U.S./World category, Page 687
Car crash deaths have surged during covid-19 pandemic. Here’s why
It was a tally that shocked the experts: 38,680 deaths on U.S. roadways last year, the most since 2007 even though pandemic precautions had dramatically reduced driving. “This was completely unprecedented,” said Ken Kolosh, a researcher at the nonprofit National Safety Council. “We didn’t know what was happening.” One possibility...
Florida professors cite fear of state politicians on campus
ORLANDO — University of Florida professors say fear of upsetting state politicians pervades the campus to the point that race-related references have been edited out of course materials and faculty members have been restricted from participating in outside activities that challenge the priorities of the governor’s administration, according to a...
Father, son arrested in wildfire that threatened Lake Tahoe
SACRAMENTO — A father and son were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of starting a massive California wildfire that destroyed many homes and forced tens of thousands of people to flee Lake Tahoe communities earlier this year, authorities said. David Scott Smith, 66, and his son, Travis Shane Smith, 32, are...
Mark Meadows sues as Jan. 6 panel proceeds with contempt caseVideo
WASHINGTON — Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday sued the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection as the chairman of the panel pledged to move forward with contempt charges now that Meadows is no longer complying with a subpoena. The dueling actions laid...
Coast Guard diver pulls body from car above Niagara FallsVideo
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A Coast Guard diver lowed from the sky Wednesday braved frigid rapids to get to a car submerged in water near the brink of Niagara Falls, only to find it was too late to rescue the driver trapped inside. The diver was lowered from a hovering...
Scott Peterson resentenced to life term in wife’s 2002 death
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nearly 17 years after being sentenced to die, Scott Peterson was resentenced to life without parole Wednesday during an emotional hearing in which family members of his slain pregnant wife, Laci, called him out for the killing in 2002 and his apparent lack of remorse. “I still...
Biden order would make U.S. government carbon neutral by 2050
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order to make the federal government carbon-neutral by 2050, aiming for a 65% reduction in planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and an all-electric fleet of car and trucks five years later. The White House said the order shows how...
Investigators in Alabama find car, bones in 1976 cold case
LAGRANGE, Ga. — Investigators have discovered the 1974 Pinto a 22-year-old student was driving on his way back to Auburn University from Georgia when he disappeared more than 45 years ago, sheriff’s officials announced Wednesday. Kyle Wade Clinkscales’ car was pulled from a creek around Cusseta, Ala., on Tuesday after...
California plans to be abortion sanctuary if Roe overturned
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state Legislature on Wednesday revealed a plan to make the state a “sanctuary” for those seeking reproductive care, including...
U.S. journalist freed in Lebanon after call by rights groups
BEIRUT — Lebanese authorities freed Wednesday a freelance American journalist who was detained in Beirut last month. The release came just hours after two international human rights groups called her detention arbitrary and demanded that she be set free. Nada Homsi, the journalist, said after her release that her arrest...
Prosecutor: ‘Overwhelming’ evidence Smollett faked attack
CHICAGO — A prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that there is “overwhelming evidence” that former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist, anti-gay attack against himself in downtown Chicago for publicity, then lied to police about it. Special prosecutor Dan Webb said during his closing argument that what Smollett did in...
Giant Christmas tree outside Fox News headquarters set afireVideo
NEW YORK — A man was charged with arson and other crimes Wednesday for setting fire to a 50-foot Christmas tree in front of Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan, police said. The artificial tree outside of the News Corp. building that houses Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and...
Judge declares mistrial after Florida juror denies verdict
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida judge declared a mistrial in a murder case on Wednesday after the jury delivered a verdict of manslaughter, only to have its decision collapse when a juror told the court she didn’t agree. The jurors were told to keep trying for a fifth...
1 wounded when man opens fire inside Texas shopping mall
KILLEEN, Texas — Police in Texas searched Wednesday for a man who opened fire inside a shopping mall, wounding one person, authorities said. Officers responded to the Killeen Mall at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday after shots were fired, Killeen Police Chief Charles Kimble said. One person was shot multiple times...
India’s military chief, 12 others killed in helicopter crash
NEW DELHI — India’s military chief, Gen. Bipin Rawat, and 12 others were killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash in southern Tamil Nadu state, the air force said. It said in a tweet that the helicopter “met with a tragic accident.” The dead included Rawat’s wife. The air force said...
USSR’s death blow was struck 30 years ago in a hunting lodge
MOSCOW — When the leaders of the Soviet Union’s three Slavic republics met at a secluded hunting lodge on Dec. 8, 1991, the fate of the vast country hung in the balance. With a stroke of their pens, they delivered a death blow to the USSR, triggering shockwaves that are...
Joining drag queens on TV show costs Indiana pastor his job
NEW YORK — The Rev. Craig Duke has been a Methodist minister for three decades, building a reputation as a staunch advocate of LGBTQ inclusion. His pastoral duties have now been terminated — the result of a bitter rift surfacing in his Indiana church after he sought to demonstrate solidarity...
‘Amazing feeling’: 1st Somali mayor in U.S. shares her vision
PORTLAND, Maine — Deqa Dhalac is the first Somali immigrant to become the mayor of a U.S. city, but she describes her rise in local politics as very old fashioned. Dhalac, 53, became mayor of South Portland, the fourth largest city in Maine, on Monday. She fled Somalia in the...
Michigan attorney general will review events leading up to Oxford school shooting
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s attorney general said Tuesday her office will review events that occurred before the mass shooting that left four students dead at Oxford High School, despite the district’s rejection of her offer to be its third-party investigator. “What we can’t do is nothing. It’s not appropriate,” Dana...
Congressional leaders reach deal to hike debt limit
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders reached an elaborate deal Tuesday that will allow Democrats to lift the nation’s debt limit without any votes from Republicans, likely averting another last-minute rush to avoid a federal default. Hours later, the House passed legislation overwhelmingly along party lines that kicked off a multi-step process....
Omicron could overtake delta within weeks, experts say
Some experts are warning that although evidence is still emerging, the highly concerning omicron variant is expected to overtake delta within weeks. “I do expect omicron to displace delta in the coming weeks,” said Stephen Kissler, a disease modeler at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in a...
Pearl Harbor survivors gather on 80th anniversary of attack
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor and other veterans gathered Tuesday at the site of the bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack by Japan that launched the U.S. into World War II. The USS Chung-Hoon, a guided missile destroyer, passed...
Study can’t confirm lab results for many cancer experiments
Eight years ago, a team of researchers launched a project to carefully repeat early but influential lab experiments in cancer research. They recreated 50 experiments, the type of preliminary research with mice and test tubes that sets the stage for new cancer drugs. The results reported Tuesday: About half the...
Major outage hits Amazon Web Services; many sites affected
Amazon Web Services suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, limiting service at many key and popular sites. The company provides cloud computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including the Associated Press. Amazon said in a post an hour after the outage began that it had identified...
German convicted of castrating men on his kitchen table
BERLIN — A German court has convicted a 67-year-old electrician of aggravated, dangerous and simple assault for removing the testicles of several men at their request, causing one person to die, the dpa news agency reported Tuesday. A Munich regional court sentenced the man to eight years and six months...
