CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – A mysterious object temporarily orbiting Earth is a 54-year-old rocket, not an asteroid after all, astronomers confirmed Wednesday. Observations by a telescope in Hawaii clinched its identity, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,

Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, was questioned under oath this week as part of a civil lawsuit alleging misuse of nonprofit funds for Donald Trump’s inauguration four years ago. District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine’s office disclosed

OMAHA, NEBRASKA – U.S. hospitals slammed with COVID-19 patients are trying to lure nurses and doctors out of retirement, recruiting students and new graduates who have yet to earn their licenses and offering eye-popping salaries in a desperate bid to

A blogger jailed after filming protests over a toxic spill has gone on a hunger strike over unjust treatment in Vietnam’s An Diem prison, alongside two other prisoners of conscience. Nguyen Van Hoa, 25, a blogger and contributor to Radio

President Donald Trump’s threat to veto a defense bill if it does not repeal legal protections for social media companies faced stiff bipartisan opposition Wednesday, setting the stage for a confrontation with lawmakers scrambling to pass the massive bill by

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday that could prevent Chinese companies from listing their shares on U.S. exchanges unless they adhere to U.S. auditing standards. The measure passed by unanimous voice vote, after passing the

Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the president of France from 1974 to 1981 who became a champion of European integration, died on Wednesday. He was 94.Giscard d’Estaing’s office said he passed away in his family home in the Loir-et-Cher region, in central

The Transportation Department issued a final rule Wednesday covering animals on airlines. It decided that only dogs can fly as service animals, and companions that passengers use for emotional support don’t count.  The rule aims to settle years of tension

RALEIGH, N.C – Alonzo “Lon” T. Adams II, the man who created the formula for Slim Jim beef jerky sticks, has died from complications of COVID-19. He was 95.   Lynn Barrow of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Raleigh, North

Britain says it plans to start injecting people with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as early as Monday after becoming the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine following large-scale clinical trials. The British government approved the use of the coronavirus vaccine on

Thailand’s highest court on Wednesday acquitted Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha of wrongdoing linked to his stay in an army house long after he retired from the military, a case that could have seen him removed from office and offered a way

China’s government is considering requiring foreign visitors who want to hold a religious activity to first provide extensive information about who is attending and what they are reading, before the service can receive government permission.Authorities say they are proposing the

WASHINGTON – More than 1,000 Chinese researchers have left the United States amid a U.S. crackdown on alleged technology theft, John Demers, the U.S. Justice Department’s top national security official, said Wednesday. William Evanina, chief of the counterintelligence branch

LUMAJANG, INDONESIA – Hundreds of Indonesians have fled their villages after a rumbling volcano spewed hot ash thousands of meters into the air and belched lava down its crater. Mount Semeru on Java island spouted the towering column Tuesday,

What It Means to Become President-Elect in the US In the United States, Democrat Joe Biden is being called the president-elect. President-elect is a descriptive term not an official office. As such, Biden has no power in the government, and

In Uzbekistan, the fight for greater press freedom is at a turning point as journalists push back against warnings from the government media regulator that coverage of issues, including the pandemic and energy shortages, is in violation of legal norms.The Agency

KANO, NIGERIA – A humanitarian aid worker and two local officials have been abducted by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in conflict-plagued northeastern Nigeria, two security officials said Wednesday. Jihadists kidnapped them at a checkpoint in the village

Human Rights Watch accused Azerbaijani forces Wednesday of brutalizing some Armenian troops captured in the conflict over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Acts of mistreatment were captured on video and circulated on social media over the past two months, HRW

China’s space program celebrated a major accomplishment this week when its Chang’e 5 lunar probe mission safely landed on the moon. The landing Tuesday brought Beijing a step closer to becoming the third country in the world to retrieve geological

Europe’s alpine nations are split regarding how to handle the ski season at their respective resorts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany, France and Italy are staying temporarily closed, while Switzerland, Spain and Austria are partially opening. France, like Italy, Austria

GENEVA – The World Meteorological Organization reports 2020 is shaping up to be one of the three warmest years on record and a year in which extreme weather events have wreaked havoc on the lives and livelihoods of millions

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The International Labor Organization says wages plunged during the first six months of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with women and lower paid workers among the biggest losers.  Its report is based on data from

KAMPALA, UGANDA – Presidential candidate Bobi Wine filed a complaint with Uganda’s election commission after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Tuesday at his supporters, sending at least five to the hospital. In a three-hour closed-door meeting Wednesday with the

ABUJA, NIGERIA – Nigerian authorities say they are trying to rescue at least 10 women who were abducted by Boko Haram militants in an attack over the weekend that left at least 43 people dead.   Boko Haram on Tuesday

Lekki Toll Gate, a nondescript toll plaza on a busy Lagos highway, has become a rallying cry for Nigerians demanding police reform.After dark on October 20, eyewitnesses say, security forces opened fire on protesters demonstrating against Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad,