U.S./World category, Page 1179
110 Kosovars, mostly children and women, returned from Syria
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo authorities announced Saturday they have brought back from Syria 110 Kosovar citizens, mostly women and children, with the assistance of the United States. Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri, top policeman Rashit Qalaj and a health official told journalists early Saturday that “a planned operation to bring back...
Boy Scout ranch focuses on wildfire recovery as season nears
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Tucked away in the foothills of the southern Rockies, the Philmont Scout Ranch has become a holy grail, its stretches of untamed wilderness and challenging backcountry treks drawing more than 1 million Boy Scouts and other adventurers from across the United States over the past 80 years....
Northern Irish police arrest 2 over killing of journalist
LONDON — Police in Northern Ireland on Saturday arrested two teenagers in connection with the fatal shooting of a journalist during rioting in the city of Londonderry. The men, aged 18 and 19, were detained under anti-terrorism legislation and taken to Belfast for questioning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland...
Video shows Charlotte police officer kill suspect following orders to drop gunVideo
A dead man tells no tales, but Danquirs Franklin was able to tell the world what happened right before he was gunned down by a Charlotte police officer. “You told me to put it on the ground.…” were the last words uttered by Franklin, who is black, as he was...
Storms in South kill girl in Florida, bring tornado threat
ATLANTA — A strong storm system barreling through the South on Friday killed an 8-year-old girl in Florida and threatened to bring tornadoes to large parts of the Carolinas and southern Virginia. A tree fell onto a house in Woodville, Florida, south of Tallahassee, killing the girl and injuring a...
This 10-year-old Maryland girl who was born without hands just won a national handwriting competition
Sara Hinesley, 10, doesn’t understand why it’s so remarkable that she won a national handwriting competition. She paints and draws and sculpts clay. She can write in English and some Mandarin. When she learned to write in cursive this year, Sara said, she thought it was “kind of easy.” Never...
Parents who starved and shackled children sentenced to life
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The eldest son and daughter of a couple who starved and shackled 12 of their children spoke publicly for the first time Friday, alternately condemning and forgiving their parents before a judge sentenced the pair to up to life in prison. Since being freed from their prison-like...
Officials: South Carolina school girl died of natural causes
WALTERBORO, S.C. — South Carolina authorities said Friday that the death of a fifth grade girl at school last month was due to natural causes and not a fight with another student, which they described as lasting only seconds. But the family of the girl disagreed, saying she was repeatedly...
Polanski asks court to restore his film academy membership
LOS ANGELES —Roman Polanski asked a judge Friday to restore his membership in the organization that bestows the Academy Awards nearly a year after he was expelled from it for sexual misconduct. Lawyers for the 85-year-old fugitive director petitioned Los Angeles Superior Court to compel the Academy of Motion Picture...
Heiress pleads guilty in NXIVM sex slave case
NEW YORK — An heiress pleaded guilty on Friday in a sensational case accusing a cult-like upstate New York group of creating a secret harem of sex slaves for the group’s self-anointed spiritual leader. Clare Bronfman admitted in her plea in federal court in Brooklyn that she harbored someone who...
Judge blocks part of Ohio ban on abortion procedure
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge blocked part of an Ohio law late Thursday that bans the abortion method of dilation and evacuation in most cases, adding to a list of restrictions on the procedure that are or soon could be in legal limbo. Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett...
Two-wave flu season is now the longest in a decade
NEW YORK — Three months ago, this flu season was shaping up to be short and mild. But a surprising second viral wave has made it the longest the United States has seen in 10 years. This flu season has been officially going for 21 weeks, according to reports collected...
Virginia governor wants Confederate arch gone from U.S. fort
RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam is calling for the removal of an arch honoring the former president of the Confederacy at Fort Monroe, where the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia 400 years ago. The Daily Press reports that Northam’s office presented a letter to the Fort Monroe Authority...
Airlines could someday weigh passengers like luggage
In the name of fuel effeciency among airlines, a British start-up is looking into the idea of weighing passengers — just like luggage — before flights. The more a plane weighs, the more fuel it will need to burn to complete its flight. This is why your luggage is so...
Journalist shot dead in Northern Ireland rioting
LONDON — Police in Northern Ireland said Friday they are searching for multiple suspects in the fatal shooting of a journalist during overnight rioting in the city of Londonderry. The dissident republican group, the New IRA, was most likely responsible for killing Lyra McKee, police said after a clear escalation...
Internet domain battle pits Amazon against the Amazon
Call this battle Amazon versus the Amazon. The New York Times reported Friday that the giant Internet retailer’s seven-year battle with eight Amazon basin countries over the domain name .amazon has come down to the wire. Amazon has until Sunday to submit a new proposal to the Internet Corporation for...
Notre Dame’s bees — yes, bees — survived the fire
PARIS — The 180,000 bees kept in hives in Notre Dame Cathedral that were thought to have perished in this week’s fire have been discovered alive. The monument’s beekeeper, Nicolas Geant, told the Associated Press on Friday: “I am so relieved. I saw satellite photos that showed the three hives...
Authorities use dating site to capture sex assault suspect
CINNAMINSON, N.J. — Authorities say a New Jersey man sexually assaulted a Philadelphia woman he met through an online dating site, but they then used the site to capture him. Cinnaminson police say Jerell Manson used the site to entice the woman to travel to southern Jersey on Monday. They...
Kremlin: No proof in Mueller’s report of Russian meddling
MOSCOW — The Kremlin argued on Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 400-page report has not offered any credible evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The redacted report presented on Thursday said that there was no collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and Russian officials but...
Storms again roar across South, killing 2 in Mississippi
LEARNED, Miss. — Strong storms again roared across the South on Thursday, killing two Mississippi drivers and leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. National Weather Service forecasters said they believe multiple tornadoes hit southwest and central Mississippi, although they won’t be sure until...
Parents of 3 NYC children face $1,000 penalty for violating measles order
New York health officials issued summonses to parents of three children Thursday for not vaccinating their children against measles, a violation of the city’s emergency order mandating immunizations to control a surging outbreak. The adults face civil penalties of $1,000 if an officer upholds the summons at a hearing. Health...
Cancer-causing chemical taints water after California blaze
PARADISE, Calif. — The drinking water in Paradise, California, where 85 people died last year in the nation’s worst wildfire in a century, is contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical benzene, officials said. Officials said they believe the contamination happened after the November firestorm created a toxic combination of gases in...
Minister at secretive N Carolina church sentenced for fraud
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A minister at a secretive church in North Carolina has been sentenced to 34 months in prison and ordered to pay $466,960 in restitution for his role in an unemployment fraud scheme involving businesses owned by members of the congregation. Kent Covington, a minister at the Word...
Officer says partner fired before he could analyze threat
MINNEAPOLIS — The partner of a Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman testified Thursday that he didn’t fire his own weapon because he hadn’t fully analyzed the possible threat, agreeing with a prosecutor’s characterization that it would have been “premature” to use deadly force. Officer Matthew Harrity...
Oregon sheriff known for standoff to resign over funds
PORTLAND, Ore. — A small-town sheriff who gained national attention for his leadership during a 41-day standoff with armed occupiers at a wildlife refuge in Oregon is resigning, citing chronic underfunding for his department and concerns about liability caused by an outdated and understaffed jail. Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward...
