U.S./World category, Page 665
Ice shelf collapses in previously stable East Antarctica
An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change, concerned scientists said Friday. The collapse, captured by satellite images, marked the first time in human history that the frigid region had...
New Orleans school board reverses little known ban on jazz
NEW ORLEANS — With its president saying it had racist origins, the New Orleans school board has unanimously reversed a little known but century-old ban on jazz in schools in a city that had a huge role in developing jazz and where it is still played nightly at various venues....
Scientists figure out how vampire bats got a taste for blood
WASHINGTON — Scientists have figured out why vampire bats are the only mammals that can survive on a diet of just blood. They compared the genome of common vampire bats to 26 other bat species and identified 13 genes that are missing or no longer work in vampire bats. Over...
Kentucky lawmakers vote to put limits on death penalty
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky would make the death penalty off-limits for some defendants diagnosed with severe mental illnesses under a bill that won final legislative approval on Friday. The Republican-led Senate voted 25-9 to send the measure to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, capping a long effort led by death penalty...
Yemen rebels strike oil depot in Saudi city hosting F1 race
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked an oil depot on Friday in the Saudi city of Jiddah ahead of a Formula One race in the kingdom — their highest-profile assault yet that threatened to disrupt the upcoming grand prix. The attack targeted the same fuel depot that...
Rudy Giuliani associate pleads guilty in fraud scheme
NEW YORK — An associate of Rudy Giuliani pleaded guilty Friday to a conspiracy charge alleging that he defrauded investors in a company supposedly created to prevent people from being defrauded. Lev Parnas, 50, entered the plea to conspiring to commit wire fraud during a remotely held electronic proceeding in...
Supreme Court Justice Thomas released from hospital
WASHINGTON — Justice Clarence Thomas was discharged from the hospital Friday after a stay of nearly a week, the Supreme Court said. Thomas, 73, had entered the hospital last Friday evening after experiencing “flu-like symptoms.” He was treated for an infection with intravenous antibiotics, the court said Sunday in announcing...
Michigan’s top court rejects latest redistricting challenge
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday turned down a challenge by Democratic-aligned groups to a new map for state House seats. The groups claim the map unfairly favors Republicans and conflicts with the state Constitution, which says no party shall have a disproportionate advantage in redistricting. But...
Kosovo Serbs protest to get votes in Serbia’s April election
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Hundreds of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo protested Friday to pressure the government into allowing them to vote in neighboring Serbia’s April 3 general election. Demonstrators gathered in Mitrovica, 28 miles north of Pristina, with banners reading “We want our human rights” and “Kurti won’t drive us away...
Biden in Poland to see U.S. troops, Ukraine refugees
RZESZOW, Poland — President Joe Biden will hear directly from U.S. troops stationed near Poland’s border with Ukraine on Friday and learn about the growing humanitarian response to the millions of Ukrainians who are fleeing to Poland to escape Russia’s assault on their homeland. Biden planned to meet with members...
Female ministers urge Taliban to rethink decision on girls
BERLIN — Female foreign ministers from 16 countries around the world said Friday they are “deeply disappointed” that Afghan girls are being denied access to secondary schools and called on the Taliban to reverse their decision. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools on Wednesday to girls above the...
Ukraine reports 300 died in Russian strike on theater
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities said Friday that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike last week blew up a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering — a catastrophic loss of civilian life that, if confirmed, is likely to further crank up pressure on Western nations...
Teen falls to death from Florida amusement park ride
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 14-year-old boy fell to his death late at night from a free-fall amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district. Sheriff’s officials and emergency crews responded to a call late Thursday at...
Nebraska U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry found guilty in campaign probe
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was convicted Thursday of charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. A federal jury in California found the nine-term Republican guilty of one...
Report: Justice Thomas’ wife ‘Ginni’ urged overturning 2020 electionVideo
WASHINGTON — Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential election — furthering then-President Donald Trump’s lies that the free and fair vote was marred by nonexistent fraud, according...
Biden promises new Ukraine aid, warns Russia on chemical weapons
BRUSSELS — President Joe Biden and Western allies pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid on Thursday in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, but their offers fell short of the more robust military assistance that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for in a pair of live-video appearances. Biden also announced...
Motorists flock to Chicago area gas stations for free fuel
CHICAGO — Long lines of cars stretched for blocks near Chicago-area gas stations Thursday, signaling that a businessman who has made repeated runs for local and national office was footing the bill for motorists to top off their tanks for a second time. Willie Wilson was giving gas away to...
Ukraine says Moscow is forcibly taking civilians to Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine accused Moscow on Friday of forcibly taking thousands of civilians from the shattered port city of Mariupol to Russia so that they can be used as “hostages” to pressure Kyiv to give up. A month into the invasion, meanwhile, the two sides traded heavy blows in...
Texas loses high court case over prayer during executions
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a Texas death row inmate seeking to have his pastor be allowed to pray out loud and touch him during his execution. The high court’s decision won’t keep John Henry Ramirez from being executed. But the justices in an 8-1 decision...
New rules aim to decide U.S. asylum cases in months, not years
The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled new procedures to handle asylum claims at the U.S. southern border, hoping to decide cases in months instead of years. The rules empower asylum officers to grant or deny claims, an authority that has been limited to immigration judges for people arriving at the...
NATO helps Ukraine prepare for chemical attack
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance is stepping up its defenses against chemical and nuclear weapons as concern mounts that Russia might use such weapons in Ukraine. Stoltenberg says that NATO leaders agreed at their summit Thursday to send equipment to Ukraine to help protect it against a...
Ketanji Brown Jackson on track for confirmation, but GOP votes in doubt
WASHINGTON — After more than 30 hours of hearings, the Senate is on track to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. But Democrats seem unlikely to confirm her with a robust bipartisan vote, dashing President Joe Biden’s hopes for a grand reset after...
U.S. to welcome up to 100,000 from Ukraine
WASHINGTON — A U.S. official says the United States will welcome up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine as 3.5 million flee Russia’s invasion. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement later Thursday. The White House has been saying for weeks that the U.S. would accept...
Americans applying for jobless aid is lowest since 1969
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in 52 years as the U.S. job market continues to show strength in the midst of rising costs and ongoing virus pandemic. Jobless claims fell by 28,000 to 187,000 for the week ending...
U.S. states seek to ease inflation burden with direct payments
PORTLAND, Maine — With inflation raging and state coffers flush with cash, governors and lawmakers across the U.S. are considering a relatively simple solution to help ease the pain people are feeling at the gas pump and grocery store — sending money. At least a dozen states have proposed giving...
