U.S./World category, Page 398

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — A handful of centenarian survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor joined about 2,500 members of the public at the scene of the Japanese bombing on Wednesday to commemorate those who perished 81 years ago. The audience sat quietly during a moment of silence at 7:55...

NEW YORK — Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to reveal what life was like 2 million years ago in the northern tip of Greenland. Today, it’s a barren Arctic desert, but back then it was a lush landscape of trees and vegetation with an array of...

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hailed the annexation of Ukrainian territories as a major achievement and said his country’s nuclear weapons serve as a tool of deterrence in the war that the Kremlin calls a “special military operation.” Speaking with members of the presidential Human Rights...

PORTLAND, Maine — For years, Mark Hager’s job as an observer aboard New England fishing boats made him a marked man, seen as a meddling cop on the ocean, counting and scrutinizing every cod, haddock and flounder to help set crucial quotas. On one particularly perilous voyage, he spent 12...

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The leader of a small polygamous group near the Arizona-Utah border had taken at least 20 wives, most of them minors, and punished followers who did not treat him as a prophet, newly filed federal court documents show. Samuel Bateman was a former member of the Fundamentalist...

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A bombmaker in the 2002 Bali attacks that killed 202 people was released from an Indonesian prison on parole Wednesday after serving half his 20-year sentence, despite the opposition of Australia’s prime minister, who described him as “abhorrent.” Umar Patek was a leading member of the al-Qaida-linked...

LONDON — Time magazine on Wednesday named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy its person of the year, awarding him the accolade “for proving that courage can be as contagious as fear.” Editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said the choice of Zelenskyy — alongside “the spirit of Ukraine” — was “the most clear-cut in...

DETROIT — In a bustling metro area of 4.3 million people, Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris ventures into isolated thickets to study Detroit’s most elusive residents — coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks among them. Harris and colleagues have placed trail cameras in woodsy sections of 25 city parks for...

JOHNSTOWN — The stories of the more than 2,300 American service members who died at Pearl Harbor, including Cambria County Military Hall of Fame member Navy Petty Officer 1st Class John Lipple, from Ashville, have been chronicled by Stories Behind the Stars. The nonprofit is working to compile brief bios...

HONOLULU — USS Arizona sailor Lou Conter lived through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor even though his battleship exploded and sank after being pierced by aerial bombs. That makes the 101-year-old somewhat of a celebrity, especially on the anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, assault. Many call him and...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is taking up a case with the potential to fundamentally reshape elections for Congress and the presidency. The justices are hearing arguments Wednesday over the power of state courts to strike down congressional districts drawn by the legislature because they violate state constitutions. Republicans from...

BEIJING — China rolled back rules on isolating people with covid-19 and dropped virus test requirements for some public places Wednesday in a dramatic change to a strategy that confined millions of people to their homes and sparked protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to resign. The move adds...

WASHINGTON — The covid-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress, ending a directive that helped ensure the vast majority of troops were vaccinated but also raised concerns that it harmed recruitment and...

WASHINGTON — A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, bowing to the Biden administration’s insistence that the prince was legally immune in the case. District of Columbia U.S. District Judge John D. Bates...

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco supervisors voted Tuesday to put the brakes on a controversial policy that would have let police use robots for deadly force, reversing course just days after their approval of the plan generated fierce pushback and warnings about the militarization and automation of policing. The Board...

A legal fight has erupted over a Washington D.C. police officer who was communicating with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack that could shape the outcome of the upcoming trial of Tarrio and other far-right extremists. Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond’s...

WASHINGTON — Top social media companies and free speech advocates, groups that usually take opposing views over tech policy, are coming together to oppose a measure that would allow journalism organizations to jointly negotiate with tech companies. The groups are opposing any inclusion in the fiscal 2023 Pentagon policy bill...

MADISON, Wis. —Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, asking for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election. The...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is still actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women, even as it bumps up against a complex web of strict new state laws enacted in the months after the Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right. Looking to seize on momentum...

WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 were honored Tuesday with Congressional Gold Medals, praised as “heroes” for securing democracy when they fought off a brutal and bloody attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened an emotional ceremony,...