U.S./World category, Page 295
Long a Republican state, Louisiana is redder than ever under new governor
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana has long been reliably red. The Bayou State has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2000, with residents overwhelmingly supporting Donald Trump during the past two, and the GOP has held a majority in the statehouse for years. But policies in...
As France reels from alleged rape of a Jewish girl, antisemitism comes to fore in election campaign
PARIS — The alleged rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a suspected antisemitic attack has sent shockwaves throughout France and thrust concerns about antisemitism to the forefront of campaigning for the country’s legislative elections. The anti-immigration National Rally party, which has tried to shed historical links to antisemitism, is...
Appeals court panel refuses to delay Trump ally Steve Bannon’s 4-month contempt prison sentence
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court panel on Thursday rejected longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon’s bid to stay out of prison while he fights his conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol attack. Bannon is supposed to report to prison by July...
FBI raids several California homes, including Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’sVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Federal authorities raided a home belonging to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao early Thursday as part of a California investigation that included a search of at least two other houses, officials said. FBI agents carried boxes out of 80 Maiden Lane, a four-bedroom home that property records link...
Amtrak service resumes from Philadelphia to New Haven after power restored to train tracks
NEW YORK — Amtrak service resumed Thursday from Philadelphia to New Haven, Connecticut, in time for the evening rush hour commute after power was restored to train tracks, the national rail service said. A circuit breaker malfunction led to a widespread loss of power on the tracks between Penn Station...
New York moves to limit ‘addictive’ social media feeds for kids
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a bill that would allow parents to block their children from getting social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm, a move to limit feeds critics argue are addictive. Under the legislation, feeds on apps like TikTok and Instagram would be limited...
Online Zyn nicotine pouch sales suspended
The online sales of Zyn nicotine patches have been suspended nationwide this week, Reuters reported. Zyn is an oral pouch that contains nicotine powder and flavorings like mint, coffee and citrus, according to the Associated Press, and they have been the fastest-growing product in the tobacco industry. Users stick them...
Roller coaster strikes, critically injures man in restricted area of Ohio’s Kings IslandVideo
CINCINNATI — A man who apparently entered a restricted area to retrieve his lost keys at a theme park in Ohio was critically injured when he was struck by a steel roller coaster, police and park officials said. The 38-year-old man appeared to have entered a fenced area Wednesday night...
Millions are sweating it out as a heat wave nears its peak from Midwest to Maine
SQUAM LAKE, N.H. — As New England baked in a heat wave Thursday, guests at one campground were keeping their food and beer cold with blocks of ice harvested months earlier from a frozen lake. And while some relief is expected in the eastern Great Lakes region and New England...
Judy Garland’s hometown is raising funds to purchase stolen ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — The Minnesota hometown of Judy Garland, the actress who wore a pair of ruby slippers in “The Wizard of Oz,” is raising money to purchase the prized footwear after it was stolen from a local museum and then later turned over to an auction company. Grand...
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rate falls again, easing to lowest level since early April
LOS ANGELES — Home loan borrowing costs eased again this week as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage declined to its lowest level since early April. The rate fell to 6.87% from 6.95% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.67%. This...
Maryland cargo ship crew members can go home under agreement allowing questioning amid bridge collapse probes
BALTIMORE — Crew members on the cargo ship Dali can head home as soon as Thursday under an agreement that allows lawyers to question them amid ongoing investigations into what led to the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. That would mark the first time any of the...
Supreme Court upholds conviction of woman who challenged expert testimony in a drug case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of a California woman who said she did not know about a stash of methamphetamine hidden inside her car. In a ruling that crossed the court’s ideological lines, the 6-3 majority opinion dismissed arguments that an expert witness for the...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fails to qualify for CNN’s debate. It’ll be a showdown between Biden and Trump
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has failed to qualify for next week’s debate in Atlanta, according to host network CNN, falling shy of benchmarks both for state ballot qualification and necessary polling. The missed markers mean that the June 27 showdown will be solely between...
Will a Florida storm take your name in 2024? Check the list
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has only just begun, and we already have Alberto. The tropical storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico. The next name on the list? Beryl. The National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration revealed the official list of potential hurricane names, along with its predictions for the...
Supreme Court upholds a tax on foreign income over a business-backed challenge
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a tax on foreign income over a challenge backed by business and anti-regulatory interests, declining their invitation to weigh in on a broader, never-enacted tax on wealth. The justices left in place a provision of a 2017 tax law that is expected...
Russia obliterates Ukraine’s front-line towns faster with hacked bombs and expanded air base network
KHARKIV, Ukraine — The first shock wave shattered aisles stacked almost to the ceiling with home improvement products. The next Russian bomb streaked down like a comet seconds later, unleashing flames that left the megastore an ashen shell. A third bomb failed to detonate when it landed behind the Epicenter...
Illegally brewed liquor kills at least 34 with dozens hospitalized in southern India
NEW DELHI — At least 34 people have died and dozens hospitalized after drinking illegally brewed liquor in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, local media reported on Thursday. The state’s chief minister M K Stalin said the 34 died after consuming liquor that was tainted with methanol, according...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 238,000 from 10-month high, remain low by historical standards
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits slipped last week as the U.S. labor market remained resilient. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 238,000 from a 10-month high of 243,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which evens out...
Police credit New Yorkers for suspect’s arrest in the rape of a 13-year-old girlVideo
NEW YORK — Residents of a New York City neighborhood were praised for their role in the arrest of an Ecuadorian accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, a crime that the city’s police commissioner said “shocked our entire city.” Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, 25, was arrested early Tuesday outside a deli...
Vermont lawmaker apologizes for repeatedly pouring water in her colleague’s bagVideo
MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Republican state lawmaker from Vermont has apologized for repeatedly pouring water into a Democratic colleague’s bag, after he caught her doing it on video. State Rep. Mary Morrissey publicly apologized to state Rep. Jim Carroll, colleagues and the citizens of Vermont from the House floor on...
Tropical Storm Alberto weakens over northeast Mexico after heavy rains killed 3Video
MEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm Alberto, the season’s first named storm, weakened Thursday as it moved inland over northeast Mexico after bringing heavy rains to parts of the parched region and leaving at least three dead. The storm was weakening rapidly over land and was downgraded to a tropical depression...
New law requires all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, the latest move from a GOP-dominated Legislature pushing a conservative agenda under a new governor. The legislation that Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law on Wednesday requires...
Climate protesters arrested over spraying orange paint on Stonehenge monumentVideo
LONDON — Two climate protesters who sprayed orange paint on the ancient Stonehenge monument in southern England were arrested Wednesday after two bystanders appeared to intervene and stop them. The latest act by Just Stop Oil was quickly condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “disgraceful act of vandalism.”...
Explosions at a military ammunition depot in Chad’s capital kill 9, injure 46
N’DJAMENA, Chad — Nine people were killed and more than 40 injured when a fire set off explosions at a military ammunition depot in Chad’s capital, an official said Wednesday. Government spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said 46 people were being treated for various injuries after the explosions jolted residents from their...
