U.S./World category, Page 402
8 dead in crash after police chased a suspected human smuggler, Texas officials say
AUSTIN, Texas — Eight people died Wednesday when the driver of a car suspected of carrying smuggled migrants fled police and smashed into an oncoming vehicle on a South Texas highway. The crash happened around 6:30 a.m. when the driver of a 2009 Honda Civic tried to outrun deputies from...
U.S. launches airstrike on Syrian site in response to attacks by Iranian-backed militias
WASHINGTON — The U.S. launched an airstrike on a facility in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in the region for the past several weeks, the Pentagon said. Wednesday’s strike by two U.S. F-15...
Suspect in custody in recent fatal stabbing of Detroit synagogue leader
DETROIT — Police said a suspect was in custody Wednesday in the fatal stabbing of a Detroit synagogue leader whose recent death had raised questions about whether it was motivated by antisemitism. “It does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case,” police Chief James White said. “The...
Residents sheltered in place for hours after chemical plant explosion in rural Texas injured workerVideo
HOUSTON — A massive fire at a chemical plant in rural Texas on Wednesday sent a plume of black smoke into the sky as officials closed down a local highway and ordered residents to take shelter for several hours. Authorities had asked residents within a one-mile radius of a chemical...
Colorado funeral home owner, wife arrested on charges linked to the handling of at least 189 bodies
DENVER — The owner of a Colorado funeral home and his wife were arrested Wednesday after the decaying remains of at least 189 people were recently found at his facility. Jon and Carrie Hallford were arrested in Wagoner, Oklahoma, on suspicion of four felonies — abuse of a corpse, theft,...
Adidas says it may write off remaining unsold Yeezy shoes after breakup with Ye
FRANKFURT, Germany — Adidas said it might have to write off the remaining 300 million euros ($320 million) worth of Yeezy shoes left unsold after it cut ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The company will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to do a...
Red hot October almost guarantees 2023 will be the hottest year on record
This October was the hottest on record globally, 1.7 degrees Celsius (3.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month — and the fifth straight month with such a mark in what will now almost certainly be the warmest year ever recorded. October was a whopping 0.4 degrees...
Pakistan says nearly 25,000 Afghans waiting for visas to U.S. won’t be deported as part of clampdown
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister on Wednesday sought to reassure thousands of Afghans waiting in Pakistan for resettlement in the United States that they won’t be deported as part of his government’s widely criticized crackdown on undocumented migrants in the country. Islamabad has launched a crackdown on illegal migration, saying...
Russia seeks 8-year prison term for an artist and musician who protested the war in Ukraine
TALLINN, Estonia — Russian authorities on Wednesday demanded an eight-year prison term for an artist and musician who was jailed after speaking out against Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Sasha Skochilenko was arrested in her native St. Petersburg in April 2022, on charges of spreading false information about the military after...
Ivanka Trump’s testimony: She worked on dad’s deals, not financial documents key to civil fraud case
NEW YORK — Ivanka Trump didn’t want to testify. But on the the stand Wednesday in her father’s civil fraud trial, she took the opportunity to contend the family business has “overdelivered,” even as she kept her distance from financial documents that New York state says were fraudulent. Former President...
Putin calls for closer Russia-China cooperation on military satellites and prospective weapons
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin told a senior Chinese military official Wednesday that Moscow and Beijing should expand their cooperation on military satellites and other prospective defense technologies— a statement that signaled increasingly close defense links between the allies. Putin spoke in televised remarks at the start of his...
Citigroup discriminated against Armenian Americans, federal regulator says; bank fined $25.9M
NEW YORK — Citigroup intentionally discriminated against Armenian Americans when they applied for credit cards, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday, as the bank argued internally that Armenians were more likely to commit fraud and referred to applicants as “bad guys” or affiliated with organized crime. The CFPB found...
