US & World News

US Inflation Hit A New 40-Year High Last Month Of 8.6%

WASHINGTON (AP) — The prices of gas, food and most other goods and services jumped in May, raising inflation to a new four-decade high and giving American households no respite from rising costs. Consumer prices surged 8.6% last month from 12 months earlier, faster than April’s year-over-year increase of 8.3%, the Labor Department said Friday. The new inflation figure, the…

US Lifts COVID-19 Test Requirement For International Travel

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that international air travelers to the U.S. take a COVID-19 test within a day before boarding their flights, easing one of the last remaining government mandates meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus. A senior administration official said the mandate expires Sunday at 12:01 a.m. EDT, saying the Centers for…

Authorities: 3 Dead, Trooper Wounded In Maryland Shooting

SMITHSBURG, Md. (AP) — A suspect opened fire at a business in western Maryland on Thursday, leaving three dead before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shootout, authorities said. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that three victims were found dead at Columbia Machine Inc. in Smithsburg. The suspect then fled in…

More Americans Apply For Jobless Benefits Last Week

WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans applied for jobless aid last week, but the total number of Americans collecting unemployment remains at a five-decade low. Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 27,000 to 229,000 for the week ending June 4, the most since mid-January, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications generally track the number of layoffs. The four-week average for…

Officials: Millions Of COVID-19 Shots Ordered For Youngest

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been ordered for small children in anticipation of possible federal authorization next week, White House officials say. The government allowed pharmacies and states to start placing orders last week, with 5 million doses initially available — half of them shots made by Pfizer and the other half the vaccine produced by Moderna, senior…

Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Committee Goes Prime Time With Probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — With never-seen video, new audio and a mass of evidence, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will attempt to show the “harrowing story” of the deadly violence that erupted that day and also a chilling backstory as the defeated president, Donald Trump, tried to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory. Thursday’s prime-time hearing will open with eyewitness testimony from the first police officer pummeled in the mob riot and…

House Passes Gun Control Bill After Buffalo, Uvalde Attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a wide-ranging gun control bill Wednesday in response to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds. The legislation passed by a mostly party-line vote of 223-204. It…

Justice Dept. Names 9 To Aid In Review Of Uvalde Shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has named a team of nine people, including an FBI official and former police chiefs, to aid in a review of the law enforcement response to the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the team during a meeting in his office in Washington on…

Moderna Says Updated COVID Shot Boosts Omicron Protection

(AP) — Moderna’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine that combines its original shot with protection against the omicron variant appears to work, the company announced Wednesday. COVID-19 vaccine makers are studying updated boosters that might be offered in the fall to better protect people against future coronavirus surges. Moderna’s preliminary study results show people given the combination shot experienced a higher boost…

4th Grade Uvalde Survivor: ‘I Don’t Want It To Happen Again’

WASHINGTON (AP) — An 11-year-old girl who survived the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, recounted in video testimony to Congress on Wednesday how she covered herself with a dead classmate’s blood to avoid being shot and “just stayed quiet.” Miah Cerrillo, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary School, told lawmakers in a pre-recorded video that she watched a teacher…

Simone Biles, Other Women Seek $1B-Plus From FBI Over Nassar

DETROIT (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and dozens of other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar are seeking more than $1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop the sports doctor when the agency first received allegations against him, lawyers said Wednesday. There’s no dispute that FBI agents in 2015 knew that Nassar was accused…

Target Is Cutting Prices To Get Rid Of Excess Inventory

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Retail giant Target is cutting prices in an effort to get rid of excess inventory, the company said Tuesday. The Minneapolis-based retailer is taking a set of actions to “right-size its inventory for the balance of the year and create additional flexibility to focus on serving guests in a rapidly changing environment,” a news release said. Those actions include canceling…

Figure Skating Minimum Age Rises To 17 Before 2026 Olympics

PHUKET, Thailand (AP) — No 15-year-old figure skaters will be allowed to compete at the 2026 Olympics following the controversy surrounding Russian national champion Kamila Valieva at this year’s Beijing Games. A new age limit for figure skaters at senior international events was passed Tuesday by the International Skating Union in a 110-16 vote that will raise the minimum age to 17…

Biden Orders Emergency Steps To Boost U.S. Solar Production

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ordered emergency measures Monday to boost crucial supplies to U.S. solar manufacturers and declared a two-year tariff exemption on solar panels from Southeast Asia as he attempted to jumpstart progress toward his climate change-fighting goals. His invoking of the Defense Production Act and his other executive actions come amid complaints by industry groups that the solar…

Police: Tennessee Shooting Leads to 3 Dead, 14 Injured

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, who described himself as an “avid hunter” and gun owner, called on Congress to enact “common sense regulations” to address gun violence.

Photo: Tierra Hayes/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — A shooting near a Tennessee nightclub early Sunday led to three deaths and 14 people suffering gunshot wounds and other injuries, police said. Fourteen people were hit by gunfire and three were hit by vehicles while trying to flee the scene, according to Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy….

