U.S./World category, Page 323
Iran vows to ‘punish Zionist regime’ over deadly strike on Iranian consulate attributed to Israel
TEHRAN, Iran — The commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard warned Friday that “our brave men will punish the Zionist regime,” escalating threats against Israel for an airstrike that killed seven of the group’s members, including two Iranian generals, earlier this week. The strike, widely attributed to Israel, destroyed the...
Biden to tour collapsed Baltimore bridge where recovery effort has political overtones
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to get a firsthand look Friday at efforts to clear away the hulking remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, as cranes, ships and diving crews work to reopen one of the nation’s main shipping lanes. Biden will receive updates...
Powerball jackpot reaches $1.23B as long odds mean lots of losing, just as designed
Powerball will match a record for lottery drawings Saturday night with a stretch of more than three months without a jackpot winner. It’s that string of futility that has enabled Powerball’s top prize to reach $1.23 billion, the 8th largest in U.S. lottery history. And it’s a sign that the...
Total solar eclipse forecast: Will your city have clear skies Monday?
DALLAS — Some who hope to witness Monday’s total solar eclipse may see the sun obscured by clouds instead of by the moon. There’s still plenty of time for forecasts to change, but meteorologists predict that eclipse day storms could blanket parts of the path, which stretches from Mexico and...
6 inmates who sued New York over its prison lockdown order will get to view solar eclipse after all
NEW YORK — Six inmates who sued New York’s corrections department over its decision to lock down prisons during next Monday’s total solar eclipse will get to watch the celestial event after all. Lawyers for the six men incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in upstate New York said Thursday...
Judge rejects Trump’s First Amendment challenge to indictment in Georgia election case
ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others rejected on Thursday arguments by the former president that the indictment seeks to criminalize political speech protected by the First Amendment. The indictment issued in August by a Fulton County grand jury accused Trump and...
1 killed, 2 others hospitalized after crane section falls from a South Florida high-riseVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — One person was killed and two others were hospitalized Thursday afternoon when a section of crane fell from a building in downtown Fort Lauderdale, officials said. Crews were in the process of “stepping the crane” during the construction of a high-rise building when a section being...
April nor’easter with heavy, wet snow bears down on Northeast, 630,000 still without powerVideo
A major spring storm brought heavy snow, rain and high winds to the Northeast into Thursday, downing trees and power lines and leaving nearly 700,000 homes and businesses without power at some point. A woman was reported killed by a falling tree in a New York City suburb and a...
Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to require anti-abortion group video, or comparable, in public schools
NASHVILLE — Tennessee would become the latest state to require public school students to watch a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group, or something comparable, under legislation that is headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. The GOP-dominated Senate passed the legislation Thursday, with the five Democrats...
80-year-old American tourist killed in elephant attack during game drive in ZambiaVideo
HARARE, Zimbabwe — A bull elephant charged a truck that an 80-year-old American was riding in with other tourists on a game drive in a Zambian national park, flipping over the vehicle and killing her, a safari company said. The attack injured five others on March 30 in the vast...
Judge denies Trump bid to dismiss classified documents prosecution
WASHINGTON — A federal judge refused Thursday to throw out the classified documents prosecution against Donald Trump, turning aside defense arguments that a decades-old law permitted the former president to retain the sensitive records after he left office. Lawyers for Trump had cited a 1978 statute known as the Presidential...
Biden tells Israel’s Netanyahu future U.S. support for war depends on new steps to protect civiliansVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that future U.S. support for Israel’s Gaza war depends on the swift implementation of new steps to protect civilians and aid workers. Biden and Netanyahu ‘s roughly 30-minute call just days after Israeli...
Border Patrol must care for migrant children who wait in camps for processing, a judge says
WASHINGTON — Migrant children who wait in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border for the Border Patrol to process them are in the agency’s custody and are subject to a long-standing court-supervised agreement that set standards for their treatment, a judge ruled. The issue of when the children are officially...
Lawsuit challenges Alabama restrictions on absentee ballot help
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Civil rights organizations and other groups filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new Alabama law that criminalizes certain types of assistance with absentee ballot applications. The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and other groups are plaintiffs in the lawsuit that says...
Free blue checks are back for some accounts on Elon Musk’s X — not everyone is happy about it
NEW YORK — Elon Musk’s social platform X has begun restoring complimentary blue checks for some of its users, the latest unexpected shift to cause a lot of confusion on the platform. For years, Twitter’s blue checks mirrored verification badges that are common on social media, largely reserved for celebrities,...
President Macron says France and its allies ‘could have stopped’ the 1994 Rwanda genocide
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron says France and its allies “could have stopped” the 1994 Rwanda genocide and “lacked the will to do so.” Macron’s office said in a statement that the French president will release a video on social media on Sunday as Rwanda commemorates the 30th anniversary...
Rights group says Israeli strike on Gaza building killed 106 in apparent war crime
JERUSALEM — Human Rights Watch says an Israeli attack on a Gaza apartment building in October killed at least 106 civilians, including 54 children. The New York-based rights group says its investigation, published Thursday, found no evidence that the attack targeted any militant activity inside the building, making it an...
EPA awards $20 billion in green bank grants for clean energy projects nationwide
DETROIT — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday awarded $20 billion in federal green bank grants to eight community development banks and nonprofit organizations to use on projects combating climate change in disadvantaged communities and helping Americans save money and reduce their carbon footprints. The money could fund tens of...
ALS drug will be pulled from U.S. market after study showed patients didn’t benefit
WASHINGTON — The maker of a drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease that recently failed in a large study said Thursday it will pull the medicine from the market, acknowledging it didn’t help patients with the deadly neurological condition. Amylyx Pharmaceuticals announced it will voluntarily halt sales and marketing of the...
Oklahoma prepares to execute man convicted of 2002 double slaying
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma is preparing to execute a man convicted of shooting and killing two people in Oklahoma City more than two decades ago. Michael Dewayne Smith, 41, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday after his conviction and death sentence for the slayings of Janet Moore, 41,...
Powerball jackpot jumps to $1.23 billion after another drawing without a big winner
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Powerball jackpot has increased to an estimated $1.23 billion after another drawing without a big winner Wednesday night. The numbers selected were: 11, 38, 41, 62, 65 and the Powerball 15. The jackpot, which now ranks as the eighth-largest in U.S. lottery history, has been...
Family, friends recall dedication of World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza reverberated around the world, as friends and relatives mourned the losses of those who were delivering food to besieged Palestinians with the charity World Central Kitchen. Killed were three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, an American Canadian dual citizen...
Key Bridge collapse could be largest-ever financial maritime loss
BALTIMORE — The deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could rival or beat the maritime industry’s largest-ever financial loss, with insurance claims expected to reach $1 billion or more. “It’s going to be a big claim, and the big number there is the potential cost to rebuild the...
Texas state attorney tells court state immigration law maybe went ‘too far’
WASHINGTON — A Texas state attorney told a federal appeals court that the state may have gone “too far” in passing a law that allows state officials to effectively deport immigrants, part of oral arguments Wednesday in the federal government’s push to block the law. The state has asked the...
FCC plans to restore net neutrality repealed by Trump administration
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it plans to vote later this month to restore the principle of net neutrality adopted during the Obama administration but repealed under Donald Trump. “After the prior administration abdicated authority over broadband services, the FCC has been handcuffed from acting to...
