Kamala Harris their presidential nominee — and even start approving her yet-to be-named running mate — in online voting beginning next week, as the party races to coalesce around a new top of its ticket heading into November. The convention’s...
DOJ files Boeing’s plea deal in 737 Max crashes
The Justice Department submitted an agreement with Boeing on Wednesday in which the aerospace giant will plead guilty to a fraud charge for misleading U.S. regulators who approved the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. The detailed plea agreement was filed in federal district...
Kamala Harris targets Trump by raising threat of ‘extreme’ Project 2025
In Kamala Harris’ first public remarks as the leading Democratic presidential candidate, she vowed to defeat two enemies: Donald Trump and “his extreme Project 2025 agenda.” Harris’ comment thrusts Project 2025, the 900-page conservative manifesto led by the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, even more forcefully into the spotlight as Democrats use...
Andrew Tate’s defamation lawsuit against human trafficking accuser can proceed, judge says
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A judge says controversial social media personality Andrew Tate‘s defamation lawsuit against a Florida woman who accused him of imprisoning her in Romania can move forward, but he threw out Tate’s allegations against her parents and some allegations against the woman. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge...
Long covid risk has decreased but remains significant, study finds
LOS ANGELES — The risk of developing long covid — enduring, sometimes punishing symptoms that linger well after a coronavirus infection — has decreased since the start of the pandemic, a new study found, with the drop particularly evident among those who are vaccinated. But the dip does not mean...
Hiker falls to death during storm on Yosemite’s iconic Half Dome
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — A bucket-list climb to the top of Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome turned to tragedy for a young Arizona woman who fell to her death during a descent forced by a sudden storm that pounded the iconic granite monolith this month. Grace Rohloff, 20, an...
Park rangers in Canada search for stragglers in evacuation zone of two big wildfires
GRAND PRAIRIE, Alberta — Park rangers scoured the Canadian Rockies’ largest national park in helicopters Wednesday to look for stragglers still inside despite a mass evacuation aiming to move 25,000 visitors and residents away from two large wildfires. Searchers looking through the backcountry trails of Jasper National Park already had...
In fiery speech, Netanyahu vows ‘total victory’ in Gaza, denounces U.S. protesters
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “total victory” against Hamas and condemned American opponents of the war in Gaza on Wednesday in a scathing speech to Congress boycotted by dozens of Democratic lawmakers and protested by thousands seeking an end to the war and the humanitarian crisis created...
Trump turns his full focus on Harris at 1st rally since Biden’s exit from 2024 race
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of attack lines Wednesday against his likely new opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he called his “new victim to defeat” and accused of deceiving the public about President Joe Biden ‘s ability to run for a second term. The rally in...
Delta CEO, in Paris for the Olympics, says outage-related cancellations should end Thursday
Delta Air Lines canceled significantly fewer flights Wednesday, and the airline’s chief executive said cancellations and delays stemming from a global technology breakdown should end by Thursday. The airline issued a message to customers from Ed Bastian while the CEO was in Paris to attend the Summer Olympics. In the...
Strike at plant that makes truck seats forces production stoppage for Missouri General Motors
Production has halted at a Missouri General Motors plant that manufactures trucks and vans, the result of a strike at the company that supplies seats for the vehicles. About 480 workers at Lear Corp. in Wentzville walked out at midnight Sunday. The strike brought production to a standstill Monday at...
Thousands fill Washington’s streets to protest Israel’s war in Gaza during Netanyahu visitVideo
WASHINGTON — Thousands of people protesting Israel’s war in Gaza marched Wednesday in Washington, chanting “Free, Free Palestine” as they filled blocks of city streets and police used pepper spray on demonstrators while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress. Demonstrators calling for an end to the war that has...
