U.S./World category, Page 35
Croatia reintroduces military conscription as Europe worries about Russia-Ukraine war
ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatia’s parliament on Friday voted to reintroduce compulsory military service in the European Union and NATO member country. The move comes amid heightened tensions in Europe following the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as an apparent arms race and military buildup in the Balkans, which went...
Ontario premier doesn’t back down against Trump, posts video of Reagan opposing tariffs
TORONTO — The leader of Canada’s most populous province posted remarks by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan on social media on Friday showing Reagan opposed tariffs, hours after President Donald Trump announced he’s ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad that Trump said misstates Reagan’s opposition...
U.S. military takes steps to adapt new hypersonic weapons to mobile launchers
WASHINGTON — Defense startup Castelion said on Friday it has won contracts to integrate its Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapon with current U.S. Army systems, the first step toward allowing the military to place the powerful and nearly unstoppable weapons around the world. The U.S. and China are engaged in an...
Almost 4,400 people abused by priests in Italy, victims’ group alleges
ROME — Nearly 4,400 people have been abused by Catholic priests in Italy in cases reported since 2020, a victims’ group alleged on Friday, renewing pressure on bishops to confront a crisis that has long plagued the world’s largest Christian faith. The unofficial tally by Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s largest church...
Trump says all trade talks with Canada are terminatedVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said late Thursday that all trade talks with Canada were terminated following what he called a fraudulent advertisement in which former President Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote on Truth...
Arson suspect in deadly Los Angeles Palisades fire pleads not guilty
LOS ANGELES — The man accused of deliberately setting the blaze that grew into one of the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles history, killing 12 people and incinerating thousands of homes, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to three federal arson-related charges. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is charged with “maliciously” starting...
Trump said he’s good at building ‘on budget.’ Then the ballroom cost escalated by 50%
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has often touted his experience as a real estate builder who is good at building things “on budget and on time,” as he did when he hosted a dinner last week for donors to his long-championed White House ballroom. Then, exactly a week later, on...
Top Trump official defied court order on tear gas during Chicago crackdown, protesters say
CHICAGO — A top U.S. Border Patrol official violated a court order limiting the use of tear gas during demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, a group of protesters, journalists and clergy members told a U.S. judge on Thursday. The group said in a court filing that...
New York Attorney General James to challenge U.S. Attorney Halligan’s appointment
WASHINGTON — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday said her legal team plans to ask a federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges against her on the grounds that the U.S. Attorney in Eastern Virginia who obtained the indictment was unlawfully appointed, according to a court filing. James’...
Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the Caribbean, killing an elderly man in HaitiVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Melissa lumbered through the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola — an island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Officials urged residents in flood-prone areas to seek higher ground. The...
U.S. reopens Alaska wildlife refuge to oil and gas development
The Trump administration on Thursday announced a series of steps to open up Alaskan wilderness to energy and infrastructure development, including by allowing oil and gas drilling in the remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The administration has announced a string of policy swings involving the sprawling refuge for polar bears,...
Trump calls off federal agent deployment to San Francisco
Donald Trump will not deploy federal agents to San Francisco, the U.S. president and the California city’s mayor said in separate social media posts on Thursday, a surprising stand-down as Trump pressures Democratic-led cities around the country to step up enforcement against crime and illegal immigration. San Francisco Mayor Daniel...
2 federal judges say use of AI led to errors in U.S. court rulings
Two federal judges admitted in response to an inquiry by U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that members of their staff used artificial intelligence to help prepare recent court orders that Grassley called “error-ridden.” In letters released by Grassley’s office on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate in Mississippi...
Trump to quadruple Argentine beef imports while U.S. ranchers fume
President Donald Trump’s administration is quadrupling the country’s low-tariff imports of Argentine beef in his attempt to lower grocery store beef prices, a White House official said Thursday, evoking fury from the nation’s cattle ranchers. Raising the tariff rate quota on Argentine beef to 80,000 metric tons will let the...
Clearing Gaza’s surface of bombs will take up to 30 years, aid group says
GENEVA — Clearing the surface of Gaza of unexploded ordnance will likely take between 20 to 30 years, according to an official with aid group Humanity & Inclusion, describing the enclave as a “horrific, unmapped minefield.” More than 53 people have been killed and hundreds injured by lethal remnants from...
Starbucks workers union to begin voting on strike amid stalled contract talks
Starbucks baristas’ union said on Thursday it would vote on whether to authorize an unfair labor practice strike at unionized locations to demand that the company return to the negotiating table. Contract talks between the coffee-chain giant and the union, which represents more than 12,000 baristas, began last year, but...
Senate to vote on paying ‘essential’ workers as shutdown hits Day 23
WASHINGTON ‒ The Senate is set to vote Thursday on a Republican-backed bill to pay some federal workers who are working through the government shutdown as the shutdown rolls into Day 23. The bill, known as the Shutdown Fairness Act and sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, would pay employees...
How Trump is demolishing the White House East Wing for his new ballroom
Workers have demolished much of the 83-year-old East Wing in preparation for President Donald Trump’s planned $250 million ballroom at the White House. Demolition work began without prior public notice on Oct. 20, when workers took down the entrance to the East Wing. Dismantling continued the next day when much...
Trump waltzes into ballroom controversy with ‘2 geniuses’ and an East Wing demolition
WASHINGTON - Standing at a podium last week in the East Room, President Donald Trump talked about two men who had advised him about zoning permits for his long-desired White House ballroom. At that Oct. 15 dinner, ordered up to thank private donors to the project, America’s 45th and 47th...
Fetterman, McCormick back Senate-rejected plan to pay some federal workers during shutdown
Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators — Republican Dave McCormick and Democrat John Fetterman — voted Thursday to pay some federal workers during the government shutdown, but the GOP measure failed to get enough support in the Senate. Democrats tried to push through a measure of their own that would have paid...
Trump expected to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing for a visit to the United States by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month, in what could be the first state visit to the U.S. by a foreign leader in Trump’s second term, according to several people familiar with the...
Author Michael Wolff sues Melania Trump, saying she threatened $1B suit over Epstein-related claims
NEW YORK — Author Michael Wolff claims in a lawsuit that First Lady Melania Trump threatened to sue him for over $1 billion in damages if he didn’t retract Jeffrey Epstein -related statements he recently made about her. Wolff sought unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in state Supreme...
U.S. hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion outside of the pandemic
WASHINGTON — In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet. It’s also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the covid-19 pandemic...
U.S. puts sanctions on 2 Russian oil companies as Moscow holds nuclear drills
The United States hit Russia’s major oil companies with sanctions on Wednesday and accused the Russians of a lack of commitment toward ending the war in Ukraine, as Moscow conducted a major training exercise involving nuclear arms. The new sanctions were introduced one day after plans for a summit between...
Covid-19 vaccines may help some cancer patients fight tumors
WASHINGTON — The most widely used covid-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients — revving up their immune systems to help fight tumors. People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer if they also got a Pfizer or...
