House approves trans athlete ban for girls and women’s teams
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male would be barred from competing on girls or women’s sports teams at federally supported schools and colleges under legislation pushed through Thursday by House Republicans checking off another high-profile item on their social agenda.
Biden 2024 campaign announcement coming as soon as next week
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden will formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week, three people briefed on the discussions said Thursday.
Anti-abortion group blasts Trump over federal ban comments
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A major anti-abortion group blasted former President Donald Trump on the issue Thursday, saying his contention that abortion restrictions should be left up to individual states, not the federal government, is a “morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate.”
U.S. inventory: old forests cover area larger than California
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration has identified more than 175,000 square miles (453,000 square kilometers) of old growth and mature forests on U.S. government land and plans to craft a new rule to better protect the nation’s woodlands from fires, insects and other side effects of climate change, officials said Thursday.
Twitter begins removing blue checks from users who don’t pay
This time it’s for real.
NATO chief: Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in the alliance
KYIV, Ukraine — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg defiantly declared Thursday that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in the military alliance and pledged more support for the country on his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion just over a year ago.
Muslims end Ramadan, begin holiday amid war, reconciliation
BEIRUT — Large parts of the Muslim world marked the end of the fasting month of Ramadan at sundown Thursday and ushered in the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, but the festivities were overshadowed by raging battles for control of Sudan and a deadly stampede in Yemen.
Israel aims to sell missile defense system to Germany
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Defense Ministry on Thursday said it has begun talks to sell an advanced missile defense system to Germany. The announcement came two weeks after Israel said it was selling another missile defense system to NATO’s newest member, Finland.
Anger at new retirement age fuels further protests in France
GANGES, France — Hundreds of people opposed to the new law raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 demonstrated Thursday in a small town in southern France during a visit by President Emmanuel Macron, while scattered protests were staged elsewhere.
Sudan army demands rivals’ surrender as cease-fire runs out
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan’s military ruled out negotiations with a rival paramilitary force on Thursday, saying it would only accept its surrender as the two sides continued to battle in central Khartoum and other parts of the country, threatening to wreck international attempts to broker a longer cease-fire.
Fox, Dominion reach $787M settlement over election claims
WILMINGTON, Del. — Fox News agreed Tuesday to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to avert a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 presidential election.
Biden pans McCarthy’s debt plan as ‘huge cuts’ to Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked furiously Tuesday to build support for a Republican plan that would demand strict limits to federal spending in return for agreeing to raise the nation’s debt limit and stave off an unprecedented U.S. default.
Republicans object to replacing Feinstein on Judiciary panel
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republicans blocked a Democratic request to temporarily replace California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, leaving Democrats with few options for moving some of President Joe Biden’s stalled judicial nominees.
Kamala Harris rallies as high court eyes abortion pill rules
LOS ANGELES — Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday urged Americans to take action during “a critical point in our nation’s history” as thousands of protesters demonstrated across the country against new limits to abortion rights making their way through the courts.
Son confronts mom, testifies in doomsday plot murder trial
BOISE, Idaho — The only surviving child of a woman charged in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival confronted his mother about his siblings’ deaths in an emotional phone call played for jurors on Tuesday in a trial that has touched on claims of evil spirits, zombie children and an additional murder charge in another state.
Putin, Zelenskyy rally troops with war poised for new phase
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited command posts of his forces fighting in Ukraine for the second time in two months, officials said Tuesday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his latest trip near the front line.
Kim says N Korea finishes development of 1st spy satellite
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has completed the development of its first military spy satellite and ordered officials to go ahead with its launch as planned, state media reported Wednesday.
Trapped by fighting, Sudanese look for ways to survive
CAIRO — For the last three days, Howeida al-Hassan and her family have been hunkered down in the first floor of her home in the Sudanese capital, sleeping on the floor as sounds of airstrikes and gunfire surround them.
Auschwitz march held ahead of 80th Warsaw ghetto anniversary
WARSAW, Poland — Thousands of people gathered Tuesday at the former site of Auschwitz for the March of the Living, a yearly Holocaust remembrance march that falls this year on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Apple Inc bets big on India as it opens first flagship store
NEW DELHI — Apple Inc. opened its first flagship store in India in a much-anticipated launch Tuesday that highlights the company’s growing aspirations to expand in the country it also hopes to turn into a potential manufacturing hub.