U.S./World category, Page 274
Scammers are swiping billions from Americans every year. Worse, most crooks are getting away with it
Sophisticated overseas criminals are stealing tens of billions of dollars from Americans every year, a crime wave projected to get worse as the U.S. population ages and technology like AI makes it easier than ever to perpetrate fraud and get away with it. Internet and telephone scams have grown “exponentially,”...
Crew of NASA’s earthbound simulated Mars habitat emerge after a yearVideo
The crew of a NASA mission to Mars emerged from their craft after a yearlong voyage that never left Earth. The four volunteer crew members spent more than 12 months inside NASA’s first simulated Mars environment at Johnson Space Center in Houston, coming out of the artificial alien environment Saturday...
Fiery railcars with hazardous material mostly contained after derailment in North Dakota
Enflamed railcars carrying hazardous material were mostly extinguished Saturday, a day after they derailed in a remote area of North Dakota. Officials said Friday no one had been hurt. The threat to those living nearby remained low, according to county emergency management, which reported no air contamination in the area...
More records expected to shatter as long-running blanket of heat threatens 130 million in U.S.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Roughly 130 million people were under threat Saturday and into next week from a long-running heat wave that already has broken records with dangerously high temperatures — and is expected to shatter more from East Coast to West Coast, forecasters said. Oppressive heat and humidity could team...
Hamas clears the way for a possible cease-fire after dropping key demand, officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Hamas has given initial approval for a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel give an up-front commitment for a complete end to the war, a Hamas and an Egyptian official said Saturday. The apparent compromise by the...
Putin sees no need for nuclear weapons to win in Ukraine. But he’s also keeping his options open
The message to NATO from President Vladimir Putin was simple and stark: Don’t go too far in providing military support for Ukraine, or you’ll risk a conflict with Russia that could quickly turn nuclear. As the war in Ukraine turns slowly in Moscow’s favor, Putin declared he doesn’t need nuclear...
Biden dismisses age questions in interview as he tries to salvage reelection effort
MADISON, Wis. — President Joe Biden, fighting to save his endangered reelection effort, used a highly anticipated TV interview Friday to repeatedly reject taking an independent medical evaluation that would show voters he is up for serving another term in office while blaming his disastrous debate performance on a “bad...
Reformist Pezeshkian wins Iran’s presidential runoff election, besting hard-liner Jalili
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian promised no radical...
Multiple injuries reported after fireworks veer into crowd at Utah stadium
PROVO, Utah — Malfunctioning fireworks veered into the stands at a crowded Utah football stadium and struck members of the audience during a Fourth of July celebration, sending up to six people to the hospital, according to authorities and the event organizer. The accident occurred during the opening ceremonies of...
Reporter settles part of lawsuit over police raid on Kansas newspaper for $235K
TOPEKA, Kan. — A former reporter for a weekly Kansas newspaper has agreed to accept $235,000 to settle part of her federal lawsuit over a police raid on the paper that made a small community the focus of a national debate over press freedoms. The settlement removed the former police...
Shark attacks reported at Texas’ South Padre Island
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Shark attacks disrupted Fourth of July celebrations Thursday at South Padre Island as two people were taken to the hospital with bites, at least one of them severe, authorities said. Police were called for the attack on the man who was severely bitten about 11...
Rail cars carrying hazardous material derail and catch fire in North Dakota
Rail cars carrying hazardous material derailed and burst into flames Friday in a remote area of North Dakota, but officials said no one was hurt and the threat to those living nearby appeared to be minimal. Twenty-nine cars of a CPKC train derailed about 3:45 a.m. in an area surrounded...
How Texas is still investigating migrant aid groups on the border after a judge’s scathing order
McALLEN, Texas — Texas is widening investigations into aid organizations along the U.S.-Mexico border over claims that nonprofits are helping migrants illegally enter the country, taking some groups to court and making demands that a judge called harassment after the state tried shuttering an El Paso shelter. The efforts are...
Air travel is getting worse. That’s what passengers are telling the U.S. government
WASHINGTON — Air travel got more miserable last year, if the number of consumer complaints filed with the U.S. government is any measure. The Transportation Department said Friday that it received nearly 97,000 complaints in 2023, up from about 86,000 the year before. The department said there were so many...
July Fourth shootings kill at least 8, wound more than 2 dozen
Shootings around the Fourth of July killed at least eight people, including a 10-year-old girl in Cleveland, while police were investigating other gun violence across the country that injured nearly three dozen people. No arrests were made in any of the shootings, police said. The Fourth of July historically is...
Hurricane Beryl slams into Mexico’s coast as a Category 2 storm; 11 dead across the Caribbean
TULUM, Mexico — Hurricane Beryl roared ashore on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula near the resort town of Tulum as a Category 2 storm early Friday, whipping trees and knocking out power after leaving a trail of destruction that killed at least 11 people across the Caribbean. Beryl was expected to rapidly...
Hungary’s Orbán meets Putin for talks in Moscow in rare visit by European leader
MOSCOW — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Moscow on Friday for a rare meeting by a European leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed peace proposals for Ukraine, which triggered condemnation from Kyiv and some European leaders and officials. Orbán’s visit comes only days after he made a...
Vatican excommunicates former U.S. ambassador Vigano, declares him guilty of schism
ROME — The Vatican has excommunicated its former ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, after finding him guilty of schism, an inevitable end for the firebrand conservative who became one of Pope Francis’ most ardent critics. The Vatican’s doctrine office imposed the penalty after a meeting of its...
U.S. employers added a solid 206,000 jobs in June in a sign of continued economic strength
WASHINGTON — America’s employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in June, adding 206,000 jobs and once again displaying the U.S. economy’s ability to withstand continually high interest rates. Last month’s job growth did mark a pullback from 218,000 in May. But it was still a strong gain, reflecting the...
Fireworks light up the skies across the U.S. as Americans endure searing heat to celebrate July Fourth
Millions of people in the U.S. celebrated and suffered under heat warnings Thursday as they flocked to beaches and traveled in droves to toast their nation’s birth with July Fourth parades, cookouts and the always anticipated fiery splashes of color in the evening sky. In Washington, neon bursts of light...
The UK election winner only becomes prime minister when King Charles III says so
LONDON — The Labour Party has won Britain’s general election, bringing a new party to power for the first time in 14 years. But Labour leader Keir Starmer didn’t actually become prime minister until a carefully choreographed ceremony on Friday during which King Charles III formally asked him to form...
Starmer vows ‘government of service’ for national renewal as he takes power after Labour landslide
LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would lead a “government of service” on a mission of national renewal in his first official remarks Friday after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory after more than a decade in opposition. Starmer acknowledged in his first...
Ranger injured and armed person making threats dies at Yellowstone, park says
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — An armed person who was making unspecified threats at Yellowstone National Park died and a park ranger was hospitalized following an exchange of gunfire Thursday, authorities said. The shooting happened at Canyon Village, an area in the central part of the park that has a...
Americans shrug off searing heat to celebrate Fourth of July with parades, cookouts and fireworks
The burgers aren’t the only things sizzling this Fourth of July: Millions of people are under heat warnings as large numbers of Americans traveled to toast their nation’s birth with parades, cookouts and fiery splashes of colors against the evening sky. Travel records are projected to fall with people already...
British voters pick a new government against a backdrop of economic malaise and deep pessimism
LONDON — British voters were picking a new government Thursday in a parliamentary election widely expected to bring the Labour Party to power against a gloomy backdrop of economic malaise, mounting distrust in institutions and a fraying social fabric. A jaded electorate is delivering its verdict on Prime Minister Rishi...
