U.S./World category, Page 346
Ukraine withdrawing from Avdiivka, where outnumbered defenders held out for 4 months
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military chief said early Saturday that he’s withdrawing troops from the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, where outnumbered defenders battled a Russian assault for four months. The timing is critical as Russia is looking for a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary Feb. 24...
Texas will build camp for National Guard members in border city of Eagle Pass
McALLEN, Texas — Texas will build an operations base for up to 1,800 National Guard members in Eagle Pass, expanding the presence of soldiers in the border city where the state has clashed with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday. The 80-acre property along...
A $355 million penalty and business ban: Takeaways from Trump’s New York civil fraud verdict
NEW YORK — Donald Trump suffered a big blow Friday as a New York judge ordered the former president and his companies to pay $355 million in penalties for what the judge described as a scheme to deceive banks and insurers by exaggerating Trump’s wealth on his annual financial statements....
Donald Trump fraud verdict: $364 million penalty in civil fraud case
NEW YORK — A New York judge ruled Friday against Donald Trump, imposing a $364 million penalty over what the judge ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president’s wealth. Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or...
2 juveniles charged in mass shooting at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two juveniles have been charged with crimes connected to the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally, authorities said Friday. A news release from the Jackson County Family Court said the juveniles are being detained in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center “on gun-related and...
W.Va. Sen. Joe Manchin announces he won’t run for president in 2024
WASHINGTON — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced on Friday that he is not running for president, saying he didn’t want to be a “spoiler.” “I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run,” he said in a speech at West Virginia...
Fani Willis won’t return to the witness stand as judge weighs disqualification in Trump case
ATLANTA — The Fulton County district attorney’s office opted not to put Fani Willis back on the witness stand Friday, avoiding the spectacle of more deeply personal testimony from the top prosecutor as she fights an effort to derail Donald Trump’s 2020 Georgia election interference case. While Willis will not...
Proposed questions on sexual orientation, gender identity for the Census Bureau’s biggest survey
The U.S. Census Bureau this year plans to test questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for its most comprehensive survey of American life. The test questions will be sent to 480,000 households, with the statistical agency expecting just over half to respond. If the questions are approved, it will...
5 patients die as oxygen runs out in Gaza hospital seized by Israeli forces, health officials say
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Five patients in intensive care died after their oxygen cut off in southern Gaza’s main hospital that was stormed by Israeli troops, causing chaos for hundreds of staff and wounded inside, health officials said Friday. Troops were searching the complex where the military said it believes...
Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon?
Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. At least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one. Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships...
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy signing security agreements with Germany, France as Kyiv shores up support
BERLIN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security agreement with Germany and planned to sign another with France on Friday, securing a strong signal of long-term backing as Kyiv works to shore up Western support nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale war. The Ukrainian leader was...
Satellite photos show Egypt building a wall near Gaza Strip as Israeli offensive on Rafah looms
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting the border city of Rafah, satellite images analyzed Friday by the Associated Press show. Egypt, which has not publicly acknowledged the construction,...
Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Putin, has died, Russian authorities say
Alexei Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe, died Friday in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, Russia’s prison agency said. He was 47. The stunning news — less than a month before an election...
In fiery testimony, Fani Willis hits back at misconduct claims that threaten future of Trump caseVideo
ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the witness stand Thursday and forcefully pushed back against what she described as “lies” about her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor during an extraordinary hearing over misconduct allegations that threaten to upend one of four criminal cases against Donald Trump....
FBI informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukrainian energy company
WASHINGTON — An FBI informant has been charged with lying to authorities about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company, a claim that is central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Alexander Smirnov falsely reported in June 2020 that executives...
Russia has obtained a ‘troubling’ emerging anti-satellite weapon, the White House says
WASHINGTON — The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such...
Kansas City shooting elicits social media reactions, calls to action
During the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration and parade on Valentine’s Day, gunfire erupted — leaving one dead and over 20 injured, including children, according to the Associated Press. The AP reported the shooting occurred despite the presence of more than 800 police officers in the building and nearby....
On the USS Eisenhower, 4 months of combat at sea facing Houthi missiles and new sea threat
ABOARD THE USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER — Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four months straight at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis, and are now more regularly also defending against a new threat...
Venezuela orders UN office on human rights to close and its staff to leave in 3 days
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s government on Thursday ordered the local U.N. office on human rights to suspend operations and gave its staff 72 hours to leave, accusing the office of promoting opposition to the South American country. Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil announced the decision at a news conference in...
Red flags, missed clues: How accused U.S. diplomat-turned-Cuban spy avoided scrutiny for decades
MIAMI — Manuel Rocha was well known in Miami’s elite circles for an aristocratic, almost regal, bearing that seemed fitting for an Ivy League-educated career U.S. diplomat who held top posts in Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba and the White House. “Ambassador Rocha,” as he preferred to be called, demanded and got...
Police: Shooting after Chiefs Super Bowl parade seemed to stem from dispute among several people
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mass shooting that unfolded amid throngs of people at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration appeared to stem from a dispute between several people, authorities said Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that the 22 people injured in the shooting ranged between the ages...
Israeli forces storm the main hospital in southern Gaza, saying hostages were likely held there
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex. The Israeli army said it was a limited operation seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas. The raid came a...
U.S. company’s lunar lander rockets toward the moon for a touchdown attempt next week
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Another private U.S. company took a shot at the moon Thursday, launching a month after a rival’s lunar lander missed its mark and came crashing back. NASA, the main sponsor with experiments on board, is hoping for a successful moon landing next week as it seeks...
North Carolina tells nature-based therapy program to stop admissions during probe of boy’s death
LAKE TOXAWAY, N.C. — North Carolina health officials have told a nature-based therapy program to stop admissions and take other steps to ensure children’s safety during the investigation of a 12-year-old boy’s death earlier this month. Department of Health and Human Services officials said in a letter to Trails Carolina...
Special counsel asks Supreme Court to let Trump’s 2020 election case proceed to trial without delay
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to let former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case proceed to trial without further delay. Prosecutors were responding to a Trump team request from earlier in the week asking for a continued pause in the case...
