U.S./World category, Page 413
How did helicopters collide battling California fire? Authorities probe crash that killed 3
California authorities on Monday were trying to discern how two helicopters battling a small fire in Riverside County collided, leaving three people dead. The two choppers struck each other Sunday near Cabazon, with one crashing and the other safely landing. The incident marks a rare instance in which an aviation...
Trump joins a notorious club: World leaders who got in legal trouble
Former President Donald Trump is on his third set of criminal charges since leaving office, an unprecedented event in the U.S. His allies say this kind of thing only happens in so-called banana republics.That’s far from true. There is a long history of world leaders prosecuted before, during and after...
Indigenous leader inspires Brazilian city to grant personhood to endangered river
GUAJARA-MIRIM, BRAZIL — On the banks of the Komi Memem River, the activity never ceases: women go down the embankment from Laje Velho village carrying basins to wash clothing, while men embark in small canoes on hunting and fishing expeditions. At day’s end, it’s the children’s turn to dive into...
Rail service in southern Pakistan partially restored after train crash that killed 30 people
MULTAN, Pakistan — Passenger rail service was partially restored Monday in southern Pakistan, a day after a train derailed in the region, killing at least 30 people and injuring scores, officials said. Families were holding funerals for the victims of the crash. According to Aqeel Ahmed Qureshi, a doctor at...
Chicago girl, 8, fatally shot by man upset with kids making noise, witnesses say
CHICAGO — An 8-year-old Chicago girl riding a scooter was fatally shot in the head by a man who was upset over noise, witnesses said. “It just didn’t make sense. None of it made sense,” a neighbor, Megan Kelley, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Everybody in the community would just tell...
Hong Kong government to appeal against court’s refusal to ban popular protest song
HONG KONG — Hong Kong government said Monday it was seeking to appeal against the court’s refusal to ban a popular protest song at its request, renewing worries over further erosion of freedom of expression in the city. The court’s decision on July 28 was a setback for Hong Kong...
Ex-Minneapolis officer unrepentant as he gets nearly 5 years in George Floyd killingVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, did not show any repentance or admit any wrongdoing as he was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months. Thao had previously testified that he merely...
Ravaged by fire, Mojave Desert’s famed Joshua trees may be gone forever
A wildfire burning near the California-Nevada border has ravaged parts of the Mojave National Preserve’s famed Joshua tree forests, and experts worry that the massive blaze will forever change the fragile desert ecosystem. The Joshua trees and other plant species burned by the nearly 94,000-acre York Fire are likely to...
Pence, Trump attorney clash over what Trump told his VP ahead of Jan. 6, 2021Video
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s defense attorney says the former president never asked Mike Pence to overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 election, but only wanted the former vice president to “pause” the certification of votes to allow states to investigate his claims of election fraud. Those baseless...
EPA’s ambitious plan to cut auto emissions to slow climate change runs into skepticism
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s most ambitious plan ever to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles faces skepticism both about how realistic it is and whether it goes far enough. The Environmental Protection Agency in April announced new strict emissions limits that the agency says are vital to...
Veterans see historic expansion of benefits for toxic exposure as new law nears anniversary
WASHINGTON — Nicole Leger always thought of the burn pits at military bases in Afghanistan as more like campfires than health hazards. Ordered to dispose of sensitive documents, she would toss the paperwork into the flames while catching up with fellow soldiers, moments of quiet bonding that provided a respite...
Black bear shot and killed by Montana man in his living room after break-in
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Montana couple got a late-night wakeup call from a barking dog alerting them that a black bear had broken into their living room before the man shot and killed the animal with a handgun. The confrontation with the large bruin happened in the rural community of...
Social media influencer Kai Cenat faces charges of inciting riot after thousands cause mayhem in NYC
NEW YORK — Social media influencer Kai Cenat is facing charges of inciting a riot and promoting an unlawful gathering in New York City, after the online streamer drew thousands of his followers, many of them teenagers, with promises of giving away electronics, including a new PlayStation. The event produced...
Mega Millions players spurned again as jackpot climbs to $1.55 billion
Another Mega Millions drawing, another night without a jackpot winner. The numbers drawn Friday night were: 11, 30, 45, 52, 56 and the gold ball 20. Because no one matched all six numbers and won the estimated $1.35 billion jackpot, the top prize increased to $1.55 billion for the next...
Trump and allies boost calls for Justice Dept. takeover in new attack on democratic institutions
In the two-and-a-half years since the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, Congress passed a bipartisan law closing loopholes in the complex process of choosing a new president that Donald Trump tried to exploit in his push to stay in office after losing the 2020 election. Candidates for crucial...
Justice Department faces biggest test in its history with election conspiracy case against Trump
WASHINGTON — When the Justice Department was announcing the highest-profile prosecution in its history in Washington, Attorney General Merrick Garland was 100 miles away, meeting with local police in Philadelphia. He stepped outside briefly to speak about how the decision to indict Donald Trump for conspiracy to overturn the 2020...
Judge rules Texas’ abortion ban is too restrictive for women with pregnancy complications
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge ruled Friday the state’s abortion ban has proven too restrictive for women with serious pregnancy complications and must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges. The ruling was the first to undercut Texas’ law since it took effect in 2022 and...
Man who tried to enter Jewish school with a gun fired twice at a construction worker
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee man who tried to enter a Jewish school with a gun fired shots at a construction worker there and later pointed his weapon at police before an officer wounded him on a residential street, authorities said Friday. Joel Bowman, 33, went to Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone...
Movie weapons supervisor waives right to preliminary hearing in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
SANTA FE, N.M. — The woman who was overseeing the use of weapons on the movie set where Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer agreed Friday to forgo a preliminary hearing that would have provided court testimony from dozens of people, including eyewitnesses to the shooting. Arizona-based armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed,...
After 27 years, authorities identify woman whose remains were found along Gilgo Beach parkway
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — A woman whose remains were among discoveries that became known as the Gilgo Beach killings has been identified after 27 years, authorities said Friday. Known until now to the public only as “Jane Doe No. 7,” she was Karen Vergata, 34, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney...
Shots again fired at site of Parkland school massacre in reenactment after lawmakers visit
PARKLAND, Fla. — Gunfire erupted again at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Friday as part of a reenactment by ballistics experts of the 2018 massacre that left 14 students and three staff members dead. The reenactment is part of a lawsuit by the victims’ families and the wounded...
Justice Kagan supports ethics code but says Supreme Court divided on how to proceed
PORTLAND, Ore. — Justice Elena Kagan publicly declared her support for an ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court but said there was no consensus among the justices on how to proceed, suggesting the high court is grappling with public concerns over its ethics practices. “It’s not a secret for...
Appeals court allows Biden asylum restrictions to stay in place
SAN FRANCISCO An appeals court Thursday allowed a rule restricting asylum at the southern border to stay in place. The decision is a major win for the Biden administration, which had argued that the rule was integral to its efforts to maintain order along the U.S.-Mexico border. The new rule...
6 months after East Palestine train derailment, Congress deadlocked on new rules
WASHINGTON — Congress responded to the fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio early this year with bipartisan alarm, holding a flurry of hearings about the potential for railroad crashes to trigger even larger disasters. Both parties agreed that a legislative response was needed. Yet, six months after life was upended...
Hunter Biden associate’s testimony provides insight into business dealings
WASHINGTON — Focusing on the Bidens rather than Donald Trump’s federal court appearance, House Republicans released a transcript Thursday of their interview with Hunter Biden’s former business associate detailing overseas financial dealings by the president’s son. The more than five-hour closed-door interview with Devon Archer by the House Oversight Committee,...
