Author: Grace Thompson

LONDON — Animal campaigners are calling for a ban on the public sale of fireworks after a baby red panda was thought to have died from stress related to the noise. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), a conservation charity that runs Edinburgh Zoo, said Wednesday that it was likely Roxie, a three-month-old red panda kit, "died due to stress caused by fireworks being let off across the city centre." Fireworks are set off across the United Kingdom on and around Nov. 5, known as Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night, in celebration of the failure of a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament by a group of dissident Catholics in 1605. The tradition is centuries old and unique to the U.K., with some towns creating huge elaborate effigies of Guy Fawkes to be burned — some...

PARIS — Thousands of police officers are set to be deployed around Paris on Thursday ahead of a soccer game between France and Israel, seeking to avoid a repeat of last week's violence in Amsterdam involving locals and Israeli fans. The international match is expected to be met by widespread protests a week after the unrest in the Netherlands and amid heightened tensions in Europe over Israel’s deadly assault on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon . Paris police confirmed to NBC News around 4,000 officers would be on duty, with some 2,500 deployed to ensure security around the Stade de France, in the suburb of Saint-Denis just north of the capital, and some 1,500 posted elsewhere across the city. “It’s an exceptional measure, three to four times greater than...

The Paris prosecutor on Wednesday requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from public office against far-right leader Marine Le Pen , at a trial where she and 24 others are accused of embezzling European Union funds . The trial, which comes almost a decade after initial investigations started, threatens to undermine her party’s efforts to polish its image ahead of a 2027 presidential vote many believe she can win. On Wednesday, the Paris prosecutor requested a 300,000-euro ($316,860) fine, five years in prison and an ineligibility sentence against Marine Le Pen, with provisional execution. If the court finds her guilty of the charges with this provisional execution, Le Pen will not be able to run in elections even if she appeals the judgment. ...

PARIS — Thousands of police officers are set to be deployed around Paris on Thursday ahead of a soccer game between France and Israel, seeking to avoid a repeat of last week's violence in Amsterdam involving locals and Israeli fans. The international match is expected to be met by widespread protests a week after the unrest in the Netherlands and amid heightened tensions in Europe over Israel’s deadly assault on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon . Paris police confirmed to NBC News around 4,000 officers would be on duty, with some 2,500 deployed to ensure security around the Stade de France, in the suburb of Saint-Denis just north of the capital, and some 1,500 posted elsewhere across the city. “It’s an exceptional measure, three to four times greater than...

WASHINGTON — As he waged his winning campaign, Donald Trump described the Justice Department as a hotbed of partisan prosecutors who had “weaponized” law enforcement and the military as a fighting force that had forsaken its mission in favor of political decorum . A Trump presidency would fix all that, he pledged, and with his choices to lead the Defense and Justice departments, along with other agencies, he has shown he meant just what he said. Since his decisive victory last week, Trump has tapped trusted allies to carry out the priorities that align with what he promised voters. If he wins Senate confirmation, Matt Gaetz will become the next attorney general, with power to end the Justice Department’s traditional independence from the White House and ensure that it is a ...

Many pregnant women in the U.S., particularly in the South, face inadequate prenatal care, complicated by abortion restrictions , air pollution and extreme heat , according to a new March of Dimes report. As a result, there have been no improvements in the preterm birth rate in the last 10 years. In its annual report, released Thursday, the March of Dimes gave the U.S. a dismal D+ grade based on the number of babies born too soon last year. Last year, the preterm birth rate was 10.4%. In 2022, it was 10.5%. In fact, little has changed in the past decade. In 2013, the preterm birth rate was 9.8%. "It's really frustrating," said Dr. Sarahn Wheeler, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. "I take care of p...

There’s an argument to be made that Thursday’s game between the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles is the most important Commanders regular season game in nearly 20 years. Since 1992, Washington has won 10 games in a regular season only three times — and never more than 10. And in those three seasons, only once have the Commanders won a game in November or December against a divisional opponent that also finished with at least 10 wins — against the New York Giants in 2005. That’s why Thursday’s matchup against the Eagles is a benchmark game for Washington, perhaps not only for this season but also for the franchise moving forward. If the Commanders can pull off an upset on the road, not only will they have their best win of 2024 — they could prove they are no longer...

If Kamala Harris' campaign was known for anything, it was its blockbuster fundraising. In just a matter of months, it crossed the $1 billion mark , in a stunning and record-breaking pace. Now, less than a week since the vice president conceded the contest, it not only has run out of money, it’s still asking for more. The campaign emails and texts, known for their ubiquity throughout the election, aren’t expected to stop anytime soon. “Hi Team, It’s Kamala, The election isn’t what we wanted, but I will never give up the fight,” a text message sent Tuesday said. “And right now there are still a number of critical races across the country that are either too close to call, or within the margin of recounts or certain legal challenges.” Two campaign officials said the requests a...

With three dead, including the shooting suspect, and a Harbor Police officer hospitalized with a gunshot wound, San Diego’s homicide unit provided details of the department’s criminal investigation of the broad-daylight killings. SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell spoke to the media at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Juniper Street and Kettner Boulevard, where a 26-year-old man was killed when two Harbor Police officers returned fire after their colleague, who did not discharge his weapon, was hit by a bullet in the thigh. Campbell said the two victims, a 39-year-old man and a woman, 31, were inside a car when they were shot at around 8:22 a.m. Arriving officers pulled them both out of the vehicle but were unable to save them with CPR. With it being so early in the investigation, ...

Israeli authorities have caused a forced displacement of Palestinian people in Gaza to an extent that constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday. The report is the latest in a series from aid groups and international bodies warning about the dire humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave. “Human Rights Watch found that forced displacement has been widespread, and the evidence shows it has been systematic and part of a state policy. Such acts also constitute crimes against humanity,” the report said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or foreign ministry but Israeli authorities have previously rejected such accusations, and say their forces operate in compliance with international l...