Syrian official says so far, 77 dead in migrant boat sinking
ARIDA BORDER CROSSING, Lebanon — At least 77 people were killed when a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon sank off Syria this week, the country’s health minister said Friday, amid fears the death toll could be far higher.
Why is a NASA spacecraft crashing into an asteroid?
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — In the first-of-its kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away.
Minnesota Ojibwe harvest sacred, climate-imperiled wild rice
ON LEECH LAKE, Minnesota — Seated low in her canoe sliding through a rice bed on this vast lake, Kendra Haugen used one wooden stick to bend the stalks and another to knock the rice off, so gently the stalks sprung right back up.
Trump docs probe: Court lifts hold on Mar-a-Lago records
WASHINGTON — In a stark repudiation of Donald Trump’s legal arguments, a federal appeals court on Wednesday permitted the Justice Department to resume its use of classified records seized from the former president’s Florida estate as part of its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit amounts to an overwhelming victory for the Justice Department, clearing the way for investigators to continue scrutinizing the documents as they consider whether to bring criminal charges over the storage of of top-secret records at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. In lifting a hold on a core aspect of the department’s probe, the court removed an obstacle that could have delayed the investigation by weeks.
US urges world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats
UNITED NATIONS — The United States urged other nations to tell Russia to stop making nuclear threats and end “the horror” of its war in Ukraine as all three countries’ top diplomats spoke — but didn’t quite meet — at a high-profile U.N. Security Council meeting Thursday.
Alex Jones testifies in trial over his Sandy Hook hoax lies
WATERBURY, Conn. — Alex Jones took the stand Thursday at his Connecticut defamation trial, acknowledging he had promoted the conspiracy theory that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax, but angrily refusing to keep apologizing for that.
Boeing pays $200 million to settle SEC charges over 737 Max
Boeing Co. will pay $200 million to settle charges that the company and its former CEO misled investors about the safety of its 737 Max after two of the airliners crashed, killing 346 people.
Biden vows US won’t walk away from storm-struck Puerto Rico
SAN SALVADOR, Puerto Rico — President Joe Biden said Thursday the full force of the federal government is ready to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Fiona even as Bermuda and Canada’s Atlantic provinces were preparing for a major blast from the Category 4 storm.
At least 9 killed as Iran protests over woman’s death spread
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters angry over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody have killed at least nine people since the violence erupted over the weekend, according to a tally Thursday by The Associated Press.
FTC says Bezos, Jassy must testify in probe of Amazon Prime
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are ordering Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy to testify in the government’s investigation of Amazon Prime, rejecting the company’s complaint that the executives are being unfairly harassed in the probe of the popular streaming and shopping service.
Hiroshima bombing recalled in Oregon “peace trees” campaign
SALEM, Ore. — Hideko Tamura Snider was a 10-year-old girl in Hiroshima, Japan, when the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the city on Aug. 6, 1945, during World War II.
Virginia Thomas agrees to interview with Jan. 6 panel
WASHINGTON — Conservative activist Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has agreed to participate in a voluntary interview with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, her lawyer said Wednesday.
Biden: Russia’s Ukraine abuses ‘make your blood run cold’
UNITED NATIONS — President Joe Biden declared at the United Nations on Wednesday that Russia has “shamelessly violated the core tenets” of the international body with its war in Ukraine as he summoned nations around the globe to stand firm in backing the Ukrainian resistance.
Russian separatists release 10, including 2 US veterans
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared three months ago while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces were among 10 prisoners, including five British nationals, released by Russian-backed separatists as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi Arabia, officials said Wednesday.
Zelenskyy: Russia not serious about ending Ukraine war
UNITED NATIONS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested Wednesday that Russia’s decision to mobilize some reservists showed that Moscow isn’t serious about negotiating an end to its nearly seven-month-long war.
Fed attacks inflation with another big hike and expects more
WASHINGTON — Intensifying its fight against high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaled more large rate hikes to come — an aggressive pace that will heighten the risk of an eventual recession.
Putin orders partial military call-up, sparking protests
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists Wednesday to bolster his forces in Ukraine, a deeply unpopular move that sparked rare protests across the country and led to almost 1,200 arrests.
Around 200 stranded whales die in pounding surf in Australia
HOBART, Australia (AP) — A day after 230 whales were found stranded on the wild and remote west coast of Australia’s island state of Tasmania, only 35 were still alive despite rescue efforts that were to continue Thursday.
Marshall Islands head: We must tame ‘climate change monster’
UNITED NATIONS — It was 31 years ago when the Marshall Islands’ first president, Amata Kabua, appeared before the U.N. General Assembly to sound the alarm over global warming. Today, his son — current president David Kabua — is still sounding the alarm, which has only gotten more dire. Speaking to world leaders gathered at the high-level leaders’ meeting Tuesday, the younger Kabua described the longstanding fight to keep his low-lying island nation above water.
US: 48 exploited pandemic to steal $250M from food program
MINNEAPOLIS — United States authorities charged 48 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts in what they said Tuesday was the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme yet, stealing $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children.
