U.S./World category, Page 135
Pope Francis lies in state ahead of his funeral, set for Saturday
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis ’ funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, and a viewing of his body will begin Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, days after the popular pontiff died of a stroke at age 88. He is currently lying in state...
Supreme Court signals support for Maryland parents who object to LGBTQ books in public schoolsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday signaled support for the religious rights of parents in Maryland who want to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The court seemed likely to find that the Montgomery County school system, in suburban Washington, could...
Russian drones batter Ukraine’s Odesa as peace talks come to a crux
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones battered the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in a nighttime attack, local authorities said Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a purported Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by Moscow ended and just over a day before Ukrainian, British, French and U.S. officials are due to meet...
Walgreens to pay up to $350 million in U.S. opioid settlement
Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, who accused the pharmacy of illegally filling millions of prescriptions in the past decade for opioids and other controlled substances. The nationwide drugstore chain must pay the government at least $300 million...
Wife of detained Columbia activist says her husband was denied release for his son’s birth
NEW YORK — The wife of detained Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil accused federal immigration officials of purposely denying a request for her husband to attend the birth of their first child in order to make the family suffer. Noor Abdalla said in a statement that she had to...
Delta plane catches fire at Orlando airport, forcing passenger evacuationsVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Delta Air Lines airplane caught fire on Monday before it was supposed to take off at a central Florida airport, forcing the evacuation of passengers, airport officials said. There were no reports of any injuries during the fire on the plane at Orlando International Airport, Delta...
Supreme Court appears likely to uphold Obamacare’s preventive care coverage mandate
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold a key preventive-care provision of the Affordable Care Act in a case heard Monday. Conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, along with the court’s three liberals, appeared skeptical of arguments that Obamacare’s process for deciding which services must be...
Harvard sues Trump administration to stop freeze of more than $2 billion in grants
BOSTON — Harvard University announced Monday that it was suing the Trump administration to halt a freeze on more than $2.2 billion in grants after the institution said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus. In a letter to Harvard earlier this month, the Trump...
Wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez convicted in bribery scheme
NEW YORK — Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was convicted Monday of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey men looking for help with their business dealings or legal troubles. The jury...
Student loans in default to be referred to debt collection, Education Department saysVideo
WASHINGTON — The Education Department will begin collection next month on student loans that are in default, including the garnishing of wages for potentially millions of borrowers, officials said Monday. Currently, roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default on their federal student loans. The Trump administration ’s announcement marks an...
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse stolen at D.C. restaurant, officials say
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse was stolen at a Washington, D.C. restaurant Sunday night, according to department officials. The department in an email said Noem had money in her purse to buy gifts for her children and grandchildren and to pay for Easter dinner and other activities....
Recently retired Cardinal O’Malley — who grew up in Western Pa. — is headed to the Vatican. Could he be the next pope?
BOSTON — Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, who recently retired as Archbishop of Boston, will attend Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican but will not vote for the next pope. O’Malley, who turns 81 in June, lost his coveted voting rights once he turned 80, an aide close to O’Malley tells...
60,000 Americans to lose their rental assistance and risk eviction unless Congress acts
Moments after Daniris Espinal walked into her new apartment in Brooklyn, she prayed. In ensuing nights, she would awaken and touch the walls for reassurance — finding in them a relief that turned to tears over her morning coffee. Those walls were possible through a federal program that pays rent...
U.S. Supreme Court won’t revive a Minnesota ban on gun-carry permits for young adults
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Minnesota asking to revive the state’s ban on gun-carry permits for young adults. The justices also left in place a ban on guns at the University of Michigan, declining to hear an appeal from a man who argued he...
JD Vance was among the last leaders to meet with Pope Francis
WASHINGTON — One of Pope Francis’ final encounters before his death was with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who visited the Vatican over the weekend. The meeting took place on Easter Sunday. Vance, a Catholic convert, entered the room and reached down for the pope’s hand. “Hello,” the vice president...
Gunman who killed 23 in a racist attack at a Walmart in El Paso pleads guilty to capital murderVideo
EL PASO, Texas — The gunman who killed 23 people when he targeted Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in Texas in 2019 pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder and was scolded by a judge over the racist attack in El Paso near the U.S.-Mexico border. Patrick Crusius, a white 26-year-old...
White House voices support for Hegseth as a new Signal chat revelation stirs fresh Pentagon turmoil
WASHINGTON — The White House expressed support Monday for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following media reports that he shared sensitive military details in another Signal messaging chat, this time with his wife and brother. Neither the White House nor Hegseth denied that he had shared such information in a second...
Google faces off with U.S. government in attempt to break up company in search monopoly case
Google is confronting an existential threat as the U.S. government tries to break up the company as punishment for turning its revolutionary search engine into an illegal monopoly. The drama began to unfold Monday in a Washington courtroom as three weeks of hearings kicked off to determine how the company...
Wall Street, dollar tumble as investors retreat further from the United States
NEW YORK — Wall Street weakened Monday as investors worldwide get more skeptical about U.S. investments because of President Donald Trump’s trade war and his criticism of the Federal Reserve, which are shaking the traditional order. The S&P 500 sank 2.4% in another wipeout. That yanked the index that’s at...
Photo gallery: Pope Francis through the years
A look at Pope Francis through the years, a pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. He was 88....
Which cardinals are seen as contenders to be the next pope?
VATICAN CITY — A popular saying in Vatican circles is that if you “enter a conclave as pope, you leave as a cardinal.” It implies the sacred and secretive process is no popularity contest or campaign, but rather the divinely inspired election of Christ’s Vicar on Earth by the princes...
Conservative Poilievre seemed poised to be Canada’s next leader. Then Trump declared economic war
TORONTO — Until a few months ago, Pierre Poilievre was seen as a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade. Then President Donald Trump declared economic war on the U.S.’s neighbor to the north and...
Trump’s tough talk might help Liberal Mark Carney win a full term as Canada’s prime minister
TORONTO — Mark Carney’s political career is only months old, and it’s already been a roller-coaster ride. The former central banker appeared destined to become one of Canada’s shortest-serving prime ministers until President Donald Trump picked a fight with the U.S.’s northern neighbor. Carney, who was sworn in on March...
Drones pose increasing risk to airliners near major U.S. airports
WASHINGTON — A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco’s international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late “to take evasive action,” the pilots reported, and the quadcopter passed by their windshield, not 300 feet away....
Trump administration reverses long-held guidance on ‘road diets’ for traffic safety
A stylist was just starting her shift at a salon in Kansas City, Missouri, when a car smashed through the storefront window and landed in the waiting area a few feet away. Such crashes were so common along 31st Street that business owners regularly texted one another photos showing the...
