U.S./World category, Page 747
Going abroad? U.S. government says passport waits top 3 months
WASHINGTON — Americans hoping to travel abroad this summer may have to delay their plans if they need new or renewed passports. The State Department said Wednesday that the wait for a passport is now between 12 weeks and 18 weeks, even if you pay for expedited processing. That’s because...
No Red Tide relief in sight as dead fish overwhelm St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Sunshine City and its sparkling waterfront parks have become the center of Tampa Bay’s Red Tide crisis. Rafts of dead fish are washing ashore more quickly than crews can gather the carcasses. Workers have picked up 477 tons of dead marine life from the coastline...
Explainer: Are we going to need covid-19 booster shots?
Just because Pfizer wants to offer covid-19 vaccine boosters doesn’t mean people will be lining up anytime soon — U.S. and international health authorities say that for now, the fully vaccinated seem well protected. Globally, experts are watching closely to determine if and when people might need another shot. At...
Ohio University suspends frat after anti-hazing law enacted
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A week after the state enacted an anti-hazing law in honor of an Ohio University student who died in 2018, the university suspended another fraternity for allegedly violating hazing rules. The Athens-based school sent the fraternity a notice Tuesday that it will be suspended for four years...
Family files $30M suit over deputies’ shooting of Black man
The family of an unarmed Black man who was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies in North Carolina says he died because of the officers’ “intentional and reckless disregard of his life,” according to a $30 million civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday. Andrew Brown Jr. was killed April 21 by Pasquotank...
July 4 fireworks caused 2nd-highest air pollution levels from the holiday in Southern California in a decade
LOS ANGELES — This year’s Fourth of July fireworks created the second-highest air pollution levels from the holiday in the last decade and were the highest since the Bobcat wildfire in September, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said Tuesday. The agency said that although last week’s fireworks-related air...
Lawsuit says Georgia Medicaid should cover gender-affirming surgeries
ATLANTA — Two Georgians have filed a lawsuit saying their constitutional rights were violated when the state Medicaid program declined to cover the gender-affirming surgeries they say they need to live a full life. At issue is whether the reconstructive or plastic surgeries sought by Shon Thomas and Gwendolyn Cheney...
U.S. overdose deaths hit record 93,000 in pandemic last yearVideo
NEW YORK — Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase. “This is a staggering...
North Carolina Republicans move to limit classroom race talk
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Republicans are advancing legislation to limit how teachers can discuss certain racial concepts inside the classroom, according to the state’s most powerful senator. GOP Senate leader Phil Berger will move forward with legislation as Republicans across the country seek to counter their understanding of “critical...
Acclaim, fundraising spread unevenly among Black colleges
ATLANTA — Two recent high-profile faculty appointments could be a fundraising and enrollment bonanza for Howard University, one of the nation’s most prestigious Black colleges. Many other Black schools are not so fortunate; in fact, many are struggling. Some, especially smaller private colleges, have been fighting for their survival for...
Chinese parents, abducted son reunited after 24 years
BANGKOK — After 24 years of heartache and searching, a Chinese couple was reunited with their son who was abducted as a toddler outside their front gate. Guo Gangtang and his wife, Zhang Wenge, hugged their 26-year-old son with tears in their eyes Sunday at a reunion organized by police...
Appeals court: Dealers can sell handguns to 18-year-olds
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A federal law that for more than 50 years has banned licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults between age 18 and 21 is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. In a 2-1 opinion, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond...
Ohio hospital: Patient gets kidney meant for someone else
CLEVELAND — An Ohio hospital has acknowledged that a patient received a new kidney meant for someone else. Officials at University Hospitals in Cleveland on Monday apologized for the mistake and said two employees have been placed on administrative leave. The kidney given to the wrong patient is compatible and...
2 Baltimore officers on U.S. task force shot, suspect killedVideo
WOODLAWN, Md. — Two Baltimore city police detectives were shot and a homicide suspect was killed as a U.S. Marshals’ task force attempted to serve a warrant Tuesday morning outside a shopping mall, authorities said. Members of the warrant apprehension task force were looking for a vehicle and suspect wanted...
Unwanted pets: Giant goldfish turn up in Minnesota waterwaysVideo
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Officials in Minnesota said they’re finding more giant goldfish in waterways, prompting a plea to citizens to stop illegally dumping their unwanted fish into ponds and lakes. The goldfish, which can grow to the size of a football, compete with native species for food and increase algae...
Chicago banker Stephen Calk convicted in loans-for-Trump job scheme
NEW YORK — A Manhattan jury on Tuesday convicted a Chicago banker of criminal charges for enabling Paul Manafort to get $16 million in loans before the former campaign manager for ex-President Donald Trump helped him get an interview for a job in the Trump administration. The jury returned its...
Death toll in Florida condo building collapse rises to 95
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Exhausted crews neared the end of their search for victims of a Miami-area condominium tower collapse Tuesday as the death toll reached 95 with just a handful of people still unaccounted for. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference that the number of...
Death toll rises to 92 in fire at Iraqi coronavirus ward
BAGHDAD — The death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward in Iraq has climbed to at least 92, the Iraqi state news agency reported Tuesday. The announcement came as anguished family members buried their loved ones and lashed out at the government over the tragedy....
Russia warns U.S. against putting troops in Central Asia near Afghanistan
MOSCOW — Russia has strongly warned the United States against deploying its troops in the former Soviet Central Asian nations following their withdrawal from Afghanistan, a senior diplomat said in remarks published on Tuesday. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow conveyed the message to Washington last month...
Germany launches ‘space command’ to protect infrastructure
BERLIN — The German military on Tuesday launched a “space command” tasked with overseeing satellites, watching for dangerous space junk and analyzing other countries’ activities. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer launched the new operation during a visit to its base at Uedem in western Germany. The military is “responding to the...
Indicted Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg stripped of several company positions
NEW YORK — The finance chief of former President Donald Trump’s business empire has been removed as an officer at some of the company’s subsidiaries amid charges accusing him and the corporation of a long-running tax fraud scheme. Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was indicted last week by...
Trump lawyers might be penalized over Michigan election case
DETROIT — A federal judge considering whether to order sanctions against some of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers spent hours Monday drilling deeply into details about an unsuccessful lawsuit that challenged Michigan’s 2020 election results. The lawsuit alleging widespread fraud was dropped after the judge found nothing but “speculation and...
Florida man tied to violent prison gang pleads guilty in Jan. 6 riot
A Florida man who was part of a white supremacist prison gang when he served time for attempted murder pleaded guilty Monday to joining the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, and will be released from jail this week after serving six months for his role in the Jan. 6...
Man arrested in alleged child abduction; mother found dead in TennesseeVideo
RAHWAY, N.J. — A man will be extradited to New Jersey to face charges in connection with the alleged abduction of a 2-year-old boy whose mother was found dead in Tennessee, authorities said Sunday. The Union County prosecutor’s office and Rahway police said 27-year-old Tyler Rios, of Highland Park, is...
Gutter ball: Michigan man finds 160 bowling balls under home
NORTON SHORES, Mich. — A Michigan man made a striking discovery under his house when he went to demolish his back stairs: about 160 bowling balls. David Olson, 33, said he found one ball buried in the sand behind cinder blocks this month and continued finding more over the following...
