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US faces new pressure to build weapons without China’s rare earth magnets
EXETER, N.H. | A giant American flag hanging on the wall of a warehouse in New Hampshire hints at the national importance of the elements bound inside the mining waste stored in 1-ton bags. The company uses electrolysis to separate the key critical elements President Donald Trump’s administration desperately wants to produce domestically from the […]
Dry, hot summers are putting Dutch dikes at risk and threatening German river trade
WADDINXVEEN, Netherlands | Jeroen Wouda and Dirk Boom walk slowly along a Dutch dike, prodding at the bone dry surface with metal rods and scanning the parched grass for patches of green that could give away the location of a leak. In a scene that brings to mind the fictional Dutch boy who heroically plugs […]
Fishing closures are becoming routine as record heat warms rivers in the US West
LIVINGSTON, Mont. | Trout need cool water to survive, but record heat this summer has driven water temperatures to lethal levels for fish. Wildlife officials are banning fishing during certain hours on rivers and streams across the U.S. West, following an exceptionally dry winter and amid widespread drought. Lower water levels mean rivers can heat […]
At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer science
With no background in coding, Faith Maeba, a psychology major, was reluctant when her mother first suggested she enroll in classes on artificial intelligence. But the senior at Virginia Commonwealth University began to see it differently as she looked into graduate psychology programs that explore human behavior in the workplace, which is quickly being upended […]
Leave it: Dog trainers help pets avoid venomous snakes
TUCSON, Ariz. | Ripley, a medium-sized dog with a strong prey drive, curiously approached Brian, a large western diamondback rattlesnake, until she got a quick zap on the neck meant to simulate a venomous viper’s bite. Suddenly, the 2-year-old blue heeler mix wanted nothing to do with Brian’s textured brown skin or furiously rattling tail. […]
GOP holdouts say they will back Blanche’s attorney general nomination after striking deal over fund
WASHINGTON | Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will support his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump. The endorsement from GOP Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis paves […]
Ken Martin hunkers down at the Democratic National Committee as a storm gathers around party leader
NEW YORK | Ken Martin is in survival mode. Desperate to save his job as chair of the Democratic National Committee, he is avoiding media appearances, monitoring his critics’ social media posts and refusing — at least so far — to make any substantive changes at his troubled organization. A half dozen state leaders and […]
Republicans want voters to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices and move court to the right
TOPEKA, Kan. | Kansas voters will decide Tuesday whether to elect state Supreme Court justices rather than have the governor appoint them, a push from conservatives who have chafed for years over court decisions they disagreed with on issues such as abortion, school funding and the death penalty. If the constitutional amendment passes, supporters hope […]
Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has rare meeting with International Red Cross
BANGKOK | Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with the International Committee of the Red Cross’ representative in the capital on Monday, the military-backed government said, a rare moment of contact with the outside world for the Nobel laureate who has been held out of public view since the military seized power […]
Iran déjà vu: Trump once again threatens massive escalation against Tehran only to walk back
WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump has played this hand before during the 5-month-old Iran war. It starts with a grim warning to Tehran that the Republican president is on the cusp of ordering U.S. forces to “obliterate” its power plants or seize key parts of its oil industry if its leaders don’t quickly agree to […]