U.S./World category, Page 254
Government announces more covid-19 tests can be ordered through mail for no cost
WASHINGTON — On the heels of a summer wave of covid-19 cases, Americans will be able to get free virus test kits mailed to their homes, starting in late September. U.S. households will be able to order up to four covid-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according...
Israeli evacuation orders cram Palestinians into shrinking ‘humanitarian zone’ where food is scarce
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Young girls screamed and elbowed each other in a crush of bodies in southern Gaza, trying desperately to reach the front of the food line. Men doled out rice and chicken as fast as they could, platefuls of the nourishment falling to the ground in...
Moscow and Kyiv swap prisoners of war as Ukraine marks independence anniversary
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine exchanged over 100 prisoners of war on Saturday as Kyiv marked its third Independence Day since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine said the 115 servicemen who were freed were conscripts, many of whom were taken prisoner in the first months of Russia’s invasion. Among them...
Iranian hackers targeted WhatsApp accounts of staffers in Biden, Trump administrations, Meta says
WASHINGTON — The same Iranian hacking group believed to have targeted both the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns tried to go after the WhatsApp accounts of staffers in the administrations of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Meta Platforms said Friday. Meta said it discovered the network of...
Tropical Storm Hone to bring strong wind, heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend
HONOLULU — Tropical Storm Hone was expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain. Forecasters believe it will strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane for part of the time it skirts...
Attack at festival in German city kills 3, wounds at least 5 seriously
SOLINGEN, Germany — An attacker with a knife killed three people and seriously wounded at least five late Friday at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, authorities said. Witnesses alerted police shortly after 9:30 p.m. to an unknown perpetrator having wounded several people indiscriminately with a knife...
Oklahoma revokes license of teacher who gave class QR code to Brooklyn library in book-ban protest
Oklahoma’s education board has revoked the license of a former teacher who drew national attention during surging book-ban efforts across the U.S. in 2022 when she covered part of her classroom bookshelf in red tape with the words “Books the state didn’t want you to read.” The decision Thursday went...
2 freight trains collided in Colorado, damaging a bridge, spilling fuel and injuring 2 crew
BOULDER, Colo. — Two freight trains collided and derailed in Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday night, damaging a bridge, spilling fuel and injuring two crew members, according to police. The Boulder Police Department said on the social platform X that the crash happened north of Boulder Community Hospital. Area roads were...
Kansas judge throws out machine gun possession charge, cites 2nd Amendment
A federal judge in Kansas has tossed out a machine gun possession charge and questioned if bans on the weapons violate the Second Amendment. If upheld on appeal, the ruling by U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes in Wichita could have a sweeping impact on the regulation of machine guns,...
Maryland police officer convicted of tossing smoke bomb at police during Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — A Maryland police officer was convicted on Friday of charges that he joined a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and hurled a smoke bomb and other objects at police officers guarding a tunnel entrance. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden heard two days of trial...
A woman plunges into a 26-foot-deep hole after pavement sinks in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A plunged into a 26-foot-deep sinkhole in the center of Kuala Lumpur after the pavement caved in, Malaysian police said. She was then believed to have been swept away by an underground water current, The incident happened in the Dang Wangi area of the Malaysian capital,...
Judge declines to dismiss murder case against Karen Read after July mistrial
DEDHAM, Mass. — A judge ruled that Karen Read can be re-tried for murder in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, dismissing arguments that jurors came forward after the mistrial to say they had unanimously agreed she wasn’t guilty on two of the three charges she faced. Read...
Biggest diamond in over a century found in Botswana — a whopping 2,492 carats
GABORONE, Botswana — The largest diamond found in more than a century has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana, and the country’s president showed off the fist-sized stone to the world at a viewing ceremony Thursday. The Botswana government says the huge 2,492-carat diamond is the second-biggest ever discovered...
Iceland volcano erupts again but spares the nearby town of Grindavik for now
GRINDAVIK, Iceland — Lava continued to spew from a volcano in southwestern Iceland on Friday — the sixth time since December the volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The eruption from a new fissure began shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday following a series of strong earthquakes and within the...
Biden to dispatch adviser to China as he looks to sharpen policy focus in final months
BUELLTON, Calif. — President Joe Biden plans to dispatch his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to China as the White House aims to sharpen its focus on foreign policy in the Democrat’s final months in office. Sullivan’s visit to meet with his counterpart, Wang Yi, is expected to take place...
Death toll from bandit attack on police in Pakistan rises to 12
LAHORE, Pakistan — The death toll from Pakistan’s deadliest bandit attack on police rose to 12 after one of the wounded officers died in a hospital, as police pursued suspects in the eastern province of Punjab, officials said Friday. Thursday’s attack with guns and rocket-propelled grenades also wounded eight officers....
Ukraine says it has recaptured land in the Kharkiv region, reversing some Russian gains there
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched a large offensive in the spring that brought initial gains but the operation soon stalled. Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement late Thursday that its forces advanced about...
Last body from sunken superyacht has been recovered off Sicily
ROME — Italian rescuers brought ashore the body of the final missing person who was on a superyacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily. The woman’s body was detected on Friday, the Coast Guard said. She has not been officially identified, but Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of British...
Southern Arizona man arrested after alleged threats against Trump as candidate visited border
BISBEE, Ariz. — A southern Arizona man was arrested for allegedly making death threats against Donald Trump on social media, authorities said Thursday, the same day the Republican former president and 2024 candidate was in the area to visit the U.S.-Mexico border. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect...
Billions of crabs suddenly died in ocean around Alaska. Things may get worse
The plummeting population of snow crabs off of Alaska’s shores shocked fishermen and scientists alike in 2022. Now, scientists believe they have more evidence for a bleak explanation about the species dying by the billions. CNN reports that the latest studies reveal climate change led to the crabs massive death...
Family of West Virginia governor, running for Senate, has deal to avoid Greenbrier hotel foreclosure
CHARLESTON — The family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has reached an agreement with a credit collection company to avoid the foreclosure of their historic hotel as he runs for U.S. Senate, the resort announced Thursday. The Republican governor’s family had been set to appear in court Friday to...
Supreme Court rejects GOP push to block 41K Arizona voters, but partly OKs proof of citizenship law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican push that could have blocked more than 41,000 Arizona voters from casting ballots for president in the state that Democratic President Joe Biden won by less than 11,000 votes four years ago. But in a 5-4 order, the high court...
Body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch is among those recovered from yacht wreckage, officials say
PORTICELLO, Sicily — The Italian coast guard said Thursday the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch is among those recovered off the coast of Sicily from the wreckage of a superyacht whose builders had called unsinkable. One woman remains missing. She has not been identified, but Hannah Lynch, Lynch’s...
A 2nd ex-Memphis officer accused in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols is changing his plea
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A second former Memphis police officer charged with federal civil rights violations in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols last year is changing his not-guilty plea, in a case that sparked outrage and calls for police reform. Emmitt Martin is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge...
FDA approves updated covid-19 vaccines; shots should be available in days
U.S. regulators approved updated covid-19 vaccines Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains — and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too. With the Food and Drug Administration’s clearance, Pfizer and Moderna are set to begin shipping millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects...
