U.S./World category, Page 1145
University of Alabama trustees vote to refund $26M gift
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama board of trustees voted Friday to give back a $26.5 million donation from a philanthropist who recently called on students to boycott the school over the state’s new abortion ban. Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr., a 70-year-old real estate investor and lawyer, had already...
Arkansas woman sentenced to prison for scalding child
PARAGOULD, Ark. — An Arkansas woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after she was convicted of battery for scalding her young step-granddaughter. Prosecutor Scott Ellington says 38-year-old Angela Engeron of Paragould was convicted Wednesday of first-degree battery. Ellington says Engeron was arrested in January 2018 after the...
Cop who shot 911 caller sentenced to 12½ years in prison
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder was sentenced Friday to 12½ years in prison for the shooting of an unarmed woman who had called 911, and he apologized in court for “taking the life of a perfect person.” Mohamed Noor was convicted in April of third-degree murder...
U.S., Russia blame each other in near-collision of warships
WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia accused each other of unsafe actions on Friday after an American guided-missile cruiser and a Russian destroyer came within 165 feet of each other in the East China Sea. The U.S. 7th Fleet said the Russian destroyer put the safety of the USS...
Private citizens can now fly to the International Space Station
NASA is planning to allow private astronauts to fly to the International Space Station, as well as open up the orbiting laboratory to more commercial interests, including filming advertisements in an attempt to help fund its crash plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2024, the agency announced Friday....
Social Security error jeopardizes Medicare coverage for 250,000 seniors
At least a quarter of a million Medicare beneficiaries may receive bills for as many as five months of premiums they thought they already paid. But they shouldn’t toss the letter in the garbage. It’s not a scam or a mistake. Because of what the Social Security Administration calls “a...
District considering tearing down Columbine High School
For more than two decades since it entered the American lexicon, Columbine High School has stood on the same site in Littleton, Colo., little changed since the massacre that ushered in an era of mass killings. But now, the district is considering tearing down the school, citing overwhelming attention, and...
Detroit man charged in deaths of gay men, transgender woman
DETROIT — Authorities say a man charged with fatally shooting three people and wounding two others at a Detroit home had targeted them because they were part of the LGBTQ community. The Wayne County prosecutor’s office says 18-year-old Devon Robinson of Detroit faces three counts of first-degree murder and other...
Court rejects new sex assault trial for prep school grad
BOSTON — New Hampshire’s Supreme Court on Friday denied a request for a new trial for an elite prep school graduate who argued the failures of his star-studded legal team resulted in his conviction for using a computer to lure an underage student for sex. Owen Labrie, 23, of Tunbridge,...
World’s first 360-degree rooftop infinity pool to open atop London skyscraper
Now you can cheat death … and feel quite refreshed doing it. A UK-based pool manufacturer, Compass Pools, has announced plans to build a 360-degree infinity pool atop a 55-story skyscraper in London. It would be the world’s first such pool. The company says the 58,500-gallon pool would be made...
Ram pickups recalled because air bags may not work in crash
DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler is recalling nearly 343,000 Ram pickup trucks worldwide because the air bags may not inflate in a crash. The recall covers the Ram 1500 mainly from the 2019 model year, although the company has a small number of 2020 models. Fiat Chrysler says a software error...
Judge sets $300K bond for stripper accused in DUI crash
MIAMI — A 31-year-old stripper accused in a crash that killed three young soccer players as they walked to a bus stop has been granted a $300,000 bond. Mariam Coulibaly appeared in bond court Thursday, nearly two weeks after police say she was driving while under the influence May 25...
Pence: U.S. ‘encouraged’ by Mexico’s proposals as tariffs loom
WASHINGTON — U.S. and Mexican officials claim to be making progress as they labored for a second day to avert import tariffs. But President Donald Trump is still threatening to impose them as he tries to pressure Mexico into stemming the flow of Central American migrants across the United States’...
Australia seizes record 1.8 tons of crystal meth at port
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian officials have seized the nation’s largest haul of methamphetamine at the Melbourne waterfront, nearly 1.8 tons of the illegal drug hidden in stereo speakers shipped from Bangkok, authorities said Friday. The Australian Border Force said the drugs were in a form known as crystal meth, or...
Police say Oman-Dubai bus crashes, killing 17 in UAE
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A bus from Oman smashed into a warning sign coming off a major highway in Dubai, killing 17 people, including at least 12 Indians, authorities said Friday. The number of Indians killed in the crash Thursday night in the United Arab Emirates could increase further,...
Access panel drops off plane, falls into Vegas neighborhood
LAS VEGAS — A company that provides training services for the U.S. military says an access panel from one of its aircraft dropped off and fell into a Las Vegas neighborhood near Nellis Air Force Base. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the incident Thursday involving an A-4...
New Hampshire authorities identify 3 bodies linked to suspected killer
CONCORD, N.H. — For more than 30 years, four suspected victims of serial killer Terry Peder Rasmussen remained unidentified — only decomposed bodies found in two barrels. But on Thursday, authorities were able to put a name three of them. The state attorney general’s office confirmed one of the victims...
Phoenix Zoo flying high over 3-week-old baby pygmy owls
PHOENIX — Conservation specialists at the Phoenix Zoo say they are flying high over the arrival of four big-eyed baby pygmy owls. The cactus ferruginous pygmy owls hatched three weeks ago and are being raised by two pairs of adult owls. Three pairs of the tiny owls laid 11 eggs...
NYPD sorry for ’69 raid at now-landmark Stonewall gay bar
NEW YORK — Nearly 50 years after a police raid at the Stonewall Inn catalyzed the modern LGBT rights movement, New York’s police commissioner apologized Tuesday for what his department did. “The actions taken by the NYPD were wrong, plain and simple,” Commissioner James O’Neill said during a briefing at...
Viral video catches man saving 500-degree pizza with bare handsVideo
A hot pizza was headed for the floor when a hero with fast hands saved the day. A Toppers Pizza Place employee was passing behind a coworker who was unloading a pie from a 500-degree oven. The two collided and the pizza went sailing through the air until Christian Alfaro...
Mueller report witness facing child porn charge
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A businessman who served as a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation will remain in jail temporarily on charges he transported images of child pornography. Sixty-year-old Lebanese-American businessman George Nader made an initial appearance Thursday in federal court in Alexandria, Va. Prosecutors want him detained...
Florida man charged with pouring ketchup on girlfriend
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A Florida man is facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly pouring ketchup on his girlfriend while she slept. Court documents show Peter Wagman is facing a first-degree misdemeanor domestic battery charge for the encounter that took place last Sunday. According to an arrest report, Wagman’s girlfriend...
LAX flights grounded, canceled because of power outage
LOS ANGELES — A power outage at Los Angeles International Airport diverted, delayed or cancelled dozens of flights Wednesday night, and hundreds of passengers were briefly stuck on grounded aircraft. A 2-second power “bump” shortly after 6 p.m. caused the entire airport to go dark but electrical generators kicked in...
Widower scatters wife’s ashes in lake, falls in, dies from heart attack
A widower took his wife’s ashes to be scattered on a lake in La Porte, Ind., and ended up suffering a heart attack and dying. WSBT-TV, a Fox affiliate in South Bend., Ind., reports 88-year-old Ralph Myata had gone there to honor his wife, who had died in April, when...
8-year-old on unicorn-shaped float rescued at sea
OAK ISLAND, N.C. — A volunteer water rescue team saved an 8-year-old boy who floated away from the North Carolina coast on a raft shaped like a unicorn. News outlets report that the Ohio boy was at the beach on Oak Island on Monday when a gust of wind blew...
