U.S. announces $345 million military aid package for Taiwan
WASHINGTON — The United States has announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, in what is the Biden administration’s first major package drawing on America’s own stockpiles to help Taiwan counter China. The White House said Friday the package would include defense, education and training for the Taiwanese. Washington...
Violent crime is rising in the nation’s capital. DC seeks solutions as Congress keeps close watch
WASHINGTON — Pamela Smith’s voice soared and quivered like a preacher in midsermon as she recalled her troubled childhood and how it helped prepare her for the challenges she faces as the new police chief in the nation’s capital. “I stand before you as a child who had no hopes,...
Water is refreshing in the heat, right? In parts of Florida this past week, not so much
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like. Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the...
Two supermoons in August mean double the stargazing fun
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon. Catch the first show Tuesday evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That’s because it will be...
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall. Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government...
Ex-Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon joins push for third-party presidential bid as Democrats try to stop it
NEW YORK — Former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri is joining No Labels ’ increasingly contentious effort to lay the groundwork for a moderate third-party presidential ticket in the 2024 election. He gives the embattled organization another prominent ally amid escalating concerns from Democratic officials that the No Labels...
It’s a miracle, say family of Japanese soldier killed in WWII, as flag he carried returns from U.S.
TOKYO — Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan’s Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried...
‘The Few. The Proud’ aren’t so few: Marines recruiting surges while other services struggle
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. — Not long ago, Marine Col. Jennifer Nash, a combat engineer with war deployments under her belt, made a vow to fellow officers as they headed to a dinner in Atlanta: She would get two new recruiting contacts by the end of the evening. She admits recruiting...
Historically Black fraternity drops Florida for convention because of DeSantis policies
ORLANDO, Fla. — The oldest historically Black collegiate fraternity in the U.S. says it is relocating a planned convention in two years from Florida because of what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration’s “harmful, racist and insensitive” policies towards African Americans. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity said this week that...
Paperwork problems drive surge in people losing Medicaid health coverage
JEFERSON CITY, Mo. — The nation’s top health official implored states to do more to keep lower-income residents enrolled in Medicaid, as the Biden administration released figures Friday confirming that many who had health coverage during the coronavirus pandemic are now losing it. Though a decline in Medicaid coverage was...
Biden openly acknowledges 7th grandchild, the daughter of son Hunter and an Arkansas woman
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild, a four-year-old girl fathered by his son Hunter with an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, in 2018. “Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the...
Hanna’s Town kicks off Civil War reenactment with children’s program
Of all the portrayals and demonstrations Friday at Historic Hanna’s Town, Waylon Bizup was most excited about the weaponry. “I liked the cannon,” 10-year-old Waylon said. “I liked the Gatling gun over there. We got to fire it, like two rounds. It was really cool, and we got to be...
Supreme Court’s student loan decision will lower U.S. deficit according to new White House projection
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruling that upended President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt changed his budget math, modestly lowering the projected deficit for this year, his budget office reported Friday. The White House expects to pare back $259 billion in spending that otherwise would have gone...
Fellow Democrats urge Biden to withhold $320M in military aid to Egypt over rights abuses
WASHINGTON — Nine senior Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders urged the Biden administration Friday to withhold part of the United States’ annual military aid to Egypt for a third consecutive year, calling it important to keep up the pressure on President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on human rights abuses. More...
Sen. McConnell says he plans to serve his full term as leader despite questions about his health
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said he is “fine” since he froze up midsentence during a press conference on Wednesday. And now his office is trying to tamp down speculation that he might not fill out his term as leader because of his health. In a...
Florida aquarium details how manatee died from sexual encounter
The Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium gave details regarding the recent death of a manatee named Hugh in their care. Hugh died at the Sarasota aquarium on April 29 due to injuries from having sex with his brother Buffett, according to NBC News. On Friday, Mote officials reported Hugh and...
Senate rebukes Wisconsin congressman who yelled vulgarities at high school-age pages
WASHINGTON — A freshman Republican congressman from Wisconsin yelled and cursed at high school-aged Senate pages during a late night tour of the Capitol this week, eliciting a bipartisan rebuke from Senate leaders Thursday evening. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, used a profanity to...
Police searching apartment of Chicago man charged in man’s killing find woman dead in refrigerator
CHICAGO — Officers searching the apartment of a Chicago man accused of fatally stabbing a man on a restaurant’s roof discovered the body of a young woman in his refrigerator earlier this month, authorities said. Brandon Sanders, 33, has not been charged in the death of Iman Al-Sarraj, 18, whose...
Nearly 200 million people in U.S. are under heat or flood advisories
Dangerous heat is forecast to “engulf” much of the eastern half of the United States as extreme temperatures spread from the Midwest into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic where some residents will see their hottest temperatures of the year, according to the National Weather Service. Although much of the country does...
Biden looks to provide relief from extreme heat as record high temperatures persist across U.S.
WASHINGTON — With heat waves spreading across the United States, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect workers — including a hazard alert notifying employers and employees about ways to stay safe from extreme heat — as well as measures to improve weather forecasts and make drinking...
Trump faces new charges in classified documents case, accused of asking staffer to delete camera footage
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump faced new charges Thursday in a case accusing him of illegally possessing classified documents, with prosecutors alleging that he asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct a federal investigation into the records. The new indictment...
July has been so blistering hot, scientists already calculate that it’s the warmest month on record
WASHINGTON — July has been so hot thus far that scientists calculate that this month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen, even though there are several days left to sweat through. The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate...
Enormous Lebanon bologna sandwich unveiled at Pennsylvania community fair
LEBANON, Pa. — An enormous Lebanon bologna sandwich billed as one of the world’s largest has been unveiled at a central Pennsylvania fair. The 150-foot-long (45.7-meters-long) sandwich was created Tuesday night at the Lebanon Area Fair by a large crew of volunteers known as the “Bologna Security.” Lebanon bologna is...
Putin claims fighting intensifies in southeastern Ukraine, with Russia inflicting heavy losses
KYIV, Ukraine — Fierce fighting raged Thursday in southeastern Ukraine, where a Western official said Kyiv has launched a major push and Russian President Vladimir Putin said “hostilities have intensified significantly.” Battles in recent weeks have taken place on multiple points along the over 600-mile front line as Ukraine wages...
Meat allergy caused by tick spit is getting more common, CDC says
NEW YORK — More than 100,000 people in the U.S. have become allergic to red meat since 2010 because of a weird syndrome triggered by tick bites, according to a government report released Thursday. But health officials believe many more have the problem and don’t know it. A second report...
