Remembering D-Day: Key facts and figures about the invasion that changed the course of World War II
OMAHA BEACH, France — The June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France was unprecedented in scale and audacity, using the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to punch a hole in Adolf Hitler’s defenses in western Europe and change the course of World War II. With veterans...
Dwindling number of D-Day veterans mark anniversary with plea to recall WWII lessons in today’s wars
OMAHA BEACH, France — As young soldiers, they waded ashore in Normandy through gunfire to battle the Nazis. On Thursday, a dwindling number of World War II veterans were joined by a new generation of leaders to honor the dead, the living and the fight for democracy in moving commemorations...
SpaceX’s mega rocket makes its fourth test flight from TexasVideo
SpaceX’s mega Starship rocket blasted off from Texas on Thursday, the fourth test flight for the spaceship that NASA and Elon Musk are counting on to get humanity to the moon and Mars. The world’s largest and most powerful rocket — almost 400 feet (121 meters) tall — was empty...
Man charged in Gilgo Beach serial killings kept ‘blueprint’ of crimes on computer, prosecutors say
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — The New York architect accused of murdering multiple women and leaving their corpses scattered along the Long Island coast kept a “blueprint” of his crimes on his computer, prosecutors revealed Thursday as they brought charges against Rex Heuermann in two more killings. Heuermann, 60, appeared before a...
Russian court begins trial of U.S. soldier arrested on theft charges
MOSCOW — A court in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok on Thursday began the trial of an American soldier arrested earlier this year on charges of stealing. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, flew to Vladivostok, a Pacific port city, to see his girlfriend and was arrested after she accused...
Sudanese RSF paramilitaries clash with the army, leaving at least 100 people dead
CAIRO — At least 100 people were killed, and dozens were injured after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces attacked a village in Gezira province in Sudan on Wednesday, officials said. Women, children, and elderly were among the victims in the attacks by the Rapid Support Forces on Wad al-Noura village...
Israeli strike kills at least 33 people at Gaza school the military claims was being used by Hamas
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike early Thursday on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza killed more than 30 people, including 23 women and children, according to local health officials. The Israeli military said that Hamas militants were operating from within the school. It was the...
Gov. Shapiro signs law prohibiting use of handheld devices while driving
Using cellphones and other handheld devices while driving will no longer be allowed on Pennsylvania roads. On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Paul Miller’s Law, which prohibits the use of handheld devices while driving. The law passed in May with bipartisan support and it makes Pennsylvania the 29th state in...
Fatal stabbing of 3-year-old outside Ohio supermarket took just seconds, police say
A woman who fatally stabbed a 3-year-old boy sitting in a grocery cart outside an Ohio supermarket attacked him and his mother in less than five seconds before walking away, police said. Police said witnesses had no time to stop the stabbing that investigators believe was random. Officers arrested 32-year-old...
Governor halts plan to charge most drivers entering Manhattan $15 for transit and traffic fixes
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul halted a plan to charge most motorists $15 to enter the core of Manhattan, upending the nation’s first “congestion pricing” system on Wednesday just weeks before it was set to launch. The announcement dealt a stunning blow to a program, years in...
They’re big. They’re colorful. But Joro spiders aren’t nightmare fodderVideo
A large, brightly colored invasive species called the Joro spider is on the move in the United States. Populations have been growing in parts of the South and East Coast for years, and many researchers think it’s only a matter of time before they spread to much of the continental...
Tornadoes touch down across U.S., killing toddler in Michigan and injuring 5 in MarylandVideo
LIVONIA, Mich. — A tornado killed a 2-year-old boy and injured his mother Wednesday when a tree fell on their house in suburban Detroit, while emergency workers in Maryland were responding to reports of collapsed structures with people trapped inside after a tornado there. Officials in Livonia, Michigan, said in...
