US News

The governor of the U.S. island state of Hawaii has described wildfires here as “catastrophic,” with the confirmed death toll rising to 96.

Wildfires have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii this week, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.

The U.S. government said Friday it will spend up to $1.2 billion for two pioneering facilities to vacuum carbon out of the air, a historic gamble on a still developing technology to combat global warming that is criticized by some experts.

Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod declared in court that the Biden administration’s efforts to persuade social media companies to remove, throttle and suppress purported misinformation on COVID-19, Hunter Biden’s laptop and elections reminded her of a mafia movie.

The Illinois State Supreme Court found a strict assault weapons ban passed after the Highland Park shooting to be constitutional in a ruling issued Friday.

About 49,500 people took their own lives last year in the U.S., the highest number ever, according to new government data posted Thursday.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday approved a “major disaster” declaration for the island state of Hawaii after dozens of people died here in massive wildfires and many were forced to dive into the ocean to escape the flames.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) declared a state of emergency Tuesday, citing an influx of migrants seeking shelter at a time when the cost of housing continues to rise.

At least 36 people have died after wildfires, fanned by winds from a faraway hurricane, devastated much of the resort city Lahaina on Hawaii’s Maui island, Maui County said in a statement late on Wednesday. Multiple neighborhoods were burnt to the ground as the western side of the island was nearly cut off, with only one highway open and thousands needing to evacuate. Officials reported widespread devastation to Lahaina, its harbor and surrounding areas as some people fled into the ocean to escape the smoke and flames.

An elderly armed man, described as “frail” by neighbors, has been shot and killed by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after making online threats against U.S. President Joe Biden, officials said.

The Congressional Budget Office revised its projections Tuesday, saying it now expects the federal government to run a $1.7 trillion deficit this year as inflation hits Uncle Sam hard.

U.S. scientists have achieved net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the second time since December, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said on Sunday.

Moody’s cut credit ratings of several small to mid-sized U.S. banks on Monday and said it may downgrade some of the nation’s biggest lenders, warning that the sector’s credit strength will likely be tested by funding risks and weaker profitability.

Collectively, Americans now owe more than $1 trillion on credit cards.

The Chairman of the US House Select Committee on China has warned that the Chinese Communist Party is conducting a “relentless espionage campaign against America,” Politico reports.

Through Texas’ border security mission Operation Lone Star, Texas DPS troopers have rescued over 900 children being smuggled into and through Texas from Mexico by human traffickers, DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez recently announced.

A federal judge on Monday halted Colorado’s new law raising the age to purchase firearms in the state to 21 years old.

A federal judge dealt several blows Monday to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

A federal judge ordered CBS News senior correspondent Catherine Herridge to reveal her sources for a series of stories about the FBI’s investigation of a Chinese American scientist back when she worked for Fox News.

U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs last month, fewer than expected, as the higher interest rates continued to weigh on the economy. But the unemployment rate dipped to 3.5% in a sign that the job market remains resilient.