U.S./World category, Page 1156
Same-sex couples start registering marriages in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Hundreds of same-sex couples in Taiwan rushed to get married Friday, the first day a landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage took effect. Taiwan became the first place in Asia to allow same-sex marriage last week in a legislative vote on a cause that the island’s LGBT...
South Carolina man charged in death of daughter he mistook for intruder
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Authorities in South Carolina have charged a man with killing his daughter, whom he mistook for a potential intruder. The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office says 43-year-old Jermaine Pressley faces charges of murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and three counts of felon in possession...
Obama plays ball with kids during surprise visit to Nats’ Academy
Former President Barack Obama surprised some ‘D.C.-area students Wednesday when he visited the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. In addition to touring the Nationals facility, the 44th American president actively played with the children when he tossed a football around, took some swings in the batter’s box and delivered a...
U.S. charges WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with publishing classified infoVideo
WASHINGTON — Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks and a thorn in the side of intelligence agencies, faces 17 additional U.S. criminal charges, according to an indictment released Thursday that adds to his legal challenge as he fights extradition from a British jail. British police removed Assange on April 11...
Uber launches ScUber, a rideshare submarine in Australia
Uber just came up with the ultimate pun and concept: ScUber. It’s a new experience that awaits those who wish to explore Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Using the Uber app, people will be able to secure seats for an up close view of world’s largest coral reef system aboard the...
Lawmakers reach deal on disaster aid, minus border money Trump demanded, top senator says
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Thursday announced an agreement on a multibillion-dollar disaster aid package, breaking a months-long impasse that held up critical federal funding for swaths of the country struck by natural disasters. The White House has signed off on a compromise measure, supported by congressional Democrats and Republicans, that...
Trump admin sending another $16 billion to ailing farmers
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is delivering another $16 billion in aid to farmers hurt by his trade policies, an effort to relieve the economic pain among his supporters in rural America. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the first of three payments is likely to be made in July...
New Jersey beach smoking ban in place for start of summer
SEA GIRT, N.J. — Smoking and vaping will be banned on nearly every public beach in New Jersey this summer under tougher new restrictions. Nonsmokers are rejoicing over the ban, which also applies to public parks. But some smokers are feeling discriminated against by the law, which took effect in...
‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh freed after 17 years in prison
John Walker Lindh, the Californian who took up arms for the Taliban and was captured by invading U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, got out of prison Thursday after more than 17 years, released under tight restrictions that reflected government fears he still harbors radical views. Lindh, 38, left a...
U.S. forecasters: Expect near normal Atlantic hurricane season
WASHINGTON — The Atlantic hurricane season is off to yet another early start, but U.S. weather officials say it should be a near normal year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday predicted nine to 15 named storms. It says four to eight of them will become hurricanes and...
Pelosi questions Trump’s fitness; time for ‘intervention’?
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi openly questioned President Donald Trump’s fitness for office Thursday, suggesting a family or staff “intervention” after a dramatic blow-up at a White House meeting the previous day. Both the Republican president and Democratic leaders dug in a day after Trump stalked out of the...
Outer Banks’ Ocracoke beach places 2nd on ‘Dr. Beach’ list
Heading to the Outer Banks this summer? The roads might be even more crowded this year as one of the OBX beaches made an annual list of best beaches. Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks placed second on the annual ”Dr. Beach” best beach list. The list is...
Sheriff’s office foils post-prom bash at Airbnb stocked with booze, pot, stripper poles
A post-prom party was busted before students could even get there. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported reported that several hundred West Boca Community High School students had rented charter buses to take them to a three-story Airbnb stocked with alcohol, marijuana and stripper poles, but a county sheriff’s department...
62,000 pounds of raw meat recalled ahead of Memorial Day
Talk about bad timing. Aurora Packing Company is recalling more than 62,000 pounds of raw beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli, just days before one of the biggest grilling weekends of the year. The USDA reported that North Aurora, Ill.-based company’s recalled products were packaged April 19...
Census: Big cities in U.S. aren’t growing like they used to
ORLANDO, Fla. — Big cities in the U.S. aren’t growing like they used to. Most of the nation’s largest cities last year grew by a fraction of the numbers they did earlier in the decade, according to population and housing unit estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The...
Politics, killings stifle wolf recovery amid hefty price tag
RALEIGH, N.C. — Illegal killings and longstanding political resistance have undercut the return of two species of endangered wolves to the wild, frustrating government efforts that already cost more than $80 million but have failed to meet recovery targets. The number of red wolves roaming the forests of North Carolina...
Fugitive says he’ll surrender if people like his wanted poster on Facebook
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New...
Trump’s campaign centered on fighting Democrats, not policy
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump dropped the pretense of working with congressional Democrats on Wednesday and sent a clear message that his re-election campaign will be centered on condemning overzealous investigations rather than advancing a robust domestic policy agenda. Both sides may have feigned surprise at Trump’s angry outburst, in...
U.S. says Trump coal moves hasten but don’t increase emissions
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration’s decision to lift a moratorium on coal sales from public lands could hasten the release of more than 5 billion tons of greenhouse gases, but officials concluded Wednesday it would make little difference in overall U.S. climate emissions. That conclusion from the Bureau of...
Democratic pledges against big money come with an asterisk
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders wants to crack down on outside groups that do political spending, though one is allied with his presidential campaign. Elizabeth Warren has vowed no untraceable “dark money” will help her White House bid, despite being backed by an organization that doesn’t disclose some of its donors....
3 deaths in Missouri as tornado strikes state capital
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A tornado caused heavy damage in Missouri’s capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing at least three deaths and injuring nearly two dozen people as homes and businesses were ripped apart. The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive tornado...
Judge refuses to block Trump bank subpoenas
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York refused Wednesday to block congressional subpoenas seeking financial records from two banks that did business with President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos said in a ruling delivered from the bench that Trump and his company were unlikely to succeed...
Police: Texas teen kidnapped after meeting man on Snapchat, escaped at a KFC
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man was in custody Wednesday after authorities say he kidnapped a teenage girl and sexually assaulted her for several days before she escaped, police in Azle said. The girl, who was left unattended in a car in a parking lot Tuesday, ran into...
3 more parents plead guilty in college admissions scam
BOSTON — A married couple and a California businessman are the latest parents to plead guilty in the sweeping college admissions scam. Gregory and Marcia Abbott and Peter Jan Sartorio entered their pleas Wednesday in Boston federal court. They are among 14 parents who have agreed to admit to allegations...
6 die in Indonesia riots; Widodo says he won’t allow unrest
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities have the volatile situation in the country’s capital under control after six people died Wednesday in riots by supporters of his losing rival in last month’s presidential election. The clashes began Tuesday night when supporters of former Gen. Prabowo Subianto tried...
