U.S./World category, Page 415
Israel strikes and seals off Gaza after incursion by Hamas, which vows to execute hostagesVideo
JERUSALEM — Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed it off from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a bloody incursion by Hamas militants, as the war’s death toll rose to nearly 1,600 on both sides. Hamas also escalated on Monday, pledging to kill captured Israelis...
Schools’ pandemic spending boosted tech companies. Did it help U.S. students?
WASHINGTON — As soon as the federal pandemic relief started arriving at America’s schools, so did the relentless calls. Tech companies by the dozens wanted a chance to prove their software was what schools needed. Best of all, they often added, it wouldn’t take a dime from district budgets: Schools...
Nobel economics prize goes to professor for advancing the understanding of the workplace gender gap
STOCKHOLM — The Nobel economics prize was awarded Monday to Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin for research that has advanced the understanding of the gender gap in the labor market. The announcement went a tiny step to closing the Nobel committee’s own gender gap: Goldin is just the third woman...
U.S. will send a carrier strike group to Eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides. Americans were reported to be among those...
Clergy burnout is a growing concern in polarized churches. A summit offers coping strategies
STILLWATER, Minn. — Every morning, the Rev. Karna Moskalik goes through a “grounding” routine that involves prayer, Bible reading, positive affirmations, and meditations about the best outcomes for the day’s tasks, as well as lighting a perfumed candle and walking through each space of her Lutheran church. “I always feel...
Toddlers with developmental delays are missing out on help they need. It can hurt them long term
CHICAGO — Alexander watches Paw Patrol with fervor, bowls his baby brother over with hugs and does everything with gusto. What the 3-year-old West Chicago toddler can’t do yet is speak more than a few words. His balance is wobbly and he isn’t able to let his preschool teachers know...
Powerball jackpot up to $1.55 billion as lottery losing streak continues
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers Saturday and won the giant prize. The numbers drawn Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19. The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole...
Israel declares war and bombards Gaza as fighting rages for 2nd day after Hamas attack
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack, as the military tried to crush fighters still in southern towns and intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The toll passed...
Powerful earthquake, aftershocks kill dozens in western Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake followed by strong aftershocks killed dozens of people in western Afghanistan on Saturday, the country’s national disaster authority said. The United Nations gave a preliminary figure of 320 dead but later said the figure was still being verified. Local authorities gave an estimate of...
Republican field blaming Biden for dealing with Iran after Hamas’ attack on Israel
WATERLOO, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump and other GOP contenders tried to lay blame on the Biden administration after Hamas militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in decades, citing a $6 billion transfer to Iran that administration officials insisted Saturday had yet to be spent. Hamas’ surprise early...
Massive fentanyl pill mill busted in Bronx, 50 pounds of drugs seized
NEW YORK — The blacked-out windows of a Bronx apartment weren’t enough to hide the lethal fentanyl mill operating inside. Four accused drug dealers were busted and charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and narcotics distribution after one of the largest fentanyl seizures in New York history, with more than...
Immigration among Biden’s biggest problems in bid for reelection
MIAMI — The ad sounds like something out of the GOP 2024 playbook, trumpeting a senator’s work with Republicans to crack down on the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the U.S., getting tough on Chinese interests helping smugglers, and noting how he “wrote a bill signed by...
5 things to know about Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel
JERUSALEM — Without warning Saturday, Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers attacked Israel by air, land and sea. Millions of Israelis in the country’s south awoke to the searing sound of incoming rockets and the inevitable thud of impact. Air raid sirens wailed as far north as Tel Aviv. Israel’s anti-rocket interceptors...
Hurricane center ups odds for next tropical system in Atlantic
ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center has increased odds a tropical wave in the Atlantic could become the busy season’s next tropical depression or storm. The system that emerged off the lower latitudes of the west of coast of Africa has been producing a large area of disorganized showers...
Biden condemns ‘appalling assault’ by Hamas as Israel’s allies express anger and shock
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday decried the “appalling assault” by Hamas militants and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the surprise attack that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel’s allies. Biden made clear in a call with Israeli Prime...
Deaths rise to 47 after an icy flood swept through India’s Himalayan northeast
GANGTOK, India — Rescuers found more bodies overnight as they dug through slushy debris and ice-cold water in a hunt for survivors after a glacial lake burst through a dam in India’s Himalayan northeast, washing away houses and bridges and forcing thousands to flee. Officials said the hundreds of rescuers...
Pair of earthquakes kill at least 15 in western Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes have killed at least 15 and injured nearly 40 others in Herat province in Afghanistan, according to Mohammad Abdullah Jan, spokesman for the country’s national disaster authority. At least five powerful earthquakes struck the city around noon, Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said....
Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation
JERUSALEM — Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday, killing dozens and stunning the country. Israel said it is now at war with Hamas and launched...
Biden administration backs strong rules to close digital divide
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt strong rules to redress historic shortfalls that have left some communities lacking adequate broadband service. The position sets up a possible clash with large broadband providers that have warned the FCC, which is set to produce rules by...
Man accused of killing 10 at Colorado supermarket ruled competent to stand trial
BOULDER, Colo. — A judge ruled Friday the man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in a 2021 rampage is mentally competent to stand trial. The decision allows the prosecution of Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa to move forward. Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is...
Rudy Giuliani slapped with $500K lien on Palm Beach condo for unpaid taxes
NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani has been hit with a nearly $550,000 lien on his Palm Beach condo for unpaid taxes. Court records show the IRS attached a $549,435.26 lien to the penthouse apartment for failure to pay 2021 taxes, the Daily Mail first reported Friday. The lien means Giuliani...
4 members of Fla. family sentenced for selling dangerous fake covid-19 cure
MIAMI — A Florida man and his three adult sons were sentenced Friday for selling a toxic industrial bleach as a fake covid-19 cure through their online church. A federal judge in Miami sentenced Jonathan Grenon, 37, and Jordan Grenon, 29, to 12 years and seven months in prison, while...
Price of a Forever stamp is going up again
The price of First-Class postage is going up again. On Friday, the U.S. Postal Service said the price of a Forever stamp will increase by 2 cents on Jan. 21. The stamp will go from 66 cents to 68 cents. The price hike notice was filed with the Postal Regulatory...
Nearly 1,000 migrating songbirds perish after crashing into windows at Chicago exhibition hall
David Willard has been checking the grounds of Chicago’s Lakefront Exhibition Center for dead birds for 40 years. On Thursday morning he found something horrible: Hundreds of dead songbirds, so thick they looked like a carpet. Nearly 1,000 songbirds perished during the night after crashing into the McCormick Place Lakeside...
Auto workers stop expanding strikes against Detroit 3 after GM makes battery plant concession
DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union said Friday it will not expand its strikes against Detroit’s three automakers after General Motors made a breakthrough concession on unionizing electric vehicle battery plants. Union President Shawn Fain told workers in a video appearance that additional plants could be added to the...
