U.S./World category, Page 435
Rocket with a lunar landing blasts off on Russia’s 1st moon mission in nearly 50 years
LONDON — A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off Friday on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on Earth’s satellite ahead of an Indian spacecraft. The launch from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport in the Far East of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is...
Western officials: Niger junta warned they’d kill deposed president after any military intervention
NIAMEY, Niger — Niger’s junta told a top U.S. diplomat that they would kill deposed President Mohamed Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule, two Western officials told The Associated Press. They spoke to the AP shortly before the West African bloc ECOWAS said it...
Anti-corruption presidential candidate assassinated in Ecuador as country reels from violence
QUITO, Ecuador — An Ecuadorian presidential candidate who recently pledged to root out corruption and lock up the country’s “thieves” was fatally shot at a political rally in the capital as the South American country reels from drug-related crime and violence. Fernando Villavicencio, 59, who was known for speaking up...
Russia’s military push on eastern front prompts Ukraine to evacuate thousands of civilians
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation Thursday of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages in the eastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces reportedly are making a concerted effort to punch through the front line. The local military administration in Kharkiv’s Kupiansk district said residents must...
Paper exams, chatbot bans: Colleges seek to ‘ChatGPT-proof’ assignments
When philosophy professor Darren Hick came across another case of cheating in his classroom at Furman University last semester, he posted an update to his followers on social media: “Aaaaand, I’ve caught my second ChatGPT plagiarist.” Friends and colleagues responded, some with wide-eyed emojis. Others expressed surprise. “Only 2?! I’ve...
Mar-a-Lago property manager and Trump’s aide are due back in court in the classified documents case
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and an aide to the former president are due back in federal court in Florida on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing Trump of illegally hoarding classified documents at his resort after leaving the White House....
Virgin Galactic all set to fly its first tourists to the edge of space
Virgin Galactic is taking its first space tourists on a rocket ship ride after years of delays, including one passenger who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean. The flight window opens Thursday morning at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert for a...
Docs show Rio Grande agency warned Texas for months on border buoys before turning to DOJVideo
AUSTIN — Newly uncovered records show Texas officials ignored warnings that installing anti-migrant buoys in the Rio Grande and concertina wire along the banks violated federal law and a U.S. treaty with Mexico. On March 29, a Texas Highway Patrol captain even asked the International Boundary Commission that controls the...
At least 36 killed on Maui as fires burn through Hawaii and thousands race to escapeVideo
Thousands of Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town and killing at least 36 people in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. The fire took the island by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on...
Special counsel got a search warrant for Twitter to turn over info on Trump’s account, documents say
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained a search warrant in January for records related to former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, and a judge levied a $350,000 fine on the company for missing the deadline to comply, according to court documents released Wednesday. The new details were included in a...
Utah man suspected of threatening President Joe Biden shot and killed as FBI served warrant
SALT LAKE CITY — An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities said. Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson...
Millions struggle to pay AC bills in heat waves. Federal aid reaches only a fraction
DENVER — Bobbie Boyd is in a losing battle against near triple-digit temperatures in northwest Arkansas. Her window air conditioner runs nonstop and the ballooning electric bill carves about $240 out of her $882-a-month fixed income. So the 57-year-old cuts other necessities. Boyd eats one meal a day so her...
Kidnappers in Haiti release American nurse, her young daughter nearly 2 weeks after their abduction
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Kidnappers in Haiti released a U.S. nurse and her daughter Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they were snatched at gunpoint from the campus of a Christian-run school near Port-au-Prince, underscoring the severe security risks for visitors to a capital city largely controlled by gangs. The July 27...
Wild mushrooms suspected of killing 3 who ate a family lunch together in Australia
SYDNEY — Australian police on Wednesday were trying to figure out how three people died and a fourth became critically ill after apparently eating wild mushrooms at a family lunch. Homicide detectives have been investigating the case. Police have interviewed the woman who they say cooked the meal at her...
Mega Millions player in Florida wins $1.58 billion jackpot, the third largest prize in U.S. history
Someone in Florida won a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night, ending a stretch of lottery futility that had stretched for nearly four months. A Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach sold the winning ticket, according to the Florida Lottery. The winning numbers drawn were: 13 19 20 32...
Riverfront brawl brings unwelcome attention to historic civil rights city in AlabamaVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Three white boaters in Alabama’s capital city will be charged with misdemeanor assault for a riverfront brawl with a Black boat captain that drew nationwide attention, with more charges likely to come, police said. Videos of the incident, which circulated widely on social media, have proven crucial...
Eastern U.S. cleans up after deadly storms as New England braces for floodingVideo
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Crews across the eastern part of the nation worked Tuesday to clear downed trees and powerlines and restore electricity following severe storms that killed at least two people, cut power to more than a million customers at their peak, and forced thousands of flight delays and...
Rudy Giuliani, under fire on multiple fronts, puts NYC apartment on market for $6.5 million
NEW YORK — Former mayor Rudy Giuliani has put his luxury apartment on the Upper East Side up for sale amid mounting legal woes, it emerged Tuesday — over two years after it was famously raided by the FBI. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom co-op apartment in the landmarked 45 East 66th...
Once Colombia’s most-wanted drug lord, kingpin known as Otoniel gets 45 years in U.S. prison
NEW YORK — For years, the man known as Otoniel was seen as one of the world’s most dangerous drug lords, the elusive boss of a cartel and paramilitary group with a blood-drenched grip on much of northern Colombia. On Tuesday, Dairo Antonio Úsuga was sentenced to 45 years in...
Judge blocks Colorado law raising age to buy a gun to 21
DENVER — A federal judge has blocked Colorado from enforcing a new law raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer issued a preliminary injunction Monday following a legal challenge by a gun rights group. In a ruling that frequently referenced a...
U.S. covid-19 hospitalizations rising again, but not like before
Here we go again: Covid-19 hospital admissions have inched upward in the United States since early July in a small-scale echo of the three previous summers. With an updated vaccine still months away, this summer bump in new hospitalizations might be concerning, but the number of patients is far lower...
Supreme Court reinstates regulation of ghost guns
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is reinstating a regulation aimed at reining in the proliferation of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers that have been turning up at crime scenes across the nation in increasing numbers. The court on Tuesday voted 5-4 to put on hold a ruling from a...
Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting rescue workers with consecutive missile strikes
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials on Tuesday accused the Kremlin’s forces of targeting rescue workers by hitting residential buildings with two consecutive missiles — the first one to draw crews to the scene and the second one to wound or kill them. The strikes Monday evening in the downtown district...
Judge rules that Southwest failed to follow his order in a flight attendant’s free-speech case
DALLAS — A judge has sanctioned Southwest Airlines, writing that the airline twisted his words and disregarded his order in the case of a flight attendant who claimed that she was fired for expressing her opposition to abortion. U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr found Southwest in contempt for the way...
FAA warns of safety hazard from overheating engine housing on Boeing Max jets during anti-icing
U.S. regulators are warning airlines to limit the use of an anti-icing system on Boeing 737 Max jets in dry air to avoid overheating engine-housing parts, which could cause them to break away from the plane. The Federal Aviation Administration says the risk to the flying public is serious enough...
