News category, Page 464
U.S. proposes ending new federal leases in nation’s biggest coal region
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration on Thursday proposed an end to new coal leasing from federal reserves in the most productive coal mining region in the U.S. as officials seek to limit climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from burning the fuel. The Bureau of Land Management proposal would affect millions...
Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some...
Teen who ate spicy tortilla chip died of high chile consumption and had a heart defect, autopsy says
BOSTON — A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, according to autopsy results obtained by The Associated Press. Harris Wolobah, a 10th grader from the city...
Pa. man charged after threatening to behead President Joe Biden
A 37-year-old Luzerne County man was indicted by a federal grand jury after he made death threats toward President Joe Biden and his Cabinet members in April before an campaign event in Scranton, the Department of Justice said. Jordan Gee, of Nanticoke, is accused of posting multiple threatening videos online...
Texas governor pardons ex-Army sergeant convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a full pardon Thursday for a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice. Abbott announced the pardon shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and...
The late Rev. Billy Graham is immortalized in a statue unveiled at the U.S. CapitolVideo
A bronze sculpture of the late Rev. Billy Graham was unveiled Thursday at the U.S. Capitol, with Christianity’s most prolific evangelist once known as “America’s Pastor” immortalized in the halls of Congress on behalf of his native North Carolina. Graham’s likeness, depicting the Charlotte-born minister with his archetypal gesture toward...
Harris accepts debate invite to face off with Trump’s VP pick, which may come at convention
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick this summer, the Biden campaign said Thursday, as the Republican said he might wait until his party’s convention in July to announce his selection. Harris’ team told the...
Michael Cohen pressed on his crimes and lies as defense attacks key Trump hush money trial witness
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers accused the star prosecution witness in his hush money trial of lying to jurors, portraying Trump fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen on Thursday as a serial fabulist who is bent on seeing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee behind bars. As Trump looked on, defense attorney Todd...
Bones found in 1989 in a Wisconsin chimney ID’d as man who last contacted relatives in 1970
MADISON, Wis. — Human bones found inside the chimney of a Wisconsin music store in 1989 have been identified as those of a man whose last known contact with relatives was in 1970, authorities said. The DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit that uses genealogy to identify unknown persons, announced this...
From the Newsroom podcast: A look at Westmoreland’s register of wills battle
In Westmoreland County, commissioner Ted Kopas has called for the resignation or removal by impeachment of the Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton. Earlier this month, two judges found Hamilton in direct criminal contempt on three counts: disobedience or neglect by an officer of the court; official misconduct as an...
Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, spurning a conservative attack
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a conservative-led attack that could have undermined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The justices ruled 7-2 that the way the CFPB is funded does not violate the Constitution, reversing a lower court. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion, splitting with his...
White House blocks release of Biden’s special counsel interview audio, says GOP is being political
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over audio of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur that’s at the center a Republican effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, the Justice Department told lawmakers on Thursday. It comes as the the House Oversight...
U.S. Navy flagship carrier USS Ronald Reagan leaves its Japan home port after nearly 9 years
YOKOSUKA, Japan — A U.S. Navy strike group’s flagship aircraft carrier left its Japanese home port on Thursday, wrapping up nearly nine years of deployment in the Indo-Pacific, where it served a key role in the U.S. effort to bolster defense ties with Japan and other partners in the region....
U.S. military says Gaza Strip pier project is completed, aid to soon flow as Israel-Hamas war rages on
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated delivery process...
China and Russia reaffirm ties as Moscow presses offensive in Ukraine
BEIJING — Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for his effort to resolve the Ukraine conflict at a Beijing summit Thursday, where the two leaders reaffirmed a “no-limits” partnership that has grown deeper as both countries face deepening tensions with the west. Putin’s two-day state visit to...
Slovak politicians call for cooling political divisions after shooting of prime minister
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia — Slovak politicians have called for calm in the Central European country after Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times by a would-be assassin on Wednesday, a rare instance of political violence that prompted soul-searching among leaders in the deeply divided society. Fico was in serious...
The Mirage casino, which ushered in an era of Las Vegas Strip megaresorts in the ’90s, is closingVideo
LAS VEGAS — The iconic Mirage hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip will shut its doors this summer, the end of an era for a property credited with helping transform Sin City into an ultra-luxury resort destination. The July 17 closure will clear the way for major renovations and construction...
Hearing delayed for Utah author of children’s book on grief who is charged in husband’s death
PARK CITY, Utah — A Utah judge on Wednesday postponed a hearing to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed to trial in the case of a woman charged with fatally poisoning her husband before she published a children’s book about coping with grief. Judge Richard Mrazik delayed the...
Supreme Court orders Louisiana to use congressional map with additional Black district in 2024 vote
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections in 2024 using a House map with a second mostly Black district, despite a lower-court ruling that called the map an illegal racial gerrymander. The order allows the use of a map that has majority Black populations...
Boat operator who fatally struck a 15-year-old girl in Florida has been identified, officials sayVideo
MIAMI — Investigators have identified the man who was operating the boat that fatally struck a 15-year-old girl off a South Florida beach and then left the area, but no criminal charges have been filed, according to a report released Wednesday. The 78-year-old man owns the Coral Gables home where...
Social media reacts to upcoming Biden-Trump presidential debate
It’s official — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to take the debate stage together, and their first matchup is coming soon. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the two presidential candidates agreed to hold two campaign debates in June and September, and the first will...
Netanyahu fends off criticism at home and abroad over his lack of a postwar plan for Gaza
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday fended off criticism that he is not planning for a postwar reality in the Gaza Strip, saying it was impossible to prepare for any scenario in the embattled Palestinian enclave until Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure from critics...
Barge hits bridge connecting Galveston and Pelican Island, causing partial collapse and oil spillVideo
GALVESTON, Texas — A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries, although officials said one...
Biden administration planning more changes to quicken asylum processing for new migrants
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing more changes to the nation’s asylum system meant to speed up processing and potential removal of migrants who continue to arrive at the southern border, an interim step as President Joe Biden continues to mull a broader executive order to crack down on...
Deadly overdoses fell in the U.S. for the 1st time in 5 years, new estimates show
Deaths from drug overdoses fell last year in the United States as fewer people lost their lives to fentanyl and other opioids, marking the first time the death toll had dropped in five years, according to newly released estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal officials said...
