U.S./World category, Page 497
Caesars Palace to demolish rotunda along Las Vegas Strip
LAS VEGAS — Caesars Palace is bidding farewell to its rotunda along the Strip, a move that will clear space ahead of this fall’s Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Clark County Building Department issued a demolition permit last week for the domed, Roman-themed structure along Las Vegas Boulevard,...
North Korea launches ICBM before South Korea-Japan summit
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in a display of military might Thursday just hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were to meet at a Tokyo summit expected to be overshadowed by North Korean nuclear threats. The launch, the North’s first ICBM...
Arizona governor blasted for plans to defy execution order
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is facing heavy pushback from a victim’s sister and a powerful county prosecutor for her plans to defy a court order to execute a prisoner next month for his conviction in a 2002 killing. The newly elected Democratic governor vowed nearly two weeks ago...
Long-used U.S. abortion pill under threat in Texas lawsuit
AMARILLO, Texas — A federal judge in Texas raised questions Wednesday about a Christian group’s effort to overturn federal regulators’ decades-old approval of a leading abortion drug, in a case that could threaten the country’s most common method for ending pregnancies. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk heard more than four hours of...
Stormy Daniels meets with prosecutors investigating Trump
NEW YORK — Porn actor Stormy Daniels met Wednesday with prosecutors who are investigating hush money paid to her on former President Donald Trump’s behalf, her lawyer said Wednesday. The news emerged as Michael Cohen, a former Trump attorney who orchestrated the payment, was giving a second day of testimony...
Macron’s pension plan advances despite strikes across France
PARIS — French people hoping to preserve their retirement benefits took to the streets nationwide on Wednesday as President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pension plan was validated by a committee of lawmakers meeting behind closed doors. Macron had the means on the joint Senate and National Assembly committee to advance his...
Why U.S. troops remain in Iraq 20 years after ‘shock and awe’
WASHINGTON — Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq — in blinding explosions of shock and awe — American forces remain in the country in what has become a small but consistent presence to ensure an ongoing relationship with a key military and diplomatic partner in the Middle East. The...
What’s known and not about U.S. drone-Russian jet encounter
WASHINGTON — When a Russian fighter jet collided with a large U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea, it was a rare but serious incident that triggered a U.S. diplomatic protest and raised concerns about the possibility Russia could recover sensitive technology. U.S. and Russian officials had conflicting accounts of...
Fox’s Benjamin Hall talks survival after nearly dying in Ukraine
NEW YORK — A year after nearly being killed by Russian bombs while covering the war in Ukraine, Fox News’ Benjamin Hall credits a relentless optimism — and what he describes as an unexplained miracle — for getting him through. Truth is, it was probably several miracles that enabled Hall...
Not magic: Opaque AI tool may flag parents with disabilities
PITTSBURGH — For the two weeks that the Hackneys’ baby girl lay in a Pittsburgh hospital bed weak from dehydration, her parents rarely left her side, sometimes sleeping on the fold-out sofa in the room. They stayed with their daughter around the clock when she was moved to a rehab...
How Washington came to rescue U.S. banks
WASHINGTON — After the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters started furiously working the phones to find out what was going on with the failed lender — and what would happen to its panicked depositors. Waters, former chair of the House Financial Services Committee, had...
‘Nazi’ references: BBC sportscaster’s tweet revives debate
NEW YORK — The references seem endless, and they can come from anywhere. In recent days, Pope Francis compared Nicaragua’s repression of Catholics to Hitler’s rule in Germany. In Britain, a BBC sportscaster likened the nation’s asylum policy to 1930s Germany, resulting in his brief suspension and a national uproar....
NASA Webb telescope captures star on cusp of death
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Webb Space Telescope has captured the rare and fleeting phase of a star on the cusp of death. NASA released the picture Tuesday at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. The observation was among the first made by Webb following its launch in...
Ohio sues Norfolk Southern over toxic train derailment
Ohio filed a lawsuit against railroad Norfolk Southern to make sure it pays for the cleanup and environmental damage caused by a fiery train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month, the state’s attorney general said Tuesday. The federal lawsuit also seeks to force the company to pay for groundwater...
No Harvey Weinstein retrial on rape, sex assault charges
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles prosecutors told a judge Tuesday that they will not retry Harvey Weinstein, who was convicted of the rape and sexual assault of one woman, on counts involving two others that left jurors deadlocked. Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson announced the decision to Superior Court Judge...
Northeast winter storm shuts schools, knocks out power
CONCORD, N.H. — The start of a winter storm with heavy, wet snow caused a plane to slide off a taxiway and led to hundreds of school closings, canceled flights and thousands of power outages in parts of the Northeast on Tuesday. The storm’s path included parts of New England,...
U.S.: Russian fighter jet hits American drone over Black Sea
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday in a “brazen violation of international law,” causing American forces to bring down the unmanned aerial vehicle, the U.S. said. Moscow said the U.S. drone maneuvered sharply and crashed...
Ohio Supreme Court to review block of near-ban on abortion
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to review a county judge’s order that is blocking enforcement of the state’s near-ban on abortions, and to consider whether the clinics challenging the law have legal standing to do so. In its split decision, the court, however, denied Republican Attorney...
Saudi Arabia places order with Boeing for up to 121 planes
Two Saudi Arabian airlines said Tuesday they will order 78 jetliners from Boeing and take options to buy 43 more in a major boost for the American aircraft manufacturer. The order for Boeing 787s will be divided between Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, Saudia, and a planned new airline called Riyadh...
Facebook parent Meta slashes another 10,000 jobs
Facebook parent Meta is slashing another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs. The company said Tuesday it will reduce the size of its recruiting team and make further cuts in its tech groups in late April, and then its business...
China to reopen to tourists, resume all visas Wednesday
HONG KONG — China will reopen its borders to tourists and resume issuing all visas Wednesday as it tries to revive tourism and its economy following a three-year halt during the covid-19 pandemic. China is one of the last major countries to reopen its borders to tourists. The announcement Tuesday...
Biden issues order to strengthen gun background checks
SAN DIEGO — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday aiming to increase the number of background checks to buy guns, promote more secure firearms storage and ensure U.S. law enforcement agencies are getting the most out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer. The Democratic...
Abortion pill hearing made public after transparency concern
WASHINGTON — A judge is set to hear arguments this week in a lawsuit that poses a threat to the nationwide availability of medication abortion. The upcoming hearing became public Monday after reporting raised concerns that the case with major implications could unfold with little public oversight. The intensely watched...
Zebra bites, injures Ohio owner’s arm before it’s fatally shotVideo
CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — A zebra attacked its owner at an Ohio home and bit the man’s arm before it was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy, authorities said. The attack occurred around 5:30 p.m. Sunday in Circleville. Pickaway County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the home and found the man in...
Mitch McConnell released from hospital, headed to inpatient rehab
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was released from the hospital Monday after treatment for a concussion and will continue to recover in an inpatient rehabilitation facility, a spokesman said. McConnell’s office said his doctors discovered over the weekend that he had also suffered a “minor rib fracture” after...
