U.S./World category, Page 1014
Russia repatriates 26 children from Syrian refugee camp
MOSCOW — Russia has repatriated 26 Russian children from Syria and plans to take dozens more home in the future, a Kremlin official said Friday. Presidential children’s rights ombudswoman Anna Kuznetsova visited Syria to organize the effort and met with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s wife, Asma, in Damascus. Kuznetsova said...
Bad weather moves into Eastern states; 5 dead in SouthVideo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Extreme wind gusts, blowing snow and widespread flooding made traveling treacherous on Friday as a storm system moved into the northeastern United States, leaving rising water and at least five deaths in its wake across the South. More than 400,000 homes and businesses were without power Friday...
Doctor’s death unleashes mourning, fury at Chinese officialsVideo
BEIJING — The death of a doctor who was reprimanded for warning about China’s new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety. In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Party’s...
Flooding inundates Pacific Northwest, major highway closed
PORTLAND, Ore. — Severe flooding in eastern Oregon closed a major freeway on Friday, forced evacuations and stranded at least one family on their roof as other parts of the Pacific Northwest also braced for more flooding and landslides from relentless rain and rapid snowmelt. Images showed massive big rigs...
Rules on what can be brought into Kentucky statehouse under reviewVideo
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s Capitol are being evaluated, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday. But the Democratic governor said any changes by his administration won’t restrict the ability to bring guns into the statehouse, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. “We believe that the rules right now, if followed, are appropriate, at least...
Disney apologizes to school charged for showing ‘Lion King’
BERKELEY, Calif. — The Walt Disney Co. has apologized to a California school that was charged a $250 licensing fee after showing the company’s 2019 remake of “The Lion King” during a fundraiser. Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley was billed by Movie Licensing USA on behalf of Disney for “illegally...
El Paso shooter faces 90 federal counts, including hate crime charges that could bring death penalty
EL PASO, Texas — The confessed shooter who in August targeted Mexicans at an El Paso Walmart, killing 22 and injuring dozens more, will face federal hate crime charges that carry a potential penalty of death. A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed Thursday against Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen....
Milwaukee teacher placed on leave for tweet about Rush Limbaugh’s cancer
MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee Public Schools teacher has been placed on leave after tweeting that it was “awesome” that conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has cancer. The district said English teacher Travis Sarandos was placed on leave Wednesday pending an investigation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Sarandos tweeted “limbaugh...
FDA crackdown on vaping flavors has blind spot: disposables
WASHINGTON — The federal government Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules. Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isn’t...
Neighbor uses crossbow to try to save man from dog attack, but kills him
ADAMS, Mass. — A man was shot and killed in his apartment by a crossbow bolt that a neighbor had fired at dogs who were attacking the man, authorities in Massachusetts said. The death Wednesday afternoon in Adams appears to be accidental, according to Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. The...
Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm about coronavirus diesVideo
BEIJING — A Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak died after coming down with the illness Friday, a hospital reported. The Wuhan Central Hospital said on its social media account that Dr. Li Wenliang, a...
Scotland’s finance chief quits over messages to teenager
LONDON — Scotland’s finance minister resigned Thursday after revelations he had reportedly sent hundreds of messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media. Derek Mackay, who was due to deliver his annual budget on Thursday, said he had “behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry.” “I apologize unreservedly to the...
Passengers screamed, panicked as Istanbul plane crash-landedVideo
ISTANBUL — Passengers on the Turkish airliner that crash-landed and crumpled into pieces in Istanbul, killing three people, say the plane’s descent felt unusually fast and left those on board screaming and panicking. Engin Demir, who was among the 180 people injured in the crash, told NTV television that he...
Death toll in Turkey avalanche disaster rises to 41Video
ISTANBUL — The death toll from a pair of avalanches in eastern Turkey climbed to 41 Thursday, Turkey’s disaster and emergency agency said as search teams aided by sniffer dogs scanned the avalanche field for bodies. The first avalanche late Tuesday killed five people in eastern Van province, which borders...
China opens new hospitals for virus patients, deaths top 560Video
BEIJING — China on Thursday finished building a second new hospital to isolate and treat patients of a virus that has killed more than 560 people and continues to spread, disrupting travel and people’s lives and fueling economic fears. A first group of patients was expected to start testing a...
Police: 4 dead after shooting at Indianapolis apartment
INDIANAPOLIS — Four people have been found fatally shot inside an apartment in Indianapolis, authorities said. Officers responded about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday to reports of shots being fired and found three men and one woman with apparent gunshot wounds, said Indianapolis police Assistant Chief Chris Bailey. They were pronounced dead...
Israeli-Palestinian violence spikes a week after Trump plan
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in clashes in the occupied West Bank on Thursday and a third in Jerusalem after he opened fire at a police officer, hours after a car-ramming attack elsewhere in the city wounded 12 Israeli soldiers. Tensions have soared following last week’s release of...
Man dies in snow-trapped car in Serbia amid bad weather
BELGRADE, Serbia — An elderly man has died in his snow-trapped car in Serbia, while blizzards and strong winds left villages and roads blocked during a spate of bad weather in central and eastern Europe. Serbian police said Thursday they found the man’s body while rescuing around 20 people, including...
Prosecutors nearing finish as last Weinstein accuser returnsVideo
NEW YORK — Prosecutors at Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial are on schedule to rest their case Thursday after more than two weeks of testimony, including graphic accounts from six among scores of women who’ve accused him of vile behavior. The last of the accusers to testify, model Lauren Marie Young,...
Court weighing arguments in Dayton gunman school records case
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Six months after a 24-year-old man who had reportedly exhibited disturbing behavior as a teenager gunned down nine people in Dayton, the Ohio Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether a student’s right to privacy ends with death. Media groups including The Associated Press are seeking...
Bernie Madoff seeks prison release, citing terminal kidney failure
NEW YORK — Epic Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff asked a federal judge Wednesday to grant him a “compassionate release” from his 150-year prison sentence, saying he has terminal kidney failure and less than 18 months to live. Madoff’s attorney filed court papers saying the 81-year-old has end-stage kidney disease and...
New Jersey dentist agrees to suspension after 15 patients sickened, 1 dies
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey oral surgeon has agreed to a five-year license suspension after 15 patients were sickened by a bacterial heart infection and one died. Dr. John Vecchione on Monday also agreed to pay $293,500 in penalties. He initially had fought the allegations. “Dr. Vecchione spent years...
Snowfall blankets Texas, Oklahoma; Deep South to see stormsVideo
EL PASO, Texas — A powerful winter storm in the central United States dropped snow as far south as El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday while areas of the Deep South were at risk of severe weather including tornadoes and torrential rains, forecasters said. Winter storm warnings or advisories were in...
Pope Francis defrocks founder of another Latin America-based order
VATICAN CITY — Another founder of a Catholic religious movement has been defrocked for sexual misconduct and abusing his power, the latest in a string of purportedly orthodox, charismatic priests who turned out to be predators. Pope Francis defrocked the Argentine priest, Roberto Juan Yannuzzi, after a four-year investigation determined...
Report: At least 138 sent from U.S. to El Salvador were killed
WASHINGTON — At least 138 people deported to El Salvador from the United States in recent years were subsequently killed, Human Rights Watch says in a new report that comes as the Trump administration makes it harder for Central Americans to seek refuge here. A majority of the deaths documented...