Gov. Shapiro, Pitt chancellor give vastly different takes on pro-Palestinian encampment than protest’s leaders
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office late Wednesday called it “unfortunate” that a 30-hour pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pittsburgh “devolved into documented violence, vandalism, and antisemitic rhetoric.” The statement from Shapiro press secretary Manuel Bonder came hours after Pitt Divest from Apartheid, the group that organized the encampment, offered a...
YouTube toughens policy on gun videos and youth
WASHINGTON — YouTube is changing its policies about firearm videos in an effort to keep potentially dangerous content from reaching underage users. The video sharing platform owned by Google said Wednesday it will prohibit any videos demonstrating how to remove firearm safety devices. In addition, videos showing homemade guns, automatic...
Man in Mexico died of a bird flu strain that hadn’t been confirmed before in a human, WHO says
WASHINGTON — A man’s death in Mexico was caused by a strain of bird flu called H5N2 that has never before been found in a human, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The WHO said it wasn’t clear how the man became infected, although H5N2 has been reported in poultry...
Phoenix using ice immersion to treat heatstroke victims as Southwest bakes in triple digitsVideo
PHOENIX — The season’s first heat wave is already baking the Southwest with triple-digit temperatures as firefighters in Phoenix — America’s hottest big city — employ new tactics in hopes of saving more lives in a county that saw 645 heat-related deaths last year. Starting this season, the Phoenix Fire...
Republicans block bill to protect contraception access as Democrats make election-year pushVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have blocked legislation designed to protect women’s access to contraception, arguing that the bill was just a political stunt as Democrats mount an election-year effort to put GOP senators on the record on reproductive rights issues, The test vote won a 51-39 majority, but that was...
Father of Alaska woman killed in murder-for-hire plot dies during memorial ride marking her death
ANCHORAGE — The father of an Alaska woman killed in a murder-for-hire scheme in 2019 died during a weekend memorial motorcycle ride commemorating the fifth anniversary of her death. Timothy Hoffman, 58, lost control of his motorcycle Sunday in an area west of Wasilla and was later pronounced dead at...
Republicans who see Trump conviction as politically motivated vow to ‘indict the left’
NEW YORK — In the days since Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in his criminal hush money trial, Republicans who view the case as politically motivated have coalesced around a new rallying cry: Prosecute the left. Candidates, officeholders and members of the former president’s family have amplified Trump’s...
House Speaker appoints 2 Trump allies to a committee overseeing spy agencies
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday appointed two far-right Republicans to the powerful House Intelligence Committee, positioning two close allies of Donald Trump who worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election on a panel that receives sensitive classified briefings and oversees the work of America’s spy agencies. The...
Appeals court halts Trump’s Georgia election case while appeal on Fani Willis disqualification pending
ATLANTA — An appeals court has halted the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others while it reviews the lower court judge’s ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case. The Georgia Court of Appeals’ order Wednesday prevents Fulton County Superior...
New study finds Earth warming at record rate, but no evidence of climate change accelerating
The rate Earth is warming hit an all-time high in 2023 with 92% of last year’s surprising record-shattering heat caused by humans, top scientists calculated. The group of 57 scientists from around the world used United Nations-approved methods to examine what’s behind last year’s deadly burst of heat. They said...
Boeing launches NASA astronauts for the first time after years of delays
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing launched astronauts for the first time Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA. A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft. The trip by Butch...
In their own words: What young people wish they’d known about social media
It’s dangerous. It’s addictive. Get off your phone. Kids constantly hear about the downsides of social media from the adults in their lives, often in the form of dire warnings and commands. But these adults did not grow up with social media themselves. They didn’t get a phone handed to...
Dollar Tree looking at options for Family Dollar, including possible sale of the segment
Discount retailer Dollar Tree says it’s looking at strategic options for the Family Dollar stores that it owns, including a possible sale of the segment. Dollar Tree said Wednesday that alternatives also include a spinoff or other disposition of the business. Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar nearly a decade ago...
