U.S./World category, Page 344
Judge dismisses some charges against Trump in the Georgia 2020 election interference case
ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against former President Donald Trump and others, but the rest of the sweeping racketeering indictment remains intact. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee quashed six counts in the indictment, including three...
Haiti is preparing itself for new leadership. Gangs want a seat at the table
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Politicians across Haiti are scrambling for power after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created. But elbowing their way into the race are powerful gangs that control 80% of Haiti’s capital and demand a say in the...
New AI tools can record your medical appointment or draft a message from your doctor
Don’t be surprised if your doctors start writing you overly friendly messages. They could be getting some help from artificial intelligence. New AI tools are helping doctors communicate with their patients, some by answering messages and others by taking notes during exams. It’s been 15 months since OpenAI released ChatGPT....
House passes a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban if Chinese owner refuses to sellVideo
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell, as lawmakers acted on concerns that the company’s current ownership structure is a national security threat. The bill, passed by a vote...
Putin warns again that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty is threatened
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, issuing another blunt warning to the West just days ahead of an election in which he’s all but certain to win another six-year term. The Russian leader has repeatedly talked...
At least 2 dead, dozens injured in a suspected gas explosion outside Beijing
BEIJING — An explosion caused by a suspected gas leak ripped through a building in northern China on Wednesday, killing at least two people and injuring 26 others, authorities said. The blast occurred early in the morning at a fried chicken shop in the city of Sanhe, authorities said in...
House GOP launches new probe of Jan. 6 and tries shifting blame for Capitol attack away from Trump
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are launching a vast reinvestigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, seeking to push the blame away from Donald Trump, who has been indicted over his actions or his supporters in the mob siege trying to overturn the 2020 election. As Trump...
Top Alexei Navalny strategist attacked in Lithuania’s capital
TALLINN, Estonia — Associates of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny said late Tuesday that the politician’s close ally and top strategist was attacked near his home in Lithuania’s capital. Kira Yarmysh, who had been Navalny’s spokesperson, said the assailant smashed a window of Leonid Volkov’s car, sprayed tear gas into...
Supreme Court extends order blocking Texas law that allows police to arrest migrants
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Tuesday extended an order blocking Texas from enforcing a new law that gives the state a role in arresting and deporting immigrants. Alito — who handles emergency petitions in cases out of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — had originally blocked Texas from enforcing...
Pentagon to give Ukraine $300 million in weapons even as it lacks funds to replenish U.S. stockpile
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will rush about $300 million in weapons to Ukraine after finding some cost savings in its contracts, even though the military remains deeply overdrawn and needs at least $10 billion to replenish all the weapons it has pulled from its stocks to help Kyiv in its...
Most automated driving systems are lousy at making sure drivers pay attention, insurance group says
DETROIT — Most electronic systems that take on some driving tasks for humans don’t adequately make sure drivers are paying attention, and they don’t issue strong enough warnings or take other actions to make drivers behave, according to an insurance industry study published Tuesday. Only one of 14 partially automated...
Double-swiping the rewards card led to free gas for months — and a felony theft charge
LINCOLN, Neb. — A Nebraska woman allegedly found a lucrative quirk at a gas station pump — double-swipe the rewards card and get free gas! Unfortunately for her, you can’t do that, prosecutors said. The 45-year-old woman was arrested March 6 and faces felony theft charges accusing her of a...
Congressional hearing on Biden classified documents probe turns into proxy campaign battle
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers turned a Tuesday hearing on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents into a proxy battle between the Democratic president and Republican front-runner Donald Trump, as a newly released transcript of Biden’s testimony last fall showed that he repeatedly insisted he never meant to retain classified information...
An aid ship sets sail to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands face starvation 5 months into war
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food set sail for Gaza on Tuesday in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of...
Guests at Kansas GOP event punch, kick effigy of President Joe BidenVideo
Attendees at a Johnson County Republican Party event Friday physically attacked an effigy of President Joe Biden, according to photos and video posted to social media, prompting the state party’s former chair to call for the resignation of its current leaders. Video posted to the right-wing video sharing site Rumble...
Florida teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender ID under ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill settlement
ORLANDO — Students and teachers will be able to speak freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it’s not part of instruction, under a settlement reached Monday between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who had challenged a state law which critics dubbed “Don’t Say...
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro ordered to report to prison March 19
WASHINGTON — Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro will have to report for a 4-month prison sentence on two contempt of Congress charges on March 19 in Miami unless an appeals court steps in, his attorneys said in a court filing late Sunday. Navarro again asked the U.S. Court of...
New lawsuit possible, lawyer says, after Trump renews attack on writer who won $83.3 million award
NEW YORK — An attorney for a longtime advice columnist who won an $83.3 million defamation award against Donald Trump suggested Monday that a new defamation lawsuit was possible against the ex-president after he resumed verbal attacks against her at a weekend rally. Attorney Roberta Kaplan, who represents 80-year-old writer...
With Housing Secretary Fudge resigning, Biden hails her dedication to boosting supply of affordable homes
WASHINGTON — Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced Monday that she would resign her post, effective March 22, saying she was leaving “with mixed emotions.” A former mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, and later an Ohio representative in Congress, Fudge, 71, served as HUD secretary since the start...
Donald Trump wants New York hush money trial delayed until Supreme Court rules on immunity claims
NEW YORK — Donald Trump is seeking to delay his March 25 hush money trial until the Supreme Court rules on the presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases. The Republican former president’s lawyers on Monday asked Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan to adjourn the New...
Most teens report feeling happy or peaceful when they go without smartphones, Pew survey finds
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. teens say they feel happy or peaceful when they don’t have their phones with them, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. In a survey published Monday, Pew also found that despite the positive associations with going phone-free, most teens have not limited...
Biden’s budget proposal for a 2nd term offers tax breaks for families, lower health care costs
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday released a budget proposal aimed at getting voters’ attention: It would offer tax breaks for families, lower health care costs, smaller deficits and higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Unlikely to pass the House and the Senate to become law, the proposal...
India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims
NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Monday announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office. The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and...
India conducts 1st test flight of domestically developed missile that can carry multiple warheads
NEW DELHI — India has successfully conducted its first test flight of a domestically developed missile that can carry multiple warheads, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday. The missile is equipped with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, Modi said in a post on X. Proud of our DRDO scientists for...
5 missing cross-country skiers found dead near Switzerland’s Matterhorn; search for a 6th persists
GENEVA — Five cross-country skiers — including members of the same Swiss family — were found dead along a high Alpine ridge after going missing over the weekend near Switzerland’s famed Matterhorn. Swiss police said Monday. Another skier remains missing. Christian Varone, commander of Valais regional police, told a news...
