U.S./World category, Page 247
Detroit judge handcuffs teen who fell asleep in his courtroom during field trip
A Detroit judge thought he was making an example of 15-year-old Eva Goodman by threatening her with jail time for falling asleep in his courtroom. Turns out, she doesn’t have a permanent home, the Detroit Free Press reported. The teenager, who was on a field trip to the court this...
August’s supermoon kicks off 4 months of lunar spectacles. Here’s how to watch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first of four supermoons this year rises next week, providing tantalizing views of Earth’s constant companion. Stargazers can catch the first act Monday as the full moon inches a little closer than usual, making it appear slightly bigger and brighter in the night sky. “I...
U.S.-Russian dual national jailed for 12 years on treason charges for $52 donation to Ukraine
YEKATERINBURG, Russia — U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana was convicted Thursday of treason in a Russian court and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine. Khavana, identified by Russian authorities by her maiden name of Ksenia Karelina,...
Matthew Perry’s assistant among 5 people, including 2 doctors, charged in ‘Friends’ star’s death
LOS ANGELES — Five people including his personal assistant and two doctors have been charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death in what prosecutors called a “broad underground criminal network” dedicated to getting the “Friends” star the powerful surgical anesthetic that killed him. The doctors preyed on Perry’s history of...
Berlin’s newest pygmy hippo makes her debut, with a name inspired by a soccer star
BERLIN — The Berlin Zoo’s newest baby pygmy hippo made her public debut on Thursday, a day after her name — Toni, inspired by German soccer star Antonio Rüdiger — was chosen from more than 20,000 suggestions. Toni was born on June 3. She’s still not much bigger than a...
U.S. unemployment claims fall 7,000 to 227,000 in sign of resiliency in job market
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, another sign that the job market remains resilient in the face of high interest rates. Jobless claims dropped by 7,000 to 227,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out...
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says Kyiv troops have full control of Russian town of Sudzha
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Kyiv troops have full control of the Russian town of Sudzha in the Kursk region in their incursion into Russian territory. The town, the largest that Ukraine has reportedly seized so far, had a prewar population of around 5,000 people....
White House says prescription drug deals will produce billions in savings for taxpayers, seniors
WASHINGTON — Taxpayers are expected to save billions after the Biden administration inked deals with pharmaceutical companies to knock down the lists prices for 10 of Medicare’s costliest drugs. But how much older Americans can expect to save when they fill a prescription at their local pharmacy remains unclear, since...
Millions of kids are still skipping school. Could the answer be recess — and a little cash?
MEDFORD, Mass. — Flerentin “Flex” Jean-Baptiste missed so much school he had to repeat his freshman year at Medford High outside Boston. At school, “you do the same thing every day,” said Jean-Baptiste, who was absent 30 days his first year. “That gets very frustrating.” Then his principal did something...
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry says
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry said Thursday. Israel’s offensive has also wounded 92,401 people and displaced over 85% of the population from their homes, the ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said. It does not...
Hurricane Ernesto aims for Bermuda after leaving many in Puerto Rico without power or waterVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Ernesto barreled toward Bermuda on Thursday after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water as sweltering heat enveloped the U.S. territory, raising concerns about people’s health. A hurricane warning was in effect for Bermuda, with Ernesto expected to...
West Virginia senator removed as committee chair after indecent exposure chargesVideo
CHARLESTON — The chair of a key West Virginia state legislative committee was removed from his position by chamber leadership Wednesday after being charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct. Republican Sen. Mike Maroney, who led the state Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, was arrested Tuesday on the two...
President of Columbia University has resigned, effective immediately
NEW YORK — Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned Wednesday after a brief, tumultuous tenure that saw the head of the prestigious New York university grapple with protests over the Israel-Hamas war and criticism over how the school handled divisions related to the conflict. The school in upper Manhattan was...
Disney says man can’t sue for wrongful death because he signed up for Disney+, bought parks tickets
Walt Disney Co. is asking a Florida state court to toss a wrongful death lawsuit because the plaintiff agreed to terms and conditions mandating arbitration when he signed up for Disney+ and when he purchased park tickets. The response comes after plaintiff Jeffrey Piccolo sued Disney in February, alleging that...
Ohio family reaches $7M settlement in fatal police shooting of Casey Goodson Jr.
The family of an Ohio man who was shot and killed by a former sheriff’s deputy will receive $7 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over the December 2020 shooting. The Franklin County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the settlement late last month. Casey Goodson Jr., 23, was...
Hunter Biden reportedly sought U.S. government help for Ukrainian gas company Burisma
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden asked the U.S. ambassador to Italy for help regarding an energy project a Ukrainian gas company was pursuing while his father was vice president, according to The New York Times. Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, wrote a letter to the ambassador in 2016 seeking...
Hidden report reveals how workers got sick while cleaning up Ohio derailment site
The creeks around East Palestine, Ohio, were so badly contaminated by last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment that some workers became sick during the cleanup. Workers who reported headaches and nausea — while shooting compressed air into the creek bed, which releases chemicals from the sediment and water — were...
WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency as a new form of the virus spreads
LONDON — The World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency on Wednesday, with cases confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries and a new form of the virus spreading. Few vaccine doses are available on the continent....
NASA still deciding whether to keep 2 astronauts at space station until next year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA said Wednesday it’s still deciding whether to keep two astronauts at the International Space Station until early next year and send their troubled Boeing capsule back empty. Rather than flying Boeing’s Starliner back to Earth, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would catch a ride on...
Ukraine says it has taken more ground and prisoners during its advance into Russia border region
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces pushed on with their major cross-border advance into Russia’s Kursk region for a second week Wednesday, claiming that they took more ground, captured more Russian prisoners and destroyed a bomber in attacks on military airfields. Assault troops advanced 1 to 2 kilometers (about a mile)...
Annual U.S. inflation falls to 3-year low, clearing the way for the Fed to begin cutting rates
WASHINGTON — Year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July, the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading and setting up the Federal Reserve for an interest rate cut in September. Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer...
Longest-held Russian dissident freed in swap says ‘colors get brighter by the day’ in his new life
BERLIN — Andrei Pivovarov knows there are about 1,000 hours in 42 days. Doing the math in his head and quietly marking milestones left in his sentence helped the Russian opposition politician survive more than three years in prison, much of it spent in complete isolation. “You have no one...
Ernesto becomes a hurricane after pummeling northeast Caribbean and knocking out power in the region
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left half of all customers in the U.S. territory without power as it threatened to become a major storm en route to Bermuda. The storm was located about 180 miles...
U.S. approves $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel amid threat of wider Middle East war
WASHINGTON — The United States has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, the State Department announced Tuesday. Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs,...
Death Valley’s scorching heat kills 2nd man this summer
LOS ANGELES — California’s Death Valley National Park has claimed another life in its second heat-related death of the summer, park officials said Monday. On Aug. 1, a day where temperatures reached nearly 120 degrees, bystanders saw a man stumble back from the Natural Bridge Trailhead, a one-mile roundtrip trail,...
