U.S./World category, Page 352
Ukraine marks 2 years since Russia’s full-scale invasion as troops face challenges on front line
KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Western leaders to Kyiv Saturday to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, as Ukrainian forces run low on ammunition and weaponry and foreign aid hangs in the balance. Zelenskyy posted a video from the Hostomel airfield together with Italian Premier Giorgia...
Man guilty in Black transgender woman’s killing in 1st federal hate crime trial over gender identity
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina man was found guilty Friday of killing a Black transgender woman in the nation’s first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity. After deliberating for roughly four hours, jurors convicted Daqua Lameek Ritter of a hate crime for the murder of...
Pope Francis cancels meeting with Rome deacons because of mild flu, the Vatican says
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has canceled an audience scheduled for Saturday as a precaution after coming down with mild flu, the Vatican press office said in a short statement, without adding further details. Francis was scheduled to meet with Rome deacons in the morning. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said...
Chief enforcer of U.S. gun laws fears Americans may become numb to violence with each mass shooting
LEWISTON, Maine — The head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says he fears that a drumbeat of mass shootings and other gun violence across the United States could make Americans numb to the bloodshed, fostering apathy to finding solutions rather than galvanizing communities to act....
3 women found dead in Vienna brothel; suspect arrested
VIENNA — Police in Vienna launched a criminal investigation after three women were found dead in a brothel, authorities said Saturday. A witness discovered traces of blood outside the building, located near the Danube River, and alerted police on Friday evening. The bodies of the three victims had “cuts and...
Tired of diesel fumes, these moms are pushing for electric school buses
Areli Sanchez’s daughter, Aida, used to be one of 20 million American kids who ride a diesel bus to school each day. Aida has asthma. When she was little, she complained about the smell and cloud of fumes on her twice-daily trip. “When she would come home from school or...
Alabama IVF ruling puts spotlight on state plans for tax breaks and child support for fetuses
TOPEKA, Kan. — The recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are legally protected children is highlighting how support for the idea that a fetus should have the same rights as a person underpins far less dramatic laws and proposals from abortion foes across the U.S. Lawmakers in at...
Small, nonthreatening balloon intercepted over Utah by NORAD
SALT LAKE CITY — A small, nonthreatening balloon spotted flying high over the mountainous Western United States was intercepted by a fighter jet over Utah on Friday, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD fighter pilots sent in the morning to investigate the balloon determined it was “not...
Police: 7 farmworkers in van, 1 pickup driver killed in California crash
MADERA, Calif. — Seven farmworkers traveling in a van and the driver of a pickup truck were killed Friday in a head-on crash in a farming area in central California, police said. The crash at 6:15 a.m. left the van almost completely crumpled among blooming almond trees near the town...
Private U.S. spacecraft is on its side on the moon, company says
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private U.S. lunar lander tipped over at touchdown and ended up on its side near the moon’s south pole, hampering communications, company officials said Friday. Intuitive Machines initially believed its six-footed lander, Odysseus, was upright after Thursday’s touchdown. But CEO Steve Altemus said Friday the...
Jury: Former NRA chief Wayne LaPierre misspent gun rights group’s money, owes more than $4M
NEW YORK — The longtime head of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, misspent millions of dollars of the organization’s money, using the funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle that included exotic getaways and trips on private planes and superyachts, a New York jury determined Friday. The jury found...
Trump urges Alabama to protect in-vitro fertilization access after court ruling
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump urged Alabama’s legislature to protect the availability of in-vitro fertilization after the state high court ruling that threatens to make it harder for people to access fertility treatments. “Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families....
Woman found dead on University of Georgia campus after she failed to return from run
ATHENS, Ga. — A woman found dead on the University of Georgia campus was a student at a nearby nursing school, said authorities, who were checking security cameras and advising students to travel in groups and avoid the wooded area where her body was found. Police do not have a...
Photos: Total solar eclipses around the world
The complete shrouding of our sun by the moon has mesmerized humanity for millennia — a moment in time when skies darken and stillness creeps in. It’s spellbinding not only for the lucky ones in the path of total darkness, but also those on the fringes of the moon’s shadow...
Bible-quoting Alabama chief justice sparks church-state debate in embryo ruling
When the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, its chief justice had a higher authority in mind. By citing verses from the Bible and Christian theologians in his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker alarmed advocates for church-state separation, while delighting religious conservatives...
Ally of late Kremlin critic Navalny says authorities threaten to bury him on prison grounds
An ally of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Friday that Russian authorities have given his mother a deadline to agree to forgo a public funeral or else they’ll bury him on prison grounds. Lyudmila Navalnaya was given three hours to accept a proposal for a private funeral outside...
Lander ‘alive and well’ after company scores first U.S. moon landing since Apollo era
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The moon’s newest arrival was said to be “alive and well” a day after making the first U.S. landing in half a century, but flight controllers were still trying to get a better handle on its bearings. Intuitive Machines reported Friday that it’s communicating with its...
A decade after crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, planes still at risk of vanishing off the map
“Good Night. Malaysian Three Seven Zero.” Those six words were the last radio transmission from the cockpit of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, less than an hour after the aircraft took off late at night from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. Minutes later, the plane disappeared from air-traffic...
Netanyahu seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in Gaza in new postwar plan
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip, according to a long-awaited postwar plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was swiftly rejected Friday by Palestinian leaders and runs counter to Washington’s vision for the war-ravaged enclave. Prime Minister Benjamin...
Researchers find association between air pollution and Alzheimer’s
ATLANTA — A new study from Emory University researchers has found an association between traffic-related air pollution and Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Using brain tissue donated by metro Atlanta residents, researchers evaluated their home addresses for air pollution generated by nearby traffic. The study, released Wednesday, does not prove air...
AT&T says the outage to its U.S. cellphone network was not caused by a cyberattack
AT&T said the hourslong outage to its U.S. cellphone network Thursday appeared to be the result of a technical error, not a malicious attack. The outage knocked out cellphone service for thousands of its users across the U.S. starting early Thursday before it was restored. AT&T blamed the incident on...
Trump’s lawyers call for dismissal of classified documents case, citing presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s legal team filed multiple motions Thursday night urging a Florida judge to dismiss the criminal case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents, claiming in part that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution — an argument they have already submitted to the U.S. Supreme...
U.S. is imposing more than 500 new sanctions on Russia’s war machine, indicts Russian businessmen
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department plans to impose more than 500 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine on Friday as the U.S. vows to keep up its financial pressure on Moscow with the war entering its third grueling year. The sanctions represent the largest single tranche of penalties...
Mexico president denies report of allegations that close associates took drug money during campaign
MEXICO CITY — Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied allegations contained in a U.S. media report published Thursday about a U.S. inquiry into accusations that people close to him took money from drug traffickers shortly before his 2018 election and again after he was president. The New York Times...
Private lander touches down on the moon but sending weak signalVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private lander on Thursday made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but managed just a weak signal back until flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact. Despite the spotty communication, Intuitive Machines, the company that built and managed the...
