U.S./World category, Page 844
No charges against Wisconsin officer who shot Jacob Blake
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin prosecutor announced Tuesday that he will not file criminal charges against a white police officer who shot a Black man in the back in Kenosha last summer, leaving him paralyzed and setting off sometimes violent protests in the city. Officer Rusten Sheskey’s shooting of Jacob...
U.S.: Hack of federal agencies ‘likely Russian in origin’Video
WASHINGTON — Top national security agencies confirmed Tuesday that Russia was likely responsible for a massive hack of U.S. government departments and corporations, rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim that China might be to blame. The rare joint statement represented the U.S. government’s first formal attempt to assign responsibility for the...
Trump administration scales back wild bird protections
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes that weaken the government’s enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, brushing aside warnings that billions of birds could die as a result. Federal wildlife officials have acknowledged the move could result in more deaths...
Unidentified GIs who died in Philippines returned to Hawaii
HONOLULU — The remains of some U.S. military personnel who died during World War II and were buried anonymously in the Philippines have been returned to Hawaii to try to determine their identities. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency recently conducted an “honorable carry” ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for...
Where is Jack Ma, China’s e-commerce pioneer?
BEIJING — China’s best-known entrepreneur, e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, made his fortune by taking big risks. The former English teacher founded Alibaba Group in 1999, when China had few internet users. Online payments service Alipay launched five years later, before regulators said such businesses would be allowed. Both long shots...
Half of Chicago’s teachers expected to return to schools Monday didn’t show up
CHICAGO — More than half of Chicago Public Schools teachers who were expected to return to schools Monday did not show up, CEO Janice Jackson said. Her comments came at a news conference Tuesday, days after the Chicago Teachers Union said some of its members would not report to schools...
Illinois teen pleads not guilty in Kenosha protest slayings
MADISON, Wis. — An Illinois teenager who fatally shot two people and wounded a third amidst sometimes violent summer protests on the streets of Kenosha, Wis., pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges including intentional homicide. Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, entered his plea in a brief hearing conducted by teleconference that...
Dog found alive raises hopes in deadly Norway landslide
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A small dog was found alive in the rubble of the deadly landslide that swept away homes in a Norwegian village, raising hopes for rescuers who are still searching for three missing people. Seven others have died. The dog was found late Monday “in good condition” in...
Proud Boys leader arrested, accused of burning church banner
WASHINGTON — Police in the nation’s capital on Monday arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, who is accused of burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington last month. Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, was arrested by Metropolitan Police Department...
Urging calm, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser calls in National Guard for protestsVideo
Bracing for possible violence, the nation’s capital has mobilized the National Guard ahead of planned protests by President Donald Trump’s supporters in connection with the congressional vote expected Wednesday to affirm Joe Biden’s election victory. Trump’s supporters are planning to rally Tuesday and Wednesday, seeking to bolster the president’s unproven...
U.K. prime minister orders new virus lockdown for England
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus, even as Britain ramped up its vaccination program by becoming the first nation to start using the shot developed by Oxford University...
Federal judge rejects lawsuit seeking to overturn Trump loss
MADISON, Wis. — A federal judge on Monday rejected a lawsuit filed by two Republican Wisconsin lawmakers, voting rights groups and others seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Wisconsin and four other swing states where Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg,...
Harvard professor believes asteroid was actually old alien techVideo
It would appear that one man’s rock is another alien’s outdated cellphone. Avi Loeb, an Israeli-American theoretical physicist and professor at Harvard University, theorizes in his upcoming book “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) that a rock that entered our solar system in September...
France charges an alleged organizer of giant New Year’s rave
PARIS — An alleged organizer of an illegal New Year’s Eve rave that at least 2,500 people attended for more than a day in western France was charged Monday with endangering lives amid a coronavirus curfew and other restrictions. The 22-year-old man also faced property damage and drug charges among...
Amazon’s Bezos tops list of richest charitable gifts in 2020
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The world’s richest person made the single-largest charitable contribution in 2020, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of top donations, a $10 billion gift that is intended to help fight climate change. Amazon’s founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, whose “real-time” worth Forbes magazine estimates...
Saudi Arabia to lift Qatar embargo, open airspace and border
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait’s foreign ministry on Monday announced that Saudi Arabia will lift a years-long embargo on Qatar, opening its air and land borders in the first steps toward ending the Gulf crisis. The state-run Kuwait News Agency reported the announcement, saying that Saudi Arabia would open...
Kentucky officers in Breonna Taylor face termination hearing
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two Kentucky police detectives involved in the raid that left Breonna Taylor dead, including the one who shot her, were scheduled Monday to face a termination hearing. Detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes received notice last week from Louisville Police interim Chief Yvette Gentry that she intends...
Lava spatters, flows inside crater of Hawaii volcano
HONOLULU — Lava spattered and flowed over the weekend inside the crater of a Hawaii volcano that began erupting in December. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the lava is confined to the summit crater of Kilauea, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Sunday. The eruption began Dec. 20 within Hawaii Volcanoes National...
Hundreds demonstrate over fatal Minneapolis police shooting
MINNEAPOLIS — Hundreds of protesters marched in Minneapolis to demand justice in the fatal police shooting of a 23-year-old man, the city’s first police-involved death since George Floyd died after being restrained by officers in May. As many as 1,000 demonstrators marched and chanted Sunday near the site where Dolal...
Iran starts 20% uranium enrichment, seizes tanker in Strait of HormuzVideo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran began enriching uranium Monday to levels unseen since its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and also seized a South Korean-flagged tanker near the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a double-barreled challenge to the West that further raised Mideast tensions. Both decisions appeared aimed at...
U.K. judge refuses extradition of WikiLeaks founder Assange
LONDON — A British judge on Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected allegations that Assange is being prosecuted for political reasons...
Sheriff: Pastor dead, 2 hurt in shooting at Texas churchVideo
WINONA, Texas — A pastor was killed and two other people were injured in a shooting at an East Texas church Sunday after the pastor confronted a man who had hidden from police in the church overnight, a local sheriff said. Authorities had been using dogs and drones to search...
Trump, on tape, presses Georgia official to ‘find’ Trump votesVideo
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud and raising the prospect of “criminal offense” if officials did not change the vote count, according to a recording...
Head-on crash kills 7 kids, 2 adults in central California
FRESNO, Calif. — Investigators are asking for the public’s help to determine what led up to a head-on crash that killed seven children and two adults in central California on New Year’s Day. The California Highway Patrol says everyone who reported Friday’s fiery crash on rural State Route 33 came...
Fauci: Vaccinations are ramping up in a ‘glimmer of hope’
The U.S. ramped up covid-19 vaccinations in the past few days after a slower-than-expected start, bringing to 4 million the number of Americans who have received shots, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday. The government’s top infectious-disease expert also said on ABC’s “This Week” that President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to administer...
