U.S./World category, Page 742
Russia blames space station lab incident on software failure
A Russian space official on Friday blamed a software problem on a newly docked science lab for briefly knocking the International Space Station out of position. The space station lost control of its orientation for 47 minutes on Thursday, when Russia’s Nauka science lab accidentally fired its thrusters a few...
Coffee prices on the rise
Coffee lovers may have to dig deeper into their pockets as the cost of coffee beans has shot up due largely to a July 20 frost in Brazil that has destroyed crops. Andrew Oakes, owner of Fresh Roasted Coffee in Sunbury, said the price of green, unroasted beans has risen...
‘Welcome home’: Evacuation flight brings 200 Afghans to U.S.
WASHINGTON — The first flight evacuating Afghans who worked alongside Americans in Afghanistan brought more than 200 people, scores of them children and babies in arms, to new lives in the United States on Friday, and President Joe Biden said he was proud to welcome them home. The launch of...
Walmart mandates masks for all workers in some areas
NEW YORK — Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer and private employer, is reversing its mask policy and will require all its workers — including vaccinated ones — in areas with high infection rates to wear masks. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company says it is also encouraging customers to wear masks in...
Biden urging state, local governments to offer the unvaccinated $100Video
WASHINGTON — The nation’s millions of federal workers will be required to verify they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else face mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and other new rules, the Biden administration announced Thursday. The newly strict guidelines are aimed at boosting sluggish vaccination rates among the huge...
Woman convicted of swapping pebbles for gems in London heist
A woman who secretly swapped seven pebbles for $5.7 million worth of diamonds has been sent to prison for her role in the audacious heist at a luxury jewelry store in London’s tony Mayfair district. Lulu Lakatos, 60, was sentenced Wednesday to 5 1/2 years in prison after a jury...
Ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick charged with sexually assaulting teen
BOSTON — Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked after a Vatican investigation confirmed he had sexually molested adults as well as children, has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in Massachusetts in 1974, court records show. McCarrick is the first cardinal in the...
Police seek clues after woman and dog killed in Atlanta park
ATLANTA — Investigators sought video from homes and businesses near a popular Atlanta park as divers searched a pond in their quest to solve the stabbing death of a parkgoer who was walking her dog. Katherine Janness, 40, was found dead in Piedmont Park around 1 a.m. Wednesday. Police say...
Biden to allow eviction moratorium to expire Saturday
BOSTON — The Biden administration will allow a nationwide ban on evictions to expire Saturday, arguing that its hands are tied after the Supreme Court ruled it could only be extended until the end of the month. In a statement Thursday, the White House said President Joe Biden would have...
Spanish ex-king’s former lover accuses him of harassment
MADRID — The former lover of Spain’s King Emeritus Juan Carlos has filed a lawsuit with a British court accusing him of spying on her, the latest twist in a financial scandal plaguing the ex-monarch. The London-based High Court said Wednesday that Corinna Larsen, a Danish-German businesswoman long linked to...
Cargo ship ordered to leave U.S. waters after insects found
Federal agents near New Orleans ordered a cargo ship to leave the U.S. after an inspection found wood infested with a type of Asian beetle that has been destroying trees in the U.S. for about 25 years. They discovered the beetle in wood onboard the Pan Jasmine on July 17,...
Alaska quake produces prolonged shaking, small tsunami
PERRYVILLE, Alaska — A powerful earthquake which struck just off Alaska’s southern coast caused prolonged shaking and prompted tsunami warnings that sent people scrambling for shelters. Residents reported only minor damage, but officials said that could change after sunrise and people get a better look. The National Tsunami Warning Center...
DOJ won’t defend Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks in lawsuit over Capitol violenceVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The U.S. Department of Justice won’t help defend Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama against a civil lawsuit that claims he helped to incite the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol. In a court filing Tuesday, the Justice Department urged a judge to deny Brooks’ request for immunity...
Can Biden’s efforts lead to more American factory jobs?
MACUNGIE, Pa. — President Joe Biden hoped to connect with blue-collar workers Wednesday at a truck factory in Pennsylvania during a visit to push new “buy American” efforts and advocate for government investments and clean energy as ways to strengthen U.S. manufacturing. Biden was touring the Lehigh Valley operations facility...
Racism of rioters takes center stage in Jan. 6 hearing
It had only been hinted at in previous public examinations of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection: Scores of rioters attacked police officers not just with makeshift weapons, stun guns and fists, but with racist slurs and accusations of treason. Four officers, two from the U.S. Capitol Police and two from...
Blinken decries swastika vandalism in State Department elevator
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday condemned an incident in which a swastika was carved into an elevator wall at the State Department’s main headquarters. Blinken said in a message sent to all department employees that the vandalism is a painful reminder that antisemitism remains an issue...
Audit: Military personnel unprotected from toxic chemicals
The Defense Department has dragged its feet on protecting service personnel from “forever chemicals” at military installations and isn’t doing enough to track health effects from exposure to the toxic compounds, according to an internal audit. Officials have taken steps to find and clean groundwater contaminated with firefighting foam containing...
Ex-airman sentenced to 45 months for leaking drone information
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Air Force intelligence analyst who once helped find targets for deadly U.S. drone strikes was sentenced to 45 months in prison for leaking top-secret details about the program. Daniel Hale, 33, told a federal judge he felt compelled to leak information to a journalist out...
Man pleads guilty to 4 Asian spa killings, sentenced to life
CANTON, Ga. — A man accused of killing eight people, most of them women of Asian descent, at Atlanta-area massage businesses pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday in four of the killings and was handed four sentences of life without parole. Robert Aaron Long, 22, still faces the death penalty in...
South Carolina man convicted of killing Uber rider in 2019Video
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina man was convicted Tuesday of the 2019 abduction and murder of a 21-year-old college student who mistook his car for her Uber ride. The jury took a little more than an hour to find Nathaniel Rowland guilty of the charges in the death of...
Man honors 9/11 crews with Boston-New York drink cart push
A former flight attendant who lost several colleagues when United Flight 175 was flown into the World Trade Center’s south tower in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, is honoring his friends on the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks by pushing an airline beverage cart from Boston to ground...
At least 14 interested in statues removed in Charlottesville
At least 13 organizations and one municipality have expressed interest in acquiring two statues of Confederate generals removed from downtown Charlottesville parks, including one monument that was the focus of a violent white nationalist rally in 2017, according to city documents. Museums, battlefields and historical sites in Virginia and beyond...
Georgia man gets life sentence in 4 of 8 Asian spa killings
CANTON, Ga. — A Georgia man accused of killing eight people at three Asian massage businesses was sentenced Tuesday to life without parole after a prosecutor said investigators saw no evidence of racial bias. Robert Aaron Long was given four life sentences after pleading guilty to all charges in the...
Tokyo reports record virus cases days after Olympics begin
TOKYO — Japan’s capital, Tokyo, reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, days after the Olympics began. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga urged people to avoid non-essential outings but said there was no need to consider a suspension of the Games. Tokyo reported 2,848 new covid-19 cases, exceeding...
‘This is how I’m going to die’: Officers tell Jan. 6 stories
WASHINGTON — “This is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance.” Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell told House investigators Tuesday he could feel himself losing oxygen as he was crushed by rioters — supporters of then-President Donald Trump — as he was defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6...
