U.S./World category, Page 509
West Virginians clash over religious freedom bill at hearing
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some people said West Virginia needs a law to codify the right of residents to challenge government regulations that interfere with their religious beliefs because of growing threats to their constitutional freedoms. Others who spoke during a public hearing at the state Capitol Friday said they are...
Panel: Military needs gun safety measures to limit suicides
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department should implement a series of gun safety measures to reduce suicides in the force, an independent committee recommended Friday, calling for waiting periods for the purchase of firearms and ammunition by service members on military property. The panel said the department should also raise the...
Biden unveils new Ukraine weapons package, Russia sanctions
WASHINGTON— The Biden administration declared its solidarity with Ukraine with fresh action as well as strong words on Friday, piling sweeping new sanctions on Moscow and approving a new $2 billion weapons package to re-arm Kyiv a year after Russia’s invasion. Despite the U.S. and allies’ continued ambitious efforts to...
Russia, Ukraine face off at UN with rival tributes to dead
UNITED NATIONS — Russia and Ukraine faced off at the U.N. Security Council on Friday on the first anniversary of their war, with their confrontation even extending to dueling moments of silence for the dead. The showdown began before the session formally started, with Russia’s ambassador demanding to know why...
Court strikes down charter boat tracking rule
NEW ORLEANS — An appeals court has struck down a federal fisheries management rule requiring operators of privately owned charter boats to equip their vessels with tracking devices, a victory for a group of Louisiana and Florida charter operators who challenged the rule in a 2020 lawsuit. Thursday’s ruling by...
Key U.S. inflation measure surges at fastest rate since June
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose last month at its fastest pace since June, an alarming sign that price pressures remain entrenched in the U.S. economy and could lead the Fed to keep raising interest rates well into this year. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed...
China calls for Russia-Ukraine cease-fire, peace talks
BEIJING — China, a firm Russian ally, has called for a cease-fire between Ukraine and Moscow and the opening of peace talks as part of a 12-point proposal to end the conflict. The plan issued Friday morning by the Foreign Ministry also urges the end of Western sanctions imposed on...
Lawsuit: Steve Bannon owes $480K for unpaid legal bills
NEW YORK — Steve Bannon’s latest legal trouble: a lawsuit alleging he stiffed his former lawyers out of more than $480,000. Bannon, a conservative strategist and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was sued for breach of contract last week by a Manhattan law firm that defended him in...
United Nations approves resolution calling for Russia to leave UkraineVideo
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution Thursday that calls for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and demands the withdrawal of its forces, sending a strong message on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion that Moscow’s aggression must end. The 141-7 vote...
White House urging higher fines for train safety violations
WASHINGTON — The White House is calling on congressional Republicans to increase the fines levied on rail companies for safety violations, as a fiery Feb. 3 train derailment in Ohio has become a political lightning rod. There are still safety and health concerns among residents of East Palestine after dozens...
Harvey Weinstein gets 16 years for rape, sexual assault
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles judge on Thursday sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 16 years in prison after a jury convicted him of the 2013 rape and sexual assault of an Italian actor and model. The sentence comes on top of the more than 20 years the 70-year-old Weinstein has...
Northern border immigrant death highlights crossing spike
The death of a Mexican man who had just entered the United States from Canada illegally is highlighting the spike in illegal crossings along the border between Quebec and parts of New England, officials say. The number of illegal border crossers is tiny compared with those entering the country illegally...
For donors, wartime Ukraine aid creates blurry ethical line
NEW YORK — Bulletproof vests and drones. Pickup trucks, walkie-talkies and tourniquets. These are just some of the items that individuals and nonprofits have donated to buy and ship to Ukraine, where sometimes they are then used by those fighting Russia’s invasion. “We’ve had these discussions countless times,” said Igor...
1 year on, Ukrainians in U.S. cope with war, displacement
PORT READING, N.J. — In New York, far from her home in northern Ukraine, Valeriya Roshkovan tries to do what she can to end Russia’s invasion of her country. “I cannot sit and do nothing,” she said earlier this month in a New Jersey warehouse where she volunteers with the...
U.S. nominates Ajay Banga for World Bank president
WASHINGTON — The United States is nominating former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, crediting him with critical experience on global challenges including climate change. The news comes days after Trump appointee David Malpass announced plans to step down in June...
U.S. ending extra help for groceries that started during covid
Nearly 30 million Americans who got extra government help with grocery bills during the pandemic will soon see that aid shrink — and there’s a big push to make sure they’re not surprised. Officials in 32 states and other jurisdictions have been using texts, voicemails, snail mail, flyers and social...
On stand, Alex Murdaugh denies killings but admits lying
Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh denied killing his wife and son but admitted lying to investigators about when he last saw them alive as he took the stand in his own defense Thursday. Murdaugh, 54, is charged with murder in the fatal shootings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and...
Jan. 6 rioter who threatened Rep. Ocasio-Cortez gets 3 years
A Texas man who threatened U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter after he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Wednesday to more than three years in prison. Garret Miller was wearing a shirt that read “I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021” with a...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fall again last week
The number of Americans filing for jobless aid fell last week as the labor market remains resilient in the face of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases meant to cool the economy. Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. for the week ending Feb. 18 fell by 3,000 last week...
U.S. gets OK for cattle-shooting operation in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A U.S. district judge on Wednesday cleared the way for federal officials to move ahead with plans to take to the air and shoot dozens of wild cattle in a rugged area of southwestern New Mexico. Ranchers had sought a delay, arguing that the potential mass slaughter...
Latest TikTok challenge resurrects Kool-Aid Man
Anyone old enough to remember TV in the 1970s surely recalls the giant red drink pitcher that crashed through walls with the whopping exclamation, “Oh Yeah.” The Kool-Aid Man, the anthropomorphic mascot for the powdered drink mix, smashed his way through fences, furniture and outfield walls to answer the calls...
Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner subpoenaed in Jan. 6 investigationVideo
Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have been subpoenaed in the criminal investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Special counsel Jack Smith wants Kushner and Ivanka Trump to testify in front of a federal grand jury about Donald Trump’s...
Orlando TV news journalist, child killed as ‘multiple people’ shot near earlier homicide scene
ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando TV journalist and a child were shot and killed Wednesday evening near a crime scene where a woman was found shot to death earlier in the day, in a brutal spate of violence in Pine Hills that prompted widespread shock and grief. Orange County Sheriff...
Massive winter storm brings snow, strong winds, frigid coldVideo
PIERRE, S.D. — A brutal winter storm knocked out power in California, closed interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming and prompted more than 1,500 flight cancellations Wednesday — and the worst won’t be over for several days. Few places were untouched by the wild weather, some at the opposite extreme:...
Detective: Colorado Springs club shooter ran neo-Nazi site
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The 22-year-old accused of carrying out the deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November ran a neo-Nazi website and used gay and racial slurs while gaming online, a police detective testified Wednesday. Anderson Lee Aldrich used racial slurs while gaming, posted...
