U.S./World category, Page 73
AI Apocalypse? Why language surrounding tech is sounding increasingly religious
TORONTO — At 77 years old, Geoffrey Hinton has a new calling in life. Like a modern-day prophet, the Nobel Prize winner is raising alarms about the dangers of uncontrolled and unregulated artificial intelligence. Frequently dubbed the “Godfather of AI,” Hinton is known for his pioneering work on deep learning...
Death toll from Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City rises to 7 and infections hit 114
NEW YORK — New York City health officials have discovered a seventh death linked to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Central Harlem, where more than 100 people have been diagnosed with the ailment. The latest death was announced Thursday. Officials said they had concluded the death of a person with...
What to know about the U.S. warships sent to South America and the reaction in Venezuela
WASHINGTON — The United States is boosting its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels with the expected arrival of more vessels next week, an action that will undoubtedly fuel more speculation among Venezuelans, their government and its political opposition. The U.S....
U.S. offers military funeral honors to Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is offering military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was killed at 35 by an officer in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Babbitt was a U.S. Air Force veteran from California who was shot dead wearing a Trump campaign flag...
Israel declares Gaza’s largest city a combat zone as the bodies of 2 hostages are recovered
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel on Friday declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and said it was in the ″initial stages″ of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation. Israel’s military said it suspended mid-day pauses to fighting, which had allowed food and aid supplies to...
Fire departments concerned about cancer risks are buying gear that is free of forever chemicals
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Every time he rushed out on a fire call, East Providence Lt. Thomas Votta knew he put himself at risk for cancer. There are potential carcinogens in the smoke billowing out of a house fire, but also risks from wearing his chemically-treated gear. Last month, the...
Father of 8-year-old boy killed in Minneapolis church shooting wants him remembered for his love
MINNEAPOLIS — As the families of the two Catholic school students fatally shot while celebrating Mass at a Minneapolis church continue to wrestle with their grief, the father of the 8-year-old boy killed tearfully urged the community to remember his son for his love of family, fishing and cooking. “Please...
D.C. man seen throwing sandwich at agent charged with misdemeanor after grand jury declines indictment
WASHINGTON — A man captured on camera hurling a sandwich at a federal agent in D.C. has been charged with a misdemeanor offense after prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury to return a more serious felony indictment, according to court papers filed Thursday. The move is a blow to...
Trump proposed getting rid of FEMA, but his review council seems focused on reforming the agency
Four days after starting his second administration, President Donald Trump floated the idea of “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which manages federal disaster response. But at a Thursday meeting, the 12-person review council he appointed to propose changes to FEMA seemed more focused on reforms than total...
European nations move to impose a ‘snapback’ of Iran nuclear sanctions at UN
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — France, Germany and the United Kingdom moved Thursday to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further isolating Tehran after its atomic sites were repeatedly bombed during a 12-day war with Israel. The process, termed a “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fell last week as layoffs remain low
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week as employers appear to be holding onto their workers even as the economy has slowed. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 23 dropped 5,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Measures of the job market are being...
Authorities are looking for a motive for the shooter who killed 2 kids at a Minneapolis church
RICHFIELD, Minn. — Investigators were examining the videos, writings and movements of the shooter who fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis, killing two children and wounding 17 people, for connections to the church and its school to understand the motivation for the attack. Armed with a...
Trump administration asks military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations
CHICAGO — The Trump administration asked a military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations, the base said Thursday, offering a clue of what an expanded law enforcement crackdown might look like in the nation’s third-largest city. The Department of Homeland Security has asked Naval Station Great Lakes for...
Minneapolis Catholic schoolchildren listened to a prayer, then ducked for cover from gunfire
MINNEAPOLIS — In the vaulted church of a Catholic school in Minneapolis, the pews were packed with teachers, parents and schoolchildren listening to a psalm on the third day of the new school year. “For you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day,” a church member...
Jury awards more than $2 million to protester shot in face with nonlethal projectile
LOS ANGELES — A jury has awarded at least $2.2 million to a protester who was shot in the face with a less-lethal munition by a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy during a demonstration against police brutality in 2020. In the verdict last week, the jury found LA County liable for...
Guard not needed in Chicago, Pritzker tells AP during tour of city to counter Trump’s crime claims
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is doubling down on his message to President Donald Trump that the nation’s third-largest city doesn’t need or want military intervention to fight crime, showing off parts of the city where violent crime has decreased and saying sending in the National Guard could only...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing next week
BEIJING — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make his first visit to China in six years to attend a military parade next week, the two countries said Thursday, in an event that would bring him together with a group of world leaders for the first time since taking...
Mass Russian drone and missile attack kills 15 and injures 48 in Ukraine’s capital
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia bombarded the Ukrainian capital with drones and missiles early Thursday, including a rare strike in the city center, killing at least 15 people and wounding 48, local authorities said. It was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end...
Trump Station? Feds coy on potential rebranding of NYC Penn Station amid redesign
NEW YORK — The Trump administration’s plan to begin rebuilding Penn Station in 2027 doesn’t officially involve a rebranding — though Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was coy when asked about that possibility Wednesday. “I imagine you’re asking, ’ Is this going to be Trump Station?’” Duffy replied when asked if...
What is known about the shooter who killed 2 and wounded 17 in Minneapolis
Authorities are working to learn the motive of the shooter who fired into a Minneapolis Catholic school’s church during Mass, killing two children and injuring 17 worshippers. Officials identified the shooter as Robin Westman, 23, and said Westman was found dead in the parking lot from what they believe was...
Amish woman accused of killing her 4-year-old son by throwing him into an Ohio lake
An Amish woman who told authorities she was testing her faith when she threw her 4-year-old son into an Ohio lake was charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated murder in the boy’s death. Authorities said Ruth R. Miller, 40, of Millersburg, Ohio, told investigators she believed she was acting...
Louisiana urges Supreme Court to bar use of race in redistricting, in attack on Voting Rights Act
WASHINGTON — Louisiana on Wednesday abandoned its defense of a political map that elected two Black members of Congress and instead called on the Supreme Court to reject any consideration of race in redistricting in a case that could bring major changes to the Voting Rights Act. Appealing to a...
Wisconsin missing kayaker who faked his own death sentenced to 89 days in jail
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning while kayaking and left his wife and three children to meet a woman in the country of Georgia was convicted Tuesday of obstructing an officer and sentenced to 89 days in jail, which was the amount of time he...
CDC director Susan Monarez is out after less than a month on the job; other agency leaders resign
NEW YORK — The director of the nation’s top public health agency is out after less than one month in the job, and several top agency leaders have resigned. “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service...
CDC dramatically scales back program that tracks food poisoning infections
Federal health officials have dramatically scaled back a program that has tracked food poisoning infections in the U.S. for three decades. The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, known as FoodNet, has cut required monitoring to just two pathogens that cause infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....
