U.S./World category, Page 285
Houston utility says 500K customers still won’t have electricity next week as Beryl outages persist
AUSTIN, Texas — About 500,000 customers still won’t have electricity into next week as wide outages from Hurricane Beryl persist and frustration mounts over the pace of restoration, an official with Houston’s biggest power utility said Thursday. Jason Ryan, executive vice president of CenterPoint Energy, said power has been restored...
House rejects GOP effort to fine Attorney General Garland for refusal to turn over Biden audio
WASHINGTON — The House rejected a GOP effort Thursday to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 a day until he turns over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case as a handful of Republicans resisted taking an aggressive step against a sitting Cabinet official. Even if...
IRS collects milestone $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth taxpayers
WASHINGTON — The IRS announced Thursday that it has collected $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats — a milestone meant to showcase how the agency is making use of the money it received as part of the Biden administration’s signature climate, health care, and tax package signed...
Demand for rare elements used in clean energy could help clean up abandoned coal mines in Appalachia
MOUNT STORM, W.Va. — Down a long gravel road, tucked into the hills in West Virginia, is a low-slung building where researchers are extracting essential elements from an old coal mine that they hope will strengthen the nation’s energy future. They aren’t mining the coal that powered the steel mills...
U.S. inflation cools again, potentially paving way for Fed to cut interest rates soon
WASHINGTON — Inflation in the United States cooled in June for a third straight month, a sign that the worst price spike in four decades is steadily fading and may soon usher in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. In a better-than-expected report, consumer prices declined 0.1% from May...
South Korea to deploy laser weapons to intercept North Korean drones
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Thursday it will begin deploying laser weapons systems designed to intercept North Korean drones, which have caused security concerns in the South in recent years. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said that it will deploy at least one anti-air laser weapons system...
China tells NATO not to create chaos in Asia and rejects label of ‘enabler’ of Russia’s Ukraine war
BEIJING — China accused NATO on Thursday of seeking security at the expense of others and told the alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia, a reflection of its determination to oppose strengthening ties between NATO members and Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines....
‘It’s hell outside’: Sizzling heat wave in parts of southern and central Europe prompts alerts
BELGRADE, Serbia — Weather alerts, forest fires, melting pavement in cities: A sizzling heat wave has sent temperatures in parts of central and southern Europe soaring toward 104 degrees in some places. From Italy to Romania, authorities warned people to be cautious, drive carefully if going on holiday, drink plenty...
Mexico will build passenger train lines to U.S. border in an expansion of its debt-laden rail projects
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s massive, debt-fueled passenger rail building program is not going to end with the administration of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but will instead double, he said Wednesday. López Obrador said his successor, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, is planning to build three passenger train lines running from...
Ukraine is on an ‘irreversible’ path to NATO. But only after war with Russia ends
WASHINGTON — Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to NATO membership, the military alliance said Wednesday in a final agreement from its summit, advancing assurances that Ukraine will be allowed to join the Western coalition but only after its war with Russia ends. In another boost for Ukraine, the U.S.,...
Astronauts confident Boeing space capsule can safely return them to Earth, despite failures
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two astronauts who should have been back on Earth weeks ago said Wednesday that they’re confident that Boeing’s space capsule can return them safely, despite a string of vexing breakdowns. NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule early last...
Congress OKs bill overhauling oversight of troubled federal Bureau of Prisons
The Senate passed legislation Wednesday to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons following reporting from the Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny. The Federal Prison Oversight Act, which the House passed in May, now...
Calls for justice grow in death of Black man outside Milwaukee hotel as GOP convention approaches
Calls for justice in the death of a Black man who was pinned to the ground during a struggle with security guards at a Milwaukee hotel are growing as thousands of GOP supporters and protesters are expected to gather in the city for the Republican National Convention. D’Vontaye Mitchell’s death...
Pressure mounts on Houston power company to quickly restore service as city sweats after BerylVideo
HOUSTON — Pressure mounted Wednesday on Houston’s power utility as millions of residents still had no power nearly three days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall, amid questions over how a city that is all too familiar with destructive weather was unable to better withstand a Category 1 storm. With frustration...
Powell stresses message that U.S. job market is cooling, a possible signal of coming rate cut
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday reinforced a message that the Fed is paying growing attention to a slowing job market and not only to taming inflation, a shift that signals it’s likely to begin cutting interest rates soon. “We’re not just an inflation-targeting central bank,” Powell...
Gunman who was killed by Yellowstone rangers had planned a July 4 mass shooting, park reveals
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The warning from a woman in Yellowstone National Park came in just after midnight on July Fourth: She’d just been held at gunpoint by a man who said he planned to carry out a mass shooting — a random attack common in the U.S. these days but...
Actor George Clooney, a high-profile Biden supporter and fundraiser, asks president to leave raceVideo
Movie star and lifelong Democrat George Clooney added his voice to calls for Joe Biden to leave the presidential race on Wednesday, just weeks after headlining a fundraiser that brought in a record single-night haul for the president’s reelection campaign. Clooney said in a New York Times opinion piece that...
Defense attorney says ‘Alec Baldwin committed no crime; he was an actor, acting’ at trial openings
SANTA FE, N.M. — A defense attorney told jurors Wednesday that the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was an “unspeakable tragedy” but that ” Alec Baldwin committed no crime; he was an actor, acting.” Baldwin’s lawyer Alex Spiro emphasized in his opening statement in a Santa Fe, New Mexico,...
U.K. police are searching for a man with a crossbow after family of BBC radio commentator killed
LONDON — British police launched a huge manhunt Wednesday for a man believed to be armed with a crossbow and potentially other weapons after three women were killed in a house northwest of London. The BBC said the women killed were the family of well-known radio racing commentator John Hunt....
California fast food workers now earn $20 per hour. Some franchisees respond by cutting hours
LOS ANGELES — Lawrence Cheng, whose family owns seven Wendy’s locations south of Los Angeles, took orders at the register on a recent day and emptied steaming hot baskets of French fries and chicken nuggets, salting them with a flourish. Cheng used to have nearly a dozen employees on the...
Israeli strikes in central Gaza kill 20 Palestinians as mediators make new push on cease-fire deal
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes early Wednesday killed 20 Palestinians in central Gaza, including six children and three women, some of them inside a purported “safe zone” declared by the Israeli military, hospital authorities said. This second straight night of deadly strikes in the central town of Deir...
Biden administration to tax foreign-made steel and aluminum imports routed through Mexico
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico that were made elsewhere — an attempt to stop China from avoiding import taxes by routing goods through one of the United States’ closest trading partners. Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic...
Las Vegas eyes record of 5th consecutive day over 115 degrees as heat wave continues to scorch U.S.
LAS VEGAS — Used to shrugging off the heat, Las Vegas residents are now eyeing the thermometer as the desert city is on track Wednesday to set a record for the most consecutive days over 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) amid a lingering hot spell that will continue scorching much...
Milk, eggs and now bullets for sale in handful of U.S. grocery stores with ammo vending machines
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A company has installed computerized vending machines to sell ammunition in grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas, allowing patrons to pick up bullets along with a gallon of milk. American Rounds said their machines use an identification scanner and facial recognition software to verify the purchaser’s...
President Joe Biden saw neurologist at White House for Jan. 17 exam, press secretary says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden saw a neurologist at the White House on Jan. 17 for a neurological exam, the results of which were later reported as part of his annual physical more than a month later, the White House said on Tuesday. The confirmation came after the White House...
