U.S./World category, Page 1185
Ohio lawmakers pass one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans
COLUMBUS — No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign. After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during...
Analysis: Israel’s election exposes deep political divisions
By JOSEF FEDERMAN JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent election victory has deepened the fractures in a divided country. Bolstered by his base of religious and working-class voters, Netanyahu can be expected to press ahead with a hard-line agenda that will likely eliminate the last hopes of a two-state...
Senate GOP pushes White House to stop purge at Homeland Security
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans are pressuring President Donald Trump not to fire any more Homeland Security officials, warning that the department can’t function properly if the White House continues to oust key members of its leadership team. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen left the agency Wednesday after submitting her resignation...
More than money: Taxman cometh for belt buckles, strip club entry and beardsVideo
In 1966, The Beatles complained in “Taxman” about the British government’s penchant for taxation — everything from streets and seats to heat and feet, according to songwriter George Harrison. Tax Day — with the deadline coming Monday — is a good reminder that, in addition to income, just about anything...
Blizzard warnings posted from Colorado to Minnesota
Blizzard warnings were posted from Colorado to Minnesota on Wednesday and wildfires were a concern in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma as a storm developed that could rival last month’s devastating bomb cyclone. Up to 2½ feet of snow was expected to fall in parts of eastern South Dakota and...
Jurors hear 911 calls woman made before officer killed her
MINNEAPOLIS — Jurors in on Wednesday heard the 911 calls a woman made to report a possible sexual assault before she was shot by Minneapolis officer now on trial for murder in her death. The recordings of Justine Ruszczyk Damond’s voice drew an emotional response from her family members in...
U.S. to start warning travelers about kidnapping risk abroad
WASHINGTON — The risk of being kidnapped or taken hostage is being added to the travel advisories issued by the State Department. State Department advisories have until now included warnings about such things as crime, civil unrest or the potential for terrorism. The new “K” indicator for the potential to...
Police: 1 dead, 15 injured in North Carolina gas explosion
DURHAM, N.C. — A gas explosion that partially collapsed a North Carolina building and set it ablaze Wednesday morning killed one person and injured 15 others, police said. Police cars blocked the streets near the explosion and a thick acrid smoked hung over a shopping district near downtown Durham and...
Trump says only 1 person is in charge of immigration: Him
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says there’s only one person in charge of his immigration policy: Him. Asked by reporters Wednesday whether he had considered tapping his influential aide, Stephen Miller, to lead the Department of Homeland Security given Miller’s focus on the issue, Trump was ready with praise —...
Scientists unveil first image of black hole, internet sees a doughnut
Scientist on Wednesday shared the first image of a black hole, but all Twitter could see was a doughnut, or a fantasy overlord. The image of the black hole was captured using eight radio telescopes around the world. The black hole in a galaxy called M87 that is about 53...
Scientists reveal first image ever made of black hole
WASHINGTON — Scientists on Wednesday revealed the first image ever made of a black hole, depicting its hot, shadowy edges where light bends around itself in a cosmic funhouse effect. Assembling data gathered by eight radio telescopes around the world, astronomers created the picture showing the violent neighborhood around a...
Charges dropped against man accused of abandoning pet fish
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Charges have been dropped against a North Carolina man accused of leaving his pet fish behind without food when he was evicted. New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David told news outlets Tuesday that 53-year-old Michael Hinson is no longer charged with animal cruelty and abandonment. He...
Trump order would make it harder to block pipelines
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will announce an executive order during a trip to Texas on Wednesday that could make it harder for states to scuttle pipelines and other energy projects based on concerns about their impact on water quality. Trump has made it a priority to expand energy development,...
Eying Supreme Court, abortion foes promote tough state bans
Emboldened by the new conservative majority on the Supreme Court, anti-abortion lawmakers and activists in numerous states are pushing near-total bans on the procedure in a deliberate frontal attack on Roe v. Wade. Mississippi and Kentucky have passed laws that would ban most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected...
Netanyahu appears to edge toward re-election in Israeli vote
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be headed toward re-election early Wednesday, as exit polls and partial results showed him edging ahead of his main competitor in a tight race that was seen as a referendum on the long-serving leader. Both Netanyahu and former military chief Benny...
Woman lived to 99 with most organs on wrong side of body
SALEM, Ore. — Rose Marie Bentley was an avid swimmer, raised five kids, helped her husband run a feed store, and lived to the ripe age of 99. It was only after she died that medical students discovered that all her internal organs — except for her heart — were...
Lori Loughlin, husband, others hit with money laundering charge
BOSTON — Federal prosecutors added money laundering to the list of accusations against actress Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and 14 other prominent parents Tuesday in the college admissions bribery case, increasing the pressure on them to plead guilty as other parents have agreed to do. Loughlin,...
Police: Uber driver tried to burglarize passenger’s home
SAN MATEO, Calif. — Police in Northern California say an Uber driver has been arrested for trying to break into the home of a passenger he had dropped off at the San Francisco airport, then burglarizing a neighbor’s home. The San Mateo Police Department said Monday that officers arrested 38-year-old...
Putin outlines Russia’s ambitious Arctic expansion programVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday put forward an ambitious program to secure Russia’s foothold in the Arctic, including efforts to build new ports and other infrastructure facilities and expand an icebreaker fleet. Speaking at the Arctic forum in St. Petersburg attended by leaders of Finland, Iceland,...
Sen. Pat Toomey wants local cops informed of failed firearms background checks
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, is taking another run at the nation’s gun laws. This time, he has put his name on a bill that would attempt to close what he sees as a loophole that allows thousands of people who attempt to buy a gun illegally to walk...
Conservatives push Kris Kobach as Homeland Security chief
WASHINGTON — Outside allies of President Donald Trump have launched a public campaign urging him to nominate former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as his next secretary of Homeland Security. That’s despite the uphill battle Kobach would certainly face getting confirmed by the Senate. NumbersUSA, a group that seeks...
David Dao, doctor dragged from United flight while screaming, breaks silence
Exactly two years after passenger David Dao was dragged, screaming, from his seat on a United Airlines flight, he has broken his silence, saying he has shed many tears over the incident. Dao’s case captured worldwide attention in 2017 when he was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight at Chicago’s...
New York City orders mandatory vaccines for some amid measles outbreak
NEW YORK — New York City has declared a public health emergency over a measles outbreak and ordered mandatory vaccinations for some people who may have been exposed to the virus. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the order Tuesday. It covers people who live in four ZIP codes in Brooklyn’s...
Barr to release redacted Mueller report within a week
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday he expects to release a redacted version of the special counsel’s Trump-Russia investigation report “within a week.” Barr told members of Congress at his first public appearance since receiving special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that his earlier projection of releasing a version...
Suspected Parkland gunman pens letters about having kids, naming them after guns
In love letters knotted with stick figures and smiley faces, Parkland shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz looks toward the future. “I really want kids. I think of it all the time, you know the joy they bring,” Cruz, 20, wrote on Halloween to Miley, one of his many online admirers whom...
