North America

WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Law enforcement in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain dismantled a global network of internet-connected devices that had been hacked by Russian cyber criminals and used for malicious purposes, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The network, known as the "RSOCKS" botnet, comprised millions of hacked computers and devices worldwide, including "Internet of Things" gadgets like routers and smart garage openers, the department said in a statement.

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday rejected a final appeal from sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting gymnasts, including Olympic medalists.

The court declined to take the case. Attorneys for Nassar said he was treated unfairly in 2018 and deserved a new hearing, based on vengeful remarks by a judge who called him a “monster” who would “wither” in prison like the wicked witch in “The Wizard of Oz.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Teachers unable to get paychecks. Tax and customs systems paralyzed. Health officials unable to access medical records or track the spread of COVID-19. A country’s president declaring war against foreign hackers saying they want to overthrow the government.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, who has recently been focused on boosting oil production to reduce rising gas costs, will turn his attention to climate change on Friday when he convenes a virtual meeting of some of the world’s biggest economies.

Among the participants will be China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Also present will be Egypt, which is hosting the next United Nations summit on climate change, and the U.N. secretary general, António Guterres.

VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (AP) — A gunman opened fire inside a suburban Alabama church, killing two people and wounding a third at a small group meeting before being taken into custody Thursday, authorities said.

The attack occurred at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, said Police Capt. Shane Ware. He said emergency dispatchers got a call at around 6:20 p.m. reporting an active shooter at the church.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The wreckage of Watergate and Jan. 6 are a half-century apart yet rooted in the same ancient thirst for power at any cost.

Two presidents, wily and profane, tried an end run around democracy.

Mysteries from both affairs endure as the House inquiry into the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising at the Capitol intersects with this week’s Watergate 50th anniversary.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 16 (NNN-SANA) – The slaying of a humanitarian worker in north-west Syria yesterday, the 23rd since 2020, saddened the United Nations, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric told a regular briefing that, the Syrian aid worker was killed by a car bomb, on his way to work, in al Bab, in northern Aleppo.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the continuing hostilities in Syria, which are claiming the lives of civilians and aid workers,” said the spokesman.

June 15 (Reuters) - Two U.S. citizens who traveled to Ukraine as volunteer fighters against Russian forces have been missing for a week and are feared captured, family members said on Wednesday.

Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Andy Huynh, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama, were last in contact with their families on June 8 and did not return from a mission around the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.

Reports that the two had been taken prisoners of war by Russia are unconfirmed, the families and a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Devastating floodwaters that wiped out miles of roads and hundreds of bridges in Yellowstone National Park and swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities moved downstream Wednesday and threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montana’s largest city.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. markets appear headed for a sharply lower open Thursday, one day after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point and signaled more rate hikes were coming to fight inflation.

Central banks in Europe are following along, including a surprise rate hike Thursday in Switzerland, a nation that has left interest rates unchanged for years.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrials tumbled 1.7% and futures for the S&P 500 skidded 2.1%.

European benchmarks and most Asian markets also fell, as did the price of oil.