U.S./World category, Page 780
2 women freed from ongoing Minnesota bank robbery standoff
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A standoff between police in St. Cloud, Minn., and an alleged hostage-taker continued into the evening Thursday despite the release of two employees. The women were released from a Wells Fargo Bank branch, according to authorities. The first woman ran from the bank toward members of...
U.S. sends more warplanes to protect pullout from AfghanistanVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States has deployed a dozen additional warplanes to bolster protection of American and coalition troops making a final withdrawal from Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents step up pressure on Afghan government forces, top Pentagon officials said Thursday. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,...
At least 25 dead during Brazilian police raid in Rio
RIO DE JANEIRO — Police targeting drug traffickers raided a slum in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and at least one officer and 24 suspects died after being shot, authorities said. A police helicopter flew low over the Jacarezinho favela as heavily armed men fled police by leaping from roof...
Pittsburgh terrorism expert concerned about U.S. troop withdrawal from AfghanistanVideo
Last month, President Biden announced a complete withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, ending the longest war in American history. It’s a decision that’s raised concerns for terrorism experts like Colin P. Clarke, director of Policy and Research for the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and...
Blinken reaffirms U.S. support for Ukraine amid Russia tension
KYIV, Ukraine — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine at a meeting Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the wake of Kyiv’s heightened tensions with Russia, fueled by Moscow’s recent troop buildup near their border. The top American diplomat met with Zelenskyy during his one-day...
4-year-old mistakenly places Amazon order for 51 cases of SpongeBob popsicles worth $2.6K
A 4-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants fan got carried away while using his mother’s Amazon account this week. A New York Post report said the Brooklyn boy, named Noah, ordered nearly $3,000 worth of non-refundable SpongeBob SquarePants Popsicles on Amazon. On Monday, a friend, Katie Schloss, set up a GoFundMe page to...
Sheriff: Girl shoots 3 at Idaho school; teacher disarms her
RIGBY, Idaho — A sixth-grade girl brought a gun to her Idaho middle school, shot and wounded two students and a custodian and then was disarmed by a teacher Thursday, authorities said. The three were shot in their extremities and were expected to survive, officials said at a news conference....
Armed South Carolina soldier hijacks bus full of elementary school kids, officials say
COLUMBIA, S.C. — An armed soldier who ran off Fort Jackson was arrested Thursday morning after he boarded a bus with 18 elementary school children, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. No students were injured, and neither was the school bus driver, Lott said at a news conference. “Very scary...
India’s government eases hospital oxygen shortage as demand jumps
Under order by the Supreme Court, India’s government agreed on Thursday to provide more medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, potentially easing a 2-week-old shortage that worsened the country’s exploding coronavirus crisis. Government officials also denied reports that they have been slow in distributing life-saving supplies donated from abroad....
U.S. proposes ending rule that weakened wild bird protections
The Biden administration on Monday proposed revoking a rule imposed under former President Donald Trump that weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species. The Interior Department announcement comes after officials in March said they were reversing a Trump policy that ended criminal...
Nebraska launches ‘beef passport’ program for meat eating
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts ramped up his crusade for the meat industry on Wednesday by endorsing a new “beef passport” program to promote meat eating, a few weeks after he blasted Colorado’s governor for a resolution encouraging its residents to eat less. Ricketts, a Republican, cast meat as essential to...
Dunkin’ offers free coffee to health care workers on National Nurses Day
Dunkin’ is offering a free medium hot or iced coffee today — no purchase necessary — to all health care workers who visit participating restaurants nationwide, while supplies last. Abby Zweigle, spokesperson for Dunkin’ Brands, said ID is required and the promotion excludes Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew, and...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs GOP voting law critics call ‘un-American’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a major rewrite of Florida’s elections law on Thursday, tightening rules around drop boxes and mail-in voting in the presidential battleground. Critics say the changes will make it harder for voters, particularly the elderly and people of color, to cast ballots. It’s the...
U.S. unemployment claims fall to a pandemic low of 498,000
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 498,000, the lowest point since the viral pandemic struck 14 months ago and a sign of the job market’s growing strength as businesses reopen and consumers step up spending. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that...
Federal judge strikes down CDC’s national moratorium on evictions
A federal judge in Washington blocked a nationwide eviction moratorium the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established as the covid-19 lockdowns put millions of renters out of work during the past year. In a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said the agency exceeded its authority by...
Josh Duggar granted release as he awaits child porn trial
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal judge on Wednesday allowed former reality TV star Josh Duggar to be released as he awaits trial on charges that he downloaded and possessed child pornography. Magistrate Judge Christy Comstock ordered Duggar, 33, confined to the home of family friends who have agreed to...
Kentucky medical student found dead at bottom of cliff at Red River Gorge
STANTON, Ky. — A 24-year-old University of Kentucky student who went hiking at Red River Gorge has been found dead at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff, authorities said. Powell County Search and Rescue said in a statement that the organization was notified Tuesday that the woman had gone hiking...
U.S. birth rate falls to lowest point in more than a century
NEW YORK — The U.S. birth rate fell 4% last year, the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years, according to a government report being released Wednesday. The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly every age group, falling to the lowest point since...
Firing of Atlanta officer who shot Rayshard Brooks reversed
ATLANTA — The firing of the former Atlanta police officer who’s charged with murder in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks was reversed after a review panel found the city failed to follow its own procedures for disciplinary actions. Garrett Rolfe was fired in June, a day after he shot...
Families, advocates mark day of awareness for Native victims
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — From Washington to Indigenous communities across the American Southwest, top government officials, family members and advocates gathered Wednesday as part of a call to action to address the ongoing problem of violence against Indigenous women and children. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other federal officials commemorated...
60 years since 1st American in space: Tourists lining up
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Sixty years after Alan Shepard became the first American in space, everyday people are on the verge of following in his cosmic footsteps. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company used Wednesday’s anniversary to announce an auction for a seat on the company’s first crew spaceflight, launched by...
Louisiana cop who used stun gun on handcuffed man resigns
PORT ALLEN, La. — An officer who used a stun gun twice on a handcuffed, seated man has resigned from a Louisiana police department one day before a termination hearing. Nolan Dehon III had been scheduled for a hearing Tuesday before the Port Allen City Council, to consider whether to...
Myanmar’s military disappearing young men to crush uprising
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Myanmar’s security forces moved in and the street lamps went black. In house after house, people shut off their lights. Darkness swallowed the block. Huddled inside her home in this neighborhood of Yangon, 19-year-old Shwe dared to peek out her window into the inky night. A flashlight shone back,...
Macron to commemorate 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death
PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday is marking the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonapart, the warrior and emperor who famously bequeathed to France its civil code but whose legacy is today tarnished in the eyes of some for reinstating slavery. In a speech, Macron is expected to...
Hot mic in courtroom captures insurance adjuster calling judge an idiot
Virtual court proceedings during the covid-19 pandemic have seen their share of cyber blunders. Participants have appeared naked or with a beer in hand, while an errant video filter turned a Texas attorney into a cat during a Zoom hearing. In the Silicon Valley last month, an insurance adjuster provided...
