U.S./World category, Page 15
Pope Leo XIV blasts ‘delusion of omnipotence’ fueling the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran
ROME — In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace. Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United...
U.S. and Iran hold historic talks in Pakistan on war’s fragile ceasefire
ISLAMABAD — The United States and Iran began historic face-to-face negotiations Saturday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week. The White House confirmed the direct nature of the talks, a...
Democrats embrace DEI as ‘American values’ at National Action Network
NEW YORK — Ever since President Donald Trump started purging diversity initiatives last year, the letters “DEI” have faded from corporate boardrooms and Democratic stump speeches. But that wasn’t the case for the past few days at the annual National Action Network conference in New York, where Democratic politicians and...
Officials: Stabbings on New York subway leave 3 hurt as officers shoot and kill knife-wielding man
NEW YORK — A man with a machete who attacked three people randomly at a major New York City subway station Saturday morning was shot and killed by police, authorities said. Officers responding to a 9:40 a.m. emergency call of an assault at the 42nd Street-Grand Central station encountered the...
Unsettled and uncertain: What the Iran war means around the world as U.S. and Iran enter talks
The long-term fallout of the war in Iran is only beginning to take shape, but this much is clear: The conflict has left the Middle East unsettled, alliances strained and the world facing uncertain shifts in the balance of economic and military power. Iran’s theocracy is tattered but alive, with...
Buyers fret as the average cost of a new car nears $50K
DETROIT — After a few years of sharing a 2019 Chevrolet Trax, Dana Eble and Tyler Marcus are finally looking for a second car. But as they jump into the market, the young married couple isn’t sure what they can afford. “I just keep seeing a lot of different aspects...
Michigan couple at center of Bahamas disappearance chronicled sailing adventures on social media
Lynette Hooker bounced around the deck of the docked Soul Mate, smiled into the camera and proclaimed: “We’re finally leaving Kemah,” referring to a Texas port town. “It’s only been four months,” she said as her husband, Brian, tugged on some rigging as they got ready to set sail. The...
Melania Trump denied ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The question remains: Why now?
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump’s seemingly out-of-the-blue statement Thursday denying affiliation with disgraced sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein left people still wondering Friday what prompted the public declaration at a time when the case had receded from the spotlight. Reading prepared remarks at the White House on Thursday, Melania Trump...
From ‘BuddhaBot’ to $1.99 chats with AI Jesus, the faith-based tech boom is here
CAMARILLO, Calif. — For some evangelical Christians, faith is about having a personal relationship with Jesus. At $1.99 per minute, the tech company Just Like Me is taking that concept to a new level. Users of the platform can join video calls with an avatar of Jesus generated by artificial...
Artemis II’s record-breaking journey around the moon ends with dramatic splashdownVideo
AP-US-SCI-NASA-Artemis-Moonshot, 19th Ld-Writethru19th Ld-Writethru HOUSTON — Artemis II’s astronauts closed out humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century with a Pacific splashdown on Friday, blazing new records near the moon with grace and joy. It was a dramatic grand finale to a mission that revealed not only...
Billions in research funding survive Trump crackdown, benefiting Pitt, CMU
The Trump administration is accepting legal defeat in its effort to limit critical funding for research institutions, including the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, after its window to petition to the U.S. Supreme Court closed this week. In February 2025, the National Institutes of Health announced a cap...
Trump shares video of a brutal Florida killing allegedly by Haitian immigrant
MIAMI — President Donald Trump shared a video of a deadly attack allegedly by a Haitian immigrant accused of bludgeoning a woman with a hammer at a Florida gas station, portraying the killing as justification for his administration’s mass deportation agenda. Rolbert Joachin, 40, was arrested and charged with killing...
‘I am thinking about it,’ Kamala Harris says of 2028 presidential bid
NEW YORK — After chants of “run again!” filled the room, former Vice President Kamala Harris told African American activists on Friday that she’s actively considering another presidential bid. “I might. I am thinking about it,” Harris told Rev. Al Sharpton after he asked directly whether she was going to...
Trump’s Washington arch plan includes golden-winged figure, eagles, lions and ‘One Nation Under God’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s plans for a new triumphal arch in the capital, unveiled on Friday, include a towering winged figure with a Lady Liberty-like torch and crown, flanked by two eagles and guarded by four lions — all gilded. The 12-page plan released by the U.S. Commission on...
Pope amplifies criticism of Iran war and says ‘God does not bless any conflict’
ROME — Pope Leo XIV amplified his condemnation of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on Friday, saying that “God does not bless any conflict” and certainly doesn’t side with those who drop bombs. Leo spoke during a gathering of top bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, an Eastern...
Stocks drift lower and oil prices ease ahead of planned U.S.-Iran talks
Stocks drifted mostly lower on Wall Street and oil prices slipped Friday ahead of planned U.S.-Iran talks following a shaky ceasefire agreement. The S&P 500 inched 0.1% lower after a day of choppy trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. The major indexes...
Five people charged with murder in deadly Northern California fireworks warehouse explosion
WOODLAND, Calif. — Five people have been charged with murder in a deadly Northern California explosion at a fireworks warehouse that killed seven people, authorities said. Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said Friday the charges stem from a grand jury indictment that found five people, including a former...
A federal judge dismisses another DOJ lawsuit seeking voter data, this time in Massachusetts
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking Massachusetts’ state voter rolls, marking the latest setback in a wide-ranging effort by the Trump administration to collect detailed data on the nation’s voters. The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin marks at...
Trump administration temporarily blocks Minnesota’s historic wage floor for nursing home workers
Unprecedented minimum wages for thousands of nursing home workers in Minnesota are delayed again. Leah Solo, executive director of the state’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board, said at a board meeting Thursday that the Trump administration has reset to day one its 90-day clock to review the wage floor. Under...
FAA investigates close call on LAX taxiway just weeks after LaGuardia runway crash
A Frontier Airlines jet nearly collided with two trucks that crossed in front of it earlier this week at Los Angeles International Airport, but unlike last month’s deadly crash in New York while a plane was landing, this incident happened on a taxiway while the plane was moving slowly. The...
Federal court hears new case against Trump’s latest global tariffs
NEW YORK — The centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s economic policy — sweeping taxes on global imports — is under legal assault again. The U.S. Court of International Trade, a specialized court in New York, heard oral arguments Friday in an attempt to overturn the temporary tariffs Trump turned to...
War in Iran sends inflation soaring and the mood of American consumers plunging
WASHINGTON — The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades caused a sharp spike in inflation last month, creating major challenges for the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening already substantial political hurdles for the White House. Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier,...
Bible stories would be part of a new Texas public schools reading list drawing attention
Biblical stories like Jonah and the whale would be required reading for Texas public schools students under proposals that are putting the state at the center of another contentious wrangling over the role of religion in classrooms. Religious leaders, teachers, parents and students spent hours Tuesday before the state education...
Former Russian deputy defense minister is sentenced to 19 years for corruption
MOSCOW — Former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov was sentenced to 19 years in prison for corruption by a military court in Moscow, Russian state media said Friday. The case against Popov, who was arrested in 2024, relates to business activities at a sprawling park in Moscow sometimes called...
Abusive husband gets 8 years in prison in Scotland for wife’s suicide in landmark case
LONDON — Kimberley Milne jumped to her death in Scotland in July 2023, but prosecutors in a landmark case said Friday that she was driven to do it by her husband’s physical abuse. Lee Milne, 40, was sentenced to eight years in prison following his conviction in Glasgow’s High Court...
