WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations. The justices in a 5-4 vote on Thursday rejected arguments by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states that the plan was cutting air pollution and saving…
read moreSAN DIEGO — A pair of giant pandas are on their way from China to the U.S., where they will be cared for at the San Diego Zoo as part of an ongoing conservation partnership between the two nations, officials said Wednesday. Officials with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance were on hand in China for…
read moreAn annual U.S. government report has sounded an alarm about rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims amid the war in Gaza. It also has found that religious freedom is under assault globally and offers rare criticism of the U.S. ally India. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has more. …
read moreLondon — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrived in his home country of Australia a free man Wednesday after agreeing to a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors over espionage charges, ending a 14-year legal odyssey. Supporters of the 52-year-old journalist and political activist welcomed his release, but said the prosecution sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom.…
read moreDES MOINES, Iowa — A house that was teetering on the edge of an eroding riverbank near a Minnesota dam collapsed into the river in the latest jarring example of extreme weather gripping the upper Midwest. Video shows the house owned by the Barnes family falling into the flood-swollen Blue Earth River near Mankato on Tuesday…
read moreWASHINGTON — Reality TV star Paris Hilton called for greater federal oversight of youth care programs at a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing on Wednesday as she described her traumatic experience in youth care facilities. Hilton, 43, the great-granddaughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton, has spoken publicly about the emotional and physical abuse she…
read moreWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appears poised to allow emergency abortions in Idaho when a pregnant patient’s health is at serious risk, according to Bloomberg News, which said a copy of the opinion was briefly posted Wednesday on the court’s website. The document suggests the court will conclude that it should not have gotten involved in…
read moreNew Delhi — Mushrat Parveen, a resident of a low-income neighborhood in the Indian capital, New Delhi, perches atop a tanker truck delivering water to her neighborhood to escape the chaos that ensues. “Everyone keeps fighting for water, so I climb on top and use a pipe to make sure I fill two or three buckets.…
read moreWashington — The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security. By a 6-3 vote, the justices threw out lower-court rulings that favored Louisiana, Missouri and other parties…
read moreEAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the agency’s investigation into the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and shape its conclusions about the flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside. The NTSB also confirmed…
read moreAustin, Texas — Ecuador says it will suspend visa-free entry into the country for Chinese citizens, starting July 1, citing a “worrying” increase in irregular migration. Over the past few years, Ecuador has been the starting point for many of the thousands of Chinese citizens who have decided to take the long and treacherous journey through…
read moreSAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to a single felony charge for publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that secures his freedom and concludes a drawn-out legal saga that raised divisive questions about press freedom and national security. The plea was entered Wednesday morning in…
read moreTrident Pier, off Gaza Coast — Baking under the summer sun, U.S. troops find shelter in containers stationed on what is known as the “parking lot” of a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea that aims to boost the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Just over the horizon, destroyed buildings and thick…
read moreNEW YORK — A judge on Tuesday modified Donald Trump’s gag order, freeing the former president to comment publicly about witnesses and jurors in the hush money criminal trial that led to his felony conviction but keeping others connected to the case off limits at least until he’s sentenced July 11. Judge Juan M. Merchan’s ruling…
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