U.S./World category, Page 680
Israeli PM says not opposed to ‘good’ nuclear deal with Iran
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday he is not opposed to a “good” nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, but voiced skepticism that such an outcome would emerge from the current negotiations. Bennett spoke a day after negotiators from Iran and five world powers...
Esports giant Riot settles discrimination case for $100M
LOS ANGELES — Riot Games, the publisher behind esports giant “League of Legends,” agreed Monday night to pay $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging pay disparity, gender discrimination and sexual harassment. The lawsuit was filed in November 2018 after gaming website Kotaku published a story detailing a sexist...
Police: Gunman in Denver who killed 5 targeted some victims
DENVER — A gunman who went on a shooting rampage through several business districts in and around Denver, killing five people and wounding two others, was targeting at least some of his victims, authorities said Tuesday. The suspect also died after exchanging gunfire with officers in a shopping area in...
Russian court orders shutdown of renowned rights group
MOSCOW — Russia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that one of the country’s oldest and most prominent human rights organizations should be shut down, a move that stirred up much public outrage and is the latest step in a months-long crackdown on rights activists, independent media and opposition supporters. The...
World’s fair in Dubai warns of possible closures over virus
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The multibillion-dollar world’s fair in Dubai has warned that some venues on site may shut down as coronavirus cases rapidly rise in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai’s Expo 2020 said that virus outbreaks among staff may force some parts of the fair to “close temporarily...
Biden signs $768.2 billion defense spending bill into law
President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law Monday, authorizing $768.2 billion in military spending, including a 2.7% pay raise for service members, for 2022. The NDAA authorizes a 5% increase in military spending, and is the product of intense negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over issues...
Flu is making a comeback in U.S. after an unusual year off
The U.S. flu season has arrived on schedule after taking a year off, with flu hospitalizations rising and two child deaths reported. Last year’s flu season was the lowest on record, likely because covid-19 measures — school closures, distancing, masks and canceled travel — prevented the spread of influenza, or...
U.S. Catholic clergy shortage eased by recruits from Africa
The Rev. Athanasius Chidi Abanulo — using skills honed in his African homeland to minister effectively in rural Alabama— determines just how long he can stretch out his Sunday homilies based on who is sitting in the pews. Seven minutes is the sweet spot for the mostly white and retired...
Again, crews find apparent time capsule at Lee statue site
Crews wrapping up the removal of a giant pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond found what appeared to be a second and long-sought-after time capsule, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday. The governor tweeted photos of a box being removed from the...
CDC recommends shorter covid isolation for all — from 10 to 5 days
U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the...
Omicron, storms disrupt air travel for 4th consecutive day
Flight cancellations that disrupted holiday travel stretched into Monday as airlines called off thousands more flights because crews were sick with covid-19 during one of the year’s busiest travel periods, and storm fronts added to the havoc. Flight delays and cancellations tied to staffing shortages have been a constant this...
Omicron spreads global gloom over New Year’s celebrations
BRUSSELS — After struggling with the coronavirus for far too long, the world understands all too well Belgium’s word of the year, “knaldrang!” — the urge to party, the need to let loose. Yet as New Year celebrations approach, the omicron variant is casting more gloom. Dire warnings abound, caseloads...
Fauci: U.S. should consider vaccine mandate for domestic air travel
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Monday the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel, signaling a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed, as covid-19 cases spike. Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief science adviser on the pandemic response,...
2 children killed, 4 injured in South Florida hit-and-run
Two children were killed and another four children were hospitalized with injuries when a car plowed into them and fled the scene in South Florida on Monday, authorities said. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that it was investigating what happened outside an apartment building in...
Major storm dumps snow, closes mountain routes in California
COLFAX, Calif. — A major Christmas weekend storm caused whiteout conditions and closed key highways amid blowing snow in mountains of Northern California and Nevada, with forecasters warning that travel in the Sierra Nevada could be difficult for several days. Authorities near Reno said three people were injured in a...
Sarah Weddington, lawyer who argued Roe v. Wade, dies at 76
DALLAS — Sarah Weddington, a Texas lawyer who as a 26-year-old successfully argued the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court, died Sunday. She was 76. Susan Hays, Weddington’s former student and colleague, said she died in her sleep early Sunday morning at her Austin...
Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s foe of apartheid, dies at 90
JOHANNESBURG — Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning icon, an uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and LGBT rights, died Sunday at 90. South Africans, world leaders and people around the globe mourned the death of the man viewed as the country’s moral conscience....
Covid variant disrupts holiday travel but not shopping
NEWARK, N.J. — The latest covid-19 variant is upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers — but it didn’t do much damage to holiday shopping. Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Sunday, citing staffing problems tied to covid-19, as the nation’s travel woes extended beyond Christmas, with no clear...
Russia returns 10K troops to bases after training near Ukraine
The Russian Defense Ministry said more than 10,000 troops would return to their permanent bases in the Southern Military District after more than a month of training in the region, including in areas near the Ukrainian border. The exercises took place throughout the district, including in the Crimea and Rostov...
Florida sets another record for single-day covid case increase
MIAMI — Florida on Christmas Day saw its largest single-day increase of newly reported covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The record breaks the previous one set on Christmas Eve. “Omicron is 10 (times) more potent at causing reinfection than previous variants — protection from prior infection is not as...
Ghislaine Maxwell turns 60 behind bars as verdict looms
Ghislaine Maxwell reached her 60th birthday behind bars Saturday as she awaited the outcome of her sex trafficking trial. The British socialite is scheduled to return to a Manhattan courthouse Monday to await word from a jury entering its third full day of talks after hearing over two dozen witnesses...
Chicago police officer, 50, dies of covid complications
CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer has died of complications from the coronavirus. Jose Huerta, a 50-year-old from the Southwest Side, died of pneumonia from a covid-19 infection Thursday afternoon, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. A police department spokesman declined to comment Saturday, but the Chicago Fraternal...
Florida sets another new record for single-day covid case increase
MIAMI — Florida on Christmas Day saw its largest single-day increase of newly reported covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The record breaks the previous one set on Christmas Eve. “Omicron is 10 more potent at causing reinfection than previous variants — protection from prior infection is not as...
Parts of California get a White Christmas after snowfall
Parts of California are getting a White Christmas after all, with snowfall pounding mountains across the state. Other areas of California, however, saw a wet and rainy Christmas as storms continue to drench the state, causing flash flooding and evacuations in some areas over the holiday period. At Donner Pass...
Flight cancellations drag on as airlines short-staffed
Airlines continued to cancel hundreds of flights Saturday as staffing issues tied to covid-19 disrupted holiday celebrations during one of the busiest travel times of the year. FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted 921 flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. canceled Saturday, up from 690 Friday. Over 200 more flights...
