U.S./World category, Page 235
Springfield woman behind pet-eating rumors repeated by Trump admits claims are false
An Ohio woman whose Facebook post sparked harmful rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield — accusations repeated by former President Donald Trump at Tuesday’s debate — has admitted the claims are false, saying she regrets how they’ve spiraled into a political frenzy. “It just exploded into something I...
Dick Cheney was once vilified by Democrats. Now he’s backing Harris. Will it matter?
WASHINGTON — Dick Cheney is a career Republican still vilified by Democrats for his bullish defense of the Iraq War as vice president. But his partisan loyalties were cast aside in extraordinary fashion last week when he endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris for the White House. Alberto Gonzales’ service in George...
In 2014, protests around Michael Brown’s death broke through the everyday, a catalyst for change
NEW YORK — There have been moments before, times of heartbreak and grief that led to anger and calls for justice. Sometimes, they never make it past a few sparks. Sometimes they smolder for a little bit before dying out. And sometimes, in certain conditions, they light a fire. Ten...
Vietnam typhoon death toll rises to 233 as more bodies found in areas hit by landslides and floods
HANOI, Vietnam — The death toll in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam climbed to 233 on Friday as rescue workers recovered more bodies from areas hit by landslides and flash floods, state media reported. Flood waters from the swollen Red River in the capital of Hanoi were beginning...
Why Ukraine wants to use Western long-range missiles inside Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine is pushing for permission from its Western partners to use the long-range missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russia, as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russian advances in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv officials argue the weapons are vital to weaken Russia’s ability to...
Smartmatic’s lawsuit against Newsmax over 2020 election reporting appears headed for trial
DOVER, Del. — A lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer that was targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election appears headed to trial, following a Delaware judge’s ruling Thursday. Florida-based Smartmatic is suing...
Greensburg native hopes to bring homegrown tech to wildfire fights
Throughout the day on Thursday, crews were battling wildfires across California that have destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands to evacuate. Greensburg native and former city firefighter Larry Sukay, 68, wants to give them some help. And the technology to make it happen started in his hometown. For the...
Brothers charged with assaulting New York Times photographer during Capitol riot
Two brothers were arrested Thursday on charges that they assaulted a New York Times photographer inside the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack on the building more than three years ago. David Walker, 49, of Delran, N.J., and Philip Walker, 52, of Upper Chichester, Pa., also are charged with stealing...
Francine weakens and moves inland after lashing LouisianaVideo
MORGAN CITY, La. — Francine weakened Thursday after striking Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of utility customers, sent storm surge rushing into coastal communities and raised flooding fears in New Orleans and beyond. As the system moved inland, crews began clearing...
Merrick Garland says he won’t let the Justice Department be used as a political weaponVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday he will not allow the Justice Department “to be used as a political weapon,” as he denounced “conspiracy theories and “dangerous falsehoods” targeting federal law enforcement. Speaking to U.S. attorneys gathered in Washington and other Justice Department members, Garland forcefully defended the...
Father of slain Ohio boy asks Trump not to invoke his son in immigration debateVideo
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The father of an Ohio boy killed last year when a Haitian immigrant driver hit a school bus is imploring Donald Trump and other politicians to stop invoking his son’s name in the debate about immigration. Nathan Clark spoke Tuesday at a Springfield City Council hearing —...
2nd Circuit rejects Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in hush money caseVideo
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in his hush money criminal case, leaving a key ruling and the former president’s sentencing on track for after the November election. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in...
Judge tosses some counts in Georgia election case against Trump and others
ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others on Thursday tossed out three counts in the indictment — including two counts brought against the former president — saying that they lie beyond the state’s jurisdiction. The case against Trump and others who are...
Border Patrol response to Uvalde school shooting marred by breakdowns and poor training, report says
UVALDE, Texas — U.S. Border Patrol agents who rushed to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022 failed to establish command at the scene and had insufficient training to deal with what became one of the nation’s deadliest classroom attacks, according to a federal report released Thursday. The...
Money rolls in on U.S. election bets after judge clears way, but appeal looms
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — People began betting Thursday on which political party would win control of Congress in the November elections after a judge’s ruling allowing the wagers — the only ones to be legally approved by a U.S. jurisdiction. New York startup company Kalshi began taking what amounts to...
Ukraine says Russia has started a counteroffensive in its Kursk border region
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia has launched a counter-offensive in its Kursk region to dislodge Ukraine’s forces who stormed across the border five weeks ago and put Russian territory under foreign occupation for the first time since World War II, Ukraine’s president said Thursday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Moscow’s forces...
USPS’ long-awaited new mail truck makes its debut to rave reviews from carriers
ATHENS, Ga. — The Postal Service’s new delivery vehicles aren’t going to win a beauty contest. They’re tall and ungainly. The windshields are vast. Their hoods resemble a duck bill. Their bumpers are enormous. “You can tell that (the designers) didn’t have appearance in mind,” postal worker Avis Stonum said....
Share of foreign-born in the U.S. at highest rate in over a century, says survey
MIAMI — The percent of U.S. residents who were foreign-born last year grew to its highest level in more than a century, according to figures released Thursday from the most comprehensive survey of American life. The share of people born outside the United States increased in 2023 to 14.3% from...
Tech billionaire pulls off 1st private spacewalk high above Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A tech billionaire performed the first private spacewalk hundreds of miles above Earth on Thursday, a high-risk endeavor reserved for professional astronauts — until now. Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman teamed up with SpaceX to test the company’s brand new spacesuits on his chartered flight. The daring...
U.S. filings for unemployment benefits inch up slightly but remain historically low
Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain at historically low levels despite two years of elevated interest rates. Jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 230,000 for the week of Sept. 7, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That number matches the number of new filings that...
An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Many cities have been reshaped by immigrants in the last few years without attracting much notice. Not Springfield, Ohio. Its story of economic renewal and related growing pains has been thrust into the national conversation in a presidential election year — and maliciously distorted by false rumors...
From Chinese to Italians and beyond, maligning a culture via its foods is a longtime American habit
NEW YORK — It’s a practice that’s about as American as apple pie — accusing immigrant and minority communities of engaging in bizarre or disgusting behaviors when it comes to what and how they eat and drink, a kind of shorthand for saying they don’t belong. The latest iteration came...
Wildfires in Southern California torch dozens of homes, force thousands to evacuateVideo
WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. — Three major wildfires in Southern California’s mountains east of Los Angeles torched dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, officials said Wednesday. At least a dozen people, mainly firefighters, were treated for injuries that were mostly heat-related, authorities said. One person from Orange County...
Election officials warn that widespread problems with the mail system could disrupt voting
TOPEKA, Kan. — State and local election officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threaten to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election, telling the head of the U.S. Postal Service that it hasn’t fixed persistent deficiencies. In an alarming letter,...
Mississippi man found not guilty of threatening Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker
OXFORD, Miss. — A jury has cleared a Mississippi man on a charge of threatening to kill Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker during a confrontation with one of Wicker’s relatives. Six women and six men deliberated about an hour and a half Tuesday before unanimously finding William Carl Sappington not...
