U.S./World category, Page 684
Michigan teen charged after shooting brother; mistook him for deer
SOLON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A teenager who told investigators that he mistook his brother for a deer when he shot him has been charged with a gun crime, authorities in western Michigan said Thursday. The 17-year-old faces a charge of careless discharge of a firearm causing injury, the Kent County...
EPA details push to tighten rules for lead in drinking water
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration took steps Thursday aimed at reducing lead in drinking water, announcing plans to release $2.9 billion in infrastructure bill funds next year for lead pipe removal and impose stricter rules to limit exposure to the health hazard. Vice President Kamala Harris made the case for...
U.S. regulators lift in-person restrictions on abortion pill
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently loosened a key restriction on abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that the medication be picked up in person. Millions of American women will now be able to get a prescription via an online consultation and receive the pills through...
5 children die in bouncy castle accident in AustraliaVideo
SYDNEY — Five children died and four others were in critical condition on Thursday as a result of falling from a bouncy castle that was lifted 33 feet into the air by a gust of wind at a school on Australia’s island state of Tasmania. The school was holding a...
How brothers in arms plotted theft, sale of U.S. Army weaponry
Packed with rifles and explosives, the SUV hurtled down a Florida interstate beneath bright blue autumn skies, passing other motorists with little notice. It was November 2018, and the driver, Tyler Sumlin, was uncomfortable. Clammy. The husky, bearded former U.S. Army soldier was getting a cold, and understandably tense: He...
Army vet, 3-year-old among the dead in widespread twisters
Details about the fathers and mothers, children, friends and siblings who died during a tornado outbreak that ripped through the Midwest and South are still coming into focus nearly a week after the onslaught. At least 89 people have been confirmed dead across multiple states after more than 40 tornadoes...
Haiti gang releases all 12 Christian missionaries held captive for 2 months
A Haiti gang has released all 12 hostages two months to the day that they were kidnapped in Haiti’s capital, Haiti National Police Spokesman Garry Desrosiers and two U.S. government sources confirmed to the Miami Herald. The hostages were abducted just east of Port-au-Prince by a notorious gang, 400 Mawozo,...
Young Americans motivated to make change: AP-NORC, MTV poll
WASHINGTON — There are plenty of reasons for Sebastian Garcia to feel downbeat about the future. After his family immigrated from Mexico, he was raised on a farm in northwest Texas, where he says there aren’t many racial slurs he hasn’t heard. When the now-24-year-old graduated from college, he decided...
U.S. releases new batch of documents about JFK assassination
WASHINGTON — The National Archives on Wednesday made public nearly 1,500 documents related to the U.S. government’s investigation into the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The disclosure of secret cables, internal memos and other documents satisfies a deadline set in October by President Joe Biden and is in...
Senate sends Biden big defense bill, plans new war memorial
WASHINGTON — Congress sent President Joe Biden a $768.2 billion defense bill on Wednesday that makes landmark changes to the way the military handles sexual assaults, keeps women out of the draft and lays the groundwork for a new war memorial on the National Mall. The annual bill, which has...
Veteran’s case brings War Powers to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will decide whether Congress can give military service members the right to file civil lawsuits against states for employment discrimination based on their military service, in a case about how much power lawmakers have regarding military forces. The justices announced Wednesday they will hear a...
Minnesota delivery driver cited after running over groceries
BLAINE, Minn. — A Minnesota grocery delivery driver accused of running over bags of food she had dropped off in a Twin Cities suburb because she didn’t like the homeowners’ pro-police yard sign has been cited for criminal damage to property, authorities said. The incident happened Dec. 6 after the...
Disney World fire may have sprung from fireworks debris
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — A small fire at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom started in a tree and may have been caused by fireworks debris, officials said Wednesday. The blaze broke out Tuesday after fireworks were set off near the Cinderalla Castle, Reedy Creek Fire Association president Jon Shirey...
Chauvin pleads guilty to federal charges in Floyd’s death
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, averting a trial but likely extending the time he is already spending behind bars on a state conviction. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted this spring of state...
UN watchdog says Iran will allow new cameras at nuclear site
TEHRAN, Iran — The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Iran reached a deal Wednesday to reinstall cameras damaged at an Iranian site that manufactures centrifuge parts, though inspectors remain limited on what footage they can access. The agreement will see cameras put back at Karaj, which came under what Iran...
Florida district to pay $26 million to shooting victims
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Broward County, Fla., school district will pay more than $26 million to the families of 17 people killed and some of those injured in the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Board members approved the two legal settlements on Tuesday. A...
Florida science teacher fired for refusing to wear mask
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A teacher in South Florida has been fired for repeatedly refusing to wear a mask. The school board in Broward County on Tuesday unanimously voted to fire John C. Alvarez, a science teacher at Piper High for gross insubordination. Alvarez plans to appeal the decision to...
Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans brush off rising prices
NEW YORK — Americans slowed their spending in November from October, but continued shopping despite higher prices and shortages in stores. Retail sales rose a modest seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November from the month before when sales rose a revised 1.8%, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday, a bit weaker...
O.J. Simpson a ‘completely free man’; parole ends in Nevada
LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson is a free man. The 74-year-old former football hero and actor, acquitted California murder defendant and convicted Las Vegas armed robber was granted good behavior credits and discharged from parole effective Dec. 1, Nevada State Police spokeswoman Kim Yoko Smith said Tuesday. “Mr. Simpson is...
Blaze traps hundreds in Hong Kong tower, 13 hospitalized
HONG KONG — Firefighters on Wednesday rescued hundreds of people who fled to the rooftop of a Hong Kong skyscraper and became trapped there after a major fire broke out. Hours later, the fire service said the blaze was extinguished. In addition to those on the roof, dozens jammed into...
House votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt in Jan. 6 probeVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he ceased to cooperate with the Jan. 6 Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection — making it the first time the chamber has voted to hold a former member in...
Calls for Louisiana judge to resign over video with racist language
LAFAYETTE, La. — Racist language heard in a video recorded at the home of a Louisiana judge has led to calls for her resignation. The video shows a television set displaying security footage of what appears to be a foiled burglary at the judge’s home. Laughter and racist slurs are...
3 voters from retirement haven in Florida charged with voting fraud
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Three voters from a Florida retirement community that is a GOP stronghold have been arrested on charges of voting more than once. The arrests come weeks after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to create a law enforcement agency to investigate election crimes, despite there being...
District of Columbia sues Proud Boys, Oath Keepers over Jan. 6Video
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has filed a civil lawsuit seeking harsh financial penalties against far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court, also names...
Powerful storm drenches Southern California with heavy rainVideo
LOS ANGELES — A powerful storm charged south through California on Tuesday, drenching the drought-stricken state with desperately needed rain but also triggering rescue efforts on a swollen river and mandatory evacuations due to the threat of mudslides in some areas scarred by wildfires. The National Weather Service reported remarkable...
