U.S./World category, Page 1170
Mother of Otto Warmbier calls US diplomacy with North Korea a ‘charade’
The mother of Otto Warmbier on Friday criticized the Trump administration’s diplomatic outreach to North Korea as a “charade” and blasted dictator Kim Jong Un’s regime as “absolute evil” in the family’s first public comments on the stalled negotiations. During remarks in Washington, Cindy Warmbier, whose son died in 2017...
White gang members forcibly tattoo a racial slur on a member and spell it wrong, cops say
MIAMI — White members of a gang forcibly covered a fellow gang member’s gang tattoo with a phrase including a racial slur, according to Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The evidence on Michael Hart’s neck said, “F — — you, Niger.” According to what police say Lucian Evans told them, he,...
Report: Number of drilled but uncompleted oil and gas wells in U.S. continues to rise
The number of drilled but uncompleted wells in the United States has increased over the last two years, reaching a high of 8,504 wells in February, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The most recent well counts in EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report showed 8,500 wells in March — 26%...
AAU coach who sexually exploited more than 400 boys gets 180 years in prison
Saying that an AAU basketball coach in Iowa “exploited, manipulated and abused children for almost two decades,” a judge sentenced him to 180 years in prison Thursday. Greg Stephen, 43, had pleaded guilty to multiple counts related to child pornography and sexual exploitation of minors, after prosecutors accused him of...
Videos of fatal Connecticut police shooting of 18-year-old are released
HARTFORD, Conn. — Videos released Friday show a Connecticut police officer’s fatal shooting last month of an 18-year-old man during an attempted traffic stop and chase, which sparked protests by the teen’s relatives and activists. Wethersfield officer Layau Eulizier is seen on police dashcam and business surveillance videos running in...
Michael Cohen’s prison reality: A bunk bed in barrack-style hall
NEW YORK — “The Situation” and the Fyre Festival fraudster are already there. President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, is up next. It’s not reality TV. It’s a federal prison 70 miles (113 kilometers) from New York City where white-collar and D-list scoundrels can do time while...
In ‘lawless’ world of service dogs, many families suffer
APEX, N.C. — All the counseling, therapy and medication did little to ease 9-year-old Sobie Cummings’ crippling anxiety and feelings of isolation. And so a psychiatrist suggested that a service dog might help the autistic child connect with other kids. To Glenn and Rachel Cummings, Mark Mathis seemed like a...
Teen swimmers pray for help, rescued by boat called the Amen
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A pair of Florida teens saw their prayers answered after becoming stranded about 2 miles from shore. News outlets report that 17-year-olds Tyler Smith and Heather Brown were swimming at Vilano Beach near St. Augustine during a senior skip day last month when strong currents pulled...
Trump defends health workers’ right to object to abortions
WASHINGTON — Advancing his anti-abortion agenda, President Donald Trump moved Thursday to protect health care workers who object to procedures like abortion on moral or religious grounds. Trump chose the National Day of Prayer to announce the new regulation. “Just today we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians,...
West Virginia reaches $37 million opioid settlement with drug shipper McKesson
West Virginia and drug distributor McKesson announced a $37 million settlement of a lawsuit over the company’s role in the opioid epidemic Thursday, a record agreement for the state that leads the nation in drug overdose deaths. McKesson, the sixth-largest company on the Fortune 500 list, admitted no wrongdoing but...
Indiana woman accused of driving over boyfriend twice, killing him
CROWN POINT, Ind. — A northwestern Indiana woman accused of driving over her boyfriend twice with a car has been charged in his killing. Twenty-three-year-old Briana Rice of Hammond is charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, in the April 24 death of 25-year-old...
Poll shows most Americans want changes in how government works
After more than two years of the Donald Trump presidency, Andrea Petrusky is ready for some fundamental changes in the way the U.S. government works. “Right now we’re being shown all of the loopholes, the president being able to do all the things that no president should,” said Petrusky, 46,...
Reports of sexual assault in the military spike, survey reveals
WASHINGTON — Reports of military sexual assaults jumped by 13% last year, but an anonymous survey of service members released Thursday suggests the problem is vastly larger. The survey results found that more than 20,000 service members said they experienced some type of sexual assault, but only a third of...
St. Lucia quarantines Church of Scientology cruise ship as a result of measles case
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia said Thursday that they quarantined a cruise ship with some 300 people aboard after discovering a confirmed case of measles aboard. Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, the island’s chief medical officer, told The Associated Press the ship was...
Government to house more immigrants in tents at the border
EL PASO, Texas — About 50 asylum seekers stood this week in a circle near a bridge between the U.S. and Mexico to hear an American attorney explain what would happen to them when they entered U.S. custody. The attorney, Jodi Goodwin, told them they would probably end up at...
Drug firm founder John Kapoor guilty of bribing doctors to push opioid
BOSTON — A pharmaceutical company founder accused of bribing doctors across the United States to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray was convicted Thursday in a case that exposed such marketing tactics as using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance. John Kapoor, the 76-year-old former chairman of...
Now you can get to an actual Sesame Street in NYC
New York City marked the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street Wednesday by making it an actual place. The city named the intersection of West 63rd Street and Broadway as Sesame Street to honor the long-running children’s series. Join us at the NEW Sesame Street — "A place where people, birds,...
Students find 22 pounds of pot during post-Earth Day cleanup in Florida Keys
As part of a post-Earth Day cleanup, Coral Shores High School students volunteered to pick up litter in the Florida Keys and found a rather large item: a 22-pound bale of marijuana, according to the Miami Herald. Volunteers called local authorities and Border Patrol agents to pick up the marijuana...
Shrimp test positive for cocaine in U.K. waters
How fresh is that shrimp? But, perhaps a better question would be how high is that shrimp? If it comes from the waterways in Britain, it’s a concern. A new study, published today in Environment International, found all freshwater shrimp tested positive for cocaine. King’s College London and the University...
Three-eyed snake found on highway in Australia
Two-headed snakes are so old-school. Now, a three-eyed snake, that’s something worth looking into. Well, as luck would have it, one was discovered recently in Australia. The Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service posted the find on its Facebook page. The service said its rangers found the juvenile carpet python,...
Assange refuses extradition to U.S.; long legal fight expected
LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a London court on Thursday that he would not agree to be extradited to the United States, where he is accused of conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer. Assange, appearing by video link from a London prison, said he would not “surrender...
Coroner: Woman obsessed with Columbine died before search
DENVER — A Florida teenager obsessed with the Columbine school shooting had already killed herself by the time authorities launched a manhunt for her after learning that she had traveled to Colorado just days before the 20th anniversary of the massacre, a coroner’s report said Wednesday. An autopsy summary by...
‘Riley Howell is a hero’: Student who attacked gunman lauded
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — David Belnap stood on his North Carolina college campus aching from the latest U.S. school shooting as he held a candle and wore a homemade T-shirt with “Riley Howell is a hero” written on the back. Howell died in his classroom Tuesday at the University of North...
Florida lawmakers pass bill allowing more armed teachers
TALLAHASSEE — More Florida classroom teachers could carry guns in school under a bill passed Wednesday by state lawmakers, the latest response to last year’s mass shooting at a Parkland high school. The Republican-led House voted 65-47 on Wednesday to send the bill to GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is...
Texas officer charged with homicide for shooting black manVideo
DALLAS — A Texas grand jury indicted a suburban Dallas police officer Wednesday on a charge of criminally negligent homicide for fatally shooting a black man during a traffic stop last year. The Tarrant County grand jury indicted Arlington Officer Bau Tran eight months after he shot 24-year-old O’Shae Terry...
