U.S./World category, Page 161
A South Carolina man executed by firing squad is 1st U.S. prisoner killed this way in 15 years
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina man convicted of murder was executed by firing squad Friday, the first U.S. prisoner to die by that method in 15 years. Brad Sigmon, 67, was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. after being shot by three volunteer prison employees wielding rifles loaded with live...
Oklahoma schools chief seeks donations to put Bibles in classrooms
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s top education official said he’s teaming with country music singer Lee Greenwood in seeking donations to get $59.99 leather-bound “God Bless the USA” Bibles into classrooms throughout the state after a legislative panel rejected his $3 million request to fund the effort. State Superintendent Ryan Walters...
Panama to allow 112 migrants deported from U.S. to move about freely in country
PANAMA CITY — Panama announced Friday that it will allow 112 migrants deported from the United States who have been held in a remote camp in the Darien region since last month to move about the country freely until they decide on their next course of action. The government cited...
Out of the lab and into the streets, researchers and doctors rally for science against Trump cuts
WASHINGTON — Researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to stand up to what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration. In the nation’s capital, several hundred people gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally. Organizers said similar...
Homeland Security ends TSA collective bargaining agreement, in effort to dismantle union protections
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration, marking a major effort to dismantle union protections under the Trump administration. The TSA union called it on “unprovoked attack”...
What to know about Social Security office closures driven by Musk’s DOGE
Across-the-board cuts at the Social Security Administration are prompting questions about how the benefits of millions of recipients may be affected. Among the potential changes are layoffs for more than 10% of the agency’s workforce and the closure of dozens of offices throughout the U.S. It’s all part of the...
Bragg to Liberty and back again: Ceremony to rechristen Army post once named for a Confederate
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The short-lived existence of Fort Liberty came to an end Friday when the nation’s largest Army installation officially returned to its former name: Fort Bragg. Christened a century ago in honor of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, the post in North Carolina was renamed in 2023 amid...
Measles is popping up in the U.S. Here’s how to avoid one of the world’s most contagious viruses
Measles is not often seen in the United States, but Americans are growing more concerned about the preventable virus as cases continue to rise in rural West Texas. Last week, an unvaccinated child died in the outbreak, which involves nearly 200 cases. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face relatives who celebrate their firing
NEW YORK — Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing. The country’s bitterly tribal politics are spilling into text chains, social media posts and heated conversations as Americans absorb the reality of...
Kennedy and influencers bash seed oils, baffling nutrition scientists
Until recently, most Americans had never heard the term “seed oils,” even though they’ve likely cooked with and consumed them for decades. It’s the catchy description coined by internet influencers, wellness gurus and some politicians to refer to common cooking oils — think canola, soybean and corn oil — that...
Private lunar lander declared dead after landing sideways in crater near moon’s south pole
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private lunar lander is no longer working after landing sideways in a crater near the moon’s south pole and its mission is over, officials said Friday. The news came less than 24 hours after the botched landing attempt by Texas-based Intuitive Machines. Launched last week,...
Nearly 100 people died of cholera in less than a month in Sudan’s White Nile State
CAIRO — Nearly 100 people died of cholera in two weeks since the waterborne disease outbreak began in Sudan’s White Nile State, said Doctors Without Borders. The international medical aid group, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, said Thursday that 2,700 people have contracted the disease since Feb. 20, including...
Trump says he sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader over country’s advancing nuclear program
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a development that was not immediately confirmed by the supreme leader but that focused the spotlight on Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Trump made the comments in an interview aired on Friday...
U.S. employers add a solid 151,000 jobs last month though unemployment up to 4.1%
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added solid 151,000 jobs last month, but the outlook is cloudy as President Donald threatens a trade war, purges the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring was up from a revised 125,000 in January. The unemployment...
1st national analysis finds America’s butterflies disappearing at ‘catastrophic’ rateVideo
WASHINGTON — America’s butterflies are disappearing because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new study finds. The first countrywide systematic analysis of butterfly abundance found that the number of butterflies in the Lower 48 states has been...
New Mexico adult dies with measles, though cause of death isn’t yet confirmed
An adult who was infected with measles has died in New Mexico, state health officials announced Thursday, though the virus has not been confirmed as the cause. The person who died was unvaccinated and did not seek medical care, a state health department spokesperson said in a statement. The person’s...
SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight ends with another explosionVideo
Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart. This time, wreckage from the latest explosion was seen...
Adnan Syed to remain free after judge decides on time served for his murder sentence in ‘Serial’ case
BALTIMORE — Adnan Syed, whose case amassed a worldwide following of “Serial” podcast listeners, will remain free — even though his murder conviction still stands, a Baltimore judge ruled on Thursday. Judge Jennifer Schiffer agreed to reduce Syed’s sentence to time served under a relatively new state law that provides...
CIA lays off some recently hired officers as Trump shakes up intelligence community
WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency will fire an unreleased number of junior officers as President Donald Trump’s efforts to downsize and reshape the federal government reverberate through America’s intelligence community. The agency will review personnel hired within the past two years, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, and those officers...
Yearly cost of Trump’s border missions could exceed $1 billion
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s use of thousands of U.S. troops to aid in immigration enforcement is set to cost the Defense Department from $1 billion to $2 billion this year, Pentagon officials recently told lawmakers. The money will support a bolstered U.S. military force along the U.S.-Mexico border and...
Federal judge reinstates labor board member fired by President Trump
WASHINGTON — A federal judge agreed Thursday to reinstate a board member whom President Donald Trump removed from an independent labor agency. National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox sued Trump after he fired her and the agency’s general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, on Jan. 27. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell...
Private lunar lander may have fallen over while touching down near the moon’s south poleVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A privately owned lunar lander touched down on the moon with a drill, drone and rovers for NASA and other customers Thursday, but quickly ran into trouble and may have fallen over. Intuitive Machines said it was uncertain whether its Athena lander was upright near the...
Trudeau expects trade war between Canada and U.S. for the ‘foreseeable future’
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he welcomed indications that the U.S. would delay substantial tariffs on Canadian products for a month, but said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs would remain in place for now. U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has postponed 25% tariffs on most goods...
Without U.S. intelligence, Ukraine will struggle to strike targets inside Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — The U.S. decision to stop sharing military intelligence with Ukraine hobbles its ability to strike and defend against the Russian army, and increases the pressure on it to accept a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration. Earlier in the week, the U.S. suspended weapons shipments...
Trump changes course and delays some tariffs on Mexico, Canada
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war. The White House insists its tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of fentanyl, but the...
