The U.S. Congress is preparing to convene for the start of a new session, swearing in lawmakers during a tumultuous period as a growing number of Republicans work to overturn Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump and the coronavirus surge imposes limits at the Capitol. Democrat Nancy Pelosi is set Sunday to be re-elected […]
Tanzanians head to polls despite fears of violence, fraud
Long lines of voters in Tanzania went to the polls on Wednesday for a presidential election that the opposition warned is already compromised by manipulation, deadly violence and a massive internet slowdown in a country once praised as a beacon of peace in Africa. Results declared by the electoral commission cannot be challenged in court, […]
Hurricane Zeta speeding toward a storm-weary Louisiana
Hurricane Zeta was speeding toward storm-weary Louisiana and intensifying, with landfall expected as a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday afternoon. New Orleans, where a pump system failure raised flood risks, was squarely in its way. Life-threatening storm surge and strong winds were expected beginning around midday along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where residents were bracing for […]
Germany, France brace for new lockdowns amid rising COVID-19 case numbers
Germany and France were bracing for new lockdowns Wednesday, as governments sought to stop the fast-rising tide of coronavirus cases beginning to fill European hospitals. French markets opened lower on expectations that President Emmanuel Macron would announce tough measures during a televised evening address to the nation. Doctors in France have been calling on the government to […]
Trump response to rape accuser not within the scope of his job as president, court rules
A federal judge on Tuesday denied President Donald Trump’s request that the United States replace him as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit alleging he raped a woman in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. The decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan came after the Justice Department argued that the United States […]
NXIVM leader Keith Raniere faces life in prison at sentencing today
Keith Raniere, a self-improvement guru whose organization NXIVM attracted millionaires and actors among its adherents, faces sentencing Tuesday on convictions that he turned some female followers into sex slaves branded with his initials. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis will announce what is likely to be a lengthy prison term Tuesday for Raniere after hearing victims speak. […]
Wind-whipped Southern California wildfires prompt mass evacuations, injure 2 firefighters
Wind-driven walls of flame spurred mass evacuations in Southern California and left two firefighters badly injured on Monday, as hundreds of thousands of residents endured a second day of power shutoffs meant to counter heightened fire risks from dry and gusty weather. The latest threats came amid what meteorologists called the strongest onslaught of extreme […]
U.S. election to determine refugee policy, with stark differences in approach
Refugees from places like Congo and Iraq have seen their protections in the U.S. fade over the last four years as the Trump administration chips away at policies once designed to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Ahead of an election that will determine who could influence the outcome of their cases, those […]