U.S./World category, Page 167
Vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sworn in as Trump’s health chief after close Senate vote
WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in Thursday as President Donald Trump’s health secretary after a close Senate vote, putting the prominent vaccine skeptic in control of $1.7 trillion in federal spending, vaccine recommendations and food safety as well as health insurance programs for roughly half the country....
Gas explosion at Taiwan food court kills 4 and injures 26
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A gas explosion at a department store in Taiwan on Thursday killed four people and injured 26, fire authorities said. The blast occurred at the food court on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in Taichung city, the Taichung Fire Bureau said. The...
Archaeologists unearth the remains of a Roman basilica on the site of a new London skyscraper
LONDON — Work to give 21st-century London yet another skyscraper has uncovered traces — in fact chunks — of the city’s origins almost 2,000 years ago. Archaeologists exploring the site of a planned 32-story office tower announced Thursday that they have unearthed the remains of a Roman basilica that once...
Florida man to be executed for 1997 double murder witnessed by toddler
STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man convicted of murdering a husband and wife during a fishing trip at a remote farm while the couple’s toddler looked on is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening in the state’s first execution this year. The execution of 64-year-old James Dennis Ford...
At least 28 are hurt as a driver plows into a demonstration in Germany
BERLIN — A driver drove a car into a union demonstration in central Munich on Thursday, injuring at least 28 people including children, authorities said. Authorities said it was believed to be an attack. The suspect, an Afghan asylum-seeker, was arrested. The incident follows a series of attacks involving immigrants...
Gunmen open fire and kill 2 children in Puerto Rico, 4 wounded
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Two children were killed and four people were wounded when gunmen opened fire on a home in northeastern Puerto Rico, police said on Thursday. The shooting, which shocked the U.S. territory, occurred late Wednesday in the town of Río Grande, according to authorities. An 8-year-old...
California’s burn scars brace for flooding as freezing rain and snow head for Oregon
Rain has begun falling in California where an atmospheric river is expected to bring heavy downpours, winds and flooding Thursday to areas ravaged by wildfires. Ahead of the storm’s arrival, officials distributed sandbags, prepositioned rescue swimmers and told residents to have their go-bags ready. Meanwhile, Portland coated its streets with...
ACLU sues for access to migrants flown to Guantanamo this month
WASHINGTON — Civil rights attorneys sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to gain access to detained migrants who they say have been flown to Guantanamo Bay and held there without being able to consult lawyers or speak to relatives. The federal lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., and backed by the...
Judge clears way for Trump’s plan to downsize federal workforce with deferred resignation program
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump ’s plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program. It was a significant legal victory for the Republican president after a string of courtroom setbacks. “This goes to show that lawfare will not...
U.S. defense chief suggests Ukraine should abandon hope of winning all territory back from Russia
BRUSSELS — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia and instead prepare for a negotiated peace settlement to be backed up by international troops. Hours later, President Donald Trump...
As DOGE hammers away at the U.S. government, Republicans stir with quiet objections
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Katie Britt has been working to make sure the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency doesn’t hit what she called “life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions,” including her state’s beloved University of Alabama. Kansas GOP Sen. Jerry Moran is worried that food from heartland farmers would...
Lawsuit describes Musk’s DOGE teams overseeing the ending of hundreds of USAID programs abroad
WASHINGTON — Newly filed affidavits of U.S. Agency for International Development workers describe a lieutenant of Trump ally Elon Musk and other outsiders directing the immediate termination of hundreds of American aid and foreign assistance programs abroad this week, without required documentation or justification. Other affidavits described some agency employees...
Trump upends US Ukraine policy and says he and Putin have agreed to begin negotiations on ending war
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, saying that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a dramatic prisoner swap. Trump said in a social media post that he and Putin held a...
Senate confirms Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans fall in line
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination. Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her...
Austrian far-right leader’s efforts to form a new government collapse
VIENNA — Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl said Wednesday that his talks on forming a coalition government with a conservative party have collapsed. Austria’s president gave Kickl a mandate to try to form a new government on Jan. 6 after efforts to put together a governing alliance with his Freedom...
Frontier makes another takeover bid for Spirit Airlines and it is rejected, again
Spirit Airlines has again rejected a third takeover bid from budget rival Frontier, saying that it would focus on its own plan to emerge from bankruptcy and stabilize its finances. The offer this week, like the last bid, offers Spirit shareholders $400 million in debt and a 19% stake in...
Musk appears at White House defending DOGE’s work but acknowledging mistakes
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s most powerful adviser, Elon Musk, made a rare public appearance at the White House on Tuesday to defend the swift and extensive cuts he’s pushing across the federal government while acknowledging there have been mistakes and will be more. Musk stood next to the Resolute...
Who are the Americans still in Russian custody?
Russia has released an American teacher imprisoned over what his family said was prescribed medical marijuana, but several other Americans remain in Russian custody. Teacher Marc Fogel was released in what the White House described Tuesday as a diplomatic thaw. Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and is serving a...
Convicted Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik being freed as part of swap for American Marc Fogel
MOSCOW — Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, two U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday. Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited...
Seattle council passes bill letting police use weapons on crowds
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council passed a bill Tuesday allowing police officers — in limited cases — to use weapons like tear gas, pepper spray and blast balls to control crowd movement during protests. Past councils greatly restricted the use of these so-called “less lethal” weapons in the wake...
Apple changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America based on Trump’s order
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on its maps Tuesday after an order by President Donald Trump was made official by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System. The move follows Google, which announced last month that it would make the change once...
Teacher questioned in stabbing death of first-grader in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police Tuesday were questioning an elementary school teacher who allegedly stabbed a first-grader to death in the city of Daejeon. The killing Monday during after-school care has shocked the nation and prompted the country’s acting president to order school safety standards reviewed. The female...
10 new cases of measles reported in West Texas county and New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. — Public health authorities said Tuesday that an outbreak of measles in western Texas has expanded, while a new case was confirmed nearby across state lines in New Mexico. The Texas Department of State Health Services has identified 24 measles cases in connection with the onset of...
Fugitive dog recaptured in New Orleans after gaining national fame for escapades
NEW ORLEANS — A scruffy New Orleans rescue dog famed for evading a monthslong effort to recapture him using nets and tranquilizer rifles has finally been caught and returned to domestic life Tuesday. Scrim, a 17-pound mutt who has become a Louisiana folk hero, first escaped from his adopted family...
Ex-FEMA worker who directed staff to avoid homes with Trump signs violated Hatch Act, agency says
WASHINGTON — A federal agency is seeking disciplinary action against a former Federal Emergency Management Agency worker who directed workers helping hurricane survivors to avoid homes with yard signs supporting President Donald Trump, according to a complaint filed Tuesday. The complaint with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board was filed...
