U.S./World category, Page 2
Iran’s supreme leader vows to protect nuclear and missile capabilities
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader defiantly vowed Thursday to protect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile capabilities, which U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to curtail through airstrikes and as part of a wider deal to cement the war’s shaky ceasefire. In a statement read by a...
Trump signs bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, ending record shutdown
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump swiftly signed bipartisan legislation Thursday funding much of the Department of Homeland Security, but not its immigration enforcement operations, after it won final approval in the House, ending the longest agency shutdown in history. The White House had warned that temporary funding Trump had tapped...
Trump pulls Casey Means’ stalled surgeon general nomination and says he’ll put forth Nicole Saphier
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s nominating former Fox News Channel contributor and radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Dr. Casey Means’ path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines. In a social media post, Trump said he...
Hegseth clashes for a 2nd day with Democrats in Congress over the Iran war
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic lawmakers in Congress for a second day Thursday, rejecting senators’ accusations that the Iran war was launched without evidence of an imminent threat and waged with no coherent strategy. The three-hour hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee mostly traced the...
Prosecutors release video of armed man storming correspondents’ dinner
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors released a video Thursday showing the moment authorities say an armed man tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and attempt to kill President Donald Trump. Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for Washington, posted the video on social media. She said it shows...
Inside ‘Scientology speedruns,’ the viral trend prompting the church to bolster security
LOS ANGELES — Ericka Buensuceso was walking along Hollywood Boulevard on Saturday when she came across an alien, two hot dogs and Jesus. The motley costumed crew was banding together with several others, united by the common goal of breaking into the nearby Church of Scientology information center and running...
Germany faces a fresh Trump threat to cut U.S. troop numbers, but Europeans are used to it
MUNSTER, Germany — President Donald Trump has again threatened to pull U.S. troops out of Germany, a key NATO ally and the European Union’s largest economy. Europeans have heard this before. Trump’s threats came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this week that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Tehran...
Supreme Court ruling will reshape American politics. The only question is when
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Wednesday handed Republicans their biggest victory yet in the perpetual battle to control the House of Representatives and statehouses across the country — but it may have come too late to have much of an effect on this year’s midterm elections. The 6-3...
Texas tornado leaves 5 injured, buildings collapsed and homes without roofs
MINERAL WELLS, Texas — Vicious winds burst through the front door of Christopher Hester’s duplex apartment, then started ripping the roof apart. Hester and his wife grabbed their dog and ducked into a hallway to the sound of breaking glass, furniture hitting the walls and a howl like a monstrous...
New FDA analysis says infant formula supply is safe after testing for potential contaminants
A new analysis of chemicals in U.S. infant formula found reassuringly low levels of heavy metals, pesticides and other potential contaminants, federal health officials said Wednesday. The review was conducted as part of the Food and Drug Administration’s Operation Stork Speed project — billed as the “largest and most rigorous”...
Trump says he’s weighing reducing American troop presence in Germany after Merz’s Iran commentsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday leveled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the U.S. military presence there as he continues to feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the U.S-Israel war against Iran. Trump made the threat after Merz earlier this week said...
Study projects hepatitis B vaccine delay could increase infections, deathsVideo
The Trump administration’s recommendation against universal hepatitis B vaccination for babies on the day they’re born could lead to hundreds of infections and dozens of deaths, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine panel said in December babies born to...
USS Ford aircraft carrier heading home after record-breaking deployment
WASHINGTON — The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, will be heading home following a record-setting deployment of more than 300 days that included participating in the war against Iran and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, two U.S. officials said Wednesday. The Ford will be leaving...
10 current and former Mexican officials accused in U.S. indictment of aiding drug trafficking
NEW YORK — The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in a U.S. indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York, accused of aiding in the massive importation of illicit narcotics into the United States. Some officials were members...
Jerome Powell plans to remain on Fed board, cites legal actions by Trump administration
WASHINGTON — Jerome Powell said Wednesday he plans to remain on the board of the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month “for an undetermined period of time,” saying the “unprecedented” legal attacks by the Trump administration have put the independence of the nation’s central bank at...
House approves bill to extend divisive surveillance program, but path forward uncertain
WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House approved a three-year reauthorization of a divisive U.S. surveillance program ahead of its expiration on Friday, adding new oversight measures but stopping short of the warrant requirement that critics have demanded. A large group of Democrats joined most Republicans to pass the bill in a...
Appeals court rejects Trump’s no-bond immigration detentions, setting stage for Supreme Court review
A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration cannot jail immigrants without the chance to seek bond, citing “serious constitutional questions” related to what it said would otherwise be the broadest mass-detention-without-bond mandate in the nation’s history for millions of noncitizens. The unanimous ruling from a panel of the...
Full federal appeals court won’t rehear $83 million defamation verdict against Trump
NEW YORK — A divided federal appeals court said Wednesday it will not grant a rare meeting of its active judges to hear an appeal of an $83 million verdict against President Donald Trump for defaming a magazine advice columnist over an encounter three decades ago. The 2nd U.S. Circuit...
In 1 state, voters will get to decide whether to eliminate the income tax. Will more follow?
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — It’s not every day — or even every decade — that voters are presented a decision like this: Should the state’s individual income tax be eliminated? When that question appears on a Missouri ballot later this year, it will mark the first time since the modern...
Comey appears in court in Trump threat case that’s likely to pose a challenge for Justice Department
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in court on Wednesday, kick-starting a criminal case against him that legal experts say presents significant hurdles for the prosecution and will likely be a challenge for the Justice Department to win. Comey, who didn’t enter a plea, was indicted in...
Man charged with trying to kill Trump took hotel room selfie before rushing gala, investigators say
The man charged with trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and kill President Donald Trump took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes earlier, outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife, authorities said Wednesday in a new court...
Supreme Court sides with anti-abortion center raising 1st Amendment fears about state investigation
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with a faith-based pregnancy center that raised First Amendment concerns about an investigation into whether it misled people to discourage abortions. The high court’s unanimous ruling is a procedural victory for First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which is challenging a New Jersey...
Anonymous tip system started in wake of Sandy Hook shooting has fielded nearly 400,000 reports
HANOVER, Mass. — Less than two years after her 6-year-old son was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Nicole Hockley was in an Ohio church basement teaching the first class of a program she hoped would help prevent future school shootings. The program, born in the grief of...
Supreme Court weakens Voting Rights Act and aids GOP efforts to control the House
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday hollowed out a landmark Civil Rights-era law that has increased minority representation in Congress and elsewhere, striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana and opening the door for more redistricting across the country that could aid Republican efforts to control the...
Russia to hold a Victory Day parade without military equipment for the 1st time in nearly 2 decades
Russia’s traditional parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II will take place next week without tanks, missiles and other military equipment, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. It will be the first time in nearly two decades — and in Russia’s 4-year-old war in...
