U.S./World category, Page 441
After secret documents leak, Pentagon plans tighter controls to protect classified information
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Wednesday announced plans to tighten protection for classified information following the explosive leaks of hundreds of intelligence documents that were accessed through security gaps at a Massachusetts Air National Guard base. Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira, 21, is accused of leaking the highly classified military...
A fiery plane crash in a South Carolina resort town killed all 5 people on board
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Five people are dead after a single-engine plane crashed over the weekend in a South Carolina coastal resort town. Officials said Sunday’s fiery wreck near a golf course in North Myrtle Beach killed all four passengers and the pilot, The Myrtle Beach Sun News reported....
Tuesday set unofficial record for hottest day on Earth — Wednesday may break it
The planet’s temperature spiked Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer, and Wednesday could become the third straight day Earth unofficially marks a record-breaking high, the latest in a series of climate-change extremes that alarm but don’t surprise scientists. The globe’s average temperature...
Rip currents prompted 200 rescues in Virginia and Outer Banks over the Fourth weekend
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Strong rip currents prompted lifeguards to pull about 200 swimmers from the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia and the Outer Banks area of North Carolina over the holiday weekend. Tom Gill, chief of the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service, told The Virginian-Pilot that the city’s more than 180...
Ukraine, Russia accuse each other of planning to attack Europe’s biggest nuclear plant
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine and Russia accused each other Wednesday of planning to attack one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants, but neither side provided evidence to support their claims of an imminent threat to the facility in southeastern Ukraine that is occupied by Russian troops. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear...
Suicide bomber attacks security post in Pakistan, killing 3 soldiers and 10-year-old boy
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber riding in a vehicle targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least three soldiers and a 10-year-old boy and wounding 14 other civilians, officials said. The bombing occurred in Miran Shah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan...
Woman dies while hiking in triple-digit heat in Grand Canyon
A woman has died after attempting a day hike in Grand Canyon National Park when the temperature was in the triple digits. In a news release, officials with the national park in Arizona, said park rangers received a report about a distressed hiker around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 2....
Ohio abortion rights backers submit nearly double needed signatures for fall ballot measure
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Groups hoping to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio’s constitution delivered nearly double the number of signatures needed to place an amendment on the fall statewide ballot, aiming to signal sweeping widespread support for an issue that still faces the threat of needing a significantly increased victory margin....
Mass shootings claim lives at gatherings over the July Fourth holiday
SHREVEPORT, La. — Mass shootings broke out at festivals, block parties and other gatherings in a handful of cities this week as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July. Gun violence that flared in Washington, D.C, Louisiana, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Texas and Florida left more than a dozen dead and almost...
U.S. citizenship test changes are coming, raising concerns for those with low English skills
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency. The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship — a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years...
Secondary test of powder found in West Wing lobby shows it’s cocaine, Biden briefed on investigation
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been briefed on the investigation into the discovery of cocaine on the lobby floor of the White House West Wing, and thinks it is “incredibly important” for the Secret Service to determine how it got there, officials said Wednesday. U.S. Secret Service agents found...
Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country grows more polarized
STAR, Idaho — Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself. Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin...
9 people, including 2 kids, are shot and wounded in the nation’s capital as violence mars July 4
WASHINGTON — Nine people outside enjoying the Independence Day festivities in the nation’s capital were shot and wounded early Wednesday, police said, as a spate of violence marred the holiday. Officers responding around 1 a.m. to the mass shooting in a neighborhood about a 20-minute drive east of the White...
Joey Chestnut shakes off rain delay and defends title at Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog contest
Eating superstar Joey “Jaws” Chestnut shook off a rain delay and gobbled his way to another win at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, downing 62 franks and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut out ate runner-up Geoffrey Esper and the rest of an international field of 15...
Shots fired into a crowd of hundreds after a holiday festival in Texas leaves 3 dead, 8 injured
DALLAS — Three people were killed and eight others injured when shots were fired into a crowd of hundreds following a festival in a Texas neighborhood, authorities said. The shooting in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como happened at about 11:47 p.m. Monday, and police said a chaotic scene followed...
The world’s tallest flagpole. A tiny Maine town. An idea meant to unite people is dividing them
COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine — Lobster boat engines rumble to life in quiet coves. Lumberjacks trudge deep into the woods. Farmers tend expanses of wild blueberries. Maine’s Down East region is where the sunlight first kisses the East Coast of the United States each day, where the vast wilderness and ocean...
Retailers, beware: Resumption of student loan payments could lead some buyers to pull back
WASHINGTON — The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge. The suspension of federal student loan payments, which took effect at the height of the pandemic in 2020, expires...
In a polarized U.S., how to define a patriot increasingly depends on who’s being asked
Millions of Americans will attend parades, fireworks and other Independence Day events on Tuesday, celebrating the courage of the nation’s 18th century patriots who fought for independence from Great Britain and what they considered an unjust government. Those events also will honor the military and those who sacrificed in other...
The American flag wasn’t always revered as it is today. At the beginning, it was an afterthought
PHILADELPHIA — In the bedroom of the Betsy Ross House, a reconstruction of where the upholsterer worked on her most famous commission, a long flag with a circle of 13 stars hangs over a Chippendale side chair and extends across the floor. Over the weeks in 1776 needed to complete...
Harvard legacy admissions targeted after Supreme Court ruling on affirmative actionVideo
Harvard University was accused by minority groups of violating federal law by giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to children of alumni and wealthy donors, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the use of race-based affirmative action policies. The long-standing practice of legacy admissions flouts a provision...
Maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate
Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic...
Fright over crack on North Carolina ride serves as reminder of risks at amusement parksVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A visible crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster served as a reminder of the risks that sometimes arise with amusement park rides, particularly as families and adrenaline junkies flock to the attractions throughout the summer. Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular...
A Texas man who went missing as a teen in 2015 has been found alive, his family and police say
HOUSTON — A Texas man who went missing as a teenager in 2015 after last being seen walking his dogs in Houston has been found alive, his family and police said Monday. Police and firefighters found Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV around 10 p.m. Thursday after getting a call of a...
The aftermath of mass shootings infiltrates every corner of survivors’ lives
CHICAGO — More than a year after 11-year-old Mayah Zamora was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, where she was critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, the family is still reeling. Knocks on the door startle Mayah into a panic. The family...
A year of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians just escalated. Is this an uprising?
TEL AVIV, Israel — Airstrikes targeting Palestinian militants in a crowded residential area. Armored bulldozers plowing through narrow streets, crushing cars and piling up debris. Protesters burning tires. A mounting death toll. Israel’s large-scale military raid into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday had undeniable...
