U.S./World category, Page 677
Oldest U.S. veteran of WWII, Lawrence N. Brooks, dies at 112
NEW ORLEANS — Lawrence N. Brooks, the oldest World War II veteran in the U.S. — and believed to be the oldest man in the country — died on Wednesday at the age of 112. His death was announced by the National WWII Museum and confirmed by his daughter. Most...
Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy plan misses mark in vote by abuse claimants
DOVER, Del. — A preliminary voting report in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy indicates the group’s reorganization plan has failed to win the desired support from tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children. The report, filed late Tuesday night, shows 73% of 53,888...
Bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria come under attack
BAGHDAD — A Katyusha rocket struck an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad’s international airport Wednesday while in Syria, eight rounds of indirect fire hit a base with members of the U.S.-led coalition, the Iraqi and U.S. militaries said. No damage or casualties were reported from the Iraq...
Chrysler aims to be all electric by 2028
LONDON — Chrysler plans go all electric by 2028, the latest automaker to announce a shift away from gasoline-powered engines under rising pressure to act on climate change. The company said Wednesday that it will launch its first electric vehicle by 2025. Chrysler announced its electric plans along with a...
North Korea fires ballistic missile, in 1st test in 2 months
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, its first weapons launch in about two months and a signal it isn’t interested in rejoining denuclearization talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal. The launch...
Colorado fire evacuees aided by good road access, daylight
DENVER — A late-season wildfire pushed by hurricane-force winds tore through two densely populated Denver suburbs and seemed destined to leave a trail of deaths. Yet, only two people are unaccounted for out of some 35,000 forced from their homes. It’s a remarkably low number of possible casualties, according to...
Another man arrested in Mall of America shooting in Minnesota
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A second man has been arrested in a shooting at the Mall of America in a Minneapolis suburb last week that left two people wounded, police said. The 18-year-old St. Paul man was arrested in nearby Roseville, Bloomington police said Tuesday. He was being held on a...
Niger police seize 440 pounds of cocaine from mayor of town
NIAMEY, Niger — Police in Niger have seized more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of cocaine from the vehicle of the mayor of a small town in the country’s north, the government said Wednesday. Nearly 200 bricks of cocaine were apprehended in Agadez over the weekend from the official vehicle...
UN peacekeepers attacked in south Lebanon near Israel border
BEIRUT — Unknown perpetrators attacked a group of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, vandalizing their vehicles and stealing official items from them, a U.N. official said Wednesday. Such scuffles with U.N. peacekeepers are not uncommon in southern Lebanon since the peacekeeping force was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel...
Prosecutor: Illinois cop was disarmed, killed with own gun
KANKAKEE, Ill. — A police officer who was killed at a northern Illinois hotel pleaded for her life before a man allegedly shot her with her own gun after she was disarmed during a struggle, a prosecutor said. Bradley police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic and her partner, Officer Tyler Bailey, were...
Jan. 6 panel seeks interview with Fox News host Sean HannityVideo
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection on Tuesday requested an interview with Fox News personality Sean Hannity, one of former President Donald Trump’s closest allies in the media, as the committee continues to widen its scope. In a letter to Hannity, Mississippi Rep. Bennie...
Police boot protesters from Florida Gov. DeSantis’ briefingVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Police in Florida removed a handful of community activists from a news conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday after the group demanded to challenge the governor’s coronavirus policies. A live video feed of the confrontation showed police handcuffing a protester and leading the rest of the...
NASA nails trickiest job on newly launched space telescope
NASA aced the most complicated, critical job on its newly launched space telescope Tuesday: unrolling and stretching a sunshade the size of a tennis court. Ground controllers cheered and bumped fists once the fifth and final layer of the sunshield was tightly secured. It took just 1 1/2 days to...
High court won’t say whether justices have received booster
The Supreme Court is refusing to say whether the nine justices have received covid-19 vaccination booster shots, with the omicron variant surging and in-person arguments over vaccines scheduled at the court on Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late November broadened its recommendation and said that all...
Florida passenger train line kills 5th person in a month
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Brightline higher-speed train fatally struck a pedestrian who walked into its path Tuesday, the fifth death involving the railroad since it recently resumed operations after being shutdown because of the pandemic. Boynton Beach police said the pedestrian was struck about 7:50 a.m. Spokeswoman Stephanie Slater...
In locked down Chinese city, some complain food hard to get
BEIJING — Residents of the Chinese city of Xi’an are straining under a strict coronavirus lockdown, with some complaining of difficulties finding food, despite assurances from authorities that they are able to provide necessities for the 13 million people largely confined to their homes. Stringent measures to stem outbreaks are...
U.S. flight cancellations ease a bit but still running high
Clearing weather over much of the eastern United States raised hopes that air-travel disruptions will ease after a dreadful start to the new year. By late Tuesday morning on the East Coast, airlines had scrubbed more than 1,200 flights for the day. That’s a very high number but not compared...
Prosecutor drops groping charge against former N.Y. Gov. Cuomo
ALBANY, N.Y. — Albany’s top prosecutor said Tuesday he is dropping a criminal charge accusing former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of fondling an aide. Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ decision comes three days before the Democratic ex-governor was due to answer the misdemeanor charge in court. “While we...
A record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November
WASHINGTON — A record 4.5 million American workers quit their jobs in November, a sign of confidence and more evidence that the U.S. job market is bouncing back strongly from last year’s coronavirus recession. The Labor Department also reported Tuesday that employers posted 10.6 million job openings in November, down...
Stranded drivers endure frigid night on impassable highwayVideo
RICHMOND, Va. — Hundreds of motorists waited desperately for help Tuesday after a winter storm snarled traffic in Virginia and left some drivers stranded for nearly 24 hours in freezing temperatures along an impassable stretch of interstate south of the nation’s capital. Problems began Monday morning when a truck jackknifed...
Florida man accused of orchestrating $4.2M covid relief fraud scheme
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida man tried to obtain more than $4.2 million in covid-19 relief funds by filing false loan applications, federal prosecutors said. Valesky Barosy, 27, made his first appearance last week in Fort Lauderdale federal court, according to court records. He’s charged with five counts...
Explainer: What’s next after resignation of Sudan’s PM?
CAIRO — Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s resignation has plunged the country’s already fragile democratic transition into further turmoil. Hamdok told the country in a national address Sunday that he was stepping down after he failed to build a political consensus following an October military coup that rattled the transition....
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes guilty of fraud and conspiracyVideo
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A jury found fallen Silicon Valley star Elizabeth Holmes guilty of fraud for turning her blood-testing startup Theranos into a sophisticated sham — one that duped billionaires and other unwitting investors into backing a seemingly revolutionary company whose medical technology never worked as Holmes promised. The...
More beaches reopen after Southern California sewage spill
LONG BEACH, Calif. — More Southern California beaches have been reopening after a large sewage spill shut off large segment of the coastline before New Year’s Day. Orange County’s health care agency on Monday lifted closures for Seal Beach and Sunset Beach once testing showed the water quality was acceptable,...
Trump endorses Hungary’s Viktor Orban ahead of tight electionVideo
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed Hungary’s right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, offering his “complete support” for the controversial leader who is facing a close parliamentary election this spring. Orban, a champion of what he calls “illiberal democracy,” is accused by critics of dismantling...
