U.S./World category, Page 417
Jury acquits Kevin Spacey in London on sexual assault charges dating back to 2001
LONDON — A London jury acquitted Kevin Spacey on sexual assault charges on Wednesday after a four-week trial in which the actor said he was a “big flirt” who had consensual flings with men and whose only misstep was touching a man’s groin while making a “clumsy pass.” Three men...
Fire on New York construction crane causes arm to collapse and hit a building as it falls
NEW YORK—A towering construction crane caught fire high above the West Side of Manhattan on Wednesday morning, causing its long arm to snap off, smash against a nearby building and plummet to the street as people ran for their lives on the sidewalk below. At least six people suffered minor...
Biden’s son Hunter pleads not guilty to 2 tax crimes after agreement with prosecutors falls through
WILMINGTON, Del. — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two tax crimes after a deal with federal prosecutors unraveled during a court hearing following the judge’s concerns over the agreement. Hunter Biden was charged last month with two misdemeanor tax crimes of failure to pay more...
Rival Koreas mark armistice anniversary in 2 ways that highlight rising tensions
SEOUL, South Korea — The truce that stopped the bloodshed in the Korean War turns 70 years old on Thursday and the two Koreas are marking the anniversary in starkly different ways, underscoring their deepening nuclear tensions. North Korea has invited delegations from China and Russia as it prepares to...
No Mega Millions winner — jackpot rises to $910 million
The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $910 million after Tuesday night’s drawing produced no big winners, extending a stretch of bad luck dating back to April. The numbers drawn were: 3, 5, 6, 44, 61 and the yellow ball 25 The absence of a winner for the estimated...
A judge blocks limits on asylum at U.S.-Mexico border but gives Biden administration time to appeal
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a rule that allows immigration authorities to deny asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through. But the judge delayed his ruling from taking effect immediately to give...
Ohio marijuana legalization question falls short on signatures for fall ballot, gets 10 more days
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A proposal to legalize adult use of marijuana in Ohio fell short Tuesday of the signatures it needed to make the fall statewide ballot. Backers will have 10 days, or until Aug. 4, to gather more. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose determined the Coalition to Regulate...
Biden’s dog Commander has bitten Secret Service officers 10 times in 4 months, records show
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s dog Commander bit or otherwise attacked Secret Service personnel at least 10 times between October 2022 and January, including one incident that required a hospital visit by the injured law enforcement officer, according to records from the Department of Homeland Security. The conservative watchdog group...
New Biden rule would make government websites, apps more accessible to people with disabilities
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration proposed new regulations Tuesday to make state and local government websites and apps for services like libraries, parking, transit and court records more accessible for people with disabilities. The new Justice Department rule would establish certain accessibility standards for websites and app-based services maintained by...
For Emmett Till’s family, national monument proclamation cements his inclusion in the American story
As President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Tuesday establishing a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, it marked the fulfillment of a promise Till’s relatives made after his death 68 years ago. The Black teenager from Chicago, whose abduction, torture and killing in Mississippi in 1955...
Israeli doctors walk off the job and more strikes are threatened after law weakening courts passes
JERUSALEM — Thousands of Israeli doctors walked out of work, labor leaders threatened a general strike and senior justices rushed home from a trip abroad Tuesday, a day after the government approved a law weakening the country’s Supreme Court that critics say will erode the system of checks and balances....
U.S. consumer confidence jumps to a 2-year high as inflation eases
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence shot to the highest level in two years this month as inflationary pressures eased and the American economy continued to show resilience in the face of dramatically higher interest rates. The Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index rose to 117...
A Russian fighter jet fired flares at a U.S. drone over Syria and damaged it
WASHINGTON — A Russian fighter jet flew within a few meters of a U.S. drone over Syria and fired flares at it, striking the American aircraft and damaging it, the U.S. military said Tuesday, the latest in a string of aggressive intercepts by Russia in the region. A senior Air...
DeSantis uninjured in car crash on way to Tennessee presidential campaign events
WASHINGTON — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was involved in a multi-car accident on Tuesday in Tennessee but was uninjured as he traveled in a motorcade to a campaign stop for his 2024 presidential bid. The crash happened before 8:15 a.m. when traffic slowed on Interstate 75 in Chattanooga, causing four...
$820 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot is 8th largest in U.S.
Lottery players will have a shot at an estimated $820 million Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night, less than a week after someone hit a Powerball prize that topped $1 billion. The huge Mega Millions jackpot is the eighth-largest U.S. lottery prize and follows a $1.08 billion prize won by a...
Study finds climate change fingerprints on July heat waves in Europe, China and America
The fingerprints of climate change are all over the intense heat waves gripping the globe this month, a new study finds. Researchers say the deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe could not have happened without the continuing buildup of warming gases in the air. These unusually...
Alabama woman confesses to fabricating kidnapping
HOOVER, Ala. — Authorities in Alabama said Monday that a woman has confessed to fabricating a story that she was kidnapped after stopping to check on a toddler she saw walking on the side of the interstate. Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis said Carlee Russell’s attorney, Emory Anthony, provided...
North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles after U.S. submarine arrives in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, adding to a recent streak in weapons testing that is apparently in protest of the U.S. sending major naval assets to South Korea in a show of force. In its...
UN chief urges Russia to revive grain deal with Ukraine, warning ‘the most vulnerable’ will suffer
ROME — The U.N. chief on Monday urged Russia to resume the internationally brokered deal so that grain can be shipped from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, saying that otherwise, the world’s most vulnerable among the hungry will suffer the worst consequences. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the appeal during a...
IRS is ending unannounced visits to taxpayers to protect worker safety and combat scammers
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service said Monday it is ending its decades-old policy of making unannounced home and business visits, in an effort to help keep its workers safe and to combat scammers who pose as IRS agents. Effective immediately, revenue agents will no longer make unplanned visits to...
New evacuations ordered in Greece as high winds, heat fuel wildfires
RHODES, Greece — A week-old wildfire on the Greek resort island of Rhodes tore past defenses Monday, forcing more evacuations as strong winds and successive heat waves that left scrubland and forests tinder-dry fueled three major fires raging elsewhere in Greece. The latest evacuations were ordered in south Rhodes after...
Authorities search for grizzly bear that killed woman near Yellowstone National Park
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana — Authorities searched Monday for a grizzly bear that attacked and killed a woman on a trail west of Yellowstone National Park along the Montana-Idaho border. The attack happened Saturday morning only a few hundred yards (meters) from a trailhead and private campground. There was no sign...
Authorities probing why Ohio police dog was deployed on man who was surrendering
CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — An investigation has been launched into why an Ohio officer allowed his police dog to attack a truck driver who was surrendering with his hands raised, despite State Highway Patrol troopers urging the officer to hold the dog back. The lengthy pursuit on July 4 and the...
Putin signs legislation banning gender-affirming procedures
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation Monday which marked the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures, a crippling blow to Russia’s already embattled LGBTQ+ community. The bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a...
Challenge to Florida drag shows law won’t go to trial until next spring
ORLANDO, Fla. — A trial to determine if a new Florida law targeting drag shows is constitutional won’t start until next spring. A filing posted in federal court in Tallahassee late last week shows that the trial won’t start until the beginning of June 2024. It is scheduled to last...
