As work begins on largest U.S. dam removal project, tribes look to future of growth
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The largest dam removal project in United States history is underway along the California-Oregon border — a process that won’t conclude until the end of next year with the help of heavy machinery and explosives. But in some ways, removing the dams is the easy part. The...
July keeps sizzling as Phoenix hits another 110-degree day and wildfires spread in California
PHOENIX — Phoenix sizzled through its 31st consecutive day of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) and other parts of the country grappled Sunday with record temperatures after a week that saw significant portions of the U.S. population subject to extreme heat. The National Weather Service said Phoenix climbed...
Record heat waves illuminate plight of poorest Americans who suffer without air conditioning
DENVER — As Denver neared triple-digit temperatures, Ben Gallegos sat shirtless on his porch swatting flies off his legs and spritzing himself with a misting fan to try to get through the heat. Gallegos, like many in the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, doesn’t have air conditioning. The 68-year-old covers his windows...
Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against CNN over ‘the Big Lie’ dismissed in Florida
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN in which the former U.S. president claimed that references in news articles or by the network’s hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as “the Big Lie” was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Trump...
8 dogs died from extreme heat in the Midwest during unairconditioned drive
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — At least eight dogs died of heat -related injuries after being transported in the back of an uncooled cargo van through northern Indiana Thursday night, authorities said. The dogs that died were among 18 shepherds traveling from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to a training facility in...
In summer heat, bear spotted in Southern California backyard Jacuzzi
BURBANK, Calif. — With the summer heat wave in full swing in Southern California, a backyard pool is a tempting place to take a dip. Even for a bear. Police in the city of Burbank responded to a report of a bear sighting in a residential neighborhood and found the...
Consumer demand for speed and convenience drives labor unrest among workers in Hollywood and at UPS
NEW YORK — Six straight days of 12-hour driving. Single digit paychecks. The complaints come from workers in vastly different industries: UPS delivery drivers and Hollywood actors and writers. But they point to an underlying factor driving a surge of labor unrest: The cost to workers whose jobs have changed...
Joe Biden, America’s oldest sitting president, needs young voters to win again. Will his age matter?
At 24, Alberto Rodriguez has grandparents younger than Joe Biden. But he’s more interested in the 80-year-old president’s accomplishments than his age. “People as young as me, we’re all focusing on our day-to-day lives and he has done things to help us through that,” Rodriguez, a cook at Mandalay Bay...
Facing legal peril, Trump calls on GOP to rally around him as he threatens primary challenges
NEW YORK — At a moment of growing legal peril, Donald Trump ramped up his calls for his GOP rivals to drop out of the 2024 presidential race as he threatened to primary Republican members of Congress who fail to focus on investigating Democratic President Joe Biden and urged them...
U.S. announces $345 million military aid package for Taiwan
WASHINGTON — The United States has announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, in what is the Biden administration’s first major package drawing on America’s own stockpiles to help Taiwan counter China. The White House said Friday the package would include defense, education and training for the Taiwanese. Washington...
Violent crime is rising in the nation’s capital. DC seeks solutions as Congress keeps close watch
WASHINGTON — Pamela Smith’s voice soared and quivered like a preacher in midsermon as she recalled her troubled childhood and how it helped prepare her for the challenges she faces as the new police chief in the nation’s capital. “I stand before you as a child who had no hopes,...
Water is refreshing in the heat, right? In parts of Florida this past week, not so much
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like. Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the...
Two supermoons in August mean double the stargazing fun
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon. Catch the first show Tuesday evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That’s because it will be...
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall. Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government...
Ex-Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon joins push for third-party presidential bid as Democrats try to stop it
NEW YORK — Former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri is joining No Labels ’ increasingly contentious effort to lay the groundwork for a moderate third-party presidential ticket in the 2024 election. He gives the embattled organization another prominent ally amid escalating concerns from Democratic officials that the No Labels...
It’s a miracle, say family of Japanese soldier killed in WWII, as flag he carried returns from U.S.
TOKYO — Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan’s Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried...
‘The Few. The Proud’ aren’t so few: Marines recruiting surges while other services struggle
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. — Not long ago, Marine Col. Jennifer Nash, a combat engineer with war deployments under her belt, made a vow to fellow officers as they headed to a dinner in Atlanta: She would get two new recruiting contacts by the end of the evening. She admits recruiting...
Historically Black fraternity drops Florida for convention because of DeSantis policies
ORLANDO, Fla. — The oldest historically Black collegiate fraternity in the U.S. says it is relocating a planned convention in two years from Florida because of what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration’s “harmful, racist and insensitive” policies towards African Americans. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity said this week that...
Paperwork problems drive surge in people losing Medicaid health coverage
JEFERSON CITY, Mo. — The nation’s top health official implored states to do more to keep lower-income residents enrolled in Medicaid, as the Biden administration released figures Friday confirming that many who had health coverage during the coronavirus pandemic are now losing it. Though a decline in Medicaid coverage was...
Biden openly acknowledges 7th grandchild, the daughter of son Hunter and an Arkansas woman
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild, a four-year-old girl fathered by his son Hunter with an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, in 2018. “Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the...
Hanna’s Town kicks off Civil War reenactment with children’s program
Of all the portrayals and demonstrations Friday at Historic Hanna’s Town, Waylon Bizup was most excited about the weaponry. “I liked the cannon,” 10-year-old Waylon said. “I liked the Gatling gun over there. We got to fire it, like two rounds. It was really cool, and we got to be...
Supreme Court’s student loan decision will lower U.S. deficit according to new White House projection
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruling that upended President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt changed his budget math, modestly lowering the projected deficit for this year, his budget office reported Friday. The White House expects to pare back $259 billion in spending that otherwise would have gone...
Fellow Democrats urge Biden to withhold $320M in military aid to Egypt over rights abuses
WASHINGTON — Nine senior Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders urged the Biden administration Friday to withhold part of the United States’ annual military aid to Egypt for a third consecutive year, calling it important to keep up the pressure on President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on human rights abuses. More...
Sen. McConnell says he plans to serve his full term as leader despite questions about his health
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said he is “fine” since he froze up midsentence during a press conference on Wednesday. And now his office is trying to tamp down speculation that he might not fill out his term as leader because of his health. In a...
Florida aquarium details how manatee died from sexual encounter
The Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium gave details regarding the recent death of a manatee named Hugh in their care. Hugh died at the Sarasota aquarium on April 29 due to injuries from having sex with his brother Buffett, according to NBC News. On Friday, Mote officials reported Hugh and...
