U.S./World category, Page 82
Heavy rains expected in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands as Tropical Storm Erin nears
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Erin was expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Friday as it approached the northeast Caribbean, prompting forecasters to warn of possible flooding and landslides. The storm is expected to remain over open waters, although tropical storm watches were issued for Anguilla and...
Bondi names DEA head as DC’s ’emergency police commissioner,’ but capital leaders push backVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration, stepping up its crackdown on policing in the nation’s capital, on Thursday named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration to be Washington’s “emergency police commissioner” with all the powers of the police chief — a significant move that increases national control over the city...
RFK Jr. resurrects decades-old vaccine safety task force
The Department of Health and Human Services is resurrecting a decades-old vaccine safety task force, the agency announced Thursday. It’s a full-circle moment for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who claimed after the 2016 election that President Donald Trump had asked him to chair a “commission on vaccine safety...
Putin seeks arms control treaty as next stage after Trump summit
Russia and the U.S. can start work on a new arms control treaty after Friday’s summit in Alaska, said President Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump. An agreement on the control of strategic offensive weapons could “create long-term conditions of peace between our countries, in Europe, and...
Prosecutors file more attempted murder charges against Minnesota man who killed lawmakers
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota man accused of killing a top Democratic state lawmaker and wounding another while pretending to be a police officer is now facing new and upgraded state charges after a fresh indictment was announced Thursday, just a week after he pleaded not guilty in federal court. Vance...
Judge strikes down Trump administration guidance against diversity programs at schools and colleges
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the nation’s schools and universities. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland stated that the Education Department violated the law when it threatened to cut...
Supreme Court allows Mississippi to require age verification on social media such as Facebook and X
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday refused for now to block enforcement of a Mississippi law aimed at regulating the use of social media by children, an issue of growing national concern. The justices rejected an emergency appeal from a tech industry group representing major platforms like Facebook, X...
DeSantis announces plans for 2nd immigration detention facility dubbed ‘Deportation Depot’
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison as a federal judge decides the fate of the state’s holding center for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”...
Judge orders RFK Jr.’s health department to stop sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered the nation’s health department to stop giving deportation officials access to the personal information — including home addresses — of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first handed over the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees...
Caribbean officials warn of heavy rain and monster waves as Tropical Storm Erin nearsVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Officials in the northern Caribbean warned Thursday of heavy rain and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approached the region. The storm is expected to remain over open waters and move north-northeast of islands including Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and...
Costco forgoes sale of abortion pill, emboldening religious groups
Costco Wholesale Corp. has decided not to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone at its more than 500 pharmacy locations, a decision hailed by a group of faith-based activists who urged the retailer to avoid selling the drug. Costco said in a statement that it hasn’t seen consumer demand for the...
Washington homeless encampments clear out in anticipation of Trump crackdown
WASHINGTON — National Guard troops and Humvees guarded some Washington landmarks Thursday and advocacy organizations helped clear homeless encampments in advance of an anticipated crackdown as President Donald Trump’s takeover of city police ramped up. The multiagency flood of federal law enforcement ordered by the Republican president to tackle crime...
Pam Bondi fires Justice Department employee accused of throwing sandwich at federal agent
WASHINGTON — A man charged with a felony for hurling a sandwich at a federal law-enforcement official in the nation’s capital has been fired from his job at the Justice Department, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post Thursday. A video of Sean Charles Dunn berating a...
Trump and Putin set to meet in Alaska for high-stakes summit on Russia-Ukraine war
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit that could determine not only the trajectory of the war in Ukraine but also the fate of European security. The sit-down offers Trump a chance to prove...
Social Security has existed for 90 years. Why it may be more threatened than ever
WASHINGTON — When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law 90 years ago this week, he vowed it would provide economic stability to older people while giving the U.S. “an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.” Today, the program provides benefits to almost 69 million Americans...
Man accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is found guilty of sexual assault in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — A Rhode Island man accused of faking his death and fleeing the United States to evade rape charges was found guilty Wednesday of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in his first of two Utah trials. A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Rossi guilty of...
LA Olympics to sell naming rights to some venues in game-changing deal for 2028
Organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics will sell naming rights for a handful of its venues in deals expected to bring multiple millions of dollars to the 2028 Games while breaking down the International Olympic Committee’s long-sacrosanct policy of keeping brand names off its arenas and stadiums. The organizing committee...
6 planets are hanging out in early morning skies this month. Here’s how to spot them
NEW YORK — Six planets are hanging out in the sky this month in what’s known as a planetary parade. Catch the spectacle while you can because it’s the last one of the year. These linkups happen when several planets appear to line up in the night sky at once....
Melania Trump demands Hunter Biden retract ‘extremely salacious’ Epstein comments
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue if he does not. Trump takes issue with two comments Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, made in an interview this month with British journalist Andrew...
Casino lobby says illegal operators control one-third of U.S. gambling activity
Nearly one-third of all gambling activity in the United States is conducted with an illegal operator or at an unlawful site, according to the industry’s main lobbying group. A new analysis from the Washington, D.C.-based American Gaming Association claims that 31.9 percent of the total U.S. gambling market is controlled...
Man arrested for hurling sandwich at federal law-enforcement official in D.C.Video
A man has been arrested on a charge that he hurled a sandwich at a federal law-enforcement official in the nation’s capital amid a surge in law-enforcement patrols ordered by the White House, according to a court filing Wednesday. Sean Charles Dunn, 37, of Washington, D.C., approached a group of...
Federal agents will be out 24/7 on patrol in Washington, White House says
WASHINGTON — As a wary Washington waited, the White House promised a ramp-up of National Guard troops and federal officers on the streets of the nation’s capital around the clock starting Wednesday, days after President Donald Trump’s unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the city’s police department for...
Trump administration’s lawsuit against all of Maryland’s federal judges meets skepticism in court
BALTIMORE — A judge on Wednesday questioned why it was necessary for the Trump administration to sue Maryland’s entire federal bench over an order that paused the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals. U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen didn’t issue a ruling following a hearing in federal court in...
Trump warns of ‘severe consequences’ if Putin does not agree to stop war after summit
BERLIN — President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after the two leaders meet for a summit later this week in Alaska. Trump made the comment in response to a question...
Environmental concerns could halt construction at Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration jail
MIAMI — The fate of a makeshift immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “ Alligator Alcatraz ” hung in the balance on Wednesday as a federal judge considered whether building on sensitive wetlands violated environmental laws. Last week, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered a 14-day halt on...
