U.S./World category, Page 159
U.S. inflation cooled last month, though trade war threatens to lift prices
WASHINGTON — U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a four-year low, even as widespread tariffs threaten to send prices higher. The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor...
Court asked to intervene after email tells USAID workers to destroy classified documents
WASHINGTON — A union for U.S. Agency for International Development contractors asked a federal judge Tuesday to intervene in any destruction of classified documents after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records. Judge Carl Nichols set a Wednesday morning deadline for the plaintiffs and the government...
Education Department plans to lay off 1,300 employees as Trump vows to wind the agency down
WASHINGTON — The Education Department plans to lay off over 1,300 of its more than 4,000 employees as part of a reorganization that’s seen as a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency. Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s ability to continue...
Agency that monitors weather will cut another 1,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is starting another round of job cuts — this one more than 1,000 — at the nation’s weather, ocean and fisheries agency, four people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday began plans to lay off...
NTSB urges ban on some helicopter flights at Washington airport where 67 people died in midair crash
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators looking into the cause of the January collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people recommended a ban on some helicopter flights Tuesday, saying the current setup “poses an intolerable risk.” National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy...
Canada incoming PM says he’ll keep tariffs in place until U.S. shows respect and commits to free trade
TORONTO — Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that his government will keep tariffs in place until Americans show respect and commit to free trade after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened historic financial devastation for Canada. Carney, who will be sworn in as Justin Trudeau’s replacement in the...
4 charged in death of 5-year-old boy ‘incinerated’ in hyperbaric chamber explosion
Four people have been charged in the death of a 5-year-old boy who was “incinerated” inside a pressurized oxygen chamber that exploded at a suburban Detroit medical facility, Michigan’s attorney general said Tuesday. Thomas Cooper from Royal Oak, Michigan, was pronounced dead at the scene on Jan. 31 at the...
EU wants to increase deportations and supports ‘return hubs’ in 3rd countries
BRUSSELS — The European Union wants to increase deportations and is opening the way for “return hubs” to be set up in third countries for rejected asylum-seekers, according to a new migration proposal unveiled Tuesday. Only 20% of people with a return order are effectively removed from EU territory, according...
A man torches Tesla chargers in South Carolina and catches his clothes on fire
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A man burned three Tesla chargers in a South Carolina parking lot and also apparently inadvertently set his clothes on fire, police said. The man spray-painted “long live the Ukraine” and a crude reference to President Donald Trump on the pavement next to the charging stations...
15 injured when school bus overturns on Garden State Parkway in New Jersey
MONTVALE, N.J. — A school bus carrying 31 people overturned on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, sending more than a dozen people to hospitals, officials said. New Jersey State Police said 15 people, including the driver and 14 young people, were treated for injuries from the Monday night...
U.S. job openings rose to 7.7 million in January, a sign the job market remains sturdy
U.S. job openings rose at the start of the year, another sign the job market was solid when President Donald Trump returned to the White House. U.S. employers posted 7.7 million vacancies in January, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, up from 7.5 million. The outlook for the labor market is...
‘Surge’ of violence prompts crackdown in California prison system, officials say
LOS ANGELES — Faced with seven homicides in the first nine weeks of the year, California prison authorities announced they have restricted inmate movement and revoked privileges such as visits and phone calls at high-security facilities across the state. In a statement dated March 8, officials from the California Department...
What to know about the Menendez brothers’ bid for freedom
LOS ANGELES — The district attorney of Los Angeles says he does not support the resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, brothers who have spent more than 30 years in prison for killing their parents at their Beverly Hills home in 1989. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said...
U.S. resumes military aid, intelligence sharing as Ukraine says it is open to a 30-day ceasefireVideo
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia. The administration’s...
Supreme Court seems intent on taking small steps in dealing with challenges to Trump’s agenda
WASHINGTON — In fewer than 500 carefully chosen and somewhat opaque words, the Supreme Court has now weighed in twice on President Donald Trump’s rapid-fire efforts to remake the federal government. The justices did not give Trump’s administration what it sought. The court rejected the Republican administration’s position that it...
Kentucky bourbon makers fear becoming ‘collateral damage’ in Trump’s trade war
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With a new distillery set to open soon, the makers of Brough Brothers bourbon in Kentucky were ready to put their business plan into action. They were looking to ramp up whiskey production to break into lucrative new markets in Canada and Europe. Now the on-again, off-again...
Utah will be the 1st state to ban fluoride in drinking water
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah will become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, despite widespread opposition from dentists and national health organizations. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he would sign legislation that bars cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water...
Elon Musk eyes Social Security, benefit programs for cuts while claiming widespread fraud
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security on Monday while describing federal benefit programs as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending. The billionaire entrepreneur, who is advising President Donald Trump, suggested that $500 billion to $700...
Senate confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Trump’s labor secretary
The Senate voted Monday to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. labor secretary, a Cabinet position that puts her in charge of enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections at a time when the White House is trying to eliminate thousands of government employees. Chavez-DeRemer will oversee the Department of Labor,...
D.C. begins removing ‘Black Lives Matter’ plaza from street near White House
WASHINGTON — Crews have begun work to remove the large yellow “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street one block from the White House. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the change last week in response to pressure from activist Republicans in Congress. The work is expected to take about six...
Cargo ship hits a tanker and they catch fire off England, with 1 crew member missingVideo
LONDON — A cargo ship hit a tanker carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military on Monday off eastern England, setting both vessels ablaze and sending fuel pouring into the North Sea. One crew member was missing hours later, and search efforts continued, the cargo ship’s owner, Ernst Russ, said...
Homeland Security overhauls asylum phone app — now it’s for ‘self-deportation’
The Trump administration has unveiled an overhauled cellphone app once used to let migrants apply for asylum, turning it into a system that allows people living illegally in the U.S. to say they want to leave the country voluntarily. The renamed app, announced Monday and now called CBP Home, is...
Washington Post columnist quits after her opinion piece criticizing owner Jeff Bezos is rejected
A columnist who has worked at The Washington Post for four decades resigned Monday after the newspaper’s management decided not to run her commentary critical of owner Jeff Bezos’ new editorial policy. Ruth Marcus, who has worked at the newspaper since 1984, wrote that “it breaks my heart to conclude...
Trump warns that arrest of Palestinian activist at Columbia will be ‘first of many’
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump warned Monday that the arrest and possible deportation of a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University will be the first “of many to come” as his administration cracks down on campus demonstrations against Israel and the war in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil,...
Elon Musk claims X being targeted in ‘massive cyberattack’ as service goes down
Hours after a series of outages Monday that left X unavailable to thousands of users, Elon Musk claimed that the social media platform was being targeted in a “massive cyberattack.” “We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” Musk claimed in a post. “Either...
