U.S./World category, Page 337
Oklahoma highway reopens following shutdown after a barge hit a bridge
SALLISAW, Okla. — An Oklahoma highway was reopened Saturday following its closure for a few hours after a bridge over the Arkansas River was struck by a barge. Troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed a portion of U.S. Highway 59 south of Sallisaw at around 1:25 p.m. after the...
Oklahoma State Patrol diverts traffic after barge hits bridge
SALLISAW, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Patrol said Saturday that it closed a highway south of Sallisaw after a barge struck a bridge over Arkansas River. Troopers closed South U.S. Highway 59 about 1:25 p.m. after receiving word of the incident and diverted traffic from the area, state patrol spokesperson...
Pope overcomes health concerns to preside over a blustery Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square
ROME — Pope Francis rallied from a winter-long bout of respiratory problems to lead some 60,000 people in Easter celebrations Sunday, making a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Square...
Baltimore collapse focused attention on vital bridges. Thousands are in poor shape across U.S.
After a yearlong closure, a bridge over the Puyallup River reopened in 2019 with a sturdy new span and a brand new name. It even won a national award. But today, the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge is closed again after federal officials raised concerns about a vintage section of the...
EPA sets strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday set strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and other large vehicles, an action that officials said will help clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases. The rules, which take effect for model years 2027 through 2032,...
Lawmaker shoots airball labeling basketball players at Detroit airport as ‘illegal invaders’
In Michigan, Republican state Rep. Matt Maddock wrongfully claimed on social media that he had photo evidence of “illegal invaders,” who were arriving at the Detroit Metro Airport this week. As it turns out, the “evidence” was actually photos of college basketball teams flying in Wednesday and being transported to...
A tropical cyclone makes landfall in northern Madagascar, killing 18 people
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — A tropical cyclone that swept across Madagascar has killed 18 people and left four missing after making landfall on the north of the Indian Ocean island nation earlier this week, authorities said on Friday. The storm has also caused severe flooding that partly submerged entire villages, displaced...
Biden says he’s working to secure release of Wall Street Journal reporter held for a year in Russia
NEW YORK — On the one-year anniversary of the Russian detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, President Joe Biden said the U.S. is working every day to secure his release. “Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter —...
Magnitude 2.8 earthquake shakes southern Illinois; no damage or injuries reported
GERMANTOWN, Ill. — An earthquake of magnitude 2.8 has been reported in southern Illinois, near the Missouri state line, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The earthquake was detected about 6:55 p.m. Thursday north of Germantown, about 40 miles east of St. Louis, at a depth of just over 14 miles....
Thai court acquits dozens of protesters who shut down Bangkok’s airports in 2008
BANGKOK — A Thai court on Friday acquitted nearly 70 people of all charges related to mass protests that shut down Bangkok’s two airports in 2008 for about 10 days. The ruling by the Bangkok Criminal Court was the second this year finding that the protesters, who opposed a government...
Russia launches barrage of 99 drones and missiles on Ukraine’s energy system, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Friday, with a mass barrage of 99 drones and missiles hitting regions across the country, Ukraine’s armed forces said. Air raid warnings rang out across the country, with 10 Ukrainian regions coming under fire, the country’s Interior Minister,...
5 dead, over 100 hospitalized from recalled Japanese health supplements
TOKYO — Five people who took a Japanese health supplement have died and more than 100 have been hospitalized as of Friday, a week after a pharmaceutical company issued a recall of the products, officials said. Osaka-based Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. came under fire for not going public quickly with problems...
$1B in tax refunds still unclaimed, IRS says. Is some of it yours?
The government could owe you money, but time is running out to collect it. About 940,000 people in the U.S. still haven’t filed their 2020 tax return, the IRS said in a recent press release, meaning that there’s more than $1 billion in refunds remain unclaimed. “There’s money remaining on...
Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers say FBI agent’s mention of Joran van der Sloot led to failed polygraph test
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh said an FBI agent conducting a polygraph test that the agency said the convicted killer flunked asked odd questions and confided he had just examined the notorious Dutch killer of an Alabama teen, throwing the results off. The name-check of Joran van der...
Biden OKs $60M in aid after Baltimore bridge collapse as governor warns of ‘very long road ahead’
BALTIMORE — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore warned Thursday of a “very long road ahead” to recover from the loss of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge as the Biden administration approved $60 million in immediate federal aid after the deadly collapse. Massive barges carrying cranes streamed toward the site to begin...
Tennessee governor signs bill to undo Memphis traffic stop reforms after Tyre Nichols death
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed off on the repeal of Memphis police traffic stop reforms set in place after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by officers just over a year ago. By enacting the legislation, the Republican governor sided with GOP lawmakers who forged...
Oklahoma judge rules death row inmate not competent to be executed
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma judge ruled Thursday that a death row inmate is not competent to be executed for his role in the 1999 slayings of a mother and son. Pittsburg County Judge Michael Hogan issued an order in the case involving 61-year-old James Ryder in that county. “The...
Tennessee politicians strip historically Black university of its board
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Trustees of Tennessee’s only publicly funded historically Black university were removed Thursday under legislation signed into law by Republican Gov. Bill Lee. Black lawmakers and community leaders said state leaders, a majority of whom are white, are unfairly targeting Tennessee State University. The legislation cleared the state...
Ex-Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura says he will sell cannabis edibles
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has announced he is entering the cannabis market as a seller, as the state still figures out retail sales of the drug on the heels of legalizing marijuana for adults last year. Ventura is launching his own brand of cannabis edibles in partnership...
Biden administration restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration on Thursday restored rules to protect imperiled plants and animals that had been rolled back back under former President Donald Trump. Among the changes announced, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reinstate a decades-old regulation that mandates blanket protections for species newly classified...
Pope, looking strong, washes feet of 12 women at Rome prison from wheelchair
ROME — Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Rome prison during a Holy Thursday ritual meant to emphasize his vocation of service and humility. The 87-year-old Francis performed the ritual from his wheelchair, after recent ailments have compounded his mobility problems. The Rebibbia...
UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings for aid into Gaza
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The top United Nations court on Thursday ordered Israel to take measures including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into Gaza to tackle crippling shortages in the war-ravaged enclave. The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures...
Putin says he won’t start a war with NATO but Western bases hosting Ukraine F-16s would be targets
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin scoffed at the possibility of his country launching an attack on a NATO member, calling it “sheer nonsense,” but warned that any Western air base hosting U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets that are slated for deployment in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target” for...
White House expects about 40,000 participants at its ‘egg-ucation’-themed annual Easter egg roll
Some 40,000 people are expected to participate in Monday’s “EGG-ucation”-themed White House Easter Egg Roll, about 10,000 more people than last year. A teacher for more than 30 years, Jill Biden is transforming an annual tradition first held in 1878 into an “EGG-ucational” experience. Various stations on the South Lawn...
4 Canadian school boards sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for disrupting students’ education
TORONTO — Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario said Thursday they launched lawsuits against TikTok, Meta and Snapchat alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning. The lawsuits claim platforms like Facebook and Instagram are “designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way...
