U.S./World category, Page 162
Trump administration is firing 2,000 USAID workers and putting thousands of others on leave
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Sunday that it was placing all but a fraction of staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating 2,000 U.S.-based staff positions. The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Donald Trump...
Kathy Hochul says she made a case to Trump for NYC’s congestion pricing, yet predicts courts will decide
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she told President Donald Trump in a private meeting at the White House that congestion pricing tolls in New York City are necessary and working, yet the Democrat predicted the courts will likely decide the matter. Last week Trump withdrew federal...
American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi lands safely in Rome after security concern
ROME — An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely on Sunday afternoon in Rome after it was diverted due to a security concern, which later proved to be “non-credible,” the airline said. American Airlines said Flight 292 “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing...
What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?
VATICAN CITY — While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church...
Pope Francis in critical condition with early kidney failure but remains alert as prayers pour in
ROME — Pope Francis remained in critical condition Sunday and blood tests showed early kidney failure but he remains alert, responsive and attended Mass, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia and a complex lung infection. In a late update, the Vatican said Francis hadn’t had any more...
2 police officers killed during traffic stop in Virginia Beach
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two police officers in Virginia were shot and killed during a traffic stop late Friday night, authorities said. Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said at a news conference on Saturday that officers Cameron Girvin and Christopher Reece were killed after stopping a vehicle for expired...
A decades-old rocket-propelled grenade kills 2 toddlers who found it in the Cambodian countryside
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A rocket-propelled grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two cousins, a girl and a boy both 2 years old, when it blew up Saturday near their homes in rural northwestern Cambodia, officials said. The accident happened in Siem Reap province’s Svay Leu...
Thieves used a stolen card to buy a $523,000 French lottery ticket. The victim wants to share the winnings
PARIS — Thieves used a stolen card to buy a winning French lottery ticket worth $523,000. But they vanished before cashing in — and now they’re among France’s most famous fugitives. The man whose card was stolen, identified in police documents as Jean-David E., is offering to split the cash...
Pope Francis in critical condition after long respiratory crisis, requiring oxygen at high flow
ROME — Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old Francis, who has been hospitalized for a week with pneumonia and a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed...
Israel delays the release of Palestinian prisoners after Hamas frees 6 hostages
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners without explanation Saturday after Hamas released the last six living hostages expected under the ceasefire ‘s first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Freed were three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival...
Shooting at Air Force Base in New Mexico kills airman, wounds another
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A shooting at a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico early Saturday morning left one airman dead and another wounded, authorities said, adding that it was not an act of terrorism or an attack by an outsider. Officials at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque said...
Source: White House, Ukraine nearing rare earth elements deal that would tighten relationship
WASHINGTON — The White House and Ukraine have made significant progress toward reaching an agreement that would provide the U.S. with access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and tighten the long-term relationship between Kyiv and Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter. The progress in talks comes after...
Trump fires chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks....
Trump says he might take control of U.S. Postal Service. Here’s what to know
PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump on Friday said he might put the U.S. Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department in what would be an executive branch takeover of the agency, which has operated as an independent entity since 1970. “We want to have a post office that...
Luigi Mangione draws crowd to court for first hearing since arraignment in UnitedHealthcare killing
NEW YORK — The defendant wore a bulletproof vest and shackles. A woman in the crowd wore a “Free Luigi” scarf. Outside, throngs of people cheered and chanted his name. So it went Friday at a pretrial hearing for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian...
Trump spars with Maine’s governor at White House over transgender athletesVideo
President Donald Trump sparred with Maine’s Democratic governor during a meeting of governors at the White House on Friday, with Gov. Janet Mills telling the Republican president, “We’ll see you in court,” over his push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes. Trump told the governor he...
AP sues 3 Trump administration officials, citing freedom of speech
The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the 10-day blocking of its journalists. The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The AP says its case is...
New Jersey man convicted of attempted murder in stabbing of Salman Rushdie
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — A New Jersey man was convicted Friday of attempted murder for stabbing author Salman Rushdie multiple times on a New York lecture stage in 2022. Jurors, who deliberated for less than two hours, also found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty of assault for wounding a man who was...
Judge extends temporary block to huge cuts in National Institutes of Health research funding
BOSTON — A federal judge on Friday extended a temporary block of the Trump administration’s drastic cuts in medical research funding that many scientists say will endanger patients and delay new lifesaving discoveries. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley had issued a temporary restraining order earlier this month in response to...
Pope Francis isn’t out of danger but his condition isn’t life-threatening, medical team says
ROME — Pope Francis’ condition isn’t life-threatening, but he’s not out of danger, his medical team said Friday, as the 88-year-old pontiff marked his first week in a hospital with pneumonia on top of chronic bronchitis. Francis’ doctors delivered their first in-person update on the pope’s condition, saying that he...
European troops, U.S. support are part of emerging plan for Ukraine, but it faces many hurdles
LONDON — As the U.S. and Russia push ahead — so far without Ukraine at the table — on talks to end the war, political and military leaders in Europe are fleshing out details of a plan for European forces to help ensure Moscow doesn’t attack again. After months of...
Netanyahu decries release of wrong body as a ceasefire violation. Hamas pledges to investigate
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a body that Hamas released as part of the deal was found to not be that of an Israeli mother of two young boys, as...
Macron’s message to Trump: ‘You can’t be weak in the face of Putin’
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said that he intends to tell U.S. counterpart Donald Trump that it’s in the joint interest of Americans and Europeans not to “be weak” in the face of Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid U.S.-led negotiations to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine. Macron...
Trump administration flouting order to temporarily lift freeze on foreign aid, judge says
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has kept withholding foreign aid despite a court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide, a federal judge said Thursday. Judge Amir H. Ali declined a request by nonprofit groups doing business with the U.S. Agency for International Development to...
IRS layoffs could hurt revenue collection and foil efforts to go after rich tax dodgers, experts say
WASHINGTON — The layoffs of roughly 7,000 IRS probationary workers beginning this week likely mean the end of the agency’s plan to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collections, experts say. The majority of employees shown the door at the federal tax collector are newly...
