U.S./World category, Page 1234
Trump hits Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in pocketbook
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration slapped new sanctions Monday against Venezuelan’s state-owned oil company in its latest effort to push out President Nicolas Maduro and install new leadership under National Assembly chief Juan Guaido. “We have continued to expose the corruption of Maduro and his cronies and today’s action ensures...
St. Louis officer accused of killing colleague in Russian roulette shooting is booked into jail
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis police officer who allegedly killed a colleague last week as they took turns firing a revolver containing a single bullet was booked into jail Monday. A booking photo of Officer Nathaniel Hendren was released by the department Monday afternoon. He was charged Friday with...
Science Says: Get used to polar vortex outbreaks
WASHINGTON — It might seem counterintuitive, but the dreaded polar vortex is bringing its icy grip to parts of the United States thanks to a sudden blast of warm air in the Arctic. Get used to it. The polar vortex has been wandering more often in recent years. It all...
Driver, man clinging to hood in road rage case, arraigned
WALTHAM, Mass. — Two Massachusetts men involved in an apparent case of road rage in which one drove at speeds of up to 70 mph with the other clinging to the hood of his vehicle, some of which was caught on video , were released after their arraignments Monday. Mark...
Insurance claims from deadly California wildfires top $11.4B
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance claims from California’s deadly November 2018 wildfires have topped $11.4 billion, making the series of fires one of the most expensive in state history, officials said Monday. More than $8 billion of those losses are from the fire that leveled the town of Paradise, killing 86...
Heavy snow hitting parts of Midwest; dangerous cold coming
MILWAUKEE — Heavy snow and powerful wind created blizzard-like conditions Monday across parts of the Midwest, prompting officials to cancel about 1,000 flights at Chicago’s airports and close hundreds of schools. But forecasters warned the most dangerous weather is yet to come: frigidly low temperatures that the region hasn’t seen...
30-year-old orca dies at SeaWorld’s Orlando park
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 30-year-old orca has died at SeaWorld’s Orlando park. SeaWorld officials say Kayla died Monday after a brief illness. SeaWorld officials say a cause of death won’t be known until a post-mortem examination is conducted. Kayla began showing signs of discomfort on Saturday, and veterinarians began treating...
Report: U.S. coal production declined in 2018 as prices, exports rose
U.S. coal production continued its downward trend in 2018, even as coal prices rose in three of the five major coal-producing regions, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The federal agency estimated that U.S. coal production in 2018 totaled 755 million short tons — 20 million short tons less than...
More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Vt. ski resort
STOWE, Vt. — A Vermont ski resort says more than 150 skiers and snowboarders were evacuated off of a chairlift that got stuck. Stowe Mountain Resort spokesman Jeff Wise says the Lookout Double lift stopped operating about 10:30 a.m. Sunday due to an electrical issue. Mychampaignvalley.com reports Mount Mansfield Ski...
Tornado hits Havana; Cuban president says 3 dead, 172 hurt
HAVANA — A tornado and pounding rains smashed into the eastern part of Cuba’s capital overnight, toppling trees, bending power poles and flinging shards of metal roofing through the air as the storm cut a path of destruction across eastern Havana. Power was cut to many areas and President Miguel...
Pope lowers expectations for next month’s sex abuse summit
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis has sought to lower expectations from his big sex abuse prevention summit next month. Francis told reporters returning from Panama on Sunday that he wants the Feb. 21-24 meeting to essentially be a catechism class for bishops about sex abuse. He said he...
Rare red panda found after escape from Belfast Zoo
LONDON — Officials say a rare red panda is safe and sound, a day after it escaped from Belfast Zoo in Northern Ireland. The animal went missing on Sunday, and Belfast City Council had urged members of the public to report any sightings to the zoo. The council said Monday...
Small Florida city honors 5 bank shooting victims with vigil
SEBRING, Fla. — Residents in a small Florida city gathered Sunday and held a vigil to honor the five women killed in a SunTrust branch mass shooting. People lit flashlights and cell phones instead of candles to honor the victims because heavy rain in Sebring pushed the vigil to an...
Auschwitz survivors pay homage as world remembers Holocaust
WARSAW, Poland — The world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday amid a revival of hate-inspired violence and signs that younger generations know less and less about the genocide of Jews, Roma and others by Nazi Germany during World War II. As survivors of Auschwitz marked the 74th anniversary...
Treasury lifts sanctions against 3 Russian companies
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department on Sunday announced it was lifting sanctions on three companies connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The move comes despite an effort in Congress to block the action with many lawmakers concerned that the Trump administration is not being tough enough on Russian President Vladimir...
Heavy snow to push across Upper Midwest, bitter cold follows
MINNEAPOLIS — A winter storm pushing across the Upper Midwest is expected to dump more than a foot of snow in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The National Weather Service reports blizzard conditions Sunday in parts of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Officials have issued a travel alert for...
Search for Brazil dam survivors renews amid growing despair
BRUMADINHO, Brazil — Brazilian officials on Sunday resumed the search for hundreds of missing people in the wake of a massive dam collapse, with firefighter crews returning to mud-covered areas after a several-hour suspension over fears that a second dam was at risk of breach. Authorities evacuated several neighborhoods in...
Bomb blasts at cathedral in southern Philippines kill at least 20
MANILA — Explosions Sunday morning at a cathedral in Jolo, in the Philippine region of Mindanao, killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens of others, just after a landmark vote to form a new Muslim autonomous region here following decades of unrest. The blasts underscore how elusive peace remains...
Duke medical school apologizes over complaint about Chinese
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University’s medical school has issued an apology and launched a review after an administrator admonished students over speaking Chinese in a school building. Megan Neely, who served as graduate studies director in the biostatistics master’s program, wrote an email Friday urging students to “commit to using...
Omaha zoo uses compost farm to manage animal waste
OMAHA, Neb. — Elephants poop 12 times a day. Each massive pachyderm eats 100 pounds of hay every day. They spend 18 hours a day eating or pooping. Somebody has to clean up that mess, 20-pound pitchfork scoops at a time. Anyone who owns a dog knows that nature doesn’t...
Military recruits getting Made-in-the-USA athletic sneakers
NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine — Thanks to congressional intervention, military recruits are going be outfitted in Made-in-the-USA goods right down to their sneakers used for physical fitness training. New Balance in New England, along with two companies based in Texas and Missouri, is producing Made-in-the-USA running shoes for military recruits — bolstering...
Workers still cautious as post-shutdown government reopens
MINNEAPOLIS — Park rangers were once again greeting visitors at some national parks across the United States and flight operations at major airports were returning to normal, one day after a partial government shutdown came to an end. While there were signs on Saturday that some government machinery was grinding...
Suspect in Louisiana shooting deaths caught in Virginia
DONALDSONVILLE, La. — A man suspected of killing his parents and three other people - including a girl he was dating - has been captured after an intense manhunt spanning several states, authorities in Louisiana said Sunday. Dakota Theriot, 21, was located in Virginia early Sunday after fleeing the day...
Prince Philip tells car crash victim he is ‘deeply sorry’
LONDON — Britain’s Prince Philip has apologized to a woman who was injured when the car she was riding in collided with a Land Rover that he was driving. The 97-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II told the woman he was “deeply sorry” that she was injured in the Jan....
Government shutdown cost U.S. economy at least $6 billion, analysis says
President Trump’s government shutdown finally came to an end — but not before costing the U.S. economy at least $6 billion, according to an analysis by S&P Global Ratings. The rating agency’s Global Economics branch said the overall cost to the economy for the shutdown that crippled Washington, D.C., and...
