U.S./World category, Page 1248
Ginsburg missing Supreme Court arguments for 1st time
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing arguments for the first time in more than 25 years as she recuperates from cancer surgery last month, the Supreme Court said. Ginsburg was not on the bench as the court met Monday to hear arguments. It was not clear when she...
U.S., Turkey set for negotiations on fate of Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey — U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is set to press Turkey for assurances that it won’t attack the Kurdish fighters in Syria, which he said is now a condition for the withdrawal of American troops from northeastern Syria. Bolton arrived Monday for negotiations with the NATO ally...
Democrats plan more pressure on Trump to reopen government
WASHINGTON — With no weekend breakthrough to end a prolonged partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump is standing firm in his border wall funding demands and newly empowered House Democrats are planning to step up pressure on Trump and Republican lawmakers to reopen the government. Trump showed no signs of...
Chesapeake Bay health grade falls to ‘D-plus’
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — An annual report on the Chesapeake Bay says pollution from unusually heavy rains last year contributed to the first decline in a decade in the overall health of the nation’s largest estuary. Chesapeake Bay Foundation President Will Baker said Monday the bay “suffered a massive assault last...
Apparent suicide of Nevada death-row inmate spurs questions
LAS VEGAS — The apparent suicide of a Nevada death-row inmate who said he wanted to die and tried several times to kill himself amid court fights and postponements of his execution has renewed a debate over his treatment and the death penalty itself. Attorneys for Scott Raymond Dozier, who...
Michigan family of 5 killed in wrong-way crash in Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 75 in Kentucky struck a vehicle carrying five family members from Michigan early Sunday, killing all six people, authorities said. The southbound pickup truck being driven in the northbound lanes struck the family’s sport utility vehicle at...
California highway closed by mudslides, more rain coming
LOS ANGELES — A powerful winter storm unleashed mudslides in Southern California wildfire burn areas and trapped motorists on a major highway, and the northern part of the state braced for more wet weather Sunday. Saturday’s deluge loosened hillsides where a major blaze burned last year in and around Malibu,...
China upbeat ahead of U.S. trade talks, but differences large
BEIJING — China has sounded a positive note ahead of trade talks this week with Washington, but the two sides face potentially lengthy wrangling over technology and the future of their economic relationship. Both sides have expressed an interest in settling their tariff fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions. Yet neither...
Arizona woman sent 159K texts to man she met on dating site
PHOENIX — A Phoenix woman accused of stalking a man met on a dating site and sending him more than 65,000 text messages apparently sent more than twice that many. The Arizona Republic reported that Jacqueline Ades sent a man more than 159,000 text messages — some of which were...
Arkansas sheriff’s deputy fired after shooting small dog
CONWAY, Ark. — A sheriff’s office in central Arkansas has fired a deputy who was captured on video shooting and wounding a small dog while on duty. Faulkner County Sheriff Tim Ryals said on the office’s Facebook page Saturday that Deputy Keenan Wallace was “relieved of his duties” one day...
Count finds sharp drop in monarch butterflies in California
SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers with an environmental group have labeled as “disturbingly low” the number of western monarch butterflies that migrate along the California coast. A recent count by the Xerces Society recorded fewer than 30,000 butterflies, which it said is an 86 percent decline since 2017. By comparison, the...
Christians celebrate Epiphany across Europe
SOFIA, Bulgaria — Christians across Europe celebrated Epiphany on Sunday, with worshippers plunging into icy waters and parades being held in Poland and elsewhere. At the Vatican, Pope Francis marked the Epiphany feast day by urging people to follow the path of “humble love” and care for those who can...
Pacific Northwest storm cuts power for at least 218,000
SEATTLE — Windstorms that pummeled parts of Washington state and Oregon over the weekend have left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity, officials said Sunday. The storm brought winds that registered gusts of about 60 mph at Sea-Tac Airport in Washington, the National Weather Service in Seattle said. Puget...
Police confront 2 men, 1 white, 1 black: Only 1 is shot
MILWAUKEE — In the course of 15 months and in the space of one city block, Milwaukee police twice encountered two suspects they believed were armed. One was black; one was white. One was in fact unarmed; one had a gun. One was shot; one was not. That the black...
California highway closed by mudslides, motorists trapped
LOS ANGELES — A winter storm unleashed mudslides in Southern California wildfire burn areas and trapped motorists on a major highway, and the northern part of the state is bracing for more wet weather. Saturday’s deluge loosened hillsides in Malibu where a major fire burned last year, clogging the Pacific...
Inmates dine on steak, shrimp as prison staff work without pay
Over Christmas and New Year’s, inmates at dozens of federal prisons ate like kings in front of staffers who continued to work without pay amid the partial government shutdown. NBC News reports the ironic scene played out at FCI Pekin prison in Illinois, where inmates were treated to a meal...
Trump adviser outlines conditions for U.S. pullout from Syria
JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said Sunday that the American military withdrawal from northeastern Syria is conditioned on defeating the remnants of the Islamic State group and on Turkey assuring the safety of U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters. John Bolton said there is no timetable for the pullout, but...
At least 30 gold miners killed in Afghanistan landslide
KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 30 workers were killed in a landslide in northeastern Afghanistan while illegally sifting for gold, a lawmaker said Sunday. The landslide occurred in Badakhshan province, Mohammad Zekriya, a lawmaker from the province, told The Washington Post. The mining activity did not prompt the landslide, he...
Couple killed taking shortcut across train tracks in Germany
BERLIN — German police say a 71-year-old man and his 67-year-old wife were killed by a train late Saturday after trying to take a shortcut across the tracks. Police in the southwestern city of Reutlingen said Sunday that the couple had disembarked from a regional train at a suburban stop...
Alaska Airlines flights back in the air after power outage
SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines flights are back in the air after a nationwide ground stop that was apparently caused by a power outage. The airline says all its flights were grounded between about 4:20 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. after a power outage in the Seattle area, where the airline’s operations...
High avalanche risk in Alps amid heavy snow; 2 dead
BERLIN — Authorities warned Sunday of a high risk of avalanches on the northern side of the Alps, after heavy snowfall in recent days created dangerous conditions across parts of southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A 20-year-old skier died in an avalanche Saturday on Mount Teisen, near the Austrian border,...
Poland shuts down 13 escape game sites due to safety flaws
WARSAW, Poland — Polish officials have shut down 13 escape room entertainment sites for safety flaws and the prime minister asked people Sunday to report such lapses to firefighters and police after five teenage girls were killed in a fire. Firefighter chief Leszek Suski said the escape room at a...
Man charged with murder in Houston girl’s death
HOUSTON — A black man was arrested and charged with murder in the killing of a 7-year-old black girl in a drive-by shooting in Houston that her family believed was racially motivated but that prosecutors said Sunday was a case of mistaken identity. Jazmine Barnes’ family had described the gunman...
Idaho group blasts acquittal in puppy-fed-to-turtle case
BLACKFOOT, Idaho — An Idaho animal welfare group is blasting the acquittal of an eastern Idaho teacher who was accused of feeding a live puppy to a snapping turtle in front of several students. The Idaho Humane Society called the Franklin County jury’s decision on Friday to find Robert Crosland...
Hundreds rally as 7-year-old girl’s killer remains at large
HOUSTON — Hundreds of people who gathered at a rally Saturday for a 7-year-old Houston girl whose killer remains at large were asked to think of the victim as their own child and to be part of an “army” that will help authorities catch the person who fatally shot her....
