Israel and Hamas are far apart on a Gaza cease-fire and hostage deal. What are the sticking points?
JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas are examining proposed terms for a deal meant to bring about a cease-fire in the 4-month-old war in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages still held there and the freeing of many Palestinians from Israeli prisons. The two sides...
Netanyahu rejects Hamas’ demands, complicating efforts toward a cease-fire and hostage-releaseVideo
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected Hamas’ terms for a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement, vowing to continue the war until “absolute victory” and dismissing any arrangement that leaves the militant group in full or partial control of Gaza. Netanyahu’s remarks, made as U.S. Secretary of State...
Haley pushes forward after Trump’s allies in Nevada ensured her loss to ‘none of these candidates’
LAS VEGAS — Even without Donald Trump on Nevada’s Republican ballot, Nikki Haley was denied her first victory. The indignity of a distant second-place finish behind “none of these candidates” was a fresh blow for Haley, facilitated by the staunch Trump allies who lead Nevada’s GOP. They had already maneuvered...
Paxlovid can lessen the chance of a severe covid-19 illness. Why is it underused?
Tens of thousands of Americans are hospitalized with covid-19 every week. Thousands die from it every month. And yet, an antiviral treatment proven to lessen the chances of severe outcomes is going underused. The drug, Paxlovid, is lauded by experts as a powerful tool that can prevent hospitalization and death...
How to get covid-19 antiviral pills like Paxlovid
For some people with covid-19, antiviral pills that can be taken at home can lessen the chances of winding up in the hospital. But the pills have to be taken right away, so you must get tested, obtain a prescription and get the medication within five days of symptoms appearing....
New UN weather agency chief says rate of global warming is speeding up
BALTIMORE — The new chief of the World Meteorological Organization said it looks to her that the rate of human-caused climate change is accelerating and that warming has triggered more Arctic cold outbreaks in North America and Europe, weighing in on two issues that divide climate scientists. In her first...
NTSB to release cause of fiery Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio at June hearing
Federal investigators say they will determine the cause of last year’s fiery Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio at a hearing in East Palestine this June. The National Transportation Safety Board announced Wednesday that it will hold the hearing at East Palestine High School on June 25 to approve the...
Russia attacks targets across Ukraine with missiles and drones as EU’s top diplomat visits Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones at six regions across Ukraine on Wednesday morning, authorities reported, killing at least five civilians and wounding almost 50 others, including a pregnant woman. The attacks hit at least three major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, where the...
Missing Marine Corps helicopter carrying 5 troops from Nevada to California has been locatedVideo
SAN DIEGO — A Marine Corps helicopter that had been missing with five troops aboard as an historic storm continued drenching California was found Wednesday morning in a mountainous area outside San Diego. The aircraft was located just after 9 a.m. by civil authorities near the mountain community of Pine...
Bombings at Pakistani political offices kill at least 30 a day before parliamentary elections
QUETTA, Pakistan — Bombs ripped through two separate political offices in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people, officials said, the day before the country was set to elect a new parliament. The attacks in Baluchistan province — home to a low-level insurgency and various militants groups —...
Pa. woman says voices told her to kill 5-year-old son, police say
A Cambria County woman is in prison after police say she killed her 5-year-old son. Cambria County coroner Jeff Lees ruled that the death of Samson Bowser was a homicide and caused by asphyxia due to “compression of the chest and obstruction of the airway,” WJAC reported. Police and EMS...
Florida attorney general set to ask state Supreme Court to keep abortion protections off the ballot
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s attorney general is expected to ask the state Supreme Court to keep an abortion-rights measure off November’s ballot on Wednesday, saying it misleads voters and could be used to expand abortion rights in the future. Proponents of the proposed amendment say the language is clear and...
Trump’s presidential bid hangs in the balance at the Supreme Court. Here’s what to know
WASHINGTON — The fate of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to return to the White House is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. On Thursday, the justices will hear arguments in Trump’s appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that he is not eligible to run again for...
Social media platform Bluesky takes aim at Elon Musk’s X
The social media platform Bluesky has opened to the public and could compete with X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and Meta’s Threads. Bluesky offers users a place to post texts and images that show up on a feed — similar to the interface of X and Threads. The...
Syria says Israeli airstrikes over Homs have killed and wounded civilians
DAMASCUS, Syria — Israeli airstrikes over Syria’s central city of Homs and nearby areas killed and wounded civilians, the Syrian military said Wednesday without giving details. There was no immediate comment from Israel. The strikes come as tensions across the Middle East grow with the Israel-Hamas war and a drone...
Florida sheriff: ‘1,000-pound’ military bomb found at construction site
Construction workers found an inert, “1,000-pound” military bomb near Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. The bomb was reported shortly before 3 p.m. by construction workers at the northeast corner of the airport near Helicopter Drive, where Wilton Simpson Technical College is...
Biden sets tighter standards for deadly soot pollution from tailpipes, smokestacks
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is setting tougher standards for deadly soot pollution, saying that reducing fine particle matter from tailpipes, smokestacks and other industrial sources could prevent thousands of premature deaths a year. Environmental and public health groups hailed the new Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Wednesday as a...
Russia says former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has interviewed PutinVideo
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Kremlin confirmed Wednesday. It is Putin’s first interview to a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Carlson had released a video from Moscow on Tuesday in which he said...
102-year-old British veteran flies a Spitfire on a delightfully bumpy ride for charity
LONDON — A former Royal Air Forces pilot has taken to the skies in a Spitfire at 102 years old. Jack Hemmings, an ex-squadron leader with Britain’s air force, is believed to be the oldest pilot to fly the World War II plane. His 20-minute flight, from an airfield in...
Postal Service, once chided for slow adoption of EVs, announces plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions
The U.S. Postal Service announced sweeping plans Tuesday to reduce greenhouse emissions by diverting more parcels from air to ground transportation, boosting the number of electric vehicles, cutting waste sent to landfills and making delivery routes more efficient. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy described a mix of environmental initiatives and cost-cutting...
Aid package for Israel fails in the House, dealing another setback to GOP leaders
WASHINGTON — A bill to provide Israel with more military aid went down to defeat Tuesday in the House, spoiling Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to separate Israel from other national security priorities, including helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s military invasion and deterring crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. The vote...
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed stepping down, AP sources say. But no decision has been made
NEW YORK — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed the possibility of stepping down during a private meeting with former President Donald Trump, with both agreeing to delay a decision until after South Carolina’s primary later this month, according to two people familiar with the matter. McDaniel has...
House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas fails, thwarted by Republican defections
WASHINGTON— In a dramatic setback, House Republicans failed Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forced to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan. The stunning roll call fell just a single vote short of...
Gigantic replica of Emperor Constantine looks out over Rome as 3D technology brings past to life
ROME — Emperor Constantine, the 4th-century ruler whose embrace of Christianity helped spread the Christian faith throughout the Roman Empire, now has a reconstructed statue befitting his larger-than-life role in history. Rome authorities on Tuesday unveiled a massive, 13-meter replica of the statue Constantine commissioned for himself after 312 AD....
Census Bureau halts changing how it asks about disabilities following a backlash
The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday halted plans to change how it asks people about disabilities after facing a growing backlash. Advocates for disabled people had argued that proposed changes to disability questions on the bureau’s American Community Survey would artificially reduce their numbers by more than 40%, limiting the...