U.S./World category, Page 850
Attempt to recall Lincoln, Neb., mayor, council falls short
LINCOLN, Neb. — A campaign to recall Lincoln’s mayor and four city council members has failed after petition circulators could not to gather enough signatures to trigger a recall election, organizers said Wednesday. The group LNK Recall said it came up thousands of signatures short in their quest to recall...
Melted fuel removal at Fukushima delayed by pandemic
TOKYO — Japan’s government and the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said Thursday that the removal of melted reactor fuel planned to start in 2021 will have to be postponed by about one year due to the worsening coronavirus pandemic. The economy and industry ministry and Tokyo Electric...
Coronavirus dampens Christmas joy in Bethlehem and elsewhere
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — A stream of marching bands joyously paraded through Bethlehem on Thursday, but few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Similar subdued scenes