Today: September 25, 2024
Today: September 25, 2024

World

World

Texas trooper's accounts of bloodied and fainting migrants on US-Mexico border unleashes criticism

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s escalating measures to stop migrants along the U.S. border with Mexico came under a burst of new criticism Tuesday after a state trooper said migrants were left bloodied from razor-wire barriers and that orders were given to deny people water in sweltering heat. In one account, Texas Trooper Nicholas Wingate told a supervisor that upon encountering a group of 120 migrants on June 25 — including young children and mothers nursing babies — in Maverick County, a rural Texas border county, he and another trooper were ordered to “push the people back

July 18, 2023
Texas trooper's accounts of bloodied and fainting migrants on US-Mexico border unleashes criticism
World

Louisiana youths held at adult prison's old death row suffer heat, isolation, advocates say

Juveniles held in a former death row building at a Louisiana prison for adults are suffering through dangerous heat and psychologically damaging isolation in their cells with little or no mental health care, inadequate schooling and foul water, advocates say in a federal court filing asking a judge to order that the youths be moved. The document, filed in Baton Rouge and dated Monday, says state officials have broken promises to provide constitutionally acceptable facilities for young people housed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola — a remote prison farm with a notorious history of

July 18, 2023
Louisiana youths held at adult prison's old death row suffer heat, isolation, advocates say
World

First-gen iPhone sells at auction for almost 380 times its original price

A first-generation iPhone sold at auction Sunday for $190,373, almost 380 times its original price of $499 when the groundbreaking device went for sale in 2007. LCG Auctions, which hosted the sale, said the 4GB iPhone model was 20 times rarer than the 8GB model released at the same time for $599. That’s largely because the 4GB model was discontinued two months after launch given customer preference for the larger memory size. “A new bar was set Sunday night,” said Mark Montero, the founder of LCG Auctions. “We are thrilled to be a part of this fantastic record breaking sale.”

July 18, 2023
First-gen iPhone sells at auction for almost 380 times its original price
World

MLS Commissioner Don Garber talks Messi, Leagues Cup on eve of All-Star Game

MLS Commissioner Dan Garber figures Lionel Messi’s arrival is just the start of an exciting few years for soccer in North America. The United States, Mexico and Canada are hosting the World Cup in 2026, and before that, the 2024 Copa America and 2025 Club World Cup come to the U.S. “North America is driving a lot of the energy and a lot of the potential value of soccer on a global basis, and we believe that MLS is one of the drivers of all of that energy,” Garber said. “All of the opportunity and energy and

July 18, 2023
MLS Commissioner Don Garber talks Messi, Leagues Cup on eve of All-Star Game
World

North Korea fires 2 short-range missiles into the sea as US docks nuclear submarine in South Korea

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea early Wednesday in what appeared to be a statement of defiance as the United States deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades. The launches came as the U.S.-led United Nations Command tries to secure the release of a U.S. soldier who fled to North Korea from the South Korean side of a border village Tuesday afternoon. Private 2nd Class Travis King, in his early 20s, had just been released from a South Korean prison where he was held

July 18, 2023
North Korea fires 2 short-range missiles into the sea as US docks nuclear submarine in South Korea
World

Louisiana lawmakers overturn governor's veto on gender-affirming care ban for transgender minors

Louisiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature overturned Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ recent veto of a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors on Tuesday. Louisiana, where the ban is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2024, will join 20 other states that have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care, which includes puberty-blockers, hormone treatment and gender-reassignment surgery. Most of those states face now lawsuits, and in some places the bans have been temporarily blocked by federal judges. Like statehouses across the country, for the last three months Louisiana lawmakers have heard and held debates

July 18, 2023
Louisiana lawmakers overturn governor's veto on gender-affirming care ban for transgender minors
World

Baltimore squeegee worker on trial for murder acted in self-defense in motorist's death, lawyer says

A Baltimore teenager acted in self-defense when he allegedly shot and killed a baseball bat-wielding driver who approached youths washing windshields at a busy downtown intersection last summer, attorneys for the teen argued as his murder trial got underway Tuesday. The high-profile tragedy reignited longstanding debate about Baltimore’s squeegee workers, mostly Black youths from disadvantaged backgrounds looking to make fast cash. City leaders have since banned the practice at certain high-traffic intersections and stepped up efforts to connect squeegee workers with above-board job opportunities. “The state would have you believe this case is about squeegee boys,” defense

July 18, 2023
Baltimore squeegee worker on trial for murder acted in self-defense in motorist's death, lawyer says
World

Virginia finalizes guidance on transgender students, including rolling back some accomodations

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration said Tuesday that it has finalized new policies on the treatment of transgender students, guidance that will direct school districts to roll back some current accommodations and increase parental notification requirements about certain discussions involving gender identity. Youngkin said the guidelines, which have been sharply criticized by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups since they were first unveiled last year, will empower parents while prohibiting discrimination and creating a safe learning environment. “This is about doing what’s best for the child,” Youngkin said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And oh, by the

July 18, 2023
Virginia finalizes guidance on transgender students, including rolling back some accomodations
World

