U.S./World category, Page 1218
United Methodist Church on edge of breakup over LGBT stand
ST. LOUIS — The United Methodist Church teetered on the brink of breakup Monday after more than half the delegates at an international conference voted to maintain bans on same-sex weddings and ordination of gay clergy. Their favored plan, if formally approved, could drive supporters of LGBT inclusion to leave...
Ohio court hears grisly details after guilty plea in 4 slayings
IRONTON, Ohio — The way the killer told it, the young boy was the second of the four relatives slain. The boy’s mother was already dead, and he was asking too many questions, so the guy sent the kid to a bedroom with the false promise of finding a video...
Jeremy Corbyn says Labour would back a second Brexit referendum
LONDON — Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, announced on Monday evening that his bloc in Parliament would support a second referendum to stop what he called “a damaging Tory Brexit.” While Labour Party activists have been pushing their leader for months to publicly back another public...
U.S. Navy warships will again fly Union Jack after 17 years
NORFOLK, Va. — After nearly 17 years, U.S. Navy warships will return to flying the Union Jack, replacing the First Navy Jack flown in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. News outlets report Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson issued an order Thursday calling for the blue banner...
High winds cut power, inundate Lake Erie shoreline with iceVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — High winds howled through much of the nation’s eastern half for a second day Monday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing schools, and pushing dramatic mountains of ice onto the shores of Lake Erie. Wind gusts of hurricane force — 74 mph...
Indictment: Man killed brother’s family over missing money
FREEHOLD, N.J. — Suspicious of his brother over missing money from two companies they owned at the New Jersey shore, Keith Caneiro emailed two business associates last fall, saying he was going to cut off further payments to his brother, Paul. The next day, Keith Caneiro, his wife and their...
Snake in dryer gives Florida woman ‘near death experience’
SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — A Florida woman says she “about had a near death experience” when she opened her dryer and saw a snake curled up in her laundry. Tampa’s Fox 13 News reports Amanda Wise was almost finished unloading the dryer in her garage on Sunday when she saw...
Ex-Rome mayor convicted in corruption case
ROME — Italian news reports say a former Rome mayor has been convicted of corruption and illegal financing and sentenced to six years in prison. The ANSA news agency quoted Gianni Alemanno as saying Monday’s “verdict is wrong. We’ll surely appeal,” and adding, “I’m innocent.” The court also ordered him...
Ex-campaign worker for Trump sues over unwanted kiss claim
MIAMI — A former worker on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign claims in a lawsuit that he abruptly grabbed her by the hand and kissed her during a Florida meeting with staff and volunteers. Alva Johnson contends in the federal lawsuit filed Monday that Trump made the unwanted advance in...
R. Kelly pleads not guilty to sexual abuse charges
CHICAGO — R&B star R. Kelly’s attorney entered not guilty pleas on the singer’s behalf Monday after Kelly was charged with sexually abusing four victims dating back to 1998, including three underage teenagers. Kelly, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, walked into a Chicago courtroom wearing an...
Vietnam vows ‘maximum level’ security for Trump-Kim summit
HANOI, Vietnam — With North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on an armored train barreling through China toward Vietnam’s capital, and President Donald Trump about to board a jet for Hanoi, Vietnamese officials scrambled Monday to finish preparations for a rushed summit that will capture global attention. Officials in Hanoi...
Should drug dealers be charged with murder? States ponder
STAFFORD, Conn. — Having lost his 29-year-old son to a fentanyl overdose, Dean Palozej believes dealers who peddle drugs that kill should be locked up for a very long time — for the rest of their life, in some cases. A state representative who heard the story felt the same...
Expectations low as Trump looks for win in NKorea summit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will head into his second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un having reframed what would make a successful summit, lowering expectations for Pyongyang’s denuclearization while eager to declare a flashy victory to offset the political turmoil he faces at home. Trump was the driving...
West Point sets aside day to confront sexual harassment
WEST POINT, N.Y. — West Point has suspended classes for a day so cadets can address sexual assault and harassment after a survey found an increasing number of incidents at the academy. U.S. Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams ordered a full-day “stand-down” at the academy on Monday....
Trump tamps down expectations as he heads to Kim summitVideo
WASHINGTON — Redefining success, President Trump headed to his second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on Monday, determined to tamp down expectations that he’ll achieve big strides toward denuclearization. Yet he was still eager to claim an attention-grabbing victory to offset the political turmoil he faces at home....
Sheriff: 2 bodies recovered from Texas plane crash site
ANAHUAC, Texas — A southeast Texas sheriff said Sunday that two bodies have been recovered at the site where a Boeing 767 cargo plane crashed into a coastal bay. All three people aboard the Flight 3591 died, according to the plane’s owner. Crews continued to search for the third body...
Drivers rescued in Minnesota snow; Wisconsin pileup kills 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Authorities have rescued dozens of people stranded by a blizzard that howled across southern Minnesota and dumped about a foot of snow in some places. In east-central Wisconsin, one person was killed and several others injured Sunday in an interstate pileup involving more than 100 vehicles during whiteout...
Ex-officials declare ‘no factual basis’ for wall emergency
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of 58 former senior national security officials will issue a statement Monday saying that “there is no factual basis” for President Trump’s proclamation of a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The joint statement, whose signatories include former Secretary of State...
Trump administration considers sending more humanitarian aid for Venezuela
CUCUTA, Colombia — The day after military, police and civilian gangs loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro inflicted a brutal crackdown on Venezuelans trying to reach international shipments of food, medicine and other supplies in Colombia, U.S. officials appeared to be preparing to send more humanitarian aid to South America...
Trump extends China tariff deadline, cites progress in talks
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday he will extend a deadline to escalate tariffs on Chinese imports, citing “substantial progress” in weekend talks between the two countries. Trump tweeted that there had been “productive talks” on some of the difficult issues dividing the United States and China, adding that “I...
Tennessee police officer killed by hit-and-run driver
CHATTANOOGA — Tennessee officials say an officer who graduated from the police academy last month has been killed by a hit-and-run driver while checking on a hazard in a roadway. A statement from the Chattanooga Police Department says 38-year-old Nicholas Galinger was struck Saturday night while on a call with...
Trump books Lincoln Memorial for July 4th gala he’ll host
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’ll host a July Fourth celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. And though the event he’s calling “A Salute to America” is months away, he’s boasting it’ll be one of the city’s biggest Independence Day gatherings—ever. Trump tweeted Sunday: “HOLD THE DATE! We will be...
California man cleared after 40 years in prison gets $21M
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The city of Simi Valley, California, has reached a $21 million settlement with a man wrongly imprisoned for nearly 40 years in the killing of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old son. Craig Coley was released in 2017 after he was pardoned by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who...
Pope vows to end abuse cover-ups but victims disappointed
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis closed out his extraordinary summit on preventing clergy sex abuse by vowing Sunday to confront abusers with “the wrath of God” felt by the faithful, end the cover-ups by their superiors and prioritize the victims of this “brazen, aggressive and destructive evil.” But his failure...
Tornado death confirmed as violent storms smack the South
COLUMBUS, Miss. — Weekend storms raked parts of the Southeast, leaving deaths and injuries in their wake as a tornado smashed into a commercial district in a small Mississippi city and drenching rains fed a rising flood threat. A woman was killed when a tornado hit Columbus, Mississippi, and a...
