U.S./World category, Page 752
Ransomware hits hundreds of U.S. companies, security firm says
WASHINGTON — A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies on Friday, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident. The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress...
Police groups sue over changes to Minnesota deadly force law
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A coalition of Minnesota’s largest law enforcement groups sued the state Friday seeking to overturn a state law that changed the standard for justified use of deadly force by police. The lawsuit claims the law, which took effect in March, violates officers’ rights to self-defense and...
Proposal would ban mink farming to stem coronavirus mutation
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bipartisan proposal in the U.S. House would ban the farming of mink fur in the United States in an effort to stem possible mutations of the coronavirus, something researchers have said can be accelerated when the virus spreads among animals. The bill introduced this week is...
Biden backs changes in military sexual assault prosecution
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday put his stamp of approval on a long-debated change to the military justice system that would remove decisions on prosecuting sexual assault cases from military commanders. Biden, however, stopped short of backing a congressional effort to strip commanders of oversight of all major...
U.S. Supreme Court backs Minnesota Amish in septic tank fight
MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. Supreme Court sided Friday with members of an Amish group in Minnesota who are fighting efforts by authorities to compel them to install septic systems, sending their appeal back to a state court for reconsideration in light of the high court’s recent ruling in a religious...
U.S. vacates key Afghan base; pullout target now ‘late August’
WASHINGTON — Nearly 20 years after invading Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaida, the U.S. military has vacated its biggest airfield in the country, advancing a final withdrawal that the Pentagon on Friday said will be completed by the end of August. President Joe Biden had instructed...
Tax law experts see ‘strong’ case against Trump Organization, CFO
NEW YORK — Companies give perks to their employees all the time. Many top executives at Fortune 500 companies have access to a corporate jet for personal use, a company apartment, or an expense account for fancy meals. Even lower-level employees regularly get access to perks like tuition reimbursement or...
What will happen to the collapsed Surfside condo if Hurricane Elsa affects Florida?
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Authorities managing the search under the rubble of the partially collapsed building in Surfside are worried that Hurricane Elsa could bring down the portion of Champlain Towers South Condo that remains standing. Ray Jadallah, assistant Miami-Dade fire chief, said at a private briefing Friday morning that while...
Michigan boy dies 3 days after getting Pfizer covid-19 vaccine; CDC is investigating
DETROIT — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the case of a 13-year-old Saginaw County, Mich., boy who died in his sleep three days after getting his second dose of a covid-19 vaccine in mid-June. The county health department confirmed the investigation, telling the Free Press...
Tally of missing in Miami-area condo collapse reduced to 128 after audit; death toll up to 20
SURFSIDE, Fla. — The tally of the missing in the Florida condominium collapse was substantially reduced Friday even as the death toll continued to rise. The number of missing was revised from 145 to 128 after duplicate names were eliminated and some people reported missing turned up safe, officials said....
Cargo plane makes emergency landing in ocean off coast of Hawaii; 2 rescued
HONOLULU — A cargo plane made an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii early Friday and both people on board have been rescued. The pilots of the Transair Flight 810 had reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced...
California homicides jump 31% in 2020, most in 13 years
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Homicides in California jumped 31% last year, making it the deadliest year since 2007, and Black people accounted for nearly one-third of all victims as the nation’s most populous state struggled with the coronavirus pandemic and concerns over racial injustice, according to reports released Thursday. The 2,202...
U.S. hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans after nearly 20 years
KABUL, Afghanistan — After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said Friday. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security...
2 Pittsburgh firefighters join search teams at Surfside collapse; North Side nonprofit starts fund for victims
Two Pittsburgh fire officials traveled to Surfside, Fla. on Thursday to join hundreds of first responders in the search for possible survivors of the 12-story building collapse that has killed at least 18 people and left 145 missing. A captain and a lieutenant of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire have...
Boy Scouts of America reaches pivotal agreement with victims
DOVER, Del. — The Boy Scouts of America have reached an agreement with attorneys representing some 60,000 victims of child sex abuse in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in the organization’s bankruptcy case. Attorneys for the BSA filed court papers late Thursday outlining a restructuring support agreement,...
Attorney General Merrick Garland halts federal executions, orders review of protocols
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is halting federal executions after a historic use of capital punishment by the Trump administration, which carried out 13 executions in six months. Attorney General Merrick Garland made the announcement Thursday night, saying he was imposing a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department...
5 injured after building under construction collapses in D.C.Video
WASHINGTON — Five workers were injured Thursday when a building under construction collapsed in the nation’s capital, trapping one man for more than an hour as firefighters worked feverishly to free him from layers of debris. The collapse happened around 3:30 p.m. in the Brightwood Park neighborhood of Washington. Fire...
Wildfire consumes small British Columbia town that hit 121 degreesVideo
LILLOOET, British Columbia — A wildfire that forced people to flee a small town in British Columbia that had set record high temperatures for Canada on three consecutive days burned out of control Thursday as relatives desperately sought information on evacuees. The roughly 1,000 residents of Lytton had to abandon...
Phylicia Rashad draws critics and dismissal calls for defending Bill CosbyVideo
WASHINGTON — Phylicia Rashad has found herself embroiled in controversy after expressing public support for Bill Cosby’s release from prison, with some prominent Black voices calling for her dismissal as dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts. It remains to be seen whether Rashad’s position at Howard is in...
Mitch McConnell has warned of ‘likely catastrophe’ over U.S. troop pullout in Afghanistan. Will he be proved right?
WASHINGTON — For more than two months, Mitch McConnell has excoriated President Joe Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan as a “hasty abandonment” that will “threaten the U.S. homeland” and lead to a “likely catastrophe.” An accelerated exit that will now pull a significant number of U.S. troops out by this...
Crews cleaning up after Zion National Park flash flood
SPRINGDALE, Utah — Zion National Park officials and business owners in a nearby tourist town were still cleaning up and assessing the damage Thursday from a massive flash flood that ripped through the popular red rock park, sending mud and debris onto streets. No injuries were reported. Tuesday’s flash flood...
Trump Organization, CFO Allen Weisselberg indicted on tax fraud charges
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Trump himself was not charged,...
Rescue efforts resume after delay at Florida condo collapse site
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Rescue efforts at the site of a partially collapsed Florida condominium building resumed Thursday evening, about 15 hours after the work was halted out of concern about the stability of the remaining structure, the mayor said. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he did not know why officials...
Picasso kept in Maine house closet for 50 years is sold
AMESBURY, Mass. — A mixed-media painting attributed to Pablo Picasso has been sold after spending 50 years in a closet in a house in Maine. John McInnis Auctioneers, based in Massachusetts, confirmed that the painting entitled “Le Tricorne” sold on Saturday, the Boston Globe reported. The 16 x 16 inch...
Supreme Court upholds Arizona voting restrictions
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld voting restrictions in Arizona in a decision that could make it harder to challenge other voting limits put in place by Republican lawmakers following last year’s elections. The court, by a conservative-majority 6-3 vote, reversed a lower court ruling in deciding that...