Texas heat wave has inmates' families worried about lack of air conditioning in state's prisons

A heat wave that has consistently pushed temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) across much of Texas this summer had family members of inmates on Tuesday calling for lawmakers to ensure that all of the state’s prisons are fully air conditioned. “They’re cooking our inmates in the Texas prison system,” said Tona Southards Naranjo, who believes the death last month of her son, Jon Southards, was caused by excessive heat in his prison, the Estelle Unit in Huntsville. Naranjo was one of more than 60 people who attended a rally outside the Texas

July 18, 2023
Texas heat wave has inmates' families worried about lack of air conditioning in state's prisons
World

Exec tells first UN council meeting that big tech can't be trusted to guarantee AI safety

The handful of big tech companies leading the race to commercialize AI can’t be trusted to guarantee the safety of systems we don’t yet understand and that are prone to “chaotic or unpredictable behavior,” an artificial intelligence company executive told the first U.N. Security Council meeting on AI’s threats to global peace on Tuesday. Jack Clark, co-founder of the AI company Anthropic, said that’s why the world must come together to prevent the technology’s misuse. Clark, who says his company bends over backwards to train its AI chatbot to emphasize safety and caution, said the most

July 18, 2023
Exec tells first UN council meeting that big tech can't be trusted to guarantee AI safety
World

Wildfires have burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia

Wildfires have already burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the situation will probably get worse due to more hot, dry weather, government officials said Tuesday. The fires are responsible for at least two deaths in the province and, combined with a severe drought, will impact farmers and cattle producers. Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s minister of emergency management, told a news conference 391 wildfires are currently active in the province with over half of them out of control. There have been 235 wildfires start in the last seven days.

July 18, 2023
Wildfires have burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia
World

Alaska man inadvertently films his own drowning on a glacial lake with helmet GoPro, officials say

An Alaska man inadvertently filmed his own drowning on a glacial lake with a GoPro camera mounted on his helmet, but authorities who recovered the camera have not yet found his body, officials said Tuesday. Alaska State Troopers said teams would continue to search Mendenhall Lake for the body of Paul Rodriguez Jr., 43, of Juneau. Troopers said a helmet with a camera attached to it that was confirmed to have belonged to Rodriguez was recording on July 11 when his kayak overturned and he went into the water. “The recording continued showing that the kayak

July 19, 2023
Alaska man inadvertently films his own drowning on a glacial lake with helmet GoPro, officials say
World

California State University campuses mishandled sexual harassment allegations, audit finds

A flawed policy at California State University, the largest higher education system in the country, contributed to the closure of nearly a dozen sexual harassment cases without thorough explanation, according to a state audit reviewing 40 cases over the span of seven years. The audit, released Tuesday, examined allegations of harassment between 2016 and 2022 against employees at the university system’s chancellor’s office and three of 23 campuses: California State University, Fresno, San José State University and Sonoma State University. It found that the colleges failed to discipline people found responsible for misconduct, including one case

July 19, 2023
California State University campuses mishandled sexual harassment allegations, audit finds
World

Diamondbacks outlast the Braves 16-13 to snap 4-game losing streak

Geraldo Perdomo gave Arizona the lead with a two-run double in the ninth inning and the Diamondbacks took advantage of Atlanta’s worst pitching effort of the season to beat the Braves 16-13 on Tuesday night. It was Arizona’s first game in which each team had at least 13 runs and the first in the majors since the Chicago White Sox beat the Cubs 17-13 on Aug. 27, 2021. The NL East-leading Braves have lost three straight. Arizona snapped a four-game losing streak. Christian Walker homered twice and had three hits and five RBIs for Arizona. Corbin Carroll

July 19, 2023
Diamondbacks outlast the Braves 16-13 to snap 4-game losing streak
World

Reds' Christian Encarnacion-Strand has pinch-hit 3-run homer for 1st major league knock

Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s first major league hit was a pinch-hit, three-run homer that gave the Cincinnati Reds an 8-7 lead against the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning Tuesday night. The Reds promoted Encarnacion-Strand on Monday and he went 0 for 3 in his big league debut, a game that was suspended because of rain and completed on Tuesday. In Tuesday’s second game, Encarnacion-Strand entered for Jake Fraley in the fifth and launched an 0-2 slider from Mauricio Llovero 426 feet into the second deck in left field. The Reds called up Encarnacion-Strand in hopes of sparking

July 19, 2023
Reds' Christian Encarnacion-Strand has pinch-hit 3-run homer for 1st major league knock
World

India sets sights on home-mined minerals to boost its clean energy plans

In the dusty mountains of eastern India, workers at the country’s largest chromium deposit have mined for the essential ore, rain or shine, for around 60 years. The industry is fruitful in some ways — hundreds of trucks stacked with mineral-rich soil journey back and forth regularly between the mine and processing plants — but it is damaging in others. Farmers say their fields are stripped of fertile earth and livestock desperately comb through now-barren lands for feed. “We used to grow chilies and other vegetables earlier but now when it rains all the soil from

July 19, 2023
India sets sights on home-mined minerals to boost its clean energy plans
World