Biden Evacuated after Plane Entered Airspace Near Beach Home

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) – The White House says a small private airplane entered restricted airspace near President Joe Biden’s Delaware vacation home on Saturday, and that led to the brief evacuation of the president and first lady. The White House says there was no threat to Biden or his family and that precautionary measures were taken. After the situation…

Stocks Sink As Wall Street Eyes Downside Of Solid Jobs Data

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell broadly Friday and pulled major indexes into the red for the week as Wall Street focused on the downside of the still-strong U.S. jobs market. A report showed employers hired more workers last month than economists expected. While that’s a good sign for the economy amid worries about a possible recession, many investors saw it keeping the…

Families Of Uvalde, Buffalo Victims To Testify In Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parents of victims and survivors of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde will appear before a House committee next week in an effort to bring home the devastation of America’s gun violence epidemic. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the Oversight Committee, said Friday the hearing will examine the human impact of gun violence and the urgency for lawmakers…

US Added 390,000 Jobs In May As Hiring Remained Robust

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added 390,000 jobs in May, extending a streak of solid hiring that has bolstered an economy under pressure from high inflation and rising interest rates. Last month’s gain reflects a resilient job market that has so far shrugged off concerns that the economy will weaken in the coming months as the Federal Reserve steadily raises…

Student Loan Debt Wiped Clean For Former Corinthian Students

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of students who attended the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain will automatically get their federal student loans canceled, the Biden administration says, aiming to bring closure to one of the most notorious cases of fraud in American higher education. Anyone who attended the now-defunct chain from its founding in 1995 to its collapse in 2015 will get…

Police: Tulsa Suspect Targeted Surgeon He Blamed For Pain

(AP) — A man who blamed his surgeon for ongoing pain after a recent back surgery bought an AR-style rifle hours before opening fire at a Tulsa medical office, killing the surgeon and three other people before fatally shooting himself, police said Thursday. Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin says the gunman had recently undergone back surgery and had called a…

House Panel Taking Up Gun Bill In Wake Of Mass Shootings

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is beginning to put its stamp on gun legislation in response to mass shootings in Texas and New York by 18-year-old assailants who used semi-automatic rifles to kill 31 people, including 19 children. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Thursday to advance legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing certain semi-automatic…

3 Killed In Shooting At Tulsa Medical Building; Shooter Dead

TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) — Three people were killed Wednesday in a shooting at a Tulsa medical building on a hospital campus, a police captain said. Capt. Richard Meulenberg confirmed the number of dead. Meulenberg said the shooter also was dead. It was unclear how the shooter died or what prompted the deadly assault. “Officers are currently going through every room…

Jury Indicts Buffalo Shooting Suspect On Terrorism Charge

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A grand jury on Wednesday charged the white 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket with domestic terrorism motivated by hate and 10 counts of first-degree murder. Payton Gendron, who has been in custody since the May 14 shooting, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Erie County Court. The 25-count indictment also…

2 New Lawsuits Allege Excessive Force, Discrimination By Derek Chauvin

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Two new lawsuits were filed Tuesday against the City of Minneapolis for alleged cases of police brutality committed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin before he murdered George Floyd. The lawsuits, filed on behalf of Minneapolis residents John Pope and Zoya Code, allege police misconduct, use of excessive force, and racial discrimination from incidents that occurred in 2017 in…

Agency: 1 Dead, 7 Injured in Oklahoma Festival Shooting

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reports that witnesses said an argument preceded the gunfire just after midnight.

TAFT, Okla. (AP) – Authorities say one person was killed and seven were injured in a shooting early Sunday at an outdoor festival in eastern Oklahoma. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that two juveniles were among those shot at the Memorial Day event near Taft, about 10 miles southeast of Tulsa. The agency reports that…

Superior Family Builds Memorial for Victims of Uvalde School Shooting

Over 200 mass shooting have occurred so far this year, with 27 being on school grounds.

SUPERIOR, Wisc.-  Following the tragic events that occurred at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday resulting in the deaths of 19 children and two teachers, a Superior family, with the help of a local shop in town put together a memorial in their front yard. Along Highway 35, a memorial with 21 crosses stand in a row. The…

Police Inaction Moves to Center of Uvalde Shooting Probe

The delay in confronting the shooter - who was inside the school for more than an hour - could lead to discipline, lawsuits and even criminal charges against police.

FILE – Law enforcement personnel stand outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. When the gunman arrived at the school, he hopped its fence and easily entered through an unlocked back door, police said. He holed himself up in a fourth-grade classroom where he killed the children and teachers. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File) STEFANIE…

Air Travelers Face Cancellations over Memorial Day Weekend

According to the website FlightAware, more than 1,200 flights were canceled as of 2 p.m EDT on Saturday. That followed more than 2,300 cancellations on Friday.

