World/National

Robert Prevost, first American pope in history of the Catholic Church, will take the name Leo XIV

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Robert Prevost has been elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church. The Chicago-born missionary took the name Leo XIV. In his first words as Pope Francis’ successor, he emphasized peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization. Prevost had been a leading candidate despite a long-standing taboo against a U.S. pope. But he’s also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop. He was elevated to the senior ranks of cardinals in January. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers when his election was announced.… Continue Reading

Trump says he’ll pull the nomination of Ed Martin, who defended Jan. 6 rioters, for DC US Attorney

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that he will pull the nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin Jr. to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital, after a key Republican senator said he could not support him for the job due to his defense of Jan. 6 rioters. “We have somebody else that will be great,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday when asked about the status of Martin’s confirmation. He said it was disappointing, but “that’s the way it works sometime.” Martin stirred up a chorus of critics during his brief but tumultuous tenure leading the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office. He fired and demoted subordinates who worked on politically sensitive cases.… Continue Reading

More than 100 vultures die in a mass poisoning in South Africa’s flagship national park

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — At least 123 vultures have died in South Africa’s flagship national park after eating the carcass of an elephant that was poisoned by poachers with agricultural pesticides. Park authorities and an animal conservation group say Thursday that another 83 vultures that were rescued from the site and transported for treatment by helicopter or a special vulture ambulance were recovering. National Parks agency SANParks says the mass poisoning was one of the worst seen in the famous Kruger National Park in northern South Africa. Many of Africa’s vulture species are listed as endangered or critically endangered, with poisoning one of the biggest threats to them.… Continue Reading

Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged as it sees risk of higher prices and higher unemployment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday, brushing off President Donald Trump’s demands to lower borrowing costs, and said that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen. The Fed kept its rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting, after cutting it three times in a row at the end of last year. Many economists and Wall Street investors still expect the Fed will reduce rates two or three times this year, but the sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump have injected a tremendous amount of uncertainty into the U.S. economy and the Fed’s policies.… Continue Reading

Supreme Court allows Trump ban on transgender members of the military to take effect, for now

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed. The high court acted Tuesday in the dispute over a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service. The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold. Just after beginning his second term in January, Trump moved aggressively to roll back the rights of transgender people. Among the Republican president’s actions was an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.… Continue Reading

As Trump sets his sights on public broadcasting, a decades-old institution frets about the future

It’s the decades-long home to Big Bird, Ken Burns documentaries and “All Things Considered.” Now the nation’s public broadcasting system faces the biggest crisis in its nearly 60-year history with President Donald Trump’s order to slash federal subsidies. A court fight seems inevitable, with the heads of PBS, NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting all suggesting that Trump’s order is illegal. The public broadcasting system dates back to the late 1960s, devised as an educational and public service-oriented alternative to commercial broadcasters available at the time. In his order, Trump said the system has become politically biased and time has passed it by.… Continue Reading

Roberts might hold key Supreme Court vote over first publicly funded religious charter school

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts appears to hold the key vote over whether the Supreme Court will allow the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school, in Oklahoma. Roberts was the only justice whose vote seemed in doubt after the court heard more than two hours of arguments Wednesday in a major culture-war clash involving the separation of church and state. Four other conservative justices seemed firmly on the side of the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School and the state charter school board that approved it. The three liberal justices seemed just as likely to vote to affirm an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that held that the taxpayer-funded school would entangle church and state in violation of the First Amendment.… Continue Reading

Wisconsin high court suspends Milwaukee judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended a judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities. The FBI took Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan into custody on Friday morning at the county courthouse. She faces federal charges of concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest and obstructing or impeding a proceeding. The state Supreme Court issued a two-page order Tuesday noting that Dugan faces two federal charges and saying it is in the public interest to temporarily relieve her of her duties. Her attorney had no immediate comment. Democrats have accused the Trump administration of trying to chill the nation’s judiciary.… Continue Reading

Trump marks his first 100 days in office in campaign mode, focused on grudges and grievances

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump has celebrated the 100th day of his second term — yet spent much of his rally marking it in campaign mode, fixated on past grudges and grievances. He repeatedly mocked his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, at Tuesday’s rally — attacking Biden’s mental acuity and even how he appears in a bathing suit. He again uttered the lie that he won the 2020 presidential election. And he attacked polling and news coverage not favorable to him. And the rally just outside Detroit, which marked Trump’s largest political event since returning to the White House, glossed over two forces that had rocked the state: his steep trade tariffs and combative attitude toward Canada.… Continue Reading

How bugs and beet juice could play roles in the race to replace artificial dyes in food

ST. LOUIS (AP) — U.S. health officials are pushing to get artificial colors out of the nation’s food supply. Sensient Technologies Corp. is one of the world’s largest dyemakers. The company has seen a surge in businesses rushing to covert their products from synthetic to natural colors. The process to change from petroleum-based dyes to colors made from vegetables, fruits, flowers and even insects won’t be cheap or easy. Health advocates have long called for the removal of the dyes. They cite mixed evidence that the colors are linked to behavior problems and obesity in kids.… Continue Reading

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