U.S./World category, Page 199
Trump wants to end daylight saving time
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate...
‘Crown of Thorns’ returns to Notre Dame Cathedral for public veneration
PARIS — An ancient relic that many Christians revere as Jesus Christ’s “Crown of Thorns” returned Friday to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, five years after it was saved from the flames of the medieval monument’s devastating 2019 fire. The crown — a circular band of branches encased in a...
Syrians cheer end of 50 years of Assad rule at first Friday prayers since government fell
DAMASCUS — Exuberant Syrians observed the first Friday prayers since the ouster of President Bashar Assad, gathering in the capital’s historic main mosque, its largest square and around the country to celebrate the end of half a century of authoritarian rule. The newly installed interim prime minister delivered the sermon...
Feds propose protection for giant salamanders devastated by Hurricane Helene
You never forget your first time seeing a giant salamander, according to Andy Hill. He was a teenager, standing thigh-high in the Watauga River outside Boone, North Carolina, casting a line on an early fall day when he saw his first eastern hellbender. The salamander stretched 2 feet long and...
Texas sues New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills by telemedicine
Texas has sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman via telemedicine. The lawsuit was filed in Collin County, Texas, by the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday and announced Friday. It appears to be the first challenge anywhere in the U.S. to a...
Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg
WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been hospitalized after she “sustained an injury” during an official engagement in Luxembourg, according to a spokesman. Pelosi, 84, was in Europe to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Her spokesman, Ian Krager, said...
Woman who falsely accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006 publicly admits she lied
RALEIGH, N.C. — The woman who in 2006 falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her — making national headlines that stirred tensions about race, class and the privilege of college athletes — has admitted publicly for the first time that she made up the story. Crystal Mangum,...
Canadian government asks labor board to intervene in Canada Post strike as Christmas nears
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s labor minister announced Friday he is asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order about 55,000 striking Canada Post employees back to work after a four week work stoppage that disrupted mail service during the busy holiday season. Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon said if the board...
U.S. and allies mark the 80th anniversary of WWII Battle of the Bulge
BASTOGNE, Belgium — The United States, its European allies and a dwindling number of veterans will mark on Friday the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most important and deadly battles in World War II which stopped Adolf Hitler’s last-ditch offensive and opened the way...
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic officials put coach on leave after AP reports sexual abuse allegations
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee placed an employee on administrative leave Thursday after the Associated Press reported that one of its coaches was accused of sexually abusing a young biathlete, causing her so much distress that she attempted suicide. Rocky Harris, USOPC chief of sport and athlete services, sent...
Bird strike disables jetliner engine, forces emergency landing at JFK airport
NEW YORK — A bird strike involving an American Airlines jetliner disabled one of the plane’s two engines shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, forcing the flight to turn around and land at John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said Friday. No one was injured in the incident...
Back trouble and brain fog bothered suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, his posts show
After Luigi Mangione made the difficult decision to undergo spinal surgery last year for chronic back pain, he became a proponent of the procedure that changed his life for the better. He repeatedly posted on Reddit about his recovery and offered words of encouragement for people with similar conditions, telling...
Some in seafood industry see Trump as fishermen’s friend, but tariffs could make for pricier fish
PORTLAND, Maine — The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is likely to bring big changes for one of the oldest sectors of the U.S. economy — seafood — and some in the industry believe the returning president will be more responsive to its needs. Economic analysts paint a more...
A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list
A nonprofit leader who supports at-risk New Orleans youth. A social worker who fosters animals. A counselor and recovery coach who volunteers at organizations that fight sexual assault and domestic violence. They are among the roughly 1,540 people whose sentences were commuted or who were pardoned by President Joe Biden...
Minnesota reaps windfall from epic comeback of lake trout in Lake Superior
MINNEAPOLIS — Once-rare lake trout in Lake Superior are doing so well that state biologists will use the fish to stock the species in lakes around the state, officials have announced. This fall, the Department of Natural Resources successfully harvested lake trout eggs from fish captured in two nets set...
American who says he crossed into Syria on foot is free after 7 months in detentionVideo
DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday said he was detained after crossing into the country on foot seven months ago on a Christian pilgrimage. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus...
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
WASHINGTON — IRS leadership on Thursday announced that the agency has recovered $4.7 billion in back taxes and proceeds from a variety of crimes since the nation’s tax collector received a massive glut of funding through Democrats’ flagship tax, climate and health law in 2022. The announcement comes under the...
U.S. senator says mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey region should be ‘shot down, if necessary’Video
TOMS River, N.J. — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns them. “We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis...
Israeli airstrikes kill 28 in Gaza, including 7 children, health officials say
Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman, hours after the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in...
Some breast cancer patients can avoid certain surgeries, studies suggest
Some early breast cancer patients can safely avoid specific surgeries, according to two studies exploring ways to lessen treatment burdens. One new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examines whether removing lymph nodes is always necessary in early breast cancer. Another in the Journal of the American...
South Korea’s Yoon defends martial law as an act of governance and vows to ‘fight to the end’
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree as an act of governance and denied rebellion charges, vowing Thursday to “fight to the end” in response to attempts to impeach him and intensifying investigations into last week’s dramatic move. The main opposition Democratic...
Trump named Time’s Person of the Year, rings New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has been recognized for the second time by Time magazine as its Person of the Year. To mark the event, Trump rang the opening bell Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. The honors for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback...
Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The commutations announced Thursday...
American who says he crossed into Syria by foot is free after 7 months in detention
DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus...
East Coast storm makes a mess at ski resorts as strong winds cause power outages
PORTLAND, Maine — Colder weather began to return Thursday after a storm that swept up the East Coast delivered a blow to New England, packing powerful gusts that knocked out power along with a deluge of rain and warming temperatures that washed away snow and dampened ski resorts. An atmospheric...