NEW YORK (AP) – Airline travelers are not only facing sticker shock this Memorial Day weekend.  They’re also dealing with a pileup of flight cancellations. According to the website FlightAware, more than 1,200 flights were canceled as of 2 p.m EDT on Saturday. That followed more than 2,300 cancellations on Friday. Delta Air Lines suffered the most, with more than…

Duluth Police: Alleged Threat to Lincoln Park Middle School was List of Peoples’ Names Student Felt ‘upset with and bullied by’

Investigators believe the list of names "are individuals the student expressed both being upset with and bullied by." 

DULUTH, Minn.- Investigators with the Duluth Police Department Friday determined the alleged school threat made by a Lincoln Park Middle School student was a written list of names several months old. According to a Department spokesperson, after the recent tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, students who knew about the list told the staff. Both Police and School Administration were…

Onlookers Urged Police To Charge Into Texas School

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a gunman’s rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, witnesses said Wednesday, as investigators worked to track the massacre that lasted upwards of 40 minutes and ended when the 18-year-old shooter was killed by a Border Patrol team. “Go in there! Go in…

Texas Gunman Warned Online He Was Going To Shoot Up School

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — The gunman who massacred 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas had warned on social media minutes before the attack that he had shot his grandmother and going to shoot up a school, the governor said Wednesday. Salvador Ramos, 18, used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle in the bloodbath Tuesday at Robb Elementary…

FDA Chief Under Fire For Slow Response To Baby Formula Issue

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Food and Drug Administration faced bipartisan fury from House lawmakers Wednesday over months of delays investigating problems at the nation’s largest baby formula plant that prompted an ongoing shortage. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf laid out a series of setbacks in congressional testimony that slowed his agency’s response, including a COVID-19 outbreak at the…

Texas School Shooting Kills 18 Children, 3 Adults

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at a Texas elementary school, killing at least 18 children, officials said, and the gunman was dead. The death toll also included three adults, according to state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who said he was briefed by state police on the fatalities. But it was not immediately clear whether that number…

Texas Governor: 15 Killed In School Shooting; Gunman Dead

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Fourteen children and one teacher were killed in a shooting at a Texas elementary school Tuesday, and the 18-year-old gunman was dead, Gov. Greg Abbott said Abbott said a local man opened fire at at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 85 miles west of San Antonio. ”He shot and killed, horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students and…

Biden: US Would Intervene With Military To Defend Taiwan

TOKYO (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, declaring the commitment to protect the island is “even stronger” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of Taiwan’s self-governing in decades. Biden, at a news conference in Tokyo, said “yes” when asked…

Pfizer Says 3 COVID Shots Protect Children Under 5

(AP) — Three doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots. The news comes after months of anxious waiting by parents desperate to vaccinate their babies, toddlers and…

78,000 Pounds Of Infant Formula Arrives In US

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived Sunday in Indianapolis, the first of several flights expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has sent parents scrambling to find enough to feed their children. President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed…

Biden’s Approval Dips To Lowest Of Presidency: AP-NORC Poll

(AP) — President Joe Biden’s approval rating dipped to the lowest point of his presidency in May, a new poll shows, with deepening pessimism emerging among members of his own Democratic Party. Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s performance as president, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, dipping from already negative ratings…

Congress OKs Latest $40B To Help Ukraine Repulse Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $40 billion infusion of military and economic aid for Ukraine and its allies on Thursday as both parties rallied behind America’s latest, and quite possibly not last, financial salvo against Russia’s invasion. The 86-11 vote gave final congressional approval to the package, three weeks after President Joe Biden requested a smaller $33 billion version and after a…

House Approves Bill To Take Aim At Gasoline ‘Price Gouging’

WASHINGTON (AP) — A closely divided House approved legislation Thursday to crack down on alleged price gouging by oil companies and other energy producers as prices at the pump continue to soar. A bill backed by House Democrats would give President Joe Biden authority to declare an energy emergency that would make it unlawful to increase gasoline and home energy…

FDA Head: Baby Formula Factory Could Reopen By Next Week

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Food and Drug Administration told lawmakers Thursday that a shuttered baby formula factory could be up and running as soon as next week, though he sidestepped questions about whether his agency should have intervened earlier at the plant at the center of the national shortage. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf faced a bipartisan grilling from House…

More Americans Apply For Jobless Benefits Last Week

WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans applied for jobless aid last week, but the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits is at a 53-year low. Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 21,000 to 218,000 for the week ending May 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications generally track the number of layoffs. The four-week average for claims, which smooths…

Grand Jury Indicts Man In Buffalo Supermarket Shooting

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket appeared briefly in court Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on a first-degree murder charge. Assistant district attorney Gary Hackbush said the indictment of Payton Gendron, 18, was handed up Wednesday. Gendron, wearing orange clothing and mask, was silent throughout the proceeding…

Biden Invokes Defense Production Act For Formula Shortage

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas, as he faces mounting political pressure over a domestic shortage caused by the safety-related closure of the country’s largest formula manufacturing plant. The Defense Production Act order requires suppliers of formula manufacturers to…