Women's World Cup player payments will be distributed by federations

FIFA President Gianni Infantino could make no guarantee Wednesday that the member federations will distribute the $30,000 payments promised to every player at the Women’s World Cup. He said at a news conference ahead of the tournament opener that he’s engaging with member federations on the issue. The payments are made the individual federations, which are expected to pay the players. But there is no mechanism to directly pay the players the money, which could be life-changing for some. “We are moving of course in the right direction, we have been consulting with associations, with players, to try to go

July 19, 2023
Women's World Cup player payments will be distributed by federations
World

Honduras wants to build West's only island prison colony and lock gangsters inside

Honduras plans to build the only island prison colony in the Western Hemisphere and send its most-feared gangsters there, tearing a page from neighboring El Salvador’s unforgiving approach to murder, robbery, rape and extortion. Honduras’s progressive president once promised to address gang violence through systemic reforms to governance and the criminal justice system. Now, President Xiomara Castro plans to build an isolated prison for 2,000 gang leaders on the Islas del Cisne archipelago 155 miles off the coast, part of a larger crackdown following the gang-related massacre of 46 women in one prison. Island prisons once

July 19, 2023
Honduras wants to build West's only island prison colony and lock gangsters inside
World

A key part of Biden's strategy to control immigration at the US-Mexico border gets a court hearing

A judge will hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit opposing an asylum rule that is a key part of the Biden administration’s immigration policy. Critics say the rule endangers migrants trying to cross the southern border and is against the law, while the administration argues that it encourages migrants to use lawful pathways into the U.S. and prevents chaos at the southern border. The new rule took effect May 11 with the expiration of a COVID-19 restriction known as Title 42 that had limited asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. The new rule makes it extremely difficult

July 19, 2023
A key part of Biden's strategy to control immigration at the US-Mexico border gets a court hearing
World

Northwestern hazing scandal puts school in company with schools such as Penn State

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse. A former Wildcats football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership on Tuesday, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job. More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the private school. The private, Big

July 19, 2023
Northwestern hazing scandal puts school in company with schools such as Penn State
World

Mothers hope for answers as authorities announce 'person of interest' in deaths of 4 women in Oregon

The announcement that authorities are holding a person of interest in the case of four women found dead this year around Portland has mothers of the victims hoping they may finally get answers about what happened to their daughters. One of the victims was Charity Lynn Perry, 24, whose body was discovered April 24 in a state park along the Columbia River Gorge. Her mother, Diana Allen, said Tuesday that she learned the news about the person of interest from traditional and social media, although she is in communication with a detective on the case. “I’m

July 19, 2023
Mothers hope for answers as authorities announce 'person of interest' in deaths of 4 women in Oregon
World

12 MLB teams score in double digits for 1st time since 1894, when record 13 accomplished feat

Major League Baseball had a night of offense not seen in 129 years, with 12 teams scoring double-digit runs. Three games ended 11-10 on the same day for the first time. Twelve teams tied May 30, 1884, for the second-most with double-digit runs in one day, trailing only 13 on July 4, 1894, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Chicago Cubs topped the scoring Tuesday night by routing Washington 17-3 and Arizona outlasted Atlanta 16-13. San Francisco beat Cincinnati, the New York Mets topped the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City edged Detroit, all by

July 19, 2023
12 MLB teams score in double digits for 1st time since 1894, when record 13 accomplished feat
World

No winner in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing. Jackpot reaches $720 million

The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $720 million after no winning ticket was sold — again. It’s now one of two national lotteries with enormous jackpots but equally enormous odds against winning them. No ticket for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing matched the white balls 19, 22, 31, 37, 54 and the gold Mega Ball 18. The new jackpot is Mega Million’s 7th largest-ever, the lottery said in a news release. On Monday, the nation’s other big lottery game — Powerball — also went without a winner, and its jackpot now stands at an

July 19, 2023
No winner in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing. Jackpot reaches $720 million
World

Adrift for months, Australian and his dog lived on raw fish until Mexican fishermen rescued him

Lost at sea for months on a disabled catamaran, with no way to cook and no source of fresh water but the rain, Australian Timothy Shaddock said he expected to die. There was a lot to like about the experience, he said. Like when he would plunge into the sea for a swim, or when his dog, Bella, would stir him to keep going. “I did enjoy being at sea, I enjoy being out there,” he said. He recalled the full moon in early May that illuminated his turn away from the Baja Peninsula, his last

July 19, 2023
Adrift for months, Australian and his dog lived on raw fish until Mexican fishermen rescued him
World

Spain's political escape artist Pedro Sánchez has odds against him yet again in national election

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been prematurely counted out more than once in his relatively short but action-packed political career. Battered and bruised after seeing his Socialists take a drumming in local and regional elections in May, Sánchez took no time to lick his wounds. The very next day he stunned his buoyant rivals by bringing forward general elections from December to this Sunday, smack in the middle of the sweltering Spanish summer. Translated from politics to street talk that was the equivalent of saying: Let’s settle this, once and for all. Most polling points

July 19, 2023
Spain's political escape artist Pedro Sánchez has odds against him yet again in national election

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