US Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas says Texas immigration law is unconstitutional
GUATEMALA CITY — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday that a Texas law giving state authorities the power to arrest and deport migrants who have entered the country illegally is unconstitutional.
Blinken says Israeli assault on Gaza’s Rafah would be a ‘mistake’ and isn’t needed to defeat Hamas
CAIRO — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday a major Israeli ground assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah would be “a mistake” and “unnecessary” to defeating Hamas, underscoring the further souring of relations between the United States and Israel.
Idaho police search for escaped inmate and accomplice after ambush at Boise hospital
A white supremacist Idaho prison gang member and an accomplice remained on the loose Wednesday after the accomplice staged a brazen overnight attack to free the inmate as he was being transported from a Boise hospital, police said.
French bulldogs remain the most popular US breed in new rankings. Many fans aren’t happy
NEW YORK — French bulldogs. U.S. dog owners. C’est l’amour.
Nation and world news in brief for Thursday, March 21, 2024
Alabama governor signs bill barring diversity, equity and inclusion programs
1 of the few remaining survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor has died at 102
HONOLULU — Richard C. “Dick” Higgins, one of the few remaining survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died, a family member said Wednesday. He was 102.
EPA issues new auto rules aimed at cutting carbon emissions, boosting electric vehicles and hybrids
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced new automobile emissions standards Wednesday that officials called the most ambitious plan ever to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.
Court action on Texas’ migrant arrest law leads to confusion at the US-Mexico border
McALLEN, Texas — A dizzying volley of courtroom maneuvers over a Texas law that would allow the state to arrest and deport people who enter the U.S. illegally sowed confusion at the nation’s border with Mexico on Wednesday as sheriffs, police chiefs and migrants waited for direction.
Congressional leaders sell $1.2 trillion spending package to members before shutdown deadline
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders from both parties looked to put a positive light on a $1.2 trillion spending package that lawmakers are working to approve before funding expires at midnight Friday for a host of key government agencies.
Judge clears way for Trump to appeal ruling keeping Fani Willis on Georgia 2020 election case
ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case cleared the way Wednesday for Donald Trump and other defendants to appeal a ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the prosecution.
Historic covered bridges are under threat by truck drivers relying on GPS meant for cars
LYNDON, Vt. — One of Vermont’s historic covered bridges has fallen under threat from modern technology.
Mississippi ex-deputy gets 40-year sentence as judge decries brutal attack on 2 Black men
JACKSON, Miss. — Two former Mississippi deputies wept in court Wednesday as a federal judge sentenced them to years in prison and condemned their cruelty for breaking into a home with four other white officers and torturing two Black men.
Republicans make last-ditch request for Biden to testify as impeachment inquiry winds down
WASHINGTON — The House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is all but winding down, lacking the political appetite from within the Republican ranks to go forward with an actual impeachment, but facing political pressure to deliver after months of work.
M. Emmet Walsh, unforgettable character actor from ‘Blood Simple,’ ‘Blade Runner,’ dies at 88
LOS ANGELES — M. Emmet Walsh, the character actor who brought his unmistakable face and unsettling presence to films including “Blood Simple” and “Blade Runner,” has died at age 88, his manager said Wednesday.
As electric vehicle sales slow, US relaxes plans for stricter auto emissions standards for a while
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration this week is expected to announce new automobile emissions standards that relax proposed tailpipe limits for three years but eventually reach the same strict standards set out by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Anticipation and anger on Texas border after Supreme Court lets strict immigration law take effect
McALLEN, Texas — A Supreme Court decision that lets Texas arrest and deport migrants — at least for now — on charges of illegally entering the country could have a dramatic impact on the U.S.-Mexico border but its immediate effect was muted.
Trump is making the Jan. 6 attack a cornerstone of his bid for the White House
WASHINGTON — Republican Donald Trump has launched his general election campaign not merely rewriting the history of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, but positioning the violent siege and its failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election as a cornerstone of his bid to return to the White House.
Peter Navarro is 1st Trump White House official to serve prison time related to Jan. 6 attack
MIAMI — Former White House adviser Peter Navarro reported to prison Tuesday for a contempt of Congress conviction, becoming the first senior Trump administration official to be locked up for a crime related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Mississippi ‘Goon Squad’ deputies get yearslong sentences for racist torture of 2 Black men
JACKSON, Miss. — Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker sat on the front row of a packed courtroom Tuesday and watched as a federal judge handed down yearslong sentences to two of the white former Mississippi law enforcement officers who tortured the two Black men last year in a brutal attack that began on the basis of race.
The Bank of Japan ends its negative interest rate policy, opting for its first hike in 17 years
TOKYO — Japan’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate Tuesday for the first time in 17 years, ending a longstanding policy of negative rates meant to boost the economy.