U.S./World category, Page 531
Rising homicides, kidnappings in Haiti show crisis is not over even as fuel flow resumes
A rise in gang violence and kidnappings in Haiti continues to worry the United Nations, whose top humanitarian official in Port-au-Prince has appealed to the international community to provide support for the country and its people. Ulrika Richardson, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, said the global organization...
‘I thought I was going to die’: Abuses widespread in Ukraine
KYSELIVKA, Ukraine — For 10 days, Alesha Babenko was locked in a basement and regularly beaten by Russian soldiers. Bound, blindfolded and threatened with electric shocks, the 27-year-old pleaded for them to stop. “I thought I was going to die,” he told The Associated Press. In September, Babenko and his...
Idaho police: No suspect in slaying of 4 college students
BOISE — Police in the college town of Moscow said Wednesday they have not identified a suspect or found a weapon in the weekend slayings of four University of Idaho students in a rental house near campus. Authorities continue to believe the attack was targeted but walked back a previous...
Wisconsin man who killed 6 in Christmas parade gets life, no releaseVideo
A judge sentenced a man who killed six people and injured many others when he drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee to life in prison with no chance of release Wednesday, rejecting arguments from him and his family that mental illness drove him to do it....
Ohio defendant denies knowledge of plot to kill 8 people in 2016Video
WAVERLY, Ohio — A man on trial in the 2016 slayings of eight current and prospective members of another family in southern Ohio testified Wednesday that he had no idea his relatives planned to kill the victims and that he would have taken action to prevent the slayings had he...
Vehicle plows into 25 Los Angeles County sheriff’s academy recruits on runVideo
WHITTIER, Calif. — The driver of an SUV veered into the wrong lane and plowed through dozens of Los Angeles County sheriff’s academy recruits running in formation during a training exercise early Wednesday, injuring 25 of the cadets, authorities said. The most serious injuries included head trauma, broken bones and...
Same-sex marriage legislation clears key Senate hurdleVideo
WASHINGTON — Legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages crossed a major Senate hurdle Wednesday, putting Congress on track to take the historic step of ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law. Twelve Republicans voted with all Democrats to move forward on the legislation, meaning a final vote...
U.S. overdose deaths may be peaking, but experts are wary
NEW YORK — Have U.S. drug overdose deaths stopped rising? Preliminary government data suggests they may have, but many experts are urging caution, noting that past plateaus didn’t last. U.S. overdose death rates began steadily climbing in the 1990s driven by opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by...
Kraft Heinz explores stunts like Stuffing Pants, Velveeta martini to revitalize brands
Pittsburgh-based Kraft Heinz may be best known for the iconic ketchup, but the food giant is hoping that a series of offbeat items and recipes can revive some of the company’s other well-known brands. Stove Top, a Kraft Heinz Company brand, is bringing back its Stuffing Pants, a pair of...
University of Virginia cancels football game; shooting suspect due in court
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia canceled its final home football game of the season Wednesday, the same day a student accused of killing three members of the team and wounding two other students in an on-campus shooting was due in court for his first hearing. University officials and...
Poland, NATO say missile strike wasn’t a Russian attack
PRZEWODOW, Poland — NATO member Poland and the head of the military alliance both said Wednesday a missile strike in Polish farmland that killed two people did not appear to be an intentional attack, and that air defenses in neighboring Ukraine likely launched the Soviet-era projectile against a Russian bombardment...
NASA’s mightiest rocket lifts off 50 years after Apollo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s new moon rocket blasted off on its debut flight with three test dummies aboard Wednesday, bringing the U.S. a big step closer to putting astronauts back on the lunar surface for the first time since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago. If...
Some 10,000 mink loose, missing after vandalism at Ohio farm
VAN WERT, Ohio — Vandalism freed thousands of mink at a rural northwest Ohio farm, leaving an estimated 10,000 of the small carnivorous mammals unaccounted for Tuesday evening, the local sheriff said. So many minks were killed crossing a nearby road that a plow was brought in to help clear...
Judge: Michael Flynn must testify in Georgia election probe
SARASOTA, Fla. — A Florida judge on Tuesday said former national security adviser Michael Flynn must testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s looking into whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia. Sarasota County Chief Judge Charles Roberts ordered...
Mormon church comes out in support of same-sex marriage law
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it would back proposed federal legislation to safeguard same-sex marriages, marking the latest show of support for the measure from conservative-leaning groups. The nearly 17-million member, Utah-based faith said in a statement that church doctrine would...
Texas sends next busload of migrants to Philadelphia
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that Philadelphia will be the next destination for migrants the state is transporting from the U.S.-Mexico border by the thousands to Democratic-led locales, putting a new bus on the road a week after the Republican easily won reelection. He did not...
Studies find automatic braking can cut crashes over 40%
DETROIT — Two new U.S. studies show that automatic emergency braking can cut the number of rear-end automobile crashes in half, and reduce pickup truck crashes by more than 40%. The studies released Tuesday, one by a government-auto industry partnership and the other by the insurance industry, each used crash...
Virginia shooting suspect part of field trip, school confirms
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A University of Virginia student who went on a field trip to see a play with classmates is the one suspected of opening fire inside the bus they were riding in when the group returned to campus, a university spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Spokesperson Brian Coy said the...
Feds: Cocaine worth $450,000 seized from wheelchair wheels
NEW YORK — Customs officers at New York’s Kennedy International Airport seized $450,000 worth of cocaine from a traveler who was smuggling the drugs in the wheels of her wheelchair, federal authorities announced. The bust happened Nov. 10 when Customs and Border Patrol officers stopped a woman traveling from Punta...
Poland: Russian-made missile fell on our country, killing 2Video
KYIV, Ukraine — Poland said early Wednesday that a Russian-made missile fell in the eastern part of the country, killing two people in a blast that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy decried as “a very significant escalation” of the war. The exact circumstances of the fatal explosion were unclear, including who...
Trump seeks White House again amid GOP losses, legal probesVideo
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will mount a third White House campaign, launching an early start to the 2024 contest. The announcement comes just a week after an underwhelming midterm showing for Republicans and will force the party to decide whether to embrace...
Amazon plans new virtual care offering based on messaging
Amazon is stepping back into virtual care with a new service that uses secure messaging to connect patients with doctors for help with nearly two dozen conditions. The retail giant said Tuesday it will launch “Amazon Clinic” in 32 states to provide medication refills and care for conditions like allergies,...
Zelenskyy: Battle for Kherson was D-Day-like watershed
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday likened the recapture of the southern city of Kherson to the Allied landings in France on D-Day in World War II, saying both were watersheds on the road to eventual victory. Ukrainian police, meanwhile, announced plans to investigate alleged Russian torture...
Walmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
Retail giant Walmart on Tuesday become the latest major player in the drug industry to announce a plan to settle lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the toll of powerful prescription opioids sold at its pharmacies with state and local governments across the U.S. The $3.1 billion proposal...
Florida county puts damage from Nicole at $522 millionVideo
DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. — Damages are estimated at more than $522 million in a central Florida coastal county where homes collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean following Hurricane Nicole last week. The damages from the category 1 storm in Volusia County, home to Daytona Beach, exceeded those from the much...
