Pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks pitched tents and placed fake bloody corpses outside the home of a University of Michigan official. Sarah Hubbard is chair of the university’s governing board. She says the 6 a.m. demonstration in Okemos involved 30 people Wednesday with a bullhorn and a drum. The protesters left 30 to 45 minutes later when police arrived. There were no arrests. Jordan Acker, another board member, says someone with a face covering left a list of demands at his home at 4:40... Читать дальше...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill making climate change a lesser priority under state law and banning offshore wind turbines near the lengthy coastline. The measure is to take effect July 1. It also would boost expansion of natural gas, reduce regulation on gas pipelines and increase protections against bans on gas appliances such as stoves. The Republican governor is casting the bill as a common-sense approach to energy policy. Critics say the measure signed by the governor ignores the reality of climate change threats in Florida... Читать дальше...
Officials say a barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, spilling oil into surrounding waters.
A man with a long record of dangerous driving has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence-manslaughter in the deaths of eight Mexican farmworkers in Florida. Bryan Maclean Howard remains jailed Wednesday without bond for Tuesday’s crash. The Florida Highway Patrol says the 41-year-old drove his pickup into the center line on a two-lane road and sideswiped a farmworker bus, causing it to veer off the road, strike a tree and flip over. Court documents detailing what substance Howard allegedly took are sealed. Читать дальше...
Investigators say the electrical blackouts experienced by the container ship Dali before it left Baltimore’s port were “mechanically distinct from” those that resulted in the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge hours later. National Transportation Safety Board Jennifer Homendy said during congressional testimony Wednesday morning that two of the blackouts were related to routine maintenance in port while the other two resulted from the unexpected tripping of circuit breakers after the ship had left Baltimore. Читать дальше...
The vast flooding that has devastated Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state has yet to subside. But another scourge has spread across the region: Disinformation on social media that has hampered desperate efforts to get aid to hundreds of thousands in need. Fake postings that have stirred outrage claim the army and government agencies aren’t conducting rescues in Brazil’s southernmost state. Others say bureaucracy is holding up donations of food, water and clothing. Officials say combating the disinformation... Читать дальше...
As students across the nation consider jobs that play a role in solving the climate crisis, they’re looking for meaningful climate training. Community colleges are responding with solar and wind certificates and training for electricians who work on batteries — just a few examples of expanding jobs opportunities in a changing workforce.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump appear to agree on a timetable to participate in two debates before the November general election. The Democratic president Wednesday announced he won't participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that's organized them for more than three decades. Biden proposes media organizations organize the debates with the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees, with the first in late June and the second in September before early voting begins. Читать дальше...
Indonesian authorities have seeded clouds in a bid to prevent further rainfall after flash floods that hit the country's Sumatra Island over the weekend left at least 59 people dead. Another 16 are missing. A landslide of mud and cold lava from Mount Marapi, triggered by the monsoon rains, caused rivers to breach their banks. The deluge tore through mountainside villages in four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday. The floods swept away people and dozens of homes and submerged hundreds of houses and buildings... Читать дальше...
Retail sales in April were unchanged from March as inflation continued to sting and elevated interest rates made taking on debt more burdensome. The number, which came in below economists' expectations, followed a revised 0.6% pace in March, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. Retail sales rose 0.9% in February. That comes after sales fell 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather.Excluding gas prices and auto sales, retail sales fell 0.1% in April. Online sales were down 1.2%... Читать дальше...
World stocks have advanced after a rally on Wall Street took the Nasdaq composite to a record high. U.S. futures were lower while oil prices gained. Markets in Hong Kong and Seoul were closed for holidays. Investors were reviewing a mixed report on inflation and awaiting an even more important update on consumer prices later Wednesday. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and was just shy of its own all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8%. Treasury... Читать дальше...
For a last hurrah, it was a Sage decision.
It’s perhaps the biggest question swirling around the U.S. economy right now: Is inflation stuck at an elevated level — or will last year’s steady decline resume sometime soon? On Wednesday, the government will issue the latest monthly inflation report, a set of figures that will be scrutinized by economists, Wall Street traders and Federal Reserve officials for any insight into that question. Analysts estimate that year-over-year inflation dipped from 3.5% in March to 3.4% in April. Measured from March to April... Читать дальше...
