U.S./World category, Page 834
Indian village cheers for Kamala Harris during swearing-in as U.S. vice president
THULASENDRAPURAM, India — Residents of a tiny Indian village surrounded by rice paddies flocked to a Hindu temple, setting off firecrackers and praying and as they watched Kamala Harris, who has strong roots to the village, take her oath of office and become the U.S. vice president on Wednesday. Groups...
Photos: The inauguration of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
“The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” Biden said. “This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day in history...
Football great Brian Urlacher’s brother pardoned by Trump
CHICAGO — The brother of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, who faced federal charges that he recruited for a multi-million dollar illegal offshore gambling ring, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. Casey Urlacher, the mayor of the tiny Chicago suburb of Mettawa, was among those pardoned...
Germany to ban practice of killing newly hatched male chicks
BERLIN — The German government plans to ban the practice of killing male chicks after they hatch, which results in the death of around 45 million birds per year in the country. The Cabinet on Wednesday approved legislation that will prohibit the practice from Jan. 1 next year. Government spokeswoman...
EU sighs with relief as Biden readies to enter White House
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top officials breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday that Joe Biden will be taking over as president of the United States, but they warned that the world has changed after four years of Donald Trump and that trans-Atlantic ties will be different in the...
Biden takes the helm as president: ‘Democracy has prevailed’
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” and summoning American resilience and unity to confront the deeply divided nation’s historic confluence of crises. Biden took the oath at a U.S. Capitol that had been battered...
Trump frees former aides from ethics pledge, lobbying ban
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, in one of his final acts of office, released current and former members of his administration from the terms of their ethics pledge, which included a five-year ban on lobbying their former agencies. The ethics pledge was outlined in one of Trump’s first executive orders,...
Retired NYC firefighter surrenders in U.S. Capitol riot sweep
NEW YORK — A retired New York City firefighter and a state court employee were swept up Tuesday in the federal investigation of the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Former firefighter Thomas Fee surrendered to face charges in Washington of disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building without permission during...
Self-described ‘Oath Keepers’ militia members jailed on riot charges
CINCINNATI — Federal authorities said Tuesday that they’ve charged a leader in a paramilitary group with conspiracy and related counts after he and some of the group’s members helped storm the U.S. Capitol. Thomas Edward Caldwell, 65, of Virginia, was the first person to be charged with conspiracy as a...
2 National Guard members made extremist statements about inaugurationVideo
WASHINGTON — Twelve U.S. National Guard members have been removed from securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration after vetting by the FBI, including two who made extremist statements in posts or texts about the Wednesday event, Pentagon officials said. There were no specific threats to Biden. Two U.S. officials told The...
Monarch butterfly population moves closer to extinction
SAN FRANCISCO — The number of western monarch butterflies wintering along the California coast has plummeted precipitously to a record low, putting the orange-and-black insects closer to extinction, researchers announced Tuesday. An annual winter count by the Xerces Society recorded fewer than 2,000 butterflies, a massive decline from the tens...
U.S. soldier arrested in plot to blow up NYC 9/11 Memorial
A U.S. Army soldier was arrested Tuesday in Georgia on terrorism charges after he spoke online about plots to blow up New York City’s 9/11 Memorial and other landmarks and attack U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, authorities said Tuesday. Cole James Bridges of Stow, Ohio, was in custody on...
Trump in final parting shot hits Venezuela with sanctions
CARACAS, Venezuela — The Trump administration issued a parting shot to Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday, announcing a sweeping round of stiff financial sanctions that target a network accused of moving oil on behalf of the president’s alleged frontman. The U.S. Treasury Department hit three individuals, 14 business entities...
Georgia certifies Democrats Warnock and Ossoff’s Senate wins
ATLANTA — Georgia’s secretary of state has certified the results of the two U.S. Senate runoff elections, paving the way for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to be sworn in and for Democrats to take control of the chamber. They’ll take office just as the Senate considers whether to convict...
SAT doing away with optional essay, subject tests
NEW YORK — The College Board said Tuesday it will eliminate the optional essay from the SAT and do away with subject tests amid a changing college admissions landscape. “The pandemic has highlighted the importance of being innovative and adaptive to what lies ahead,” according to a statement from the...
Oklahoma judge orders ‘Tiger King’ zoo to turn over big cats
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A federal judge in Oklahoma has ordered the new owners of an Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary to turn over all the lion and tiger cubs in their possession, along with the animals’ mothers, to the federal government. U.S. District Judge John F. Heil...
Janet Yellen pushes GOP senators on $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice as Treasury secretary, said Tuesday that the incoming administration would focus on winning quick passage of its $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan, rejecting Republican arguments that the measure is too big given the size of U.S. budget deficits. “More must be done,” Yellen told...
McConnell: Trump ‘provoked’ Capitol siege, mob ‘fed lies’
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday explicitly placed blame on President Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was “fed lies” and that the president and others “provoked” those intent on overturning Democrat Joe Biden’s election. McConnell’s remarks as he opened the Senate were...
12 National Guard members removed from Biden inauguration for ties to fringe groups
Twelve U.S. Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or posted extremist views online, according to two U.S. officials. There was no threat to President-elect Joe Biden, they said. The officials, a senior...
Mega Millions jackpot now $865M; Powerball up to $730M
DES MOINES, Iowa — Lottery players will have another shot Tuesday night at the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history. The Mega Millions top prize climbed to an estimated $865 million, the biggest jackpot in more than two years. Powerball, the other lottery game offered in most of the U.S., isn’t...
Massive car pileup on Japan highway kills 1, injures 17
TOKYO — One person was killed and at least 17 injured Tuesday in a massive pileup of at least 134 vehicles in blizzard conditions on a highway in northern Japan, officials said. About 200 people were stranded in the pileup, which forced the closure of the Tohoku Expressway in Miyagi...
Heavy metal guitarist photographed at Capitol riot charged
INDIANAPOLIS — A heavy metal guitarist who was photographed with the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol and is accused of spraying police officers with a pepper-based bear spray irritant has been arrested, the FBI said. Jon Ryan Schaffer turned himself in Sunday after he was featured on an FBI...
Poll: Virus, economy swamp other priorities for U.S.
WASHINGTON — Containing the coronavirus outbreak and repairing the economic damage it has inflicted are the top priorities for Americans as Joe Biden prepares to become the 46th president of the United States, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Overall, 53% of...
Meghan seeks court ruling over ‘serious breach’ of privacy
LONDON — Lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex asked a British judge on Tuesday to settle her lawsuit against a newspaper before it goes to trial by ruling that its publication of a “deeply personal” letter to her estranged father was “a plain and a serious breach of her rights...
Texas man threatened to shoot family if they reported him going in U.S. Capitol, FBI saysVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas man arrested over the weekend for going inside of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 told his family he went there “to protect the country” and threatened to shoot his children if they turned him in, authorities say. Guy Reffitt took his gun with...
