U.S./World category, Page 213
Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops reportedly advance deeper into the country
DAMASCUS, Syria — Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, drawing to within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of the capital, a Syrian opposition war monitor said Tuesday. Israel denied its forces were advancing toward Damascus. Associated Press reporters in...
UnitedHealthcare CEO was likely killed with a ghost gun that can be made at home
WASHINGTON — The brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was likely carried out with a ghost gun, one of the nearly untraceable weapons that can be made a home, police said Monday. A ghost gun is a firearm without a serial number, and police believe the one used in last week’s...
Suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggles, shouts while entering courthouse
ALTOONA, Pa. — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggled with deputies and shouted while being led into court Tuesday as new details emerged about his possible motivation behind the ambush. In his first public words since a five-day search ended with his arrest at an Altoona McDonald’s, Luigi...
Rupert Murdoch loses his fight to change family trust
Rupert Murdoch lost his bid to change his family trust and hand sole control of his media empire to his eldest son. Edmund Gorman Jr., the Reno, Nevada, probate commissioner hearing the case, rendered a verdict on Saturday, The New York Times reported, citing a sealed document saying the elder...
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for intel chief, faces questions on Capitol Hill amid Syria falloutVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, faced fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about her proximity to Russian-ally Syria amid the sudden collapse of that country’s hardline Assad rule. Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her 2017 visit to war-torn Syria as she ducked into one...
Jay-Z says lawsuit accusing him of raping a child at awards after-party is part of an extortion ploy
NEW YORK — Jay-Z says a rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt. A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 when she was 13, amended the lawsuit Sunday to include a new allegation that...
‘Polarization’ is Merriam-Webster’s 2024 word of the year
The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”? “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific...
Military pauses Osprey flights again after more metal failures are found in near-crash in November
The Pentagon is temporarily pausing flights again of its V-22 Osprey fleet after weakened metals in a part inside one of the aircraft broke apart in flight in November, causing an engine failure and a near crash in New Mexico, based on an initial investigation of the incident. The pause...
Veteran Daniel Penny is acquitted in NYC subway chokehold case over Jordan Neely’s death
NEW YORK — A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday in a death that became a prism for differing views about public safety, valor and vigilantism. A Manhattan jury delivered the verdict, clearing Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan...
How should the opioid settlements be spent? Those hit hardest often don’t have a say
People with substance use disorder across the country are not getting a formal say in how most of the approximately $50 billion in opioid lawsuit settlement money is being used to stem the crisis, a new analysis found. Some advocates say that is one factor in why portions of the...
New York prosecutors charge suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing with murderVideo
ALTOONA — Authorities arrested a suspect and charged him with murder Monday in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after a quick-thinking McDonald’s customer in Pennsylvania spotted a man who officers found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush. The chance sighting at the restaurant...
U.S. believes journalist Austin Tice is alive after disappearing in Syria in 2012, Biden says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. government believes missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is alive and that Washington is committed to bringing him home after Bashar Assad’s ouster from power in Damascus. “We think we can get...
Assad’s fall in Syria is a ‘fundamental act of justice,’ but also ‘a moment of risk,’ Biden says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East. Biden spoke at the White House hours after rebel...
Syrian prime minister says government is still functioning but foreign and domestic challenges loom
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees crossed in from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future. But there were already...
Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he is appointing one of his defense attorneys in the New York hush money case as counselor to the president. Alina Habba, 40, defended Trump earlier this year, also serving as his legal spokesperson. Habba has been spending time with...
Clintons urge voters agitated by today’s politics to remain involved in public service
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. The former president urged audience members in a packed theater...
Trump says U.S. should stay out of fighting in Syria as opposition forces gain
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military should stay out of the fast-escalating conflict in Syria, where a dramatic rebel offensive reached the capital and threatened the rule of Syria’s Russian- and Iranian-allied president. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” Trump declared on social media. As world...
The hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s elusive killer yields new evidence, but few answers
NEW YORK — Police don’t know who he is, where he is, or why he did it. As the frustrating search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer got underway for a fifth day Sunday, investigators reckoned with a tantalizing contradiction: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an...
Biden adds to the nation’s list of national monuments during his term. There’s an appetite for more
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt did in 1906 what Congress was unwilling to do through legislation: He used his new authority under the Antiquities Act to designate Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first national monument. Then came Antiquities Act protections for the Petrified Forest in Arizona, Chaco...
Trump calls for immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and says a U.S. withdrawal from NATO is possible
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office. “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and...
Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media say
DAMASCUS, Syria — Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media said Sunday, hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule. Thousands of Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory...
Taiwan reports 14 Chinese warships, 4 balloons near the island
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China sent 14 warships, seven military aircraft and four balloons near Taiwan between Saturday and Sunday, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, as Beijing ramps up pressure on the island it claims as its own. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the...
Syrian government appears to have fallen in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family
BEIRUT — The Syrian government appeared to have fallen early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a lightning rebel offensive. The head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said President Bashar Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead...
Stolen ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ are auctioned for $28 million
MINNEAPOLIS — A pair of iconic ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” and stolen from a museum nearly two decades ago sold for a winning bid of $28 million at auction Saturday. Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or...
Notre Dame hosts first Mass since 2019 fire
PARIS — Notre Dame Cathedral, its air thick with the smell of incense, on Sunday hosted its first Mass since the catastrophic fire of 2019, a moment that transcends religious significance to become a powerful symbol of Paris’ resilience. Beneath the glow of traditional chandeliers and modern spotlights, which illuminated...