Croatia withdraws some bottled drinks and urges people to drink tap water after several fall ill
ZAGREB, Croatia — Authorities in Croatia recommended Wednesday that people drink only tap water as they investigated reports of several people sickened or suffering throat injuries allegedly after consuming bottled beverages. Health authorities ordered the “suspected” products pulled from shops and restaurants, without specifying which products. However, photos on social...
Syphilis cases in U.S. newborns skyrocketed in 2022. Health officials suggest more testing
NEW YORK — Alarmed by yet another jump in syphilis cases in newborns, U.S. health officials are calling for stepped-up prevention measures, including encouraging millions of women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested for the sexually transmitted disease. More than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis...
Judge: Lawsuit denouncing conditions at a West Virginia jail has been settled
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A lawsuit filed by inmates who described conditions at a southern West Virginia jail as inhumane has been settled, a federal judge said Tuesday, a week after a magistrate judge said some records in the suit had been intentionally destroyed. U.S. District Judge Frank Volk said in...
Millions of retired Americans aren’t coming back to work as predicted
More than three-and-a-half years after covid struck, the U.S. still has around 2 million more retirees than predicted, in one of the most striking and enduring changes to the nation’s labor force. The so-called Great Retirement induced by covid-19 is evident in the divergence between the actual number of retirees...
Man with gun arrested in park near U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON — A man with a gun was arrested near the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon, police said. The man was in a park outside Senate office buildings and across from Washington’s Union Station when he was arrested, the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement posted to X, formerly known...
The Supreme Court seems likely to preserve a gun law that protects domestic violence victims
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely Tuesday to preserve a federal law that prohibits people under domestic violence restraining orders from having guns. In their first guns case since last year’s expansion of gun rights, the justices suggested that they will reverse a ruling from an appeals court in...
911 caller was involved in fight with Jewish pro-Israel demonstrator who died, sheriff saysVideo
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Southern California authorities investigating the death of a Jewish man following a fight with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator over the Israel-Hamas war haven’t determined whether a crime occurred and on Tuesday asked for the public’s help to unravel what happened. Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said deputies...
Nobel peace laureate Bialiatski has been put in solitary confinement in Belarus, his wife says
TALLINN, Estonia — Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist Ales Bialiatski has been transferred to solitary confinement at his prison in Belarus, his wife said Tuesday. Natalia Pinchuk told The Associated Press that prison authorities have toughened conditions for the 61-year-old Bialiatski, who is serving a 10-year sentence, despite his...
At least 7 civilians killed, 20 wounded after minibus explodes in Afghan capital
ISLAMABAD — A minibus exploded in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, killing at least seven civilians and wounding 20 others, authorities said Tuesday. This is the second blast to have struck the area in as many weeks. Police spokesman, Khalid Zadran, said the explosion took place...
Special counsel in the Hunter Biden case insists he was the ‘decision-maker’ in rare testimony
WASHINGTON — The prosecutor overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation testified Tuesday that he had the ultimate authority in the yearslong case as he made an unprecedented appearance before Congress to rebut Republicans’ explosive claims that the probe has been plagued with interference. David Weiss’ interview with the House Judiciary Committee...
EU set to move ahead on Ukraine membership bid with conditions
The European Union’s executive arm will meet later Tuesday to finalize a decision on whether to recommend formally opening Ukraine’s membership talks, with expectations of a positive outcome for Kyiv but with conditions attached. The European Commission will likely recommend that member states open formal negotiations upon the completion of...
NATO freezes a Cold War-era security pact after Russia pulls out, raising questions on arms control
BRUSSELS — NATO member countries that signed a key Cold War-era security treaty froze their participation in the pact on Tuesday just hours after Russia pulled out, raising fresh questions about the future of arms control agreements in Europe. Many of NATO’s 31 allies are parties to the Treaty of...
House GOP prepares stopgap bill to avert Nov. 18 shutdown
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are preparing a temporary spending bill to avert a Nov. 18 government shutdown and could vote on it this week, lawmakers said after leaving a meeting with newly installed Speaker Mike Johnson. One option would create two new “funding cliff” dates of Dec. 7 and Jan....
