Tag: U.S. news

Asian shares are mixed and oil gains as world waits to see if US will join Israel’s war against Iran
MANILA, Philippines — Crude oil prices rose and Asian shares were trading mixed on Friday as investors awaited more clarity on whether or not the U.S. will join Israel’s war against Iran. U.S. futures edged lower after Wall Street was closed on Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday. U.S. benchmark crude oil added 15 cents to…

Sig Sauer, faced with lawsuits over a popular pistol, gets protection in New Hampshire
CONCORD, N.H. — Faced with mounting lawsuits over a popular pistol, New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer asked for — and got — protection in the form of a new state law that makes it harder to take the gunmaker to court. Supporters in the Republican-led Legislature said the law was needed to help a major employer….

Democrats in Virginia have a hefty fundraising advantage heading into November general election
RICHMOND, Va. — Democrats in Virginia have built up a hefty fundraising advantage for their effort to reclaim the governor’s mansion in a November election that is seen as a bellwether for the party in power in Washington ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA spy turned congresswoman, has a more…

Trump is silent about Juneteenth on a day he previously honored as president
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it “very famous.” But on this year’s Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the usually talkative president kept silent about a day important to Black Americans for…

Black bear finally freed of lid that was stuck on its neck for 2 years – National
Descrease article font size Increase article font size For at least two years, a Michigan black bear traipsed around the forest, a blue barrel lid wrapped around its neck, as state wildlife experts tried to track it down. The bear was first spotted on a trail camera as a cub back in 2023, but it…

Flooding and rock slides close heavily damaged I-40 section in Smoky Mountains
HARTFORD, Tenn. — Heavy rain, flooding and a rock slide have again closed a section of the major cross country highway Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains. The slide and flood happened Wednesday afternoon around mile marker 450 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North…

Rebuilding one of the nation’s oldest Black churches to begin at Juneteenth ceremony
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A ceremonial groundbreaking will be held Thursday for the rebuilding of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches, whose congregants first gathered outdoors in secret before constructing a wooden meetinghouse in Virginia. The First Baptist Church of Williamsburg officially established itself in 1776, although parishioners met before then in fields and under…

Global shares decline as tensions simmer in the Middle East
TOKYO — Global shares retreated Thursday as worries persisted about conflict in the Middle East. On the seventh day of a conflict that began with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists, Iranian state media reported that Iran’s foreign minister planned to meet with his European counterparts in…

2 men get life sentences in shooting death of 11-year-old outside stadium
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two men were sentenced Wednesday to lifelong terms in prison in the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy outside an Albuquerque baseball stadium in 2023 that prompted the New Mexico governor to issue a controversial gun ban, the district attorney’s office in Albuquerque said. Investigators say a truck carrying a mother and…

Florida officials let public universities free up millions to pay student-athletes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s public universities can free up $22.5 million a year to compensate student-athletes under an emergency rule approved by a state board Wednesday ahead of a landmark legal settlement allowing schools to pay their players through licensing deals. The sprawling $2.8 billion antitrust settlement, going into effect July 1, allows schools to…