All posts tagged: U.S. News®

Record US Drought Sparks Worries About Fires, Water Supply and Food Prices

Record US Drought Sparks Worries About Fires, Water Supply and Food Prices

Published by Sam Flores

Drought in the contiguous United States has reached record levels for this time of year, weather data shows. Meteorologists said it’s a bad sign for the upcoming wildfire season, food prices and western water issues. More than 61% of the Lower 48 states is in moderate to exceptional drought — including 97% of the Southeast and two-thirds of the West — according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. It’s the highest levels for this time of year since the drought monitor began in 2000. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s comprehensive Palmer Drought Severity Index not only hit its highest level for March since records started in 1895, but last month was the third-driest month recorded regardless of time of year. It trailed only the famed Dust Bowl months of July and August 1934. Because of record heat, much of the West has had exceptionally low levels of snow in the first few months of the year, which is usually how the region stores water for the summer. A different drought — connected to the jet …

US Sanctions 3 People, 2 Firms Over Allegedly Recruiting Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan War

US Sanctions 3 People, 2 Firms Over Allegedly Recruiting Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan War

Published by Sam Flores

CAIRO (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions on three people and two firms over allegedly recruiting and deploying Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s war, which has entered its fourth year with no end in sight. The sanctions, announced by the Department of Treasury late Friday, were the latest by the United States on the RSF, which have been at war against the Sudanese military since April 2023. The group has been accused by rights groups of atrocities amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war which created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The RSF was born out of feared Arab Janjaweed militias, notorious for atrocities in the early 2000s against people identifying as East or Central African in Sudan’s western region of Darfur. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctioned individuals and firms were involved in “recruiting and deploying former Colombian military personnel to Sudan to fight on behalf of the RSF.” They include a Bogota, Colombia-based employment agency, Fénix, which was …

Iran Fires on Ships in Strait of Hormuz as Tehran Imposes Restrictions Again

Iran Fires on Ships in Strait of Hormuz as Tehran Imposes Restrictions Again

Published by Sam Flores

Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach. Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces.” Two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. It reported the tanker and crew as safe, without identifying the vessel or its destination. TankerTrackers.com reported vessels were forced to turn around in the strait, including an Indian-flagged supertanker, after they were fired on by Iran. Saturday’s developments came after U.S. President Donald Trump said the blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.S. that includes its nuclear program. Tehran had reopened the strait Friday to commercial vessels. Despite the escalation, Pakistani officials say the United States and …

Powerful Winds and Reported Tornadoes Rip Through the Midwest, Leaving Heavy Damage but No Deaths

Powerful Winds and Reported Tornadoes Rip Through the Midwest, Leaving Heavy Damage but No Deaths

Published by Sam Flores

A trail of damaged homes and buildings dotted a wide swath of the U.S. on Saturday after a burst of destructive winds and reported tornadoes tore off roofs, uprooted trees and rendered rural roads impassable with debris. No deaths were reported following Friday’s storms, which barreled through the Upper Midwest and delivered the latest round of severe weather to batter the region. Officials braced residents for a long recovery in some rural communities. “We are extremely fortunate that this storm did not result in loss of life or serious injury,” Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall said of the storm that hit Lena, Illinois. Officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota echoed those sentiments. In central Wisconsin, a reported tornado that tore through the cities of Kronenwetter and Ringle left behind damaged homes and some residents briefly trapped in their basements, Ringle Fire Chief Chris Kielman told reporters. Marathon County Sheriff Chad Billeb said he had not seen this much devastation during his 34 years in law enforcement. “A lot of people are going to need a lot …

Mamdani Endorses City Council Candidate Who Accused Cuomo of Sexual Harassment

Mamdani Endorses City Council Candidate Who Accused Cuomo of Sexual Harassment

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Lindsey Boylan — the first woman to publicly accuse former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment — in a City Council race on Friday, his latest attempt to wield his political clout to influence Democratic contests. Boylan “represents the kind of fearless leadership this moment demands,” Mamdani said in a statement. “She has shown a willingness to tell hard truths, to challenge entrenched power, and to stand up for working people even when it isn’t easy. That courage matters,” he said. Mamdani ran against Cuomo for mayor last year, beating him once in the Democratic primary, then again in the general election after the former governor ran as a third-party candidate. During that race, Boylan occasionally demonstrated outside Cuomo campaign events to draw attention to the harassment scandal that drove him from power. The endorsement came as Mamdani, who vaulted from relative obscurity to become a national progressive star last year, has wasted little time testing whether his potent brand can bring about a …

Former Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 20 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal Campaign Contributions

Former Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 20 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal Campaign Contributions

