U.S./World category, Page 63
Thousands of redheads celebrate their strands at a festival in the Netherlands
TILBURG, Netherlands — The southern Dutch city of Tilburg is seeing more color than usual this weekend, as thousands of redheads from all over the world gather in the Netherlands for a once-a-year festival to celebrate their flaming locks. The 2025 edition of the Redhead Days festival includes music, food...
Palestinian president’s office urges U.S. to reinstate his visa ahead of key UN meetings
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian president’s office on Saturday urged the U.S. government to reverse its unusual decision to revoke his visa, weeks before he was meant to appear at the U.N.’s main annual meeting and an international conference about creating a Palestinian state. The 27-nation European Union asked...
Taking a dip Labor Day weekend? Swimmers face fecal contamination at beaches along U.S. coastline
OGUNQUIT, Maine — Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip might be out of the question: Many of the beaches will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination. Beaches from Crystal River, Florida, to...
A walk through a Smithsonian museum reveals American genius and cruelty as Trump presses for change
WASHINGTON — In an afternoon’s walk through ground zero of Americana — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History — objects around every corner invite one question: What could possibly be more American than this? There’s the enormous Star-Spangled Banner in all its timeworn glory, Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The...
Federal judge issues order blocking Trump effort to expand speedy deportations of migrants
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out speedy deportations of undocumented migrants detained in the interior of the United States. The move is a setback for the President Donald Trump’s efforts to expand the use of the federal expedited removal statute to quickly...
Minneapolis shooting reignites debate over gun control and prayer
Thoughts and prayers. The invocation appears like a litany after every mass shooting — and the backlash is just as inevitable. As if the slaughter of children amid screams and shattered stained glass wasn’t cause enough for grief, American opinion makers were convulsed once again this week in a debate...
EPA fires employees who publicly criticized agency policies under Trump
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump. “Following a thorough internal investigation, EPA supervisors made decisions on an individualized basis,” an EPA spokeswoman said Friday in a statement....
Sunblock, charcoal … and Powerball? Holiday weekend lottery drawing worth $1 billion
DETROIT — This could buy a lot of Labor Day weekend sunblock: Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $1 billion, the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history. Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The...
AI Apocalypse? Why language surrounding tech is sounding increasingly religious
TORONTO — At 77 years old, Geoffrey Hinton has a new calling in life. Like a modern-day prophet, the Nobel Prize winner is raising alarms about the dangers of uncontrolled and unregulated artificial intelligence. Frequently dubbed the “Godfather of AI,” Hinton is known for his pioneering work on deep learning...
Death toll from Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City rises to 7 and infections hit 114
NEW YORK — New York City health officials have discovered a seventh death linked to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Central Harlem, where more than 100 people have been diagnosed with the ailment. The latest death was announced Thursday. Officials said they had concluded the death of a person with...
What to know about the U.S. warships sent to South America and the reaction in Venezuela
WASHINGTON — The United States is boosting its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels with the expected arrival of more vessels next week, an action that will undoubtedly fuel more speculation among Venezuelans, their government and its political opposition. The U.S....
U.S. offers military funeral honors to Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is offering military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was killed at 35 by an officer in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Babbitt was a U.S. Air Force veteran from California who was shot dead wearing a Trump campaign flag...
Israel declares Gaza’s largest city a combat zone as the bodies of 2 hostages are recovered
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel on Friday declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and said it was in the ″initial stages″ of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation. Israel’s military said it suspended mid-day pauses to fighting, which had allowed food and aid supplies to...
Fire departments concerned about cancer risks are buying gear that is free of forever chemicals
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Every time he rushed out on a fire call, East Providence Lt. Thomas Votta knew he put himself at risk for cancer. There are potential carcinogens in the smoke billowing out of a house fire, but also risks from wearing his chemically-treated gear. Last month, the...
Father of 8-year-old boy killed in Minneapolis church shooting wants him remembered for his love
MINNEAPOLIS — As the families of the two Catholic school students fatally shot while celebrating Mass at a Minneapolis church continue to wrestle with their grief, the father of the 8-year-old boy killed tearfully urged the community to remember his son for his love of family, fishing and cooking. “Please...
D.C. man seen throwing sandwich at agent charged with misdemeanor after grand jury declines indictment
WASHINGTON — A man captured on camera hurling a sandwich at a federal agent in D.C. has been charged with a misdemeanor offense after prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury to return a more serious felony indictment, according to court papers filed Thursday. The move is a blow to...
Trump proposed getting rid of FEMA, but his review council seems focused on reforming the agency
Four days after starting his second administration, President Donald Trump floated the idea of “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which manages federal disaster response. But at a Thursday meeting, the 12-person review council he appointed to propose changes to FEMA seemed more focused on reforms than total...
European nations move to impose a ‘snapback’ of Iran nuclear sanctions at UN
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — France, Germany and the United Kingdom moved Thursday to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further isolating Tehran after its atomic sites were repeatedly bombed during a 12-day war with Israel. The process, termed a “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fell last week as layoffs remain low
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week as employers appear to be holding onto their workers even as the economy has slowed. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 23 dropped 5,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Measures of the job market are being...
Authorities are looking for a motive for the shooter who killed 2 kids at a Minneapolis church
RICHFIELD, Minn. — Investigators were examining the videos, writings and movements of the shooter who fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis, killing two children and wounding 17 people, for connections to the church and its school to understand the motivation for the attack. Armed with a...
Trump administration asks military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations
CHICAGO — The Trump administration asked a military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations, the base said Thursday, offering a clue of what an expanded law enforcement crackdown might look like in the nation’s third-largest city. The Department of Homeland Security has asked Naval Station Great Lakes for...
Minneapolis Catholic schoolchildren listened to a prayer, then ducked for cover from gunfire
MINNEAPOLIS — In the vaulted church of a Catholic school in Minneapolis, the pews were packed with teachers, parents and schoolchildren listening to a psalm on the third day of the new school year. “For you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day,” a church member...
Jury awards more than $2 million to protester shot in face with nonlethal projectile
LOS ANGELES — A jury has awarded at least $2.2 million to a protester who was shot in the face with a less-lethal munition by a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy during a demonstration against police brutality in 2020. In the verdict last week, the jury found LA County liable for...
Guard not needed in Chicago, Pritzker tells AP during tour of city to counter Trump’s crime claims
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is doubling down on his message to President Donald Trump that the nation’s third-largest city doesn’t need or want military intervention to fight crime, showing off parts of the city where violent crime has decreased and saying sending in the National Guard could only...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing next week
BEIJING — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make his first visit to China in six years to attend a military parade next week, the two countries said Thursday, in an event that would bring him together with a group of world leaders for the first time since taking...
