U.S./World category, Page 496
Crash averted at Austin airport; FAA, NTSB to investigate
AUSTIN, Texas — A FedEx cargo airplane attempting to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday morning had to change course after a second plane was cleared to depart from the same runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. “The pilot of the FedEx airplane discontinued the landing and initiated...
Downing of suspected China spy balloon draws threat from Beijing
WASHINGTON — China responded with harsh words Saturday to the U.S. military’s downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions. In its statement Sunday,...
U.S. downs Chinese balloon over ocean, moves to recover debris
WASHINGTON — The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing. An operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters to recover debris from the...
Dangerously cold temperatures envelop Northeast
BOSTON — Arctic air descended into the Northeast on Saturday morning, bringing dangerously cold sub-zero temperatures and wind chills that dropped to minus 45 to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 43 to minus 45 C) in many areas. Atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the overnight wind chill...
‘Died suddenly’ posts twist tragedies to push vaccine lies
Results from 6-year-old Anastasia Weaver’s autopsy may take weeks. But online anti-vaccine activists needed only hours after her funeral this week to baselessly blame the covid-19 vaccine. A prolific Twitter account posted Anastasia’s name and smiling dance portrait in a tweet with a syringe emoji. A Facebook user messaged her...
Disney World unions vote down offer covering 45,000 workers
ORLANDO, Fla. — Union members voted down a contract proposal covering tens of thousands of Walt Disney World service workers, saying it didn’t go far enough toward helping employees face cost-of-living hikes in housing and other expenses in central Florida. The unions said that 13,650 out of 14,263 members who...
No storms? What hurricane hunters and forecasters do the other 6 months of year
TAMPA, Fla. — Between the hum of the plane’s engine and the blasting winds outside, Cmdr. Adam Abitbol listens to what he calls his playlist du jour. It’s sometimes made up of hip-hop. Or Indie. Or classical. But never country. This is a routine for Abitbol, who spent about 250...
Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs
WASHINGTON — Navy ships are getting fewer steaming hours because of growing maintenance delays and costs, a troubling trend that comes as at time when the U.S. is struggling to keep pace with China’s growing fleet. Operating and support costs grew by about $2.5 billion across 10 ship classes while...
Feds say cyberattack caused suicide helpline’s outage
WASHINGTON — A cyberattack caused a nearly daylong outage of the nation’s new 988 mental health helpline late last year, federal officials told The Associated Press Friday. Lawmakers are now calling for the federal agency that oversees the program to prevent future attacks. “On December 1, the voice calling functionality...
Ex-prosecutor’s new book details fight over indicting Trump
NEW YORK — As the Manhattan district attorney’s office again ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor who once led the probe details just how close the former president came to getting indicted — and laments friction with the new D.A. that...
Jupiter’s moon count jumps to 92, most in solar system
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, putting the total count at a record-breaking 92. That’s more than any other planet in our solar system. Saturn, the one-time leader, comes in a close second with 83 confirmed moons. The Jupiter moons were added recently to...
Police: Bodies are those of 3 rappers missing nearly 2 weeks in Detroit area
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. — Three bodies found in a vacant Detroit-area apartment building have been identified as those of three aspiring rappers who went missing nearly two weeks ago, police said Friday. Michigan State Police said Friday afternoon on Twitter that investigators identified the bodies as those of Armani Kelly,...
Authorities: 2 arrested in California shooting that killed 6
VISALIA, Calif. — Two gang members were arrested early Friday, one after a gunbattle, in the January massacre of six people including a baby at a central California home associated with a rival gang, the Tulare County sheriff said. Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said Noah David Beard, 25, was taken into...
Ukraine pushes to exclude Russia from 2024 Paris Olympics
KYIV, Ukraine — With next year’s Paris Olympics on the horizon and Russia’s invasion looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister on Friday renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join. Such...
Maid’s son tells judge Alex Murdaugh took $4M for her death
For much of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial, witnesses have talked about a generous and loving man — but prosecutors want jurors to know that same man stole over $4 million from his housekeeper’s relatives after she died at work, and killed his wife and son...
Vision loss, 1 death possibly linked to brand of artificial tears, CDC investigation shows
ATLANTA — The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a multistate cluster of bacterial infections linked to a brand of over-the-counter eyedrops. One person has died and at least three people have suffered permanent vision loss after using preservative-free EzriCare Artificial Tears, the CDC announced in a...
Olympic flame to take seaborne journey to 2024 Paris Games
MARSEILLE, France — The Olympic flame is going for a sail. Instead of arriving overland, the symbolic flame alighting the 2024 Paris Games will take to the seas from its birthplace in Greece, arriving aboard a three-mast tall ship in the French port of Marseille. Paris organizers announced the flame’s...
Missing Florida Lyft driver’s car found with slaying suspect
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The car owned by a missing 74-year-old Florida Lyft driver was found in North Carolina and the man who was driving it is wanted in connection with a homicide last week in southwest Florida, authorities said Friday. Lyft driver Gary Levin hasn’t been heard from since...
$700M Powerball prize latest in string of giant jackpots
DES MOINES, Iowa — No, it’s not lottery deja vu. There really is another giant lottery jackpot up for grabs Saturday night, the latest in a string of big prizes enticing players to plunk down $2 and try to beat formidable odds. This time, it’s an estimated $700 million Powerball...
New rules would limit sugar in school meals for 1st time
U.S. agriculture officials on Friday proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, with a focus on sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries. The plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also seeks to significantly decrease sodium in the...
Olympic bans and boycotts go back a century
Ukraine and the three Baltic countries, all former Soviet republics, moved a step closer Friday to boycott next year’s Paris Olympics because of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The International Olympic Committee plans to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral athletes” despite their invasion of Ukraine,...
California weighs making flag football a school sport for girls
California officials are considering a plan to make flag football a girls high school sport amid soaring popularity of the game and a push to get more female athletes on the field. The federated council of the California Interscholastic Federation — the statewide body that governs high school athletics —...
U.S. may lift protections for Yellowstone, Glacier grizzlies
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration took a first step Friday toward ending federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in several states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the governors of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming provided “substantial”...
Baltic leaders warn Olympic boycott possible if Russians compete
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries urged the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian athletes from next year’s Paris Games because of the war in Ukraine, saying Friday a boycott was a possibility. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said athletes from her country could be...
Companies pledge millions in Fed effort to stem road deaths
WASHINGTON — Nearly 50 businesses and nonprofits — including rideshare companies Uber and Lyft, industrial giant 3M and automaker Honda — are pledging millions of dollars in initiatives to stem a crisis in road fatalities under a new federal effort announced Friday. It’s part of the Department of Transportation’s “Call...
