U.S./World category, Page 149
Top vaccine official resigns from FDA, criticizes RFK Jr. for promoting ‘misinformation and lies’
WASHINGTON — The top vaccine official with the Food and Drug Administration has resigned and criticized the nation’s top health official for allowing “misinformation and lies” to guide his thinking behind the safety of vaccinations. Dr. Peter Marks sent a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner on Friday saying...
Trump increasingly asks the Supreme Court to overrule judges blocking key parts of his agenda
WASHINGTON — As losses mount in lower federal courts, President Donald Trump has returned to a tactic that he employed at the Supreme Court with remarkable success in his first term. Three times in the past week, and six since Trump took office a little more than two months ago,...
Doctor cites the pope’s ‘surprising improvement’ after surviving life-threatening crises
ROME — Pope Francis has shown ”a truly surprising improvement” since returning to the Vatican to convalesce after surviving a life-threatening bout with double-pneumonia, the doctor who coordinated the pontiff’s five-week hospitalization said Saturday. “I find him very lively,” Dr. Sergio Alfieri said, after visiting the pope at his apartment...
Wisconsin judge won’t stop Musk’s $1 million payments to voters. Attorney general appeals
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Saturday declined to stop billionaire Elon Musk from handing over $1 million checks to two voters in the state at a planned rally days before the closely contested Supreme Court election. The state attorney general, who argues that the offer violates the law,...
U.S. Naval Academy ends affirmative action in admissions
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The U.S. Naval Academy will no longer consider race, ethnicity or sex as a factor for admission to the service institution, a response to an executive order by President Donald Trump, according to federal court documents made public Friday. The change in policy was made in February...
Trump administration investigates Maine for claims of withholding gender transitions from parents
PORTLAND, Maine — The administration of President Donald Trump is investigating Maine with a claim that dozens of school districts in the state violate federal law by withholding information about students’ gender transitioning from parents. The U.S. Department of Education said it launched the investigation on Friday, the day after...
Utah becomes first state to ban LGBTQ+ pride flags in government buildings and schools
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah became the first state to prohibit flying LGBTQ+ pride flags at schools and all government buildings after the Republican governor announced he was allowing a ban on unsanctioned flag displays to become law without his signature. Gov. Spencer Cox, who made the announcement late Thursday...
Vance and wife tour U.S. military base in Greenland after diplomatic spat over uninvited visit
NUUK, Greenland — Vice President JD Vance, his wife and other senior U.S. officials visited an American military base in Greenland on Friday in a trip that was scaled back after an uproar among Greenlanders and Danes who were irked that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them. The...
2nd South Carolina death row inmate chooses execution by firing squad
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina death row inmate on Friday chose execution by firing squad, just five weeks after the state carried out its first death by bullets. Mikal Mahdi, who pleaded guilty to murder for killing a police officer in 2004, is scheduled to be executed April 11....
Noted economist honored by Trump warns that 25% tariffs risk ‘irreparable damage’ to U.S. automakers
WASHINGTON — Noted economist Arthur Laffer warns in a new analysis that President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on auto imports could add $4,711 to the cost of a vehicle and says the proposed taxes could weaken the ability of U.S. automakers to compete with their foreign counterparts. In the 21-page...
Fewer Americans now see Canada as a close U.S. ally as Trump strains a longtime partnership
WASHINGTON — Americans are less likely to see Canada and the U.S. as close allies than they were two years ago, the latest indication that President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and talk of taking over a neighboring ally are souring a critical economic and military relationship. The U.S. shift in...
2 law firms targeted by Trump sue over executive orders that sought to punish them
WASHINGTON — Two prominent law firms targeted by the White House sued Friday over virtually identical executive orders, pushing back over edicts meant to punish them over their association with attorneys who have previously investigated President Donald Trump. The federal complaints filed by Jenner & Block and WilmerHale urge judges...
More journalists detained by Turkey in dawn raids after covering anti-government protests
ISTANBUL — Two journalists were detained in dawn raids in Istanbul early Friday as part of a crackdown on media workers covering Turkey’s largest protests in more than a decade, their outlets reported. Elif Bayburt, who works for the Etkin News Agency, and Nisa Suda Demirel, from the Evrensel news...
King Charles III seen in public 1 day after hospitalization for cancer treatment side effects
LONDON — King Charles III smiled and waved to members of the public Friday as he left his home in London, the day after a brief hospitalization for the side effects from his cancer treatment. The king’s appointments for the day were canceled following his “short period of observation in...
Colleges rely on federal research funding. Under Trump, its future is in doubt
After decades of partnership with the U.S. government, colleges are facing new doubts about the future of their federal funding. President Donald Trump’s administration has been using the funding spigot to seek compliance with his agenda, cutting off money to schools including Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. All...
Cargo ship that collided with U.S. tanker in North Sea towed to Scottish port of Aberdeen
LONDON — A badly damaged cargo ship which collided with a U.S. tanker in the North Sea earlier this month arrived in the Scottish port of Aberdeen Friday, following a fire that lasted for nearly a week. Following a tug-assisted journey that lasted a few days, the Portugal-flagged Solong docked...
Israel strikes Beirut for 1st time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israel has launched an attack on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a loud boom and witnessed smoke rising from the area that Israel’s military had vowed to strike....
Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. Trump claimed there has been...
Hegseth tells Philippines the Trump administration will ramp up deterrence against China threat
MANILA, Philippines — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that the Trump administration would work with allies to ramp up deterrence against threats across the world, including China’s aggression in the South China Sea. Hegseth, who was visiting the Philippines, blamed the previous Biden administration for insufficient actions that...
Powerful earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, killing at least 3 in Bangkok high-rise collapse
BANGKOK — A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, bridges and a monastery. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least 10 died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction...
Putin suggests putting Ukraine under U.N.-sponsored external governance, boasts battlefield gains
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to put Ukraine under external governance under the U.N. aegis as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement, a blustery statement that reflected the Kremlin leader’s determination to achieve his war goals. Speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised...
Deadly, drug-resistant fungus CDC calls ‘urgent threat’ is spreading in hospitals
A deadly, drug-resistant fungus that preys on the sick and old is continuing to spread in hospitals and senior care facilities across the country, killing more than 1 in 3 infected. Candida auris, a type of yeast that can cause life-threatening illness, was first identified in the U.S. in 2016...
Another federal judge blocks Trump policy banning transgender troops in the military
TACOMA, Wash. — A U.S. judge in Washington state has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s order banning transgender people from serving in the military, the second nationwide injunction against the policy in as many weeks. The order Thursday from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma came in...
EPA offers industrial polluters a way to avoid rules on mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals
WASHINGTON — As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. The Environmental Protection Agency has set...
Michigan patient dies after contracting rabies from organ transplant
A Michigan resident died earlier this year after contracting rabies from an organ transplant, health officials said. The patient had the organ transplanted at a hospital in Ohio in December and died in January, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said. A subsequent investigation that also...
