The Taliban allegedly ordered the suspension of medical education for women and girls in Afghanistan, a move that the U.S. government denounced on Wednesday. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that this directive is an unjustified attack on women's access to health care and education, and that it is the most recent in a series of initiatives that threaten the lives and rights of Afghan women and girls. The Taliban have gradually reduced women's rights since regaining control in August 2021 with the withdrawal of American-led forces, including prohibiting girls from going to school past the sixth grade. In an attempt to eradicate Afghan women and girls from public life, the Taliban drafted vice regulations in August that forbid women's voices and bare faces in public. On...

After the migrant boats he was traveling on sank off the coast of Italy, an 11-year-old girl managed to survive three days in rough seas by clinging to two tire inner tubes, according to a charity. The nonprofit stated in a statement Wednesday that the youngster was probably the only one of 45 people on board when her boat sank off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. The girl was found by coincidence by the Trotamar III, a boat owned by the refugee rescue organization Compass Collective. Matthias Wiedenlbert, the captain of the Trotamar III, stated in a press statement from the German charity that it was a remarkable coincidence that we heard the child's voice even though the engine was operating. After hearing the child's cries at 3:20 a.m. local time, the crew acted quickly to ...

Syria's Damascus After entering Syria on a "pilgrimage" to Damascus, a Missouri man who was discovered in the nation told NBC News on Thursday that he was imprisoned there for months. The fact that the man, who claimed to be Travis Timmerman and vanished in Hungary in May, was in Syria was not well recognized. As thousands of captives came out of cells following President Bashar al-Assad's overthrow over the weekend, his revelation shocked residents, reporters, and rebel officials. Timmerman was first seen in a video that surfaced overnight, and at first he merely identified himself as Travis. Timmerman, 29, who was surrounded by reporters and leaned against walls with peeling paint, claimed that early this year, Syrian authorities stopped him after he entered the country on foot. He tol...

The White House announced early Thursday that President Joe Biden would reduce the sentences of over 1,500 criminals and pardon 39 others, marking the largest number of clemencies and commutations ever issued in a single day. In a statement, Biden explained what might turn out to be a pivotal moment in his final days as president: America was founded on the promise of opportunity and second chances. Biden went on. In my capacity as president, I have the immense honor of showing mercy to those who have shown repentance and rehabilitation, giving Americans the chance to resume their regular lives and give back to their communities, and working to eliminate sentencing inequities for non-violent offenders, particularly those convicted of drug offenses. Biden's announcement that he had pardone...

Syria's Damascus A man who appeared on footage that surfaced overnight and purported to show an American who was missing in Syria told NBC News on Thursday that he is Travis, a Missouri pilgrim who was arrested earlier this year after entering the country on foot. He sat up on a bed in a room with unkempt walls, surrounded by reporters, and claimed that despite being imprisoned, he had received good treatment. He claimed not to be a journalist and refused to give his last name. According to the video, the missing man might be 43-year-old American journalist Austin Tice, who vanished in Syria in 2012 a few days after turning 31. A source close to Tice's family told NBC News that they do not think the video is of their missing son, despite the fact that hopes for his release have increased...

Syria's Damascus As the search continues for the American journalist who vanished in Syria more than ten years ago while covering the civil conflict there, Syria's new leadership claims it blames former President Bashar al-Assad for the "pain inflicted" for years on Austin Tice's family. In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Obaida Al-Arnaot, the official spokesperson and head of Syria's interim government's political affairs department, stated, "We hold Bashar al-Assad and his criminal regime accountable for the consequences of Austin's disappearance and the pain inflicted on his mother - pain, tears, and separation." Syria's interim administration has attempted to locate Tice in order to bring him back to his family, but Arnaot claimed the 43-year-old journalist has not been able...

The Summary A report on proposed changes to U.S. dietary guidelines suggests encouraging people to eat more beans and lentils for protein and less red meat. Updated guidelines are expected to go into effect later next year. Future guidelines should also spur people to eat more whole grains and consume less sugary drinks, sodium and processed food, the report says. A recent report that suggests possible revisions to U.S. dietary standards has several recommendations, including consuming less processed and red meat and increasing consumption of beans, peas, and lentils as protein sources. The latest set of standards is anticipated to take effect next year, and they are updated on a five-year timetable. The Agriculture Department's advisory council, which consists of 20 prof...

Celena Henry claims she can't remember how many times she was struck in the head by her abuser, but she can clearly recall the moment she made the decision to leave him. Henry, who is now 47, recounted, "My feet left the floor, my body slammed against the wall, and I slid down to the floor." I recall that things were a little spinny since my head had hit the cabinet. On the other side of the door, Henry could hear her two small sons yelling, "Don't hurt mama." Because she believed it would be the last time she would hear their cries, she recalls concentrating on them. Then she lost consciousness. She picked up the boys and went out as soon as she was conscious again. In the years that followed, Henry started to have memory issues, concentration issues, and chronic headaches. She was assau...

The narrative of the vice president's heartbreaking defeat by Donald Trump on November 5 was centered on how Kamala Harris' campaign spent over $1.4 billion in just 15 weeks. The four candidates for the next head of the Democratic National Committee say they want to learn as much as they can about a 2024 election in which Democrats lost the White House despite having more resources and personnel. However, there are some problems that only the campaign itself can address. The DNC chair candidates told NBC News that the party should be prepared with a post-mortem to draw lessons from an election when the Democratic presidential nominee lost the popular vote and all of the battleground states as it enters 2025. The candidates each stated that they supported a thorough analysis of the events l...

Despite the fact that a record number of children died from the flu last year, the proportion of kids who did not receive a vaccination is still falling. As of Nov. 30, little over a third of American children (37%), compared to 43% at the same time last year, had received flu shots, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday. Pediatricians are concerned about the declining trend because flu cases are beginning to rise. Dr. Kristina Bryant, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Norton Children's in Louisville, Kentucky, said, "I always feel a little bit of dread when flu season is around the corner because a lot of that can be prevented through vaccination." Children get sick and suffer during flu season. According to Alicia Budd, l...