Posts by Kevin Harson
California high-speed rail: Photos show latest completion
Progress on California’s high-speed rail project is advancing, with new images showing infrastructure developments in Central Valley. The project, which seeks to connect every region of California with high-speed rail by 2050, began its tracklaying phase earlier this month. Newsweek contacted the California High-Speed Rail Authority for further information via email. Why It Matters California’s…
Read MoreTrump’s order on antisemitism and ‘Hamas sympathizers’ has California universities on alert
An executive order from President Trump promoting a federal crackdown on campus antisemitism and his threats to cancel visas of pro-Palestinian international students have put California university leaders and activists on alert after many of the nation’s largest and most contentious protests unfolded at their schools. USC leaders were cautious in comments about the order,…
Read MoreSuspected U.S.-Russia arms trafficker arrested in Kyrgyzstan
Law enforcement authorities in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday announced the arrest of a suspected arms trafficker who is accused of shipping weapons from the United States to sell in Russia. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that the suspect is believed to be part of a criminal…
Read MoreTrump faces new battleground in Latin America with China and Russia
While elected on an America-first, isolationist platform, freshly reinstalled U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have quickly homed in on Latin America. The interactions hitting the headlines have not been positive. Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, turned back U.S. military aircraft carrying deported citizens from the country, before Trump hit back in a very public…
Read More“Wordle” today #1,322 hints and answer for Friday, January 31 game
If you are finding today’s Wordle a hard slog, don’t worry; you’re not the only one who has struggled with the puzzle. “[My partner] and I play it on the couch together each morning,” software engineer Josh Wardle, who created the game, told Newsweek in January 2022. “She will consistently get it in three goes,…
Read More“Connections” January 31: Hints and answers for puzzle #600
Happy Friday, Connections fans! Newsweek has tips to help you beat today’s puzzle. In June 2023, Connections was launched by The New York Times. Now, it’s the newspaper’s second most popular word game behind Wordle. Wyna Liu, the NYT crossword editor who helped develop the brainteaser, previously revealed to Newsweek readers her best advice to…
Read MoreRepublican “worried” own colleagues won’t confirm Tulsi Gabbard
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said he is “worried” that his GOP counterparts will not back Trump nominee Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence director. Newsweek reached out to the White House and Hawley’s office via email on Thursday night for comment. Why It Matters President Donald Trump‘s Cabinet nominees have succeeding thus far obtaining…
Read MoreA fragile Gaza cease-fire holds for now, as Hamas frees eight more hostages
TEL AVIV — Israel rejoiced Thursday as Hamas militants freed eight more hostages who had been held for more than 15 months in the Gaza Strip, but the day’s tumultuous events underscored the fragility of a cease-fire accord that paused the devastating war in Gaza. After chaotic scenes unfolded in southern Gaza — where surging crowds…
Read MoreTrump’s orders have upended U.S. immigration. What legal routes remain?
Promising the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, President Trump, in his first days in office, has released a dramatic series of executive orders and other policy changes that will reshape the country’s immigration system — and the experience of what it means to live in the U.S. as an immigrant, particularly one who is…
Read MoreAs Trump cuts federal jobs, even national parks are on the chopping block
As the Trump administration rushes to cut spending and eliminate federal jobs, even the people who work at the national parks — among the country’s most beloved and least politicized institutions — find themselves directly in the crosshairs. Last week, the seasonal workers who staff 433 national parks and historical sites, including Yosemite, Death Valley…
Read MoreA new Syrian government struggles to reset its corrupt, besieged economy
ALEPPO, Syria — To understand the shakedown empire that was once Syria under former President Bashar Assad, consider the notorious Al-Khatib prison and torture center. Nestled in a leafy neighborhood of Damascus, a so-called financial crimes unit of Syria’s intelligence services would track down successful businessmen and sardine them in fetid cells at Al-Khatib until they…
Read MoreThese House newcomers came to the Capitol with big plans. Then the wildfires hit
WASHINGTON — Rep. Luz Rivas had barely begun her day in Washington when her cellphone rang at 7 a.m. The Hurst fire had erupted around 10:30 the night before and — fueled by high winds and dangerously dry conditions — ballooned to more than 500 acres in her northern Los Angeles County district by morning. On the…
Read More