U.S./World category, Page 518
High court temporarily blocks lifting of asylum restrictions
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is temporarily blocking an order that would lift pandemic-era restrictions on asylum seekers but the brief order leaves open the prospect that the restrictions in place since the coronavirus pandemic began and have been used to turn back hundreds of thousands of prospective asylum seekers...
FTX founder agrees to extradition to U.S., attorney says
Sam Bankman-Fried may be ready to come to the U.S. to face criminal charges related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX following a chaotic court appearance in the Bahamas. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried was quoted as saying Monday the disgraced FTX founder has agreed to be extradited to the...
FBI: Steep climb in teens targeted by online ‘sextortion’
WASHINGTON — The FBI sounded the alarm Monday about an explosive increase in teenage boys being targeted online and extorted for money after being tricked into sending sexually explicit pictures. At least 3,000 children, mostly teenage boys, have been victims of the schemes that are connected to more than a...
Man convicted in slain Ohio family case gets life in prison
WAVERLY, Ohio — A man convicted in the killings of eight members of an Ohio family was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in what one surviving relative called a “monstrous act” of mass murder. George Wagner IV was sentenced after an...
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2022
One would have to go back hundreds of years to find a monarch who reigned longer than Queen Elizabeth II. In her 70 years on the throne, she helped modernize the monarchy across decades of enormous social change, royal marriages and births, and family scandals. For most Britons, she was...
2 covid-19 deaths reported in Beijing as virus surges
BEIJING — China’s health authorities on Monday announced two covid-19 deaths — the country’s first reported fatalities in weeks — amid an expected surge of illnesses after it eased its strict “zero-covid” approach. Unofficial reports point to a widespread wave of new coronavirus cases, and relatives of victims and people...
Proud Boys Capitol trial begins as Jan. 6 panel report looms
WASHINGTON — Jury selection in the seditious conspiracy case against former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and four others charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol began Monday after the judge denied defense attorneys’ last-minute bid to delay over expected congressional action related to Jan. 6, 2021. Defense...
Jan. 6 panel urges Trump prosecution with criminal referralVideo
WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee urged the Justice Department on Monday to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump for the violent 2021 Capitol insurrection, calling for accountability for the former president and “a time of reflection and reckoning.” After one of the most exhaustive and aggressive congressional probes...
U.S. homeless numbers stay about the same as before pandemic
SAN FRANCISCO — President Joe Biden’s administration announced Monday that it is ramping up efforts to help house people now sleeping on sidewalks and in tents and cars as a new federal report confirms what’s obvious to people in many cities: Homelessness is persisting despite increased local efforts. The U.S....
Nighttime drone attack hits Kyiv as Putin heads to Belarus
KYIV, Ukraine — Multiple explosive drones attacked Ukraine’s capital before dawn Monday as Moscow pursues its campaign to torment the invaded country from the air amid a broad battlefield stalemate. In a sign that Russia might be seeking ways to bolster depleted forces, President Vladimir Putin traveled to Belarus, which...
Canadian man accused of killing 5 had beef with condo board
TORONTO — Canadian police identified the man who shot and killed five people and wounded another at a suburban Toronto condominium as a 73-year-old resident of the building and said three of the five people he killed were on the condo board. During a news conference Monday, Chief James MacSween...
1.2 million Ram pickups recalled because tailgates may open while driving
Chrysler has recalled more than 1.2 million Ram pickup trucks because the tailgates may not latch properly. The 1,234,657 model years 2019-2022 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 trucks have “misaligned tailgate strikers” that cause the latch to fail and “could result in the tailgate opening while driving,” according to documents...
Dozens hurt in turbulent Hawaii flight, 11 seriously
HONOLULU — A flight from Phoenix to Honolulu carrying many people traveling for the holidays encountered severe turbulence shortly before landing, sending some unrestrained people and objects flying about the cabin and seriously injuring 11 people, officials and passengers said. In all, 36 people received medical treatment following Sunday’s turbulent...
Anti-abortion priest Frank Pavone defrocked for blasphemous posts
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has defrocked an anti-abortion U.S. priest, Frank Pavone, for what it said were “blasphemous communications on social media” as well as “persistent disobedience” of his bishop who repeatedly told him to stop his partisan activism for Donald Trump. A letter to U.S. bishops from the...
Ex-Mafia boss ‘Cadillac Frank’ Salemme dies in prison at 89
BOSTON — Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme, the once powerful New England Mafia boss who was serving a life sentence behind bars for the 1993 killing of a Boston nightclub owner, has died at the age of 89, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Salemme died on Tuesday, according to Bureau...
Texas mayor declares state of emergency over migrant swell
EL PASO, Texas — The mayor of a Texas border city declared a state of emergency Saturday over concerns about the community’s ability to handle an anticipated influx of migrants across the Southern border. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser issued the state of emergency declaration to allow the city on...
Arctic air will blast much of U.S. just before Christmas
Forecasters are warning of treacherous holiday travel and life-threatening cold for much of the nation as an arctic air mass blows into the already-frigid southern United States. “We’re looking at much-below normal temperatures, potentially record-low temperatures leading up to the Christmas holiday,” said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National...
McCarthy’s race for speaker risks upending House on Day One
WASHINGTON — In his quest to rise to House speaker, Kevin McCarthy is charging straight into history — potentially becoming the first nominee in 100 years unable to win the job on a first-round floor vote. The increasingly real prospect of a messy fight over the speaker’s gavel on Day...
What to watch as Jan. 6 committee wraps up its investigation
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Capitol riot will make its final public presentation Monday about the unprecedented effort by Donald Trump to overturn the results of the presidential election he lost in 2020. The committee has called it an “attempted coup” that warrants criminal prosecution from the Justice...
Anti-LGBTQ hate thrives online, spurs fears of more violence
In the days after a gunman killed five people at a gay nightclub in Colorado last month, much of social media lit up with the now familiar expressions of grief, mourning and disbelief. But on some online message boards and platforms, the tone was celebratory. “I love waking up to...
‘Plastic roads’ are paved with good intention
Transportation officials in multiple states are testing whether roads made from grocery bags, juice cartons, printer ink cartridges or other discarded plastic can make pavement last longer, save money and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. On sections of a busy, four-lane road that cuts through...
Jan. 6 panel eyes recommending 3 criminal charges for Trump
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is considering recommending the Justice Department pursue an unprecedented criminal charge of insurrection and two other counts against former President Donald Trump. Besides insurrection, an uprising aiming to overthrow the government, the panel is also considering...
Biden signs bill to keep government open through Dec. 23
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed legislation Friday to fund the government for an additional week as lawmakers race to finish work on a full-year spending package before they head home for the holidays and a new Congress is sworn in. Congress in September passed a bill to keep the...
Drivers are stuck in limbo as world’s oil supply reshuffles
NEW YORK — At a gas station outside New York City, retired probation officer Karen Stowe was faced with a pump price she didn’t want to pay. She bought groceries from the convenience store instead, planning to buy cheaper gas elsewhere. “The price is so high, people have to think...
Russians find asylum lifeline to U.S., but at a high price
CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Phil Metzger promises to arrange entry to the United States for Russian-speaking asylum-seekers through unmatched connections with U.S. border officials and people in Mexico who can guarantee safety while traveling. Though seeking asylum is free, the pastor of Calvary San Diego said his services are “not...
