The Columbian

Nation & World

This illustration provided by the European Space Agency shows an artist’s rendering of the Cheops telescope in orbit above Earth. Astronomers have discovered six planets orbiting a bright nearby star in perfect rhythmic harmony. They say it’s a rare, frozen-in-time cosmic wonder that can help explain how solar systems across the galaxy came to be. The compact in-sync system, announced Wednesday, is 100 light-years away.

A six-planet solar system in perfect synchrony has been found in the Milky Way

November 29, 2023, 10:35am Life

Astronomers have discovered a rare in-sync solar system with six planets moving like a grand cosmic orchestra, untouched by outside forces since their birth billions of years ago. Read story

FILE - Scenes from a drag show at the Montana Capitol held in protest to a slate of bills aimed at how trans Montanans live, April 13, 2023, in Helena, Mont. Opponents of a law that restricted drag performances and banned drag reading events at public schools and libraries asked a federal judge late Tuesday, Nov. 28 to declare the law unconstitutional without the case going to trial. The motion for summary judgment argues there is no dispute over key facts in the case. The law has already been blocked under a preliminary injunction issued in October.

Opponents want judge to declare Montana drag reading ban unconstitutional without requiring a trial

November 29, 2023, 10:31am Nation & World

A group of people, organizations and businesses opposed to a law that restricts drag performances and bans drag reading events at public schools and libraries asked a federal judge to declare Montana’s law unconstitutional without requiring a trial. Read story

FILE - Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, left, speaks, Sept. 26, 2014 in New York. India has set up a high-level inquiry after U.S. authorities raised concerns with New Delhi that its government may have had knowledge of a plot to kill the Sikh separatist leader on American soil, an Indian official said on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.

U.S. authorities charge man from India in plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader in New York City

November 29, 2023, 10:31am Nation & World

U.S. authorities announced murder-for-hire charges Wednesday against a man from India who they say plotted to pay an assassin $100,000 to kill a prominent Sikh separatist leader living in New York City after the man advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs. Read story

Five journalists were shot in one day in Mexico, officials confirm

November 29, 2023, 8:50am Nation & World Updated 2 days ago

Mexico's president said Wednesday that two of four news photographers who were shot Tuesday are in serious condition, as prosecutors confirmed that a fifth journalist was shot and wounded the same day. Read story

Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.

An ailing Pope Francis tells the public he’s better than a day earlier but has aides read speeches

November 29, 2023, 8:25am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis presided at his weekly audience with the public at the Vatican, but he said that he’s still unwell and asked an aide to read his remarks for him on Wednesday, a day after canceling an overseas trip. Read story

Opposition protesters in Kosovo use flares and tear gas to protest against a war crimes court

November 29, 2023, 8:24am Nation & World

Opposition protesters in Kosovo on Wednesday used flares and tear gas to protest against a senior war crimes court official in the capital. Read story

Suicides in US hit historic high in 2022, driven by increase among older adults

November 29, 2023, 8:24am Health

Rising rates of suicide among older adults drove the number of such deaths to a historic high in the United States last year, even as suicide declined among youth, according to a report released Wednesday by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read story

At least 40 civilians killed by al-Qaida-linked rebels in a Burkina Faso town, UN rights office says

November 29, 2023, 8:23am Nation & World

At least 40 civilians were killed last weekend by al-Qaida-linked rebels trying to take control of a besieged town in Burkina Faso’s hard-hit northern region, the United Nations’ rights office said, calling the attack a war crime. Read story

Mourners pause at the casket before the funeral service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Plains, Ga. The former first lady died on Nov. 19. She was 96.

Rosalynn Carter’s intimate funeral is held in the town where she and her husband were born

November 29, 2023, 8:22am Latest News Updated 2 days ago

With her frail husband as a silent witness, Rosalynn Carter was celebrated by her family and closest friends Wednesday at her funeral in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born, forever their home base as they climbed to the White House and traveled the world for humanitarian causes. Read story

FILE - Georgia state Reps. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville, left, and Timothy Barr, R-Lawrenceville, confer over a redistricting map at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. Lawmakers will return on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, for a special session to redraw congressional and legislative maps after a federal judge ruled Georgia’s maps illegally diluted the power of Black voters.

Georgia Republicans move to cut losses as they propose majority-Black districts in special session

November 29, 2023, 8:21am Nation & World

Georgia lawmakers will open a special session Wednesday as majority Republicans move to minimize their losses while also trying to increase the number of Black-majority districts to comply with a federal court order. Read story