What’s behind the surge in migrant arrivals to Italy?
BARCELONA, Spain — Thousands of migrants and refugees have landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa this week after crossing the Mediterranean Sea on small unseaworthy boats from Tunisia, overwhelming local authorities and aid organizations. Scenes of chaos at an overcrowded reception center in Lampedusa have provoked both solidarity and...
1 American, 2 Russians blast off in Russian capsule to International Space Station
MOSCOW — One American and two Russians blasted off Friday aboard a Russian spacecraft from a spaceport in Kazakhstan on a quick trip to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. O’Hara will spend six...
Donald Trump isn’t backing a national abortion ban. That’s not hurting him in the GOP primary
DES MOINES, Iowa — Donald Trump is dominating the early stages of the Republican presidential primary even as he’s refused to endorse a federal ban on abortion, allowing some top rivals to get to the right of him on an issue that animates many conservative activists. Aiming to return to...
Like his dad, retiring Mitt Romney embraced moderate conservatism. He fears the GOP has lost its way
Mitt Romney’s announcement this week that he will not seek another term in the U.S. Senate came with a distant echo of his father’s departure from politics five decades ago. Mitt and his father, George Romney, at one time were top Republican contenders for the presidency, but fell short of...
West Virginia University will make wide-ranging cuts to academic programs and faculty
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia University will make wide-ranging cuts to academic programs and faculty positions as it addresses a $45 million budget shortfall, with the board’s vote Friday culminating an impassioned back-and-forth between the campus community, students and officials. The state’s largest university will drop 28 of its majors,...
Texas AG Ken Paxton returns for closing arguments as his impeachment trial races toward a verdict
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers leading the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton made a final appeal Friday to a jury of senators to convict and remove the embattled Republican over accusations of corruption that have shadowed him for years. “If we don’t keep public officials from abusing the powers...
6 ‘Soldiers of Christ’ members in custody after woman’s body is found in car trunk
DULUTH, Ga. — Five adults and a 15-year-old self-described as “Soldiers of Christ” religious group members were in custody Thursday on murder charges after a woman’s body was found in the trunk of a car parked outside a popular spa in Atlanta’s suburbs. Investigators said that someone reported the discovery...
Remains exhumed from a Tulsa cemetery as the search for 1921 Race Massacre victims has resumed
OKLAHOMA CITY — Archaeologists have exhumed the remains of one person and plan to exhume a second set as the search for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre resumes in a Tulsa cemetery. The remains are among 22 sets found during the current search in Oaklawn Cemetery, but are...
Free prescription discount cards from GoodRx — What’s the catch?
Americans spend more than $420 billion per year at pharmacies for prescription drugs, according to a 2022 report from the Department of Health and Human Services. Prescription discount cards help people save money on prescription drugs by offering savings at participating pharmacies. One popular company, GoodRx, offers discounts of up...
Belgium’s controversial classroom program spurs series of school arsons
BRUSSELS — A series of school arsons in Belgium believed to be connected to a controversial school program in some parts of the country is prompting authorities to strengthen their police response. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden on Friday called for a halt to the attacks in the French-speaking Wallonia region...
As lawmakers eye regulation, AI could reshape Congress itself
In the same week that tech industry leaders and senators came to a consensus that government should regulate artificial intelligence, a group of lawmakers, staff and advocates leaned into the potential powers of AI to change the legislative branch and how it works. Rather than something to be feared, AI...
Climate protesters around the world are calling for end to fossils fuels as Earth heats up
Tens of thousands of climate activists around the world are protesting Friday and through the weekend to call for an end to the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels as the globe suffers dramatic weather extremes and record-breaking heat. The strike — driven by several mostly youth-led, local and global climate...
Thousands sign up to experience magic mushrooms as Oregon’s novel psilocybin experiment takes off
EUGENE, Ore. — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on magic mushrooms. For roughly six hours, adults over 21 can experience what many users describe as vivid geometric shapes, a loss of identity and a oneness with...
Former North Carolina U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth dies at 95
RALEIGH, N.C. — Former U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina, a onetime conservative Democrat who switched late in his career to the Republicans and then got elected to Congress, died Thursday. He was 95. Faircloth, who served one Senate term before losing to then-unknown Democrat John Edwards in 1998,...
Ukrainian forces reclaim village in the east as part of counteroffensive
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s forces have recaptured a village in the country’s east after intense battles with Russian troops, the military said Friday as the invaded nation pursues a multi-pronged counteroffensive. The village of Andriivka is located about 6 miles south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, the scene of...
TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe’s strict data privacy rules
LONDON — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies...
Libya evacuates flooded city as searchers look for 10,000 missing after death toll passes 11,000
DERNA, Libya — Libyan authorities evacuated residents from an inundated city Friday and limited access to it, as searchers dug through mud and hollowed-out buildings for 10,000 people missing and feared dead in flooding that has already killed more than 11,000. Authorities warned that disease and explosives shifted by the...
Artwork seized from Carnegie Museum was believed to have been stolen during Holocaust
NEW YORK — A work of art believed to have been stolen during the Holocaust from a Jewish art collector and entertainer was seized Wednesday from the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood by New York law enforcement authorities. “Portrait of a Man,” a pencil-on-paper drawing valued at...
After days of heavy rain and flash flooding in New England, Hurricane Lee is up nextVideo
PORTLAND, Maine — Days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a tornado in New England could be a prelude to something more dangerous lurking offshore — Hurricane Lee. As the Category 1 system swirled southwest of Bermuda, Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday declared a state...
Angry and frustrated, Kevin McCarthy challenges right-flank colleagues to try to oust him from his postVideo
WASHINGTON — Angry, frustrated and unable to lead a fractured and unruly Republican majority, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday told the colleagues threatening to oust him: Do it. The embattled Republican leader essentially dared his hard-right flank to quit holding the risk of a vote to remove him from...
Republican David McCormick plans to run for U.S. Senate again in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Republican David McCormick is expected to announce his second bid for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, according to people familiar with his plans, taking on Democratic Sen. Bob Casey after narrowly losing an expensive and bruising GOP primary last year to a Donald Trump-endorsed rival. McCormick, 58, has strong...
Hunter Biden indicted on federal firearms charges in long-running probe weeks after plea deal failedVideo
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on federal firearms charges, the latest step in a long-running investigation into the president’s son that puts the case on track toward a possible high-stakes trial as the 2024 election looms. Biden is accused of lying about his drug use when he bought...
Alex Jones spent over $93,000 in July. Sandy Hook families who sued him have yet to see a dime
HARTFORD, Conn. — As Alex Jones continues telling his Infowars audience about his money problems and pleads for them to buy his products, his own documents show life is not all that bad — his net worth is around $14 million and his personal spending topped $93,000 in July alone,...
Feds spread $1 billion for tree plantings among U.S. cities to reduce extreme heat and benefit health
DES MOINES, Iowa — Hundreds of communities around the country will share more than $1 billion in federal money to help them plant and maintain trees under a federal program that is intended to reduce extreme heat, benefit health and improve access to nature. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom...
Death toll soars to 11,300 in flooding in Libya’s coastal city of Derna, Libyan Red Crescent says
DERNA, Libya — The Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday that the death toll from floods in Libya’s eastern Libyan city of Derna has soared to 11,300, as search efforts continue, Marie el-Drese, Secratery General of aid group, told the Associated Press by phone that a further 10,100 are reported missing...
