U.S./World category, Page 207
NORAD’s Santa tracker was a Cold War morale boost. Now it attracts millions of kids
The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow...
At least 2 dead and 60 hurt after a car drives into a German Christmas market in a suspected attack
MAGDEBURG, Germany — A car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities believe was an attack. The driver was arrested shortly after the car barreled into the...
US proposes voluntary guidelines for self-driving vehicles in waning days of Biden administration
DETROIT — In the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration, the government’s highway safety agency is proposing voluntary safety guidelines for self-driving vehicles. But a rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration putting the plan in place won’t be approved before the end of Biden’s term in January...
Closures, Social Security checks, furloughs: What a government shutdown might mean
Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays. Republicans abandoned a bipartisan...
It’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel
Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New...
For thousands of Jews, Israel still doesn’t feel safe after the Oct. 7 attacks. So they’re leaving
LONDON — Leaving Israel is easier, Shira Z. Carmel thinks, by saying it’s just for now. But she knows better. For the Israeli-born singer and an increasing number of relatively well-off Israelis, the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack shattered any sense of safety and along with it, Israel’s founding promise:...
Malaysia agrees to resume ‘no find, no fee’ hunt for flight MH370, 10 years after plane disappeared
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s government has agreed in principle to accept a second “no find, no fee” proposal from a U.S. company to renew the hunt for flight MH370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than 10 years ago, Transport Minister Anthony Loke...
What to know about Vanuatu, the Pacific island nation struggling to recover from a massive quake
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A search expanded on Thursday for those killed or trapped alive by an earthquake in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, as rescue workers arriving from abroad fanned out through the capital, Port Vila, encountering flattened buildings that had not yet been searched. Three days after...
Russian bombardment targets Kyiv after Ukraine fires U.S.-made missiles across border
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Friday killed at least one person and injured 12 others, officials said. Moscow claimed it was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Russian soil using American-made weapons. At least three loud blasts were heard in Kyiv...
2 killed, 3 injured when freight train derails in small West Texas city after collisionVideo
Two Union Pacific employees were killed and three people were injured when a freight train collided with a tractor-trailer and derailed in a small West Texas city, authorities said Thursday. The train derailed around 5 p.m. Wednesday in Pecos after the collision at a railway crossing, authorities said. Union Pacific,...
Gisèle Pelicot thanks backers after her ex-husband, his co-defendants are convicted in rape trialVideo
AVIGNON, France — Gisèle Pelicot spoke of her “very difficult ordeal” after 51 men were convicted Thursday in the drugging-and-rape trial that riveted France and turned her into an icon, expressing support for other victims whose cases don’t get such attention and “whose stories remain untold.” “I want you to...
FBI investigates passenger’s death on L.A.-docked Royal Caribbean cruise ship
LOS ANGELES — A 35-year-old man’s death is being investigated by the FBI after he was reportedly bound by crew members while aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that docked in Los Angeles. According to a passenger who spoke with Fox 11, the man was bound with zip ties and...
Former Uvalde schools police chief loses bid to toss criminal charges related to 2022 shooting
UVALDE, Texas — A Texas judge on Thursday refused to throw out criminal charges accusing the former Uvalde schools police chief of putting children at risk during the slow response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, while a lawyer for his co-defendant said they want to move the upcoming...
Oklahoma man dies by lethal injection in the nation’s final execution of 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma man who killed a 10-year-old girl in a cannibalistic fantasy died by lethal injection Thursday in the nation’s 25th and final execution of the year. Kevin Ray Underwood was pronounced dead at 10:14 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. It was Oklahoma’s fourth...
Advocates train immigrants to ‘prepare to stay’ in the U.S. under Trump
LOS ANGELES — Winston Leiva rattles off a long list of things immigrants should do to protect themselves against President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to conduct mass deportations when he returns to the White House. Make a plan for someone to care for your children if you are arrested. Don’t open...
Immigration drives U.S. population growth to highest rate in 23 years as residents pass 340 million
Immigration to the United States in 2024 drove U.S. population growth to its fastest rate in 23 years as the nation surpassed 340 million residents, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. The 1% growth rate this year was the highest it has been since 2001, and it was a marked...
U.S. home sales hit fastest pace since March with more properties up for sale
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November to their fastest pace since March with home shoppers encouraged by a wider selection of properties on the market, even as mortgage rates mostly ticked higher. Existing home sales rose 4.8% last month, from October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
Prosecutor Fani Willis removed from Georgia election case against Trump and others
ATLANTA — A state appeals court on Thursday removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others, the latest legal victory for the president-elect in criminal cases that once threatened his career and freedom. The case against Trump and more than...
Former top aide to New York City’s mayor surrenders to DA’s office to face charges
NEW YORK — The former chief advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered Thursday to face corruption charges in the latest blow to the administration of a mayor under indictment amid investigations into multiple aides and allies. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who resigned Sunday from her role as one of...
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits come back down after recent big rise
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell markedly last week following a big increase the week before. Jobless claim applications declined by 22,000 to 220,000 for the week of Dec. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 229,000 analysts were forecasting. Continuing claims, the total...
Man accused in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing faces federal charge that’s eligible for death penalty
HOLLIDAYSBURG — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York by plane and helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of stalking and murder, which could bring the death penalty if he’s convicted. Luigi Mangione was held without bail following a Manhattan federal court appearance,...
Amazon workers strike at multiple facilities as Teamsters seek labor contract
Workers at seven Amazon facilities went on strike Thursday, an effort by the Teamsters to pressure the e-commerce company for a labor agreement during a key shopping period. The Teamsters say the workers, who authorized strikes in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a...
California man who messaged Wisconsin shooter and planned own attack ordered to surrender guns
MADISON, Wis. — The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California who authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became...
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi MangioneVideo
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law that allows for stiffer...
Former New Orleans priest, 93, sentenced to life in prison for raping boy decades ago
NEW ORLEANS — A judge sentenced a 93-year-old former Catholic priest Wednesday to spend the rest of his life behind bars for raping a teenage boy decades ago. Lawrence Hecker had pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree rape and aggravated kidnapping moments before jury selection was scheduled to begin in...
