U.S./World category, Page 814
Hong Kong court denies bail to 32 democracy activists
HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court on Thursday denied bail to 32 out of 47 pro-democracy activists charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law, ending a four-day marathon court hearing. The group of activists was charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the law and detained on Sunday over...
House passes sweeping voting rights bill over GOP opposition
WASHINGTON — House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation Wednesday over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation. House Resolution 1, which touches on virtually every aspect of the electoral process, was approved...
SpaceX Starship lands upright, then explodes in latest test
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s futuristic Starship looked like it aced a touchdown Wednesday, but then exploded on the landing pad with so much force that it was hurled into the air. The failure occurred just minutes after SpaceX declared success. Two previous test flights crash-landed in fireballs. The full-scale...
SUV in California crash came through hole in border fence
HOLTVILLE, Calif. — Thirteen people killed in one of the deadliest border crashes on record were among 44 people who entered the U.S. through a hole cut into Southern California’s border fence with Mexico, the Border Patrol said Wednesday. Gregory Bovino, the agency’s El Centro sector chief, told The Associated...
Man who used van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto guilty
TORONTO — A man who admitted using a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto was found guilty on Wednesday in a case that drew attention to an online world of sexual loneliness, rage and misogyny. Alek Minassian faced 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder...
Pandemic puts 1 in 3 nonprofits in financial jeopardy
NEW YORK — More than one-third of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the viral pandemic, according to a study being released Wednesday by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. The study’s findings underscore...
Yard sale find turns out to be artifact worth up to $500,000
HARTFORD, Conn. — Talk about your yard sale finds. A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out to be a rare, 15th century Chinese artifact worth between $300,000 and $500,000 that is about to go up for auction at Sotheby’s. The white bowl adorned...
Solid sign-ups for Biden’s new ‘Obamacare’ coverage offer
WASHINGTON — More than 200,000 people signed up for coverage in the first two weeks after President Joe Biden reopened HealthCare.gov as part of his coronavirus response, the government said Wednesday. The solid start to the three-month special enrollment period indicates a pent-up demand for health insurance as the covid-19...
Police uncover ‘possible plot’ by militia to breach Capitol again
WASHINGTON — Capitol Police say they have intelligence showing a “possible plot” by a militia group to breach the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, nearly two months after a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the iconic building to try to stop Congress from certifying now-President Joe Biden’s victory....
Big winner in Minnesota snowplow contest: Plowy McPlowFace
MINNEAPOLIS — The next time it snows, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will dispatch Plowy McPlowFace to clear the roads. Darth Blader and Plow Bunyan will be out there, too. They are among the winning names in MnDOT’s “Name a Snowplow” contest in which the agency sought witty monikers for...
Official: Dems OK tighter income limits for covid relief
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats agreed Wednesday to tighten the upper income limits at which people could qualify for stimulus checks, a Democratic official said, a major concession to moderates as party leaders prepared to move their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill through the Senate. The covid-19 relief...
Putin seeks crackdown on those who push children to protest
MOSCOW — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday urged police to track down people who encourage children to join in unsanctioned demonstrations, a move that follows a wave of protests against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Speaking to top officials of the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police,...
Reports: Myanmar security forces shoot dead 8 protestersVideo
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar security forces shot and killed at least eight people Wednesday, according to accounts on social media and local news reports, as authorities extended their lethal crackdown on protests against last month’s coup. Videos from various locations showed security forces firing slingshots at demonstrators, chasing them down...
Camilla says hospitalized Prince Philip is ‘slightly’ better
LONDON — Prince Philip is “slightly improving” and the royal family is keeping its fingers crossed for the hospitalized duke’s recovery, his daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said Wednesday. Philip, 99, has been hospitalized since being admitted Feb. 16 to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, where he was treated...
Abortion concerns prompt archdiocese warning on vaccine
NEW ORLEANS — Roman Catholic leaders in St. Louis and New Orleans are advising Catholics that the covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, newly approved for use in the U.S., is “morally compromised” because it is produced using a cell line derived from an aborted fetus. The New Orleans archdiocese...
‘Dr. Oz’ aids police in resuscitating man at Newark airport
NEWARK, N.J. — When a traveler became stricken at Newark Liberty International Airport, the police got an assist from a celebrity doctor: Mehmet Oz. The incident occurred late Monday night when Port Authority Officer Jeffrey Croissant saw the 60-year-old man fall to the floor near a baggage claim area. Croissant...
Strong earthquake shakes central Greece, felt in Balkans
ATHENS, Greece — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of up to 6.3 struck central Greece on Wednesday and was felt as far away as the capitals of neighboring Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Local officials reported some structural damage, mainly to...
U.S. forces: Rockets hit airbase in Iraq hosting U.S. troops
BAGHDAD — At least 10 rockets targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the coalition and the Iraqi military said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties. The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province at 7:20 a.m., coalition...
As virus-era attacks on Asians rise, past victims look back
Nearly a year after they were almost stabbed to death inside a Midland, Texas, Sam’s Club, Bawi Cung and his two sons all have visible scars. It’s the unseen ones though that are harder to get over. Cung can’t walk through any store without constantly looking in all directions. His...
Intel told to pay $2.18 billion after losing Texas patent trial
Intel Corp. was told to pay VLSI Technology LLC $2.18 billion by a federal jury in Texas after losing a patent-infringement trial over technology related to chip-making, one of the largest patent-damages award in U.S. history. Intel pledged to appeal. Intel infringed two patents owned by closely held VLSI, the...
Attorneys say Joe Exotic of ‘Tiger King’ wants new trial
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Joe Exotic of “Tiger King” fame has found new attorneys who say they plan to file a motion for a new trial in a matter of months. Joe Exotic, whose real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison for violating...
Budget nominee Tanden withdraws nomination amid opposition
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, has withdrawn her nomination after she faced opposition from key Democratic and Republican senators for her controversial tweets. Her withdrawal marks the first high-profile defeat of one of Biden’s nominees. Eleven of the 23...
South Carolina Senate adds firing squad to execution methods
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina senators Tuesday added a firing squad to the electric chair as alternatives if the state can’t execute condemned inmates by way of lethal injection. The Senate then approved the bill on a key 32-11 vote with several Democrats joining Republicans in the proposal which would...
Biden vows enough vaccine for all U.S. adults by end of May
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccines for all adult Americans by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated, as his administration announced that drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved...
FBI Director Christopher Wray calls riot at Capitol ‘domestic terrorism,’ warns movement is growing
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray bluntly labeled the January riot at the U.S. Capitol as “domestic terrorism” Tuesday and warned of a rapidly growing threat of homegrown violent extremism that law enforcement is scrambling to confront through thousands of investigations. Wray also defended to lawmakers his own agency’s handling...
