U.S./World category, Page 495
LGBTQ groups demand Japan adopt equal rights law by G-7
TOKYO — Japanese LGBTQ people and rights groups condemned a recent discriminatory remark by a senior aide of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, demanding his government enact laws to ban discrimination against sexual minorities, legalize same-sex marriage and guarantee equal rights before Japan hosts a Group of Seven summit in May....
Russian shells spark hospital fire before expected assault
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian shelling hit more civilian targets in Ukraine, starting a fire at a town hospital and damaging five apartment buildings, local officials said Tuesday, as Ukrainian authorities reported a Russian troop buildup in eastern areas that Kyiv suspects is preparation for a new offensive around the anniversary...
Amid soaring crime, Memphis cops lowered the bar for hiring
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Beyond the beating, kicking, cursing and pepper spraying, the video of Tyre Nichols’ deadly arrest at the hands of young Memphis police officers is just as notable for what’s missing — any experienced supervisors showing up to stop them. That points to a dangerous confluence of trends...
Lucky player in Seattle suburb wins $754.6M Powerball prize
AUBURN, Wash. — A single winning ticket for a $754.6 million Powerball jackpot was sold at a department store in a Seattle suburb, Washington state lottery officials said Tuesday. The winning numbers drawn Monday night were 5, 11, 22, 23, 69 and the Powerball 7. The winning ticket was bought...
New York funeral home finds woman breathing hours after declared dead
MILLER PLACE, N.Y. — An 82-year-old woman was pronounced dead at a New York nursing home but found to be breathing three hours later at the funeral home where she had been taken, authorities said. The woman was pronounced dead at Water’s Edge Rehab and Nursing Center at Port Jefferson...
White House: Improved surveillance caught Chinese balloonVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials said Monday that improvements ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped to identify last week’s spy balloon — and to determine that similar flights were conducted at multiple points during the Trump administration. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said...
New Jersey charges Paterson officer who shot, wounded fleeing personVideo
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s top law enforcement official brought criminal charges Monday against a police officer he said shot a fleeing person in the back, wounding him severely. Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the state filed charges of second-degree aggravated assault and official misconduct against Paterson Police Officer Jerry...
Harry Whittington, shot by Dick Cheney in hunting mishap, dies at 95
Harry Whittington, the attorney from Texas who survived a hunting accident in 2006 when then-US Vice President Dick Cheney shot him in the face while tracking a passing bird, has died. He was 95. He died early Saturday morning at home, the New York Times reported, citing his wife. A...
Salman Rushdie gives 1st interview since 2022 stabbing
NEW YORK — Months after being stabbed repeatedly as he prepared to give a lecture, Salman Rushdie is blind in his right eye, struggles to write and, at times, has “frightening” nightmares. But, he said during his first interview since the attack, he still has a feeling of gratitude. “Well,...
French parliament debates Macron’s divisive pension bill
PARIS — France’s parliament on Monday started debating a fiercely contested pension bill that’s triggered recent strikes and large street demonstrations, with more protests set to come this week. The lower house, the National Assembly, began debating the plans that would raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64....
Woman plotted with neo-Nazi to attack power grid, feds say
BALTIMORE — A Maryland woman spent months conspiring with a neo-Nazi leader based in Florida to plan an attack on Baltimore’s power grid, hoping to further their racist mission, law enforcement officials said Monday. The plan was thwarted when both suspects were arrested last week, adding to a growing list...
3 U.S. tourists stabbed in popular Puerto Rican neighborhood
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Three U.S. tourists were stabbed in Puerto Rico early Monday after police said someone told them to stop filming in a renowned seaside community known as La Perla that is popular with visitors. The confrontation began when one of the tourists, who lives in South...
Florida teen pleads guilty to fatally stabbing classmate
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A Florida teenager faces a possible life sentence after he pleaded guilty Monday to fatally stabbing a 13-year-old classmate 114 times and leaving her body in a wooded area near their homes in 2021. The plea came as jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday morning...
Super Bowl draws epic air show of private planes to Phoenix
PHOENIX — Former NFL player Jim Bob Morris is heading to the Super Bowl in Phoenix from Bloomington, Illinois, in a newly refurbished set of wheels. His ride has new paint, new seating and even a new bathroom. Morris, who played for the Green Bay Packers, Houston Oilers and was...
$747M Powerball jackpot up to 9th-largest as drawing nears
A $747 million Powerball jackpot will be up for grabs Monday night for players willing to risk $2 against the long, long odds of winning the big prize. No one has won the jackpot since Nov. 19, 2022, allowing the prize to grow larger with each of the game’s three...
China accuses U.S. of indiscriminate use of force over balloon
BEIJING — China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.” The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed...
3.8 magnitude earthquake hits Buffalo
An earthquake struck near Buffalo, N.Y., early Monday morning. The U.S. Geological Survey preliminarily reported a 3.8 earthquake centered east of Buffalo in the suburb of West Seneca at about 6:15 a.m. Seismologist Yaareb Altaweel said it was the region’s strongest quake in at least 40 years. UPDATE: Rare magnitude...
Rescuers scramble in Turkey, Syria after quake kills 4,000Video
ADANA, Turkey — Rescuers in Turkey and war-ravaged Syria searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region. Authorities feared the death toll from...
Northeast temperatures soar a day after bone-numbing coldVideo
Temperatures in many areas of the Northeast climbed to the mid-40s Fahrenheit on Sunday, a day after the region suffered through temperatures that plummeted into the negative teens and felt like minus 45 to minus 50 degrees with the wind chill. Atop 6,288-foot Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the temperature...
U.S. officials offer Congress briefing on Trump documents
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have offered to brief congressional leaders on their investigation into the classified documents found at former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said Sunday. A briefing could come as soon as this week. But it may not meet demands from lawmakers who...
Ohio officials urge evacuation near derailment, fearing explosionVideo
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Officials monitoring the smoldering, tangled wreckage of a train derailment in northeastern Ohio urgently warned hundreds of nearby residents who had declined to evacuate to do so Sunday night, saying a rail car was at risk of a potential explosion that could launch deadly shrapnel as...
Europe bans Russian diesel, other oil products over Ukraine
FRANKFURT, Germany — Europe imposed a ban Sunday on Russian diesel fuel and other refined oil products, slashing energy dependency on Moscow and seeking to further crimp the Kremlin’s fossil fuel earnings as punishment for invading Ukraine. The ban comes along with a price cap agreed by the Group of...
U.S. states take control of abortion debate with funding focus
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Though the Insight Women’s Center sits at the epicenter of a reinvigorated battle in the nation’s culture wars, the only hint of its faith-based mission to dissuade people from getting abortions is the jazzy, piano rendition of “Jesus Loves Me” playing in a waiting room. The Republican-controlled...
Powerball jackpot grows to $747 million after no winner
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Powerball jackpot grew to an estimated $747 million after no one beat the odds and won the top prize in Saturday night’s drawing. The numbers drawn were: 2, 8, 15, 19, 58 and Powerball 10. The $747 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs Monday night...
Balloon bickering over Biden’s actions, China’s intentionsVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers on Sunday accused China of deliberately surveilling sensitive U.S. military sites with a suspected spy balloon and said the Biden administration had given Beijing an intelligence opening by not downing the balloon during its high-altitude drift through American airspace. The balloon’s presence in the sky above...
