Afghanistan’s Taliban have ‘weaponized’ the judicial system to oppress women, UN expert says

UNITED NATIONS — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have “weaponized” the legal and judicial system to oppress women and girls in what amounts to “crimes against humanity,” the independent U.N. investigator on human rights in the country said. Richard Bennett said in a report to the U.N. General Assembly circulated Wednesday that after seizing power in 2021 … Read more

Trump administration reverses Biden approval of major wind farm in Idaho

SEATTLE — The Trump administration on Wednesday canceled a major wind farm development in Idaho, a project approved late in former President Joe Biden’s term that had drawn criticism for its proximity to a historic site where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. The Bureau of Land Management in December signed off on … Read more

Fort Stewart army base shooting raises questions about military gun policies

A shooting that injured five soldiers at one of the country’s largest military bases on Wednesday has resurfaced questions about a long-standing army policy that largely prevents service members from carrying personal weapons on military installations. Soldiers in the area who witnessed the shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia “immediately and without hesitation” tackled the … Read more

Trump’s broad tariffs go into effect, just as economic pain is surfacing

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump began levying higher import taxes on dozens of countries Thursday, just as the economic fallout of his monthslong tariff threats has begun to create visible damage for the U.S. economy. Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% … Read more

From the Stones to Cardi B, this college haunt has attracted big acts for 50 years

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Nestled on a narrow, one-way street among Yale University buildings, a pizza joint and an ice cream shop, Toad’s Place looks like a typical haunt for college kids. But inside the modest, two-story building is a veritable museum of paintings and signed photos depicting the head-turning array of artists who’ve played … Read more

Harvard scientists say research could be set back years after funding freeze

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University professor Alberto Ascherio’s research is literally frozen. Collected from millions of U.S. soldiers over two decades using millions of dollars from taxpayers, the epidemiology and nutrition scientist has blood samples stored in liquid nitrogen freezers within the university’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The samples are key to his … Read more