Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday said it plans to pay $6.5 billion over 25 years to settle nearly all of the thousands of lawsuits in the U.S. claiming its talc-based products caused ovarian cancer, pending approval of the claimants. Those cases have for decades caused financial and public relations trouble for J&J, which contends that its now-discontinued talc baby powder and ...

A prominent surgeon in Gaza has died in an Israeli prison after being held for more than four months, according to Palestinian prisoners’ groups, which decried his death as part of a “systematic targeting” of health care workers. Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, was declared dead by Israeli prison authorities on April 19, according to a joint ...

Britain’s governing Conservative Party suffered heavy losses in local elections, a sign that they could be in real trouble when the country holds a general election at some point later this year. With around a third of the results declared, the loss of more than 100 seats on local councils and one parliamentary seat in a by-election suggest that national ...

China launched an uncrewed lunar mission Friday that aims to bring back samples from the far side of the moon for the first time, in a potentially major step forward for the country’s ambitious space program. The Chang’e-6 probe – China’s most complex robotic lunar mission to date – blasted off on a Long March-5 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch ...

Demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli siege in Gaza have spread across university campuses in the United States and around the world in recent weeks. More than 2,000 people have been arrested at US campuses since April 18, amid polarized debates over the right to protest, the limits of free speech and accusations of antisemitism. But while clashes and standoffs with ...

Saudi Arabia and the United States are finalizing the details of a landmark deal to strengthen bilateral trade and defense – but an agreement will not be reached if the kingdom and Israel do not establish diplomatic relations, US officials said. A defense treaty would solidify the seven-decade security alliance between Saudi Arabia and the US, and tie them ever ...

Dozens of Palestinian children eagerly lined up for a meal in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, as aid workers unloaded huge saucepans of stew and rice from parked trucks under the bright sun. The World Central Kitchen, a US-based non-profit that focuses on fighting hunger around the world, resumed work in Gaza this week, after a hiatus following a series of ...

A violent hailstorm wreaked havoc on vineyards in Chablis in the famous French wine region of Burgundy Wednesday evening, delivering another weather blow to already hard-hit local Chardonnay winemakers. Huge hailstones, ranging from the size of a ping pong ball to the size of a lime, rained down on north Burgundy, with Chablis particularly badly affected, according to French weather agency ...

Many species of animals form social groups and behave collectively: An elephant herd follows its matriarch, flocking birds fly in unison, humans gather at concert events. Even humble fruit flies organize themselves into regularly spaced clusters, researchers have found. Within those social networks, certain individuals will often stand out as “gatekeepers,” playing an important role for cohesion and communication within ...

Japan’s “Moon Sniper” lander has defied the odds for a third time, surviving yet another long, frigid lunar night despite not being designed to endure such harsh conditions, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Temperatures during the lunar night can plunge to minus 208 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 133 degrees Celsius), according to NASA. And Moon Sniper wasn’t expected to ...