1gridNATIONandSTATE
Pope begs breakaway traditionalist group to back off bishop consecrations
ROME | Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday begged a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics to call off its plan to consecrate new bishops without his consent, calling the move a schismatic act and a “sin of extreme gravity.” “I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” Leo wrote in […]
Why most Black Americans say they never fly the American flag, according to a new AP-NORC poll
DETROIT | Jerry Esters proudly displays the American flag each day on his Detroit home. A few miles away, Yvonne Pistochini says there is no scenario under which she would allow the Stars and Stripes to cast its shadow where she lives. Both are Black. For Esters, the flag represents the opportunities that allowed the […]
Venezuelans search more earthquake ruins as attention turns to humanitarian crisis
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela | With the window for finding survivors shrinking fast, Venezuelans combed Monday through more ruins of buildings toppled by last week’s powerful back-to-back earthquakes, and attention turned to the country’s humanitarian crisis that could persist for years. Relief organizations say the first 72 hours after a natural disaster is the most crucial […]
Sweltering Midwest heat cancels outdoor plans as cooling centers open and the East braces
DES MOINES, Iowa | Summer camps and other outdoor activities were canceled Monday as tens of millions of people across the Midwest endured a heat wave that is expected to spread eastward this week. Communities opened cooling centers and urged people to take it easy and stay hydrated. Forty-seven million people across big chunks of […]
San Francisco Archdiocese agrees to pay $395 million to settle child sex abuse lawsuits
SAN FRANCISCO | The San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to pay $395 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials, plaintiffs’ attorneys said Monday. San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will have to write an apology letter to each survivor as part of the settlement. The settlement also requires […]
Israeli troops face resistance from residents as they push into a town in Syria
ABDIN, Syria | As Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of Abdin in southern Syria, residents blocked the roads with rocks, and some young men and boys threw stones to push back the military patrol. Tensions in this part of the country created by a buffer zone occupied by Israeli forces have flared into […]
US envoys arrive in Qatar for meetings on Iran, with tensions high over Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Two U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for talks with mediators about the implementation of an initial deal to end the war in Iran, an official said. The visit by Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Mideast envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, comes after a weekend of […]
Supreme Court strikes down limits on party spending in federal elections, backing Republican appeal
WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court on Tuesday erased limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president, striking down a federal election law that is more than 50 years old. Prodded by a Republican-led lawsuit that includes Vice President JD Vance, the court’s conservative justices were again in […]
Supreme Court upholds state laws banning transgender girls and women from school athletic teams
WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, in another setback for transgender people. The court’s six-justice conservative majority, which has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year, ruled that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don’t violate the […]
The Supreme Court nears the end of its term with momentous cases about Trump’s power to be decided
WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court is wrapping up a term that has focused on President Donald Trump’s expansive claims of presidential power. Trump’s efforts to restrict birthright citizenship, fire the heads of most independent agencies at will and remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor are among the remaining eight cases the justices are expected to […]