U.S./World category, Page 1184
Deputy’s son arrested in connection with arsons at Louisiana black churches
OPELOUSAS, La. — The suspect in a string of fires that destroyed three black churches in rural Louisiana is the white son of a sheriff’s deputy whose father helped arrange for his arrest, authorities said Thursday. Holden Matthews, 21, was jailed without bail on arson charges in connection with the...
Fans want ‘a rightful seat in history’ for Katie Bouman, who created an algorithm to assemble that black hole photo
First came the breathtaking image, the first one to ever show a black hole, in a galaxy about 55 million light-years from Earth. Then came the giddy realization that the remarkable, years-in-the-making moment would not have been possible without the work of a 29-year-old female scientist, who has now claimed...
Retired Pope Benedict wades into clergy sex abuse debate
Pope Benedict XVI has ventured out of retirement to publish an essay blaming the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and church laws that protected priests. His analysis was immediately criticized as “catastrophically irresponsible” — a conflict with efforts by his successor, Pope Francis,...
David Bernhardt confirmed as Interior secretary despite ethics concerns
WASHINGTON — David Bernhardt, President Trump’s pick to the lead the Interior Department, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday amid persistent ethical concerns and doubts about his independence from the energy and water industry groups he long represented as a lobbyist. Senators voted 56-41 in favor of Bernhardt’s confirmation....
NASA twins study explores space, the final genetic frontier
WASHINGTON — From his eyes to his immune system, astronaut Scott Kelly’s body sometimes reacted strangely to nearly a year in orbit, at least compared to his Earth-bound identical twin — but newly published research shows nothing that would cancel even longer space treks, like to Mars. The good news:...
Mistrial declared for man who snapped $4.5M statue’s thumb
PHILADELPHIA — A jury was unable to reach a verdict in the trial of a Delaware man who admitted he broke a thumb off a $4.5 million statue at a Philadelphia museum. Michael Rohana was attending a Christmas-themed ugly sweater party at the Franklin Institute in December 2017 when he...
Ohio governor signs ban on abortion after 1st heartbeat
COLUMBUS — A bill imposing one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the nation was signed into law in Ohio. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the heartbeat bill Thursday, breaking with his predecessor, Republican John Kasich, who had vetoed the measure twice. Ohio’s closely divided politics had slowed the...
Woman wrecks car after spotting a spider
A driver in New York was so surprised to discover an arachnid passenger that she lost control of her car. The woman reportedly spotted a spider inside her car and panicked prior to driving off the road toward a stone wall. According to a Facebook post by the Town of...
90-year-old Powerball winner sues son, says money invested poorly
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 90-year-old Florida woman who took home $278 million from a winning Powerball ticket six years ago is suing her son and his financial advisers, claiming the money was put into low-return investments while she was being charged $2 million in fees. The lawsuit filed by Gloria...
Police: Firefighter went into store nude on dare to buy soda
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — A firefighter who police say walked naked into a Rhode Island convenience store on a dare has been placed on leave. Police responded to a 7-Eleven in Middletown the afternoon of April 3 for a report of a naked customer. The owner said the man with a...
Michael Avenatti charged with embezzlement, fraud, cheating on taxes
LOS ANGELES — Attorney Michael Avenatti has been charged in a 36-count federal indictment alleging he stole millions of dollars from clients, did not pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings. Avenatti, 48, was indicted late Wednesday by a Southern California grand jury on a raft...
Toddler survives 60-foot fall from apartment, lands on car
REDMOND, Wash. — Authorities say a 20-month-old boy survived a six-story fall from suburban Seattle apartment window after the toddler landed on the roof of a parked car that cushioned the impact of the plunge. Redmond police spokesman James Perry told the KIRO television station Wednesday that the toddler “landed...
Dentist vows to put racy Easter display back up
CLIFTON, N.J. — A New Jersey dentist who created a racy Easter display is vowing to put it back up after a female neighbor used gardening shears to damage it. The display at a dental office in Clifton, New Jersey, featured five mannequins dressed in lingerie, fishnet stockings and colorful...
WikiLeaks’ Assange arrested at Ecuador embassy in London
LONDON — Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum. Ecuador’s president Lenin Moreno said a tweet that his government withdrew Assange’s status for repeated violations of...
Los Angeles prepares to mourn en masse for Nipsey Hussle
LOS ANGELES — The city of Los Angeles is no stranger to epic street gatherings for everything from sports victory parades to televised car chases. But on Thursday it will host a much more somber — although likely equally large — affair when it lays to rest one of its...
Sanders’ new Medicare-for-all legislation puts spotlight on health care
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., released a new version of his Medicare-for-all plan Wednesday, putting a spotlight on the debate among 2020 Democratic presidential contenders over the future of America’s health care system. At an event on Capitol Hill, Sanders unveiled his latest version of a single-payer plan, which...
Deputies: Florida man paid for customers’ meals before he was killed
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Authorities say a man who was fatally shot at a Florida Waffle House had been paying for other customers’ meals and handing out money when he was killed. Alachua County Sheriff’s officials told news reporters a female customer apparently got angry when 41-year-old Craig Arttez Brewer didn’t...
Minnesota congresswoman calls Fox host’s comments ‘dangerous incitement’
NEW YORK — Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar said Wednesday that Fox News Channel host Brian Kilmeade is guilty of a “dangerous incitement” for questioning her loyalty to the United States, since she’s been the subject of death threats in the past. Kilmeade said on a “Fox & Friends” segment about...
Trump administration appeals ruling blocking return of asylum seekers
SAN FRANCISCO — The Trump administration Wednesday appealed a judge’s ruling that would block the government from returning asylum seekers to Mexico to await court hearings. The one-sentence appeal filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not immediately ask to stop the lower court ruling from going...
Immigrant’s death after detention raises questions for family
LOS ANGELES — A 27-year-old man died in a California hospital after he suffered a brain hemorrhage while detained by U.S. immigration authorities, his wife said Wednesday, demanding to know what caused his injury and whether he received appropriate medical care in custody. Melissa Castro said she was called Feb....
Former Obama White House counsel Gregory Craig expects to face charges
WASHINGTON — Attorneys for former White House counsel Gregory Craig said Wednesday that he expects to face federal charges in the coming days in regard to legal work he did for the Ukrainian government in 2012. The expected indictment — which his attorneys called “a misguided abuse of prosecutorial discretion”...
Amazon, Microsoft finalists for Pentagon contract; ‘potential ethical violations’ noted
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has narrowed the field of potential awardees for its $10 billion cloud computing contract to two companies: Amazon and Microsoft, Defense Department spokeswoman Elissa Smith said Wednesday. The Pentagon separately determined that alleged conflicts of interest on the part of Amazon Web Services did not adversely...
Court papers confirm shooting during vigil for Nipsey Hussle
LOS ANGELES — Two women were wounded by gunfire last week as a crowd scattered during a vigil for Nipsey Hussle hours after the rapper was killed, and police are looking for the shooter, according to court papers obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. Hundreds of people had gathered to...
Deal with EU could delay Brexit until Halloween
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders and Britain on Thursday agreed to a Brexit extension that will allow the U.K. to delay its EU departure date until Halloween. Leaders of the 27 remaining EU member states met for more than six hours before agreeing after midnight to postpone Brexit until Oct....
New Jersey principal who went into coma after bone marrow donation diesVideo
WESTFIELD, N.J. — A New Jersey high school principal who had agreed to donate bone marrow to a 14-year-old stranger in France has died, weeks after he lapsed into a coma during the procedure, his family said. Westfield High School Principal Derrick Nelson, 44, told the school’s newspaper that he...
