NEW YORK — Joe Manchin's decision not to seek reelection virtually ensures that the Democratic Party will lose his Senate seat next year in deep-red West Virginia, making the party's steep path to retaining its razor-thin Senate majority even more difficult. Some Democratic officials are also concerned that Manchin's announcement frees him to pursue a...
New House Speaker Grasps for a Plan as Government Shutdown Rapidly Approaches
WASHINGTON — With just a week left to avert a government shutdown, new House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing his first big test as he tries to win House Republican support for a short-term funding plan — a task that looks increasingly difficult amid stubborn divisions in the party over federal spending....
Israel Strikes Gaza Hospitals Where Tens of Thousands are Sheltering, Says Hamas
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Thousands of Palestinians on Friday fled from around Gaza City's main hospital after a series of strikes that staff blamed on Israel hit in and around several hospitals overnight. They joined a growing exodus of people toward the south amid intensified fighting as Gaza officials said...
San Francisco Bidding to Reverse Image of a City in Decline as Host of APEC Trade Summit
SAN FRANCISCO — World leaders, CEOs, protesters and thousands of others will soon descend on San Francisco for a global trade summit that could give the battered city a chance to reverse its image of an economic powerhouse now in decline. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit will be...
Disputes Swirl a Year After California OK’D Plan to Keep Avila Beach Nuke Plant Running
LOS ANGELES — More than a year after California endorsed a proposal to extend the lifespan of its last nuclear power plant, disputes continue to swirl about the safety of its decades-old reactors, whether more than $1 billion in public financing for the extension could be in jeopardy and even if...
Blinken Says ‘Far Too Many’ Palestinians Have Died as Israel Wages Relentless War on Hamas
NEW DELHI — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that “far too many” Palestinians have died and suffered as Israel wages a relentless war against the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. He urged Israel to minimize harm to civilians and maximize humanitarian assistance that reaches them. Speaking...
Lyrics Can Be Used as Evidence During Rapper Young Thug’s Trial on Gang and Racketeering Charges
ATLANTA — When rapper Young Thug goes to trial later this month on gang and racketeering charges, prosecutors will be allowed to use rap lyrics as evidence against him, a judge ruled Thursday. Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville said in court he would allow prosecutors to introduce 17...
Mobile and Resilient, the US Military Is Placing a New Emphasis on Ground Troops for Pacific Defense
BANGKOK — As Chinese missile testing in the waters around Taiwan grew increasingly aggressive in 1996, the U.S. sailed two aircraft carrier groups to the island that Beijing claims as its own, and China was forced to back down. It employed a similar response to Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel...
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin Won’t Seek Reelection, Giving GOP a Key Pickup Opportunity
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Thursday that he won’t seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state. Manchin, 76, said he made the decision “after months of deliberation and long conversations” with his family. “I believe...
US Launches Airstrike on Site in Syria in Response to Attacks by Iranian-Backed Militias
WASHINGTON — The U.S. carried out an airstrike on a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in the region for the past several weeks, the Pentagon said. In Wednesday's strike, two U.S. F-15...