U.S./World category, Page 596
California Rep. Adam Schiff says no sign that Trump declassified properlyVideo
WASHINGTON — A senior Democratic lawmaker said he hasn’t seen any evidence that materials the FBI seized from Donald Trump’s home were properly declassified, casting doubt on the former president’s explanations. “And the idea that 18 months after the fact Donald Trump could simply announce, ‘Well, I’m retroactively declassifying, or...
German minister decries ecological catastrophe in Oder RiverVideo
WARSAW, Poland — Germany’s environment minister said the mass die-off of fish in the Oder River is an ecological catastrophe and it isn’t clear yet how long it will take the river to recover. Steffi Lemke spoke Sunday at a news conference alongside her Polish counterpart, Anna Moskwa, after a...
Salman Rushdie ‘on the road to recovery,’ agent saysVideo
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie is “on the road to recovery,” his agent confirmed Sunday, two days after the author of “The Satanic Verses” suffered serious injuries in a stabbing at a lecture in New York. The announcement followed news that the lauded writer was removed from a ventilator Saturday...
Police: Man killed himself after ramming U.S. Capitol barrier
WASHINGTON — A man drove his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol early Sunday and then began firing gunshots in the air before fatally shooting himself, according to police, who said he did not seem to be targeting any member of Congress. The incident happened just before 4...
More U.S. lawmakers visiting Taiwan 12 days after Pelosi trip
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A delegation of American lawmakers is visiting Taiwan just 12 days after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that angered China. The five-member delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet senior leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade, investment and...
Prosecutor: Stab attack on Salman Rushdie was ‘preplanned’
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — The man accused in the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called a “preplanned” crime, as the renowned author of “The Satanic Verses” remained hospitalized with serious injuries. An attorney for Hadi Matar entered...
Expanded IRS free-file system one step closer in Dems’ bill
WASHINGTON — The flagship climate change and health care bill passed by Democrats and soon to be signed by President Joe Biden will bring U.S. taxpayers one step closer to a government-operated electronic free-file tax return system. It’s something lawmakers and advocates have been seeking for years. For many Americans,...
Afghan rights leader heartbroken after year of Taliban rule
UNITED NATIONS — A year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, prominent Afghan rights activist Sima Samar is still heartbroken over what happened to her country. Samar, a former minister of women’s affairs and the first chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, left Kabul in July 2021 for...
Over a dozen injured when car crashes into Irish pub, police say
ARLINGTON, Va. — More than a dozen people were injured — four of them critically — after a vehicle crashed into a northern Virginia pub and restaurant, according to authorities. The crash at the Ireland’s Four Courts establishment, which happened early Friday evening, also caused a fire, which was soon...
R. Kelly accuser to give key testimony on trial-fixing charge
CHICAGO — R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago that starts Monday is in many ways a do-over of his 2008 state child pornography trial, at which jurors acquitted the singer on charges that he produced a video of himself when he was around 30 having sex with a girl no...
Russian shelling heavy in east; Ukraine strikes key bridge
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s military pounded residential areas across Ukraine overnight, claiming gains, as Ukrainian forces pressed a counteroffensive to try to take back an occupied southern region, striking the last working bridge over a river in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, Ukrainian authorities said Saturday. A Russian rocket attack on...
Shippers prepare for worst as Rhine levels near critical low
Shipping companies prepared to halt the transport of goods on the Rhine as water levels in Germany’s biggest river neared a critically low point Saturday. An ongoing drought affecting much of Europe has lowered rivers such as the Rhine, preventing large ships with heavy loads from passing key waypoints and...
Southern Baptists say denomination faces DOJ investigation over clergy sex abuse
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse. The SBC’s Executive Committee has received a subpoena, but no individuals...
Salman Rushdie on ventilator after stabbing, may lose an eye
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie remained hospitalized Saturday after suffering serious injuries in a stabbing attack as praise poured in for him from the West but he was disparaged in Iran. Rushdie, 75, suffered a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye, and was on a ventilator,...
Kansas to recount abortion vote by hand, despite big margin
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ elections director says the state will go along with a request for a hand recount of votes from every county after last week’s decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights, even though there was a 165,000-vote difference and a recount won’t change the result. Melissa Leavitt of...
Pipeline break spills 45,000 gallons of diesel in Wyoming
BILLINGS, Mont. — A diesel pipeline in Wyoming owned by a company that’s being sued by federal prosecutors over previous spills in two other states cracked open and released more than 45,000 gallons of fuel, state regulators and a company representative disclosed Friday. Cleanup work is ongoing from the spill...
What’s in Biden’s big bill? Climate, health care, deficit reduction
WASHINGTON — The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. A hard-fought cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients. A new corporate minimum tax to ensure big businesses pay their share. And billions left over to pay down federal deficits. All told, the Democrats’ “Inflation...
House Democrats pass sweeping health care, tax and climate bill
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Friday passed a sweeping health care, tax and climate change bill. Now they have to sell it. The vote was 220-207, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposing. With the midterm elections quickly approaching, congressional Democrats have had a series of legislative...
Judds asks court to seal report of death investigation
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The family of country singer Naomi Judd filed a court petition Friday to seal police reports and recordings made during the investigation into her death. The family filed the petition in Williamson County Chancery Court, saying the records contain video and audio interviews with relatives in the...
Judge revives Obama-era ban on coal sales from federal lands
BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review...
Louisiana Supreme Court rejects appeal in abortion ban case
BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal filed by plaintiffs in the ongoing legal battle over the state’s abortion ban, allowing the ban to stay in effect. The ruling marked a major blow to abortion-rights advocates and providers, who had hoped the ban would...
Respected snake researcher dies from rattlesnake bite
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A respected snake researcher who had been making significant discoveries about the species since childhood has died after being bitten by a timber rattler. William H. “Marty” Martin died Aug. 3 after being bitten the day before by a captive snake on the property at his...
FBI seized ‘top secret’ documents from Trump home
WASHINGTON — The FBI recovered “top secret” and even more sensitive documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the sudden, unprecedented search this week. A property receipt unsealed by the court shows...
Democrats near congressional passage of climate, health package
Democrats pushed their flagship climate change and health care bill toward House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on the brink of a back-from-the-dead triumph on his leading domestic goals that the party hopes will energize voters going into November’s elections. The narrowly divided House was poised to approve the...
Ohio gunman appeared to threaten FBI after Trump search
WILMINGTON, Ohio — A gunman who died in a shootout after trying to get inside the FBI’s Cincinnati office apparently went on social media and called for federal agents to be killed “on sight” following the search at former President Donald Trump’s home, a law enforcement official said. Federal investigators...
