U.S./World category, Page 231
Spending deal averts a possible federal shutdown and funds the government into December
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders announced an agreement Sunday on a short-term spending bill that will fund federal agencies for about three months, averting a possible partial government shutdown when the new budget year begins Oct. 1 and pushing final decisions until after the November election. Temporary spending bills generally fund...
California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — “Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags. California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and other stores, but shoppers...
More shelter beds and a crackdown on tents mean fewer homeless encampments in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — Sidewalks once teeming with tents, tarps and people passed out next to heaps of trash have largely disappeared from great swaths of San Francisco, a city widely known for its visible homeless population. The number of people sleeping outdoors dropped to under 3,000 in January, the lowest...
Kate, the Princess of Wales, makes first public appearance after cancer treatment
LONDON — Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties. Kate and her husband, Prince William, were seen Sunday attending church with King Charles III and Queen Camilla near their royal Balmoral estate...
Hezbollah hits back with rockets as it declares an ‘open-ended battle’ with Israel
NAHARIYA, Israel — Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets early Sunday across northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon. A Hezbollah leader declared an “open-ended battle” was underway as both sides appeared to be spiraling closer toward all-out war....
For home shoppers, the Fed’s big rate cut is likely just a small step towards affording a home
The Federal Reserve gave home shoppers what they hoped for this week: a big rate cut and a signal of more cuts to come. Even so, aspiring homebuyers and homeowners eager to refinance should temper their expectations of a big drop in mortgage rates from here. While the Fed doesn’t...
Mass shooting kills 4 and wounds 18 in nightlife district in Birmingham, Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A mass shooting killed four people and wounded 18 others in a popular nightlife area in Birmingham, Alabama, with many of the victims caught in the crossfire, police said early Sunday. Authorities asked the public for tips as they searched for the shooters. The shooting happened shortly...
Israel raids, shuts down Al Jazeera’s bureau in West Bank
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israeli troops raided the offices of the satellite news network Al Jazeera in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Sunday, ordering the bureau to shut down amid a widening campaign by Israel targeting the Qatar-funded broadcaster as it covers the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip....
U.S. is more hands-off than usual in the Middle East, as it fears making things worse
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is taking a more hands-off approach than usual during a week of dramatic escalation between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, with top U.S. officials holding back from full-on crisis diplomacy for fear of making matters worse. The public restraint follows explosions of the militant...
Israeli strike on school kills at least 22 people, Gaza Health Ministry says
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a school in northern Gaza on Saturday killed at least 22 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, while the Israeli army said it targeted a Hamas’ command center in what used to be a school. Another 30 were wounded in...
Zelenskyy hopes for quick U.S. action as more arms depots are hit in Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — A massive Ukrainian drone attack set multiple Russian arms depots ablaze, including one deep inside the country, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for quick action from the United States to send more weapons ahead of his visit to the White House with a multi-point “victory plan.”...
South Carolina inmate dies by lethal injection in state’s first execution in 13 years
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina put inmate Freddie Owens to death Friday as the state restarted executions after an unintended 13-year pause because prison officials couldn’t get the drugs needed for lethal injections. Owens was convicted of the 1997 killing of a Greenville convenience store clerk during a robbery. While...
Israel ramps up attacks on Hezbollah, says top commander killed
Israel said it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs Friday, days after a series of attacks stoked fears the conflict between the two may spiral out of control. The Israel Defense Forces said the airstrike on Beirut killed Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah’s elite...
Georgia State Election Board approves rule requiring hand count of ballots
ATLANTA — Georgia’s State Election Board on Friday voted to approve a new rule that requires poll workers to count the number of paper ballots by hand. The board voted 3-2 to approve the rule, going against the advice of the state attorney general’s office, the secretary of state’s office...
Were warning signs ignored? Things to know about this week’s testimony on the Titan sub disaster
Last year, five people hoping to view the Titanic wreckage died when their submersible imploded in the Atlantic Ocean. This week, a Coast Guard panel that’s investigating the Titan disaster listened to four days of testimony that has raised serious questions about whether warning signs were ignored. The panel plans...
Colorado supermarket shooter was sane when he killed 10 people, prosecutor says
BOULDER, Colo. — A mentally ill man carefully amassed the guns and ammunition to kill as many people as possible before pursuing and fatally shooting 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021, proving he knew exactly what he was doing, a prosecutor told jurors Friday. Ahmad Alissa’s decision to...
U.S. will let more people take methadone at home
The first big update to U.S. methadone regulations in 20 years is poised to expand access to the life-saving drug starting next month, but experts say the addiction treatment changes could fall flat if state governments and methadone clinics fail to act. For decades, strict rules required most methadone patients...
‘Water is flooding everywhere’ as torrential rains sweep through West and Central Africa
ABUJA, Nigeria — Houses swept away to the very last brick. Inmates frantically fleeing the city’s main prison as its walls got washed away by water rising from an overflowing dam. Corpses of crocodiles and snakes floating among human bodies on what used to be main streets. As torrential rains...
Israel carries out targeted strike in Beirut after Hezbollah hits northern Israel with 140 rockets
BEIRUT — Israel hit a Beirut suburb with an airstrike Friday, not long after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets following a vow by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said. The Israeli...
Postal Service chief frustrated at criticism but promises ‘heroic’ effort to deliver mail ballots
TOPEKA, Kan. — The head of the U.S. Postal Service expressed frustration Thursday with ongoing criticism by election officials of how it handles mail ballots while also seeking to reassure voters it’s ready to handle an expected crush of those ballots this fall. U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told reporters...
U.S. warplanes, ships and troops ready in Middle East if conflict expands
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has kept an increased military presence in the Middle East throughout much of the past year, with about 40,000 forces, at least a dozen warships and four Air Force fighter jet squadrons spread across the region both to protect allies and to serve as a deterrent...
Titan submersible’s scientific director says the sub malfunctioned just prior to Titanic dive
The scientific director for the company that owned the Titan submersible that imploded last year while on its way to the Titanic wreckage testified Thursday that the sub malfunctioned just prior to the fatal dive. Appearing before a U.S. Coast Guard panel, Steven Ross told the board about a platform...
Alaska man charged with sending graphic threats to kill Supreme Court justices
WASHINGTON — An Alaska man accused of sending graphic threats to injure and kill six Supreme Court justices and some of their family members has been indicted on federal charges, authorities said Thursday. Panos Anastasiou, 76, is accused of sending more than 465 messages through a public court website, including...
Inmates stab correctional officers at a Massachusetts prison
LANCASTER, Mass. — Two correctional officers were stabbed by inmates at a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts, and three others were injured as they responded, a spokesperson said. The five officers at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster were taken to hospitals after the confrontation Wednesday night, Scott Croteau, a spokesperson...
2 Georgia deaths are tied to abortion restrictions. Experts say abortion pills they took are safe
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to speak about abortion Friday in Georgia, where two women’s deaths have been tied to a state law that mostly bans the procedure after roughly six weeks. Amber Thurman died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat complications that occurred after she...