Rescuers in southern Poland have recovered the body of a third miner a day after a cave-in in which 12 other workers were hurt. A spokesperson for the Polish Mining Group says the miner was declared dead Wednesday and the rescue operation finished as investigators look into the cause of the collapse. It was the second cave-in at the Myslowice-Wesola mine this year, following one on April 17 that killed one miner. Two other coal mine workers were killed in accidents inside other mines in Poland this year... Читать дальше...
European carmaker Stellantis says it will begin selling electric vehicles from its Chinese partner Leapmotor in nine European countries later this year. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said Tuesday that sales will begin in September in European countries including Belgium, France, Italy and Germany, and later in the year in South America, Middle East and Africa, India and the Asia Pacific, Tavares said. The two companies said they're forming a joint venture to manufacture and sell Leapmotor’s electric vehicles outside of China. Читать дальше...
The bribery trial of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is ready to start with opening statements Wednesday as prosecutors seek to convince a jury that the longtime powerful Democrat was corrupt. The three-term senator has insisted since his fall arrest that he is not guilty of charges that he used his influence to aid three New Jersey businessmen. Prosecutors say the men gave Menendez and his wife cash, gold bars and a luxury car to ensure Menendez would help them. Menendez is on trial with two of the businessmen. Читать дальше...
Some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and they’ve taken to a “blockout” to pressure the stars to take a stand. For the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all content from the accounts of certain celebrities on social media platforms including X, TikTok and Instagram. Some have posted about the celebrities they’ve blocked. Others have shared posts from users lambasting attendees of high-glamour events... Читать дальше...
Incumbent Brandon Scott has beat out his main challenger in Baltimore’s Democratic primary for mayor. He prevailed Tuesday against former Mayor Sheila Dixon, whose time in office was cut short in 2010 after she took a plea deal for misappropriating gift cards meant for poor families. Scott is now considered a prohibitive favorite in the general election in the heavily Democratic city. Scott has been the face of Baltimore in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.... Читать дальше...
YouTube has blocked access to videos of a protest song in Hong Kong to comply with a removal order, days after a court approved an injunction to ban the song in the city. YouTube has blocked access to more than 32 videos of the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” which have been deemed “prohibited publications” under the injunction. Attempts to access the YouTube videos from Hong Kong on Wednesday showed they were unavailable. A message appeared saying “This content is not available on this country... Читать дальше...
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel. That's according to three congressional aides who spoke of condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public. It's not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered. It’s the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 bombs — on hold this month. Читать дальше...
The sun isn't done yet. That's the message from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as the biggest flare in nearly two decades erupted on the sun Tuesday. A NASA spacecraft photographed the bright flash of the X-ray flare, which was classified as a rare and extreme X8.7. It follows a weekend of severe solar storm activity caused by mass ejections of coronal plasma that slammed Earth. NOAA says Earth should be out of the line of fire this time. That's because this flare occurred on the limb of the sun.
Arkansas lawmakers are questioning a sheriff's decision to allow a Netflix documentary series to be filmed at a county jail. Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins on Tuesday appeared before a legislative panel and defended the decision to allow the series, “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment” to be filmed at the county jail in Little Rock. The series has prompted scrutiny from state and local officials who weren't aware of the show until shortly before its premiere. The series focuses on a program giving some inmates more freedom at the facility. Читать дальше...
Voters across Maryland and West Virginia will decide key primary elections with big implications in the fight for the Senate majority this fall. At the same time, Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump hope to project strength in Tuesday's low-stakes presidential primaries. Further down the ballot, two congressional candidates on opposite sides of the 2021 Capitol insurrection serve as a stark reminder that the nation remains deeply divided over the deadly attack. In all... Читать дальше...
The Justice Department has determined that Boeing violated a settlement that allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft. It is now up to the Justice Department to weigh whether to file charges against the aircraft maker. Glenn Leon, the head of the fraud section of the Justice Department’s criminal division says Boeing failed to make changes to prevent it from violating federal anti-fraud laws — a condition of the the 2021 settlement. Читать дальше...