Published by Sam Flores

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a former Wisconsin man to 20 months in prison for funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into domestic political campaigns after moving to another country and renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Court records show U.S. District Judge James Peterson sentenced Roger Hoffman on Wednesday. He also ordered Hoffman to pay a $150,000 fine. Hoffman’s attorney, Mark Maciolek, didn’t immediately return a message Friday seeking comment. Hoffman, a 70-year-old self-employed investor originally from Madison, became a citizen of the Caribbean nation Saint Kitts and Nevis in January 2009, according to a grand jury indictment handed down in 2021. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in July of that year. But he still moved more than $400,000 to state and federal elections in the U.S. over more than a decade, using an assistant identified in court documents only as M.W. as a conduit to circumvent laws prohibiting foreign nationals from making donations in U.S. elections. He pleaded guilty in September to a single count of making illegal donations in a …

UPS Plane Aborts Landing in Louisville After Small Plane Crosses Its Runway in Latest Close Call

UPS Plane Aborts Landing in Louisville After Small Plane Crosses Its Runway in Latest Close Call

Published by Sam Flores

A UPS cargo plane had to abort its landing in Louisville earlier this week when a small plane crossed the runway just as it approached. The air traffic controller yelled “Skylab 25, stop!” at the small plane before quickly ordering the UPS plane to pull up and perform a maneuver called a go-around to avert another tragedy at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, which is a major hub for UPS. The audio was posted online by www.LiveATC.net. Just last November, a UPS plane crashed after an engine fell off as it was rolling down the runway to take off. The National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday that it plans to hold two days of investigative hearings starting May 19 to learn more about why the crash that killed 14 people happened. Fortunately, no one was hurt in this latest incident, which happened about 12:10 a.m. Tuesday. Right after the cargo plane safely pulled up, the controller asked “Skylab 25, what are you doing?” The pilot responded “Skylab 25, yeah, sorry about that.” The Federal Aviation …

Air Traffic Control Applicants Top 8,000 in 13 Hours, Transportation Secretary Says

Air Traffic Control Applicants Top 8,000 in 13 Hours, Transportation Secretary Says

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) – A record 8,000-plus ⁠people ⁠have applied for jobs in ⁠the troubled U.S. air traffic control system in the first ​13 hours of a recruitment drive focusing on individuals who enjoy playing video games, Transportation Secretary ‌Sean Duffy said on Friday. The ‌Federal Aviation Administration, facing a shortage of air traffic controllers in towers across the ⁠U.S., opened ⁠applications overnight to fill more positions, Duffy said at the Semafor ​World Economy gathering in Washington. After 12 hours, according to Duffy, the FAA had received some 6,000 applications. Posting on X later in the day, he said a total of 8,004 applicants ​had filed in 13 hours, a rate of 10 every minute, marking the fastest ⁠pace ⁠ever for applicants seeking jobs ⁠as U.S. ​air traffic controllers. Duffy said 7,252 of those applicants met basic qualifications, though they would ​still need to go ⁠through a rigorous assessment process. “We’ve had a flood of young people coming in who want to be air traffic controllers,” Duffy said at the conference, calling the Trump …

Kennedy Says US Health Agency Has 72,000 Staff, up From 62,000 After DOGE Cuts

Kennedy Says US Health Agency Has 72,000 Staff, up From 62,000 After DOGE Cuts

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON, April ⁠16 (Reuters) – ⁠U.S. ⁠Secretary of Health ​and Human ‌Services Robert F. ‌Kennedy ⁠Jr. ⁠said on Thursday his department ​now has 72,000 ​employees and is looking ⁠to ⁠hire 12,000 ⁠more to ​make up for ​cuts ⁠led by the Department ⁠of Government Efficiency. The department had 82,000 employees ⁠before the DOGE cuts reduced its workforce to 62,000 employees last year, ⁠he said. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; ​Editing by ​Chris Reese) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Source link

US Sanctions 3 People, 2 Firms Over Allegedly Recruiting Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan War

Navy Reservist Arrested, Accused of Fleeing to Hong Kong After Wife’s Body Found in Virginia Freezer

Published by Sam Flores

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A man accused of fleeing to Hong Kong after his wife’s body was found in a freezer in their Virginia apartment has been apprehended, authorities said. David Varela, a 38-year-old Navy Reservist, was wanted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Lina M. Guerra, 39, who was found dead at their Norfolk apartment in February, FBI Director Kash Patel announced in a social media post. Varela had been on the run for more than two months, “but justice doesn’t forget,” he said. Varela was returned to the United States on Wednesday and remains in California, where he faces federal charges, Norfolk police said Thursday in a news release. A notice filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco states that Varela was arrested on an unlawful flight warrant and accused of fleeing to Hong Kong from Virginia to avoid prosecution for first-degree murder and concealing a dead body to prevent detection. On Feb. 5, Norfolk police searched the home of Varela and Guerra, identified in an FBI affidavit as …