U.S./World category, Page 122
Vatican firefighters install a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel for the papal election
VATICAN CITY — Preparations for the conclave to find a new pope accelerated Friday with the installation of the chimney out of the Sistine Chapel that will signal the election of a successor to Pope Francis. Vatican firefighters were seen on the roof of the Sistine Chapel installing the chimney,...
Soviet-era spacecraft is set to plunge to Earth a half-century after its failed launch to Venus
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Soviet-era spacecraft meant to land on Venus in the 1970s is expected to soon plunge uncontrolled back to Earth, possibly within the first two weeks of May. It’s too early to know where the half-ton mass of metal might come down or how much of...
Defense Department designates 2nd military zone on U.S. border, extending into Texas
EL PASO, Texas — The Defense Department said Thursday that it has designated a second stretch on the U.S. border with Mexico as a military zone to enforce immigration laws. The newest area is in Texas and is attached to the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso. Like the...
Army plans for a potential parade on Trump’s birthday call for 6,600 soldiers, 50 helicopters
WASHINGTON — Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned. The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are...
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelan migrants
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported. The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary...
Judge bars deportations of Venezuelans from South Texas under Alien Enemies Act
A federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans from South Texas under an 18th-century wartime law and said President Donald Trump’s invocation of it was “unlawful.” U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. is the first judge to rule that the Alien Enemies Act cannot...
Driver who killed 4 by smashing through an Illinois after-school camp may have had health emergency
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The driver of a car that barreled through a building used for a popular after-school camp in central Illinois, killing three children and a teenager, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and may have had a medical emergency, police said Thursday. No decisions have...
Cha-ching! Millions of dimes spill onto Texas highway after truck rollsVideo
ALVORD, Texas — Talk about some serious coin. Millions of coins spilled onto a Texas highway this week after a tractor-trailer hauling $800,000 in dimes rolled over in an accident, authorities said. The spillage led to the closure of a portion of the southbound lanes of U.S. 287 in Alvord...
Sex assault reports in the U.S. military fell last year, fueled by a big drop in the Army
WASHINGTON — The number of sexual assaults reported across the U.S. military dipped by nearly 4% last year, fueled by a significant drop in the Army, according to a new Pentagon report. It was the second year in a row with a decrease, reversing a troubling trend that has plagued...
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers get their turn to question accuser Miriam Haley at #MeToo retrial
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein ‘s lawyers got their turn Thursday to question a woman who alleges the one-time Hollywood heavyweight held her down on a bed and forced oral sex on her nearly two decades ago. Miriam Haley, testifying for a third day at Weinstein’s retrial, was grilled about...
Mother of dead inmate sues troubled Wisconsin prison where 7 have died since 2023
MADISON, Wis. — The mother of an inmate who died of dehydration and malnutrition at Wisconsin’s oldest maximum security prison last year has filed a federal lawsuit, marking the fourth action brought by relatives of inmates who have died at the troubled institution since 2023. Donald Maier’s mother, Jeanette Maier,...
Trump’s health agency urges therapy for transgender youth, not broader gender-affirming health care
President Donald Trump’s administration released a lengthy review of transgender health care on Thursday that advocates for a greater reliance on behavioral therapy rather than broad gender-affirming medical care for youths with gender dysphoria. The 409-page Health and Human Services report questions standards for the treatment of transgender youth issued...
Judge bars deportations of Venezuelans from South Texas under 18th-century wartime law
A federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans from South Texas under an 18th-century wartime law. U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. is the first judge to rule that the Alien Enemies Act cannot be used against people who the Republican administration claims are...
Scientists once thought only humans could bob to music. Ronan the sea lion helped prove them wrong
Ronan the sea lion can still keep a beat after all these years. She can groove to rock and electronica. But the 15-year-old California sea lion’s talent shines most in bobbing to disco hits like “Boogie Wonderland.” “She just nails that one,” swaying her head in time to the tempo...
House for sale becomes house of horrors after dead animals found in NW Georgia
ATLANTA — A home in northwest Georgia attracted some potential buyers, likely with the modest price tag of $275,000. “Welcome home to this amazing 1919 Farm in Layette, GA sitting on 10 acres of beautiful land,” the Zillow listing states. “This is a perfect spot for horses and livestock.” But...
U.S. imposes sanctions on Mexican cartel linked to drug trafficking, fuel-theft network
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday imposed economic sanctions on three Mexican nationals and two Mexico-based entities involved in a drug trafficking and fuel theft network linked to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel. It is one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says it...
Car ramming in Japan injures 7 schoolchildren and suspect is arrested on the scene
TOKYO — A man in Japan was arrested on suspicion of driving his car into seven schoolchildren who were walking home, injuring them, one seriously, police said. Police were handling the case as attempted murder rather than reckless driving because the suspect, Yuki Yazawa, 28, told investigators that he was...
NASA astronauts step outside space station to perform the 5th all-female spacewalk
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An astronaut who missed out on the first all-female spacewalk because of a spacesuit sizing issue got her chance six years later on Thursday. NASA’s Anne McClain emerged from the International Space Station alongside Nichole Ayers. Both military officers and pilots, they launched to the orbiting...
At least 9 dead in drone strikes after U.S. and Ukraine sign minerals deal
KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian drone attack left at least seven people dead and a Russian strike on Odesa killed two people on Thursday, officials said, just hours after Kyiv and Washington signed a long-anticipated agreement granting U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources. The attack in the partially occupied Kherson...
Several countries sending firefighting planes to Israel to help tackle major wildfire
JERUSALEM — Several countries were sending firefighting aircraft to Israel on Thursday as crews battled for a second day to extinguish a wildfire that had shut down a major highway linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and sent drivers scrambling from their cars. The fire broke out around midday in the...
Trump says U.S. kids may get ‘2 dolls instead of 30,’ but China will suffer more in a trade war
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that his tariffs could result in fewer and costlier products in the United States, saying American kids might “have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” but he insisted China will suffer more from his trade war. The Republican president has tried to...
2 dead in scenic point fall in Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park
BRYCE CANYON CITY, Utah — Two people died in a 380-foot fall from a viewing area in southern Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park. Tourists spotted the bodies Tuesday below Inspiration Point after the two fell late Monday or early Tuesday, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. How...
Memorial wall to fallen USAID staffers is removed from the agency’s former building
WASHINGTON — Contractors hired by the Trump administration have removed a memorial wall to fallen staffers from the now-closed headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, with no immediate word on where it will wind up. Individual tiles on the wall honor 99 USAID staffers killed in the line...
Ex-FBI informant who made up bribery story about the Bidens will stay in prison, judge rules
LAS VEGAS — A federal judge has denied the U.S. government’s request to release from prison a former FBI informant who fabricated a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes that became central to Republicans’ impeachment effort. The decision, issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Otis...
Lacrosse hazing included high schoolers staging armed abduction, prosecutor says
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Members of a high school lacrosse program in upstate New York are accused of staging an armed abduction of younger players in a stunt that “went way beyond hazing,” prosecutors said this week. All 11 people believed to be involved in the events linked to the team...
