U.S./World category, Page 668
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire, giving Biden his first appointment
WASHINGTON — Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the Supreme Court’s 83-year-old liberal pragmatist, plans to retire this year, clearing the way for President Joe Biden to make his first appointment to the high court. Breyer, a 1994 appointee of President Bill Clinton, is the senior member of the three-justice liberal bloc,...
Medicare posts key nursing home staffing info for consumers
WASHINGTON — Shining a light on key markers for nursing home quality, Medicare said Wednesday it is now posting details on staff turnover and weekend nurse coverage on its Care Compare website, where families can research a facility. The move by the Biden administration comes as covid-19 cases and deaths...
Rioter who wore ‘Camp Auschwitz’ sweatshirt pleads guilty
A Virginia man who wore a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt at the U.S. Capitol during last year’s riot pleaded guilty Wednesday to joining the mob of people who stormed the building. Photographs of Robert Keith Packer wearing the sweatshirt with the anti-Semitic message went viral after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection....
U.S. new home sales jump in December as prices fall
Sales of new single family homes in December rose to their highest level in 10 months as buyers took advantage of lower prices in anticipation of higher interest rates. The increase put the seasonally adjusted annual sales pace to 811,000 for the month, according to the Commerce Department, an 11.9%...
Netherlands, Ukraine take Russia to European rights court
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Netherlands and Ukraine argued Wednesday that a top European court should hear their cases that seek to hold Russia responsible for human rights violations in eastern Ukraine including the 2014 downing of a passenger jet that killed all 298 people on board. Lawyers representing the...
Man paralyzed in Uber vehicle crash sues for $63M
BOSTON — A Massachusetts man who was left a quadriplegic when his Uber vehicle crashed last year is seeking $63 million in damages in a negligence lawsuit he has filed against the ride-hailing platform. William Good, 31, of Somerville alleges in the lawsuit that Uber “failed to appropriately screen, hire...
Nissan recalls 793,000 Rogues; wiring trouble raises fire risk
DETROIT — Nissan is recalling more than 793,000 small SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because water can get into wiring and in rare cases could start a fire. The recall covers Nissan Rogue SUVs from the 2014 through 2016 model years. The Rogue is Nissan’s top-selling vehicle in the...
U.S.-backed Syrian forces capture prison from IS after a week
BEIRUT — U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said they wrestled control of the last section of a prison controlled by Islamic State militants, ending a weeklong assault by the extremists on one of the largest detention facilities in Syria. The attack was the biggest by IS militants since the fall of the...
Russia threatens retaliation if Ukraine demands not met
MOSCOW — Russia warned Wednesday it would quickly take “retaliatory measures” if the U.S. and its allies reject its security demands over NATO and Ukraine, raising pressure on the West amid concerns that Moscow is planning to invade its neighbor. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it has any such designs,...
White House says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ‘still advocating for treatments that don’t work’Video
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis’ demand that the federal government restart the distribution of two types of monoclonal antibodies, saying the Florida Republican is advocating for a treatment that public health officials say is ineffective against the omicron coronavirus variant. “Let’s...
IMF urges El Salvador to drop Bitcoin as legal tender
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — The International Monetary Fund wants El Salvador to drop the highly volatile cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender and strictly regulate the electronic wallet the government has pushed adoption of across the country. The global lender’s board “urged the authorities to narrow the scope of the...
Coast Guard: 1 body recovered, 38 still missing off Florida
MIAMI — One body was recovered and crews were still searching Wednesday for 38 other people missing in the ocean off Florida days after their boat left the Bahamas in a suspected human smuggling attempt, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Capt. Jo-Ann F. Burdian told a news conference that finding...
Accused Michigan Gov. Whitmer kidnap plotters lose bid to dismiss criminal case
DETROIT — A federal judge Tuesday refused to dismiss the indictment against five members of an alleged plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, calling defense claims of entrapment and government overreaching a “heavy burden to carry.” U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker filed his order less than two months...
Fugitive Crystal Cruises’ luxury ship on the lam expected to stay in Bahamas’ safe haven
MIAMI — A fugitive cruise ship that was supposed to return to Miami but detoured to the Bahamas is not likely to be arrested despite a warrant issued by a federal judge in South Florida. The U.S. Marshals Service said Tuesday that it can’t seize the Bahamas-flagged Crystal Cruises ship...
2nd NYPD officer dies, days after Harlem shooting
A New York City police officer gravely wounded last week in a Harlem shooting that killed his partner has also died of his injuries, police said Tuesday. Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, died at a Manhattan hospital four days after he and Officer Jason Rivera were shot while responding to a...
RFK Jr. apologizes after condemnation for Anne Frank commentVideo
Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., apologized Tuesday for suggesting things are worse for people today than they were for Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years. Kennedy’s comments, made...
California redwood forest returned to native tribal group
The descendants of Native American tribes on the Northern California coast are reclaiming a bit of their heritage that includes ancient redwoods that have stood since their ancestors walked the land. Save the Redwoods League planned to announce Tuesday that it is transferring more than 500 acres on the Lost...
Prosecutors: Video will show 3 cops violated Floyd’s rights
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Witness testimony will get underway in earnest Tuesday at the federal civil rights trial of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of failing to intervene as fellow Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by pressing his knee into the Black man’s neck as he lay facedown,...
Child abuse report: Deaths of Black children up in pandemic
The latest national child welfare report shows an increase in the number of Black children who died, even though fewer abuse-related fatalities were investigated in the yearlong period that included the first several months of the pandemic. The findings were released in the 2020 Child Maltreatment Report, issued Friday by...
Michigan OKs $824M in incentives for GM’s EV, battery plants
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s economic development board on Tuesday approved $824 million in incentives and assistance for General Motors Co. to put electric vehicle and battery plants in its home state, adding as many as 4,000 jobs. The Detroit-based automaker plans to spend up to $4 billion converting and expanding...
Ukraine urges calm, saying Russian invasion not imminent
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s leaders sought to reassure the nation that a feared invasion from neighboring Russia was not imminent, even as they acknowledged the threat is real and prepared to accept a shipment of American military equipment Tuesday to shore up their defenses. Russia has denied it is planning...
‘Aftershock’ puts human face to maternal health crisis in U.S.
It was 2017 when filmmaker Paula Eiselt started seeing articles about rising maternal mortality rates in the United States. She’d had traumatic experiences giving birth to her four children, but didn’t realize that the problems were widespread and disproportionately affecting Black women. Tonya Lewis Lee, in her travels and conversations...
Biden calls Fox News reporter at White House a stupid SOB
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden responded to a question about inflation by calling a Fox News reporter a vulgarity. The president was in the East Room of the White House on Monday for a meeting of his Competition Council, which is focused on changing regulations and enforcing laws to help...
Abortion opponents eye priorities as high court ruling looms
In the nearly two months since a conservative majority of justices on the Supreme Court indicated openness to dramatic new restrictions on abortion, money has poured into the political fundraising arm of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List. The organization secured $20 million in pledged financial contributions, five times...
London police investigating Downing Street lockdown parties
LONDON — London police said Tuesday they were investigating Downing Street parties during lockdown, putting further pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick revealed that an investigation was underway in a statement before the London Assembly. Dick said that Scotland Yard is now investigating...
