U.S./World category, Page 217
AI-generated child sexual abuse images are spreading. Law enforcement is racing to stop them
WASHINGTON — A child psychiatrist who altered a first-day-of-school photo he saw on Facebook to make a group of girls appear nude. A U.S. Army soldier accused of creating images depicting children he knew being sexually abused. A software engineer charged with generating hyper-realistic sexually explicit images of children. Law...
Hungary’s Orbán claims Poland’s center-right government was installed by the EU
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suggested on Friday that Poland’s government and its prime minister, Donald Tusk, were installed by the European Union as part of a plot to remove the country’s previous right-wing populist leadership. Orbán provided no evidence to substantiate his claims about Poland’s government,...
Storm blows away from northern Philippines leaving 82 dead but forecasters warn it may do a U-turn
MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Storm Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 82 people dead in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to scramble for more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people, who were trapped, some on their roofs. But the onslaught...
International court prosecutor who charged Netanyahu faces sexual misconduct accusation
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — As the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor sought war crimes charges this year against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over actions in Gaza, he was engulfed in a very different personal crisis playing out behind the scenes. Karim Khan faced accusations that he tried for more...
Russia’s central bank raises interest rate to 21% to fight inflation boosted by military spending
MOSCOW — Russia’s central bank on Friday raised its key interest rate by two percentage points to a record-high 21% in an effort to combat growing inflation as government spending on the military strains the economy’s capacity to produce goods and services and drives up workers’ wages. The central bank...
Israeli strikes kill 36 people in Gaza’s Khan Younis and 3 journalists in southern Lebanon
BEIRUT — Israeli strikes killed 36 people, many of them children, in Gaza and three journalists in Lebanon on Friday, as worries grew about supply shortages in Gaza and international pressure for a cease-fire mounted. The deaths reported by Gaza health officials were the latest in the southern Gaza city...
President Biden to apologize for 150-year Indian boarding school policyVideo
NORMAN, Okla. — President Joe Biden said he will formally apologize on Friday for the country’s role in forcing Indigenous children for over 150 years into boarding schools, where many were physically, emotionally and sexually abused, and more than 950 died. “I’m doing something I should have done a long...
Trump’s lawyers seek dismissal of federal election case, call special counsel illegally appointed
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump told a federal judge Thursday that the election interference case against him should be dismissed, arguing that special counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed and that funding for his office should be cut off. The argument mirrors the one that persuaded a...
Owner, operator of ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse to pay $100M in settlement with U.S.
WASHINGTON — The owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the Baltimore bridge collapse have agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, officials said Thursday. The settlement comes a month after the Justice Department sued Dali owner Grace Ocean...
County judge strikes down Ohio abortion ban, citing voter-approved reproductive rights amendment
COLUMBUS — The most far-reaching of Ohio’s laws restricting abortion was struck down on Thursday by a county judge who said last year’s voter-approved amendment enshrining reproductive rights renders the so-called heartbeat law unconstitutional. Enforcement of the 2019 law banning most abortions once cardiac activity is detected — as early...
Timeline of the Menendez brothers’ murder case
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors in Los Angeles are set to announce their decision on whether to call for resentencing Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989 and are serving life without the possibility of parole. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has said...
Officials find no evidence bird flu is spreading between people after Missouri investigation
NEW YORK — Health officials said Thursday that there’s no evidence bird flu is spreading between people after investigating a mysterious infection in Missouri. The illness reported last month was different from the 30 other bird flu infections in people in the U.S. so far this year. Those cases have...
Florida sues Garland for blocking state probe into Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON — Florida is suing the Justice Department to stop federal authorities from blocking the state’s investigation into the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the state’s Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a complaint against Attorney General Merrick Garland after the Justice Department told Florida...
Prosecutors recommend resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez in 1989 killings of their parents
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors recommended Thursday Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced during a Thursday news...
Beyoncé, whose ‘Freedom’ is Harris’ campaign anthem, is expected at Democrat’s Texas rally on Friday
PHILADELPHIA — Beyoncé is expected to appear Friday in her hometown of Houston at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, according to three people familiar with the matter. Harris’ presidential campaign has taken on Beyonce’s 2016 track “Freedom” as its anthem, and the singer’s planned appearance brings a high-level...
Passenger train derails on Norway’s north coast, killing at least 1 person, injuring others
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — At least one person was killed and five or six people injured when a train running along Norway’s northern coast derailed Thursday with at least 50 people on board, Norwegian media reported. Initial reports suggested that people with minor injuries were found at the scene. Train operator...
EPA imposes stricter standards to protect children from exposure to lead paint
WASHINGTON — Two weeks after setting a nationwide deadline for removal of lead pipes, the Biden administration is imposing strict new limits on dust from lead-based paint in older homes and child-care facilities. A final rule announced Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency sets limits on lead dust on floors...
Pope Francis denounces a world ‘losing its heart’ in 4th encyclical of his papacy
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis issued the fourth encyclical of his papacy on Thursday, denouncing a world that “is losing its heart” during times of global turmoil marked by “wars, socio-economic disparities and the uses of technology that threaten our humanity.” The document titled “Dilexit Nos,” Latin for “He Loves...
Israeli strike on Gaza shelter kills 17 as Blinken says cease-fire talks will resume
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, nearly all women and children, Palestinian medical officials said. The strike came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had...
An Afghan province bans all media from showing images of living things to comply with Taliban laws
ISLAMABAD — An Afghan province has banned all media from showing images of living things to ensure compliance with the Taliban’s morality laws. Thursday’s decision was announced by Information Ministry officials in Helmand, the latest province to crack down on broadcasting and photography of humans and animals. In August, the...
Department of Justice warns Elon Musk his $1 million voter petition giveaway may be illegal
Federal prosecutors have warned Elon Musk that his $1 million-a-day voter petition sweepstakes may be illegal. The pro-Trump Tesla billionaire may have violated vote-buying laws by writing a seven-figure check every day to a randomly selected voter who agrees to sign a petition created by his political action committee, the...
Suspect in shootings of Democratic office in Arizona had over 200 guns in his home, officials find
TEMPE, Ariz. — An Arizona prosecutor said the man arrested in the shooting of a Democratic National Committee office in suburban Phoenix had more than 200 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his home, leading law enforcement to believe he may have been planning a mass casualty event....
Suspected drunken driver arrested after passing Harris’ motorcade the wrong way in WisconsinVideo
MADISON, Wis. — A suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way passed within feet of Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade following a campaign stop this week in Wisconsin. Harris had just wrapped up a rally in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield on Monday evening when her motorcade passed a car...
What to know about E. coli and the McDonald’s outbreak
A food poisoning outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders was caused by a common type of E. coli bacteria that can cause serious illness and death. Particularly vulnerable are young children, older people or those with weakened immune systems. About 50 people have fallen ill in the McDonald’s outbreak, and...
U.S. fines American Airlines $50 million over mishandling of disabled passengers, wheelchairsVideo
DALLAS — The U.S. government fined American Airlines $50 million for failing to provide wheelchair assistance to passengers with disabilities and damaging thousands of wheelchairs over a five-year period, The Transportation Department said Wednesday that “in some cases,” wheelchair users were injured, but it did not give a number. American...
