U.S./World category, Page 197
Bodies found after gas explosion causes coal mine to collapse in southwest Pakistan
QUETTA, Pakistan — At least three miners have died after a methane gas explosion caused a coal mine to collapse in a remote area of southwest Pakistan, officials said Friday, as authorities launched an operation to rescue nine other missing workers. Abdul Ghani, a mines inspector, said the blast happened...
Judge will weigh holding Giuliani in contempt of court after jury’s $148 million defamation award
WASHINGTON — A federal judge is set to hear arguments Friday on whether to hold Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for continuing to spread lies about two Georgia election workers after they secured a $148 million defamation judgment against him. Plaintiffs’ attorneys have asked U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell...
Trump gets no-penalty sentence in his hush money case, while calling it ‘despicable’
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday to no punishment at all in his hush money case, an outcome that cements his historic conviction while letting him return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine. With Trump appearing by video...
LA area’s 2 biggest blazes burn at least 10,000 structures, while new fire leads to more evacuations
LOS ANGELES — The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have killed at least 10 people and burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures, officials said as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew. The Kenneth Fire started...
Appeals court denies bid to block public release of special counsel’s report on Trump Jan. 6 probe
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday denied a bid to block the public release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down a emergency challenge from Trump and his co-defendants...
American orange juice, steel will be on Canada’s list for retaliation if Trump imposes tariffs
TORONTO — Canada is looking at putting retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets and some steel products if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products, a senior official familiar with the matter said Thursday. The official said the wide-ranging...
IRS service improving, report to Congress says. But it’s still dogged by ‘delays, frustration’
As tax filing season begins, the Internal Revenue Service will struggle to provide “the quality service that taxpayers and tax professionals need, leading to delays, frustration, and unnecessary costs,” a report from the National Taxpayer Advocate reported. Erin Collins, the taxpayer advocate, has warned of service problems in the past,...
‘Unbelievable’: Pittsburghers with Los Angeles ties shocked by wildfire devastation
Natalie Kurlander can’t turn away from TV updates of the wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area. “It’s just so devastating,” said Kurlander, 57, who lived in the city for more than 25 years. She now lives in Pittsburgh’s Murdoch Farms with her husband, Carl, who is director of the...
The Los Angeles landmarks from film and TV damaged by wildfires
The high school where Brian De Palma brought Stephen King’s “Carrie” to life, Will Rogers’ ranch house and a motel owned by William Randolph Hearst are among some of the famous structures that have been damaged or destroyed by the California wildfires. Los Angeles is a town full of landmarks,...
What to know about thousands of evacuations and homes burned in Los Angeles area fires
LOS ANGELES — At least five people were killed and thousands of structures were burned as fierce wildfires raged in the Los Angeles area, officials said. Fast-moving flames blazed through homes and businesses as residents fled smoke-filled canyons and picturesque neighborhoods that are home to many celebrities. Many of the...
Michelle Obama absent from state funeral for President Jimmy Carter
Former first lady Michelle Obama did not attend the state funeral Thursday for former President Jimmy Carter. Except for Michelle Obama, all of the living former presidents and their spouses were at the funeral, including Barack Obama, sitting in the front pews of Washington National Cathedral behind only President Joe...
Striking ski patrollers at the biggest U.S. resort return to work claiming victory
Two hundred Utah ski patrollers returned to work Thursday after voting to accept a new labor contract and end a nearly two-week strike that closed many trails and caused long lift lines at the ones that remained open during a busy time of year at the country’s biggest ski resort....
Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to delay sentencing in his New York hush money case
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to delay his sentencing in his hush money case in New York. The court’s 5-4 order clears the way for Judge Juan M. Merchan to impose a sentence Friday on Trump, who was convicted in what prosecutors...
A powerful winter storm’s heavy snow and sleet cancels flights and closes schools across the South
DALLAS — A powerful winter storm brought heavy snow and icy conditions to parts of the South on Thursday, forcing officials to close schools, cancel flights and warn residents in some of the worst-hit areas to stay off roads as it lumbered eastward through Oklahoma and Texas. Arkansas Gov. Sarah...
Trump, the ‘America First’ candidate, has a new preoccupation: Imperialism
NEW YORK — Donald Trump ran on a return to his “America First” foreign policy platform. The U.S., he said, could no longer afford to be the world’s policeman. On his watch, he pledged, there would be no new wars. But since winning a second term, the president-elect has been...
New LA-area fire prompts more evacuations while over 10,000 structures lost to the 2 biggest blazes
LOS ANGELES — The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew. The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late...
TikTok’s fate arrives at Supreme Court in collision of free speech and national security
WASHINGTON — In one of the most important cases of the social media age, free speech and national security collide at the Supreme Court on Friday in arguments over the fate of TikTok, a wildly popular digital platform that roughly half the people in the United States use for entertainment...
Photos capture how wildfires are ravaging Southern California 3 days after igniting
BC-California Wildfires-Photo Gallery, 15th Ld-Writethru15th Ld-Writethru Major wildfires around Los Angeles raged on Thursday as firefighters struggled to put out blazes three days after they began with strong winds ripped through the mountains and foothills. Ongoing flames All around Los Angeles, scenes of flames were everywhere, as many areas continued...
More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict. The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children...
Jimmy Carter lauded for his humility and service in Washington before his return to Georgia
WASHINGTON — Jimmy Carter was celebrated Thursday for his personal humility and public service before, during and after his presidency during a funeral at Washington National Cathedral featuring the kind of pageantry the 39th U.S. president typically eschewed. All of Carter’s living successors were in attendance, with President Joe Biden,...
U.S. will keep protecting more than 2,000 Rocky Mountain grizzly bears
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration said Wednesday it will continue protecting about 2,000 grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains despite opposition from Republican-led states. Federal officials also said they would ease some restrictions as conflicts between bears and humans rise. Ranchers operating outside of designated grizzly recovery zones would...
Scientists drill nearly 2 miles down to pull 1.2 million-year-old ice core from Antarctic
An international team of scientists announced Thursday they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2 miles to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice they say is at least 1.2 million years old. Analysis of the ancient ice is expected to show how Earth’s atmosphere and climate...
Ex-FBI informant who fabricated bribery story about Biden and his son Hunter gets 6 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A former FBI informant who fabricated a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes that became central to Republicans’ impeachment effort was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison. Alexander Smirnov pleaded guilty last month in Los Angeles federal court to tax evasion and...
Another 14-year-old arrested with a gun at Georgia’s Apalachee High School after deadly shooting
WINDER, Ga. — A 14-year-old student has been arrested after bringing a gun on Wednesday to Apalachee High School, the same Georgia high school where a shooting in September killed two teachers and two students and wounded others. The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said school resource officers arrested the boy...
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he spoke with Trump about clerk before hush-money filingVideo
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito spoke with President-elect Donald Trump about a former law clerk the day before Trump went to the high court in a push to delay the sentencing in his New York hush-money case, the justice said Wednesday. Alito said he took the call Tuesday...
