U.S./World category, Page 1206
‘Full House’ actress Lori Loughlin out on bond in bribery case
LOS ANGELES — Colleges and companies moved swiftly to distance themselves from employees swept up in a nationwide college admissions scheme, many of them coaches accused of taking bribes and others prominent parents accused of angling to get their children into top schools by portraying them as recruited athletes. That...
State Department says Khashoggi’s killing was human rights abuse
WASHINGTON — The State Department on Wednesday characterized the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by government agents as a human rights abuse but avoided implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA concluded was likely to have ordered it. In its annual human rights report of abuses in...
Arkansas lawmakers send governor 18-week abortion ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas lawmakers have sent the governor legislation banning most abortions 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, a prohibition that could be the strictest in the country. The House on Wednesday gave final approval by an 86-1 vote to the bill, which Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has...
Trump: U.S. grounding Boeing 737 Max 8, 9 after Ethiopia crash
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the U.S. is issuing an emergency order grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the wake of a crash of an Ethiopian Airliner that killed 157 people. Many nations in the world had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8...
Israeli group honors Nikki Haley with coin
JERUSALEM — An Israeli organization has minted a coin emblazoned with the face of Nikki Haley, President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, to commemorate her defense of Israel in the world body. The Sanhedrin, a Jewish organization that dreams of restoring the Jewish Temple, where ancient temples...
Claire’s recalls makeup products FDA said tested positive for asbestos
A week after disagreeing with the FDA about asbestos in three of its makeup products, girls’ fashion chain Claire’s did what the FDA wanted: issued an official recall of the three products. Claire’s pulled Eyeshadows, Compact Powder and Contour Palette from stores last week. So, this recall concerns those who...
Italy outraged as court finds victim too ugly to be raped
ROME — Italy’s Justice Ministry has ordered a preliminary inquiry into an appeals court ruling that overturned a rape verdict in part by arguing that the woman who was attacked was too ugly to be a credible rape victim. The ruling has sparked outrage in Italy, prompting a flash mob...
NASA’s new rocket won’t be ready for moon shot next year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s top official says the space agency’s new rocket won’t be ready for a moon shot next year. Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate committee Wednesday he’s considering switching to commercial rockets to preserve the June 2020 launch date. Bridenstine says two commercial rockets would be...
Verizon says 5G network will cost extra $10 a month
A handful of Verizon customers will soon have faster wireless service — but they’ll have to pay $10 a month more. Verizon says it’ll flip the switch next month on a much-hyped, next-generation 5G phone network. Service will start in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. The offer is available only...
Paul Manafort sentenced to a total of 7½ years in prison for conspiracy, fraud
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to an additional three and one-half years of prison, questioning his remorse and rebuking him for his crimes and years of lies. That makes seven and one-half years for Manafort, coming on top of the roughly...
U.S. health officials move to tighten sales of e-cigarettes
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators are moving ahead with a plan designed to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers by restricting sales of most flavored products in convenience stores and online. The new guidelines, first proposed in November, are the latest government effort to reverse what health officials...
Canada grounds Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9; U.S. last major user of plane
Canada said Wednesday that it is grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes over safety concerns arising from the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight earlier this week. The news leaves the United States and its carriers as the last major users of the aircraft. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said...
Actress Lori Loughlin surrenders as admissions fallout spreads
BOSTON — Fallout from a sweeping college admissions scandal swiftly spread Wednesday, with actress Lori Loughlin surrendering ahead of a Los Angeles court hearing and a Silicon Valley hedge fund replacing its leader. Loughlin and fellow actress Felicity Huffman headline the list of some 50 people charged in documents unveiled...
Trump says late-night shows ‘one-sided’ and ‘unwatchable’
President Donald Trump is often the target of hosts on late-night shows. He’s often mocked or ridiculed, or both. On Wednesday the president longed for the days when Jay Leno sat in the comfy seat on the “Tonight” show on NBC. On Twitter he shared, “‘Jay Leno points out that...
DEA warns of scam phone calls after increase
The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning Wednesday after an “alarming” rise in scam phone calls relating to the agency. The phone calls involve a caller posing as a DEA agent or other law enforcement official threatening arrest for drug-related offenses or legal action over an exorbitant fine that doesn’t...
Sudan cancels flogging of 9 women arrested in protests
CAIRO — A Sudanese opposition group says an appeals court has overturned a sentence of flogging and imprisonment against nine women who took part in anti-government protests. The Democratic Lawyers Alliance says Wednesday the court ordered their release the previous day. The women were arrested Saturday and an emergency court...
Officials: 2 attackers kill 6, themselves at Brazil school
SAO PAULO — Authorities say hooded teenagers opened fire at a school in southern Brazil, killing six people before taking their own lives. Wednesday’s shooting happened in a public school in Suzano, a suburb of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city. The state government of Sao Paulo says two youths armed...
Germany to compensate gay men investigated after WWII
BERLIN — German authorities on Wednesday extended compensation payments to more gay men who were investigated under a law criminalizing homosexuality that was enthusiastically enforced in West Germany after World War II. German lawmakers in 2017 approved the annulment of thousands of convictions under the Paragraph 175 law, which remained...
Woman sentenced for stealing donations for young burn victim
WICHITA, Kan. — A 34-year-old Kansas woman who stole charitable donations meant for an 11-year-old burn victim has been sentenced to a year of probation. KAKE-TV reports Cinthia Davis, of Wellington, was sentenced Tuesday and ordered restitution to the victim’s family. Davis was found guilty of felony theft in January....
Ohio man says he’ll sustain himself with just beer for Lent
Commonly Christians give up something for Lent in preparation for the Easter holiday. But one man in Ohio is taking a different tack and deciding to only have beer during the Lenten season. Del Hall, who works at the Fifty West Brewing Company in Cincinnati, has challenged himself to sustain...
Feds charge dozens in widespread U.S. college admissions scam
BOSTON — A fast-moving college admissions scandal moved from bombshell indictments to guilty pleas in a matter of hours, yet the full fallout from the federal case against the rich and famous could take months or more to unfold. Big names such as actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin headline...
Trump sees advantage in debate over Israel, anti-Semitism
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump can’t get enough of Rep. Ilhan Omar. As Democrats try to turn the page after the freshman lawmaker’s remarks, criticized by some as anti-Semitic, ignited an embarrassing, intra-party fight, the Republican president is trying to prolong and weaponize the issue for his 2020 campaign, asserting...
Compromise seeks to limit president’s emergency declarations
WASHINGTON — The White House and Republican senators sought compromise on limiting presidents’ powers to unilaterally declare national emergencies, as chances improved that President Donald Trump might avoid a long-expected rejection by Congress of his effort to divert billions more for building barriers along the Mexican border. As a Thursday...
New Pentagon transgender rule sets limits for troops
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has approved a new policy that will largely bar transgender troops and military recruits from transitioning to another sex, and require most individuals to serve in their birth gender. The memo outlining the new policy was obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, and it comes...
3-story building collapses in Nigeria with children inside
LAGOS, Nigeria — Frantic rescue efforts were underway in Nigeria on Wednesday after a three-story school building collapsed while classes were in session, with scores of children thought to be inside. Witnesses said nearly a dozen students had been pulled from the ruins, but it was not yet clear if...
