U.S./World category, Page 423
1 American, 2 Russians blast off in Russian capsule to International Space Station
MOSCOW — One American and two Russians blasted off Friday aboard a Russian spacecraft from a spaceport in Kazakhstan on a quick trip to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. O’Hara will spend six...
6 ‘Soldiers of Christ’ members in custody after woman’s body is found in car trunk
DULUTH, Ga. — Five adults and a 15-year-old self-described as “Soldiers of Christ” religious group members were in custody Thursday on murder charges after a woman’s body was found in the trunk of a car parked outside a popular spa in Atlanta’s suburbs. Investigators said that someone reported the discovery...
Remains exhumed from a Tulsa cemetery as the search for 1921 Race Massacre victims has resumed
OKLAHOMA CITY — Archaeologists have exhumed the remains of one person and plan to exhume a second set as the search for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre resumes in a Tulsa cemetery. The remains are among 22 sets found during the current search in Oaklawn Cemetery, but are...
Belgium’s controversial classroom program spurs series of school arsons
BRUSSELS — A series of school arsons in Belgium believed to be connected to a controversial school program in some parts of the country is prompting authorities to strengthen their police response. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden on Friday called for a halt to the attacks in the French-speaking Wallonia region...
Climate protesters around the world are calling for end to fossils fuels as Earth heats up
Tens of thousands of climate activists around the world are protesting Friday and through the weekend to call for an end to the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels as the globe suffers dramatic weather extremes and record-breaking heat. The strike — driven by several mostly youth-led, local and global climate...
Thousands sign up to experience magic mushrooms as Oregon’s novel psilocybin experiment takes off
EUGENE, Ore. — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on magic mushrooms. For roughly six hours, adults over 21 can experience what many users describe as vivid geometric shapes, a loss of identity and a oneness with...
Ukrainian forces reclaim village in the east as part of counteroffensive
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s forces have recaptured a village in the country’s east after intense battles with Russian troops, the military said Friday as the invaded nation pursues a multi-pronged counteroffensive. The village of Andriivka is located about 6 miles south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, the scene of...
TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe’s strict data privacy rules
LONDON — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies...
Libya evacuates flooded city as searchers look for 10,000 missing after death toll passes 11,000
DERNA, Libya — Libyan authorities evacuated residents from an inundated city Friday and limited access to it, as searchers dug through mud and hollowed-out buildings for 10,000 people missing and feared dead in flooding that has already killed more than 11,000. Authorities warned that disease and explosives shifted by the...
Artwork seized from Carnegie Museum was believed to have been stolen during Holocaust
NEW YORK — A work of art believed to have been stolen during the Holocaust from a Jewish art collector and entertainer was seized Wednesday from the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood by New York law enforcement authorities. “Portrait of a Man,” a pencil-on-paper drawing valued at...
After days of heavy rain and flash flooding in New England, Hurricane Lee is up nextVideo
PORTLAND, Maine — Days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a tornado in New England could be a prelude to something more dangerous lurking offshore — Hurricane Lee. As the Category 1 system swirled southwest of Bermuda, Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday declared a state...
Hunter Biden indicted on federal firearms charges in long-running probe weeks after plea deal failedVideo
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on federal firearms charges, the latest step in a long-running investigation into the president’s son that puts the case on track toward a possible high-stakes trial as the 2024 election looms. Biden is accused of lying about his drug use when he bought...
Alex Jones spent over $93,000 in July. Sandy Hook families who sued him have yet to see a dime
HARTFORD, Conn. — As Alex Jones continues telling his Infowars audience about his money problems and pleads for them to buy his products, his own documents show life is not all that bad — his net worth is around $14 million and his personal spending topped $93,000 in July alone,...
Feds spread $1 billion for tree plantings among U.S. cities to reduce extreme heat and benefit health
DES MOINES, Iowa — Hundreds of communities around the country will share more than $1 billion in federal money to help them plant and maintain trees under a federal program that is intended to reduce extreme heat, benefit health and improve access to nature. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom...
Death toll soars to 11,300 in flooding in Libya’s coastal city of Derna, Libyan Red Crescent says
DERNA, Libya — The Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday that the death toll from floods in Libya’s eastern Libyan city of Derna has soared to 11,300, as search efforts continue, Marie el-Drese, Secratery General of aid group, told the Associated Press by phone that a further 10,100 are reported missing...
NASA releases UFO report and says more science and less stigma are needed to understand them
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA said Thursday that the study of UFOs will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites as well as a shift in how unidentified flying objects are perceived. The space agency released the findings after a yearlong study into UFOs. In its 33-page report, an independent...
Torrential rains, flash floods and a likely tornado hit New England. Hurricane Lee is up next
LEOMINSTER, Mass. — Hurricane Lee looks poised to wallop New England later this week even as the region still deals with the impact of days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a likely tornado. A hurricane watch stretches from Stonington, Maine to the U.S.-Canadian border, where...
No sign of Kim Jong Un as his Russia visit continues and Seoul expresses concern over Putin meetings
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was to tour a Russian aircraft plant that builds fighter jets and then visit the country’s Pacific Fleet, but his exact whereabouts remained uncertain, as South Korea on Thursday expressed “deep concern and regret” that his visit has focused so...
Appeals court limits search of Rep. Scott Perry’s cellphone in Jan. 6 probe
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in Washington released an opinion Wednesday that found a constitutional protection for members of Congress should limit what information federal investigators can access on a phone seized last year from Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. A unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S....
In recording, a Seattle police officer joked after woman’s death. He says remarks were misunderstoodVideo
SEATTLE — A city watchdog agency is investigating after a body-worn camera captured one Seattle Police Department union leader joking with another following the death of a woman who was struck and killed by a police cruiser as she was crossing a street. Daniel Auderer, who is the vice president...
Federal judge again declares that DACA is illegal with issue likely to be decided by Supreme Court
HOUSTON — While a federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, he declined to order an immediate end to the program and the protections it offers to recipients....
Jury awards $100,000 to Kentucky couple denied marriage license by ex-County Clerk Kim Davis
A federal jury has awarded $100,000 to a Kentucky couple who sued former county clerk Kim Davis over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis, the former Rowan County clerk, drew international attention when she was briefly jailed in 2015 over her refusal, which she based on...
California school district pays $27M to settle suit over death of bullied teen by fellow students
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. — A Southern California school district has agreed to pay $27 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of an 8th grade boy who died after being assaulted by two other students at a middle school four years ago. The settlement with the Moreno Valley Unified...
UFOs, little green men: Mexican lawmakers hear testimony on possible existence of extraterrestrialsVideo
MEXICO CITY — Supposed aliens landed in Mexico’s Congress but there were no saucer-shaped UFOs hovering over the historic building or bright green invaders like those seen in Hollywood films. The specter of little green men visited Mexico City as lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday from individuals suggesting the possibility that...
Trump waives right to speedy trial as Georgia prosecutor seeks to try him with 18 others next month
ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is waiving his right to seek a speedy trial in the Georgia case in which he and 18 others are accused of participating in an illegal scheme to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Trump’s filing is part of the legal maneuvering...
