U.S./World category, Page 1099
Vandalized robot may solve mystery of its own attack
HAYWARD, Calif. — A 400-pound security robot that was knocked over by a vandal last month in Northern California may help bring its attacker to justice. The Hayward Police Department on Tuesday released images of the suspect that the Knightscope K5 robot captured before it was damaged. The 5-foot-tall robot,...
U.S. has 501,000 fewer jobs than first reported
WASHINGTON — The U.S. job market isn’t quite as strong as originally believed — with revised figures showing that the economy had 501,000 fewer total jobs this March than initially reported. The Labor Department says that nearly two-thirds of the downward revision came from the retail and leisure and hospitality...
German city offers $1.1M to whoever proves it doesn’t exist
A German city that’s been the subject of a long-running online light-hearted conspiracy theory claiming it doesn’t really exist is offering big bucks to whoever proves that’s true. Officials in Bielefeld said Wednesday they’ll give 1 million euros ($1.1 million) to the person who delivers solid proof of its non-existence....
Trial starts in case of fatal shooting over parking spot
CLEARWATER, Fla. — A prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that a white Florida man who fatally shot an unarmed black man during a dispute over a parking space had initiated a similar confrontation just months before, while his defense attorney said the shooting was in self-defense. Prosecutor Fred Schaub said during...
U.S. home sales rose 2.5% in July, aided by low mortgage rates
WASHINGTON — U.S. home sales increased 2.5% in July, a sign that lower mortgage rates have produced a spurt of home-buying. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday homes sold last month at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.42 million units, up from 5.29 million in June. Average interest...
State TV: Iran to unveil air defense missile system
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s state TV is reporting that the country will unveil an Iran-made air-defense missile system. The Wednesday report says the Bavar-373 is a long-range surface-to-air missile system able to recognize up to 100 targets at a same time and confront them with six different weapons. It was...
Report: U.S. surpasses Russia, Saudi Arabia in petroleum, natural gas production
The United States set a new record in 2018 for petroleum and natural gas production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. petroleum and natural gas production increased by 16% and 12%, respectively, in 2018, and these totals combined established a new production record, EIA said. The country surpassed...
South African court restricts displays of apartheid-era flag
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s Equality Court on Wednesday restricted the display of the country’s old apartheid-era flag, ruling that its gratuitous use amounts to hate speech and racial discrimination. Judge Phineas Mojapelo said the ruling was not a complete ban, saying use of the flag is protected by law for...
4 students shot at block party near Clark Atlanta University
ATLANTA — A shooting at a block party near Clark Atlanta University has left four female college students injured with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds as a crowd scrambled for cover. A news release from Atlanta police says the four females were shot late Tuesday night outside a library that serves Clark...
‘We are dropping like flies.’ Ex-fighter pilots push for earlier cancer screenings
WASHINGTON — Former Air Force and Navy fighter pilots are calling on the military to begin cancer screenings for aviators as young as 30 because of an increase in deaths from the disease that they suspect may be tied to radiation emitted in the cockpit. “We are dropping like flies...
Maryland man jailed for threats against Florida Hispanics
MIAMI — A Maryland man is jailed in Seattle after the FBI said he made a series of social media threats against Hispanics in the Miami area. Court records show 35-year-old Eric Lin had an initial court hearing Monday in Seattle federal court on a charge of interstate transmission of...
Search ramps up for 2 missing firefighters in FloridaVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Authorities say they are ramping up the search for two missing firefighters who set out by boat last week from the state’s Atlantic coast. Jacksonville Interim Fire Chief Keith Powers said the agency was calling for as “many boats” as could be mustered Tuesday in the ongoing...
Time capsule from 50 years ago has nothing inside
Officials in a New Hampshire town are trying to figure out how a recently opened time capsule from 50 years ago has nothing in it. Library director Cara Potter in Derry tells WMUR-TV that since she started there five years ago, the safe has been sitting on a shelf. Before...
New York woman gets 23 years in prison for killing aunt with a meat cleaver
NEW YORK — A woman who killed her aunt with a meat cleaver in the New York City home they shared has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan says 32-year-old Elizabeth Sanchez was sentenced Tuesday. She’s also known as Digna Sanchez-Ortiz. A Queens...
U.S. airlines expect record crowds over Labor Day weekend
DALLAS — Airlines expect record crowds over the week-long Labor Day period, continuing a rise in travel that has boosted the airlines’ profits all year. The trade group Airlines for America forecast Tuesday that 17.5 million passengers will fly on U.S. carriers between Aug. 28 and Sept. 3. That would...
It’s no joke, mom: Florida teen arrested in school threatVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Authorities have posted a video of their arrest of a 15-year-old Florida boy who allegedly posted an online threat to kill at least seven people at a high school. Volusia County Sheriff’s officials interviewed the boy and his mother outside their home near Daytona Beach last...
N.Carolina sheriff: Man confessed to killing teen daughter
MONROE, N.C. — Deputies in North Carolina say a man walked into a sheriff’s office and confessed to killing his 15-year-old daughter. A Union County Sheriff’s Office news release states 32-year-old Joshua Lee Burgess walked into the lobby and told dispatchers Sunday morning he was there to surrender for killing...
Dad ’empty’ after 9-year-old Detroit girl killed by dogs
DETROIT — The father of a girl who authorities say was killed by a neighbor’s dogs that got loose in Detroit said he tried to save his 9-year-old but “she was gone when I reached her.” Emma Hernandez was riding her bike in an alley Monday afternoon when three dogs,...
Rabbi drowns after he jumps in lake to save his 2 children
WEST MILFORD, N.J. — Emergency crews have recovered the body of a New York rabbi who drowned after jumping into a lake to rescue two of his children. Greenwood Lake police say 38-year-old David Traub rented a pontoon boat Sunday from a marina in New Jersey. His family then traveled...
Man rescued after clinging to capsized boat for 12 hours in Lake Erie
PORT CLINTON, Ohio — The U.S. Coast Guard says the crew on a Lake Erie fishing boat rescued a man who had been clinging to his capsized sailboat for about 12 hours. Authorities say the crew spotted the man Monday morning about 4 miles off the shores of Port Clinton...
French couple could face jail time for taking Italian sand
ROME — A French couple faces up to six years in jail for taking around 88.1 pounds of white sand from a beach on the Italian island of Sardinia. Italian finance police said Tuesday they discovered the sand from a Chia beach stashed in 14 plastic bottles in the couple’s...
Facebook rolls out tool to block off-Facebook data gathering
SAN FRANCISCO — Soon, you could get fewer familiar ads following you around the internet — or at least on Facebook. Facebook is launching a long-promised tool that lets you block the social network from gathering information about you on outside websites and apps. The company said Tuesday that it...
Ride resembling swastika shut down at German amusement park
Sometimes, looks are everything. That’s certainly true in the case of a ride at an amusement park in Germany. The “Eagle Fly” was added this season to the ranks of rides at Tatzmania, a park in Löffingen. It’s a spinning attraction, where riders hop into cars attached to one of...
Police kill armed man who held bus hostage in Rio
RIO DE JANEIRO — An armed man who took dozens of hostages on a bus in Brazil was shot dead by police following a four-hour standoff on Tuesday, authorities said. All the hostages were freed unharmed during the incident in Rio de Janeiro, state Gov. Wilson Witzel said. The man,...
Lightning kills shepherd, 19 buffaloes in western Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Lightning struck a livestock cage in western Indonesia, killing a shepherd and 19 buffaloes, police said Tuesday. Sitor Habeyahan had been driving the animals into the cage just after sunset on Monday and began to light a bonfire as usual to repel mosquitoes when lightning struck him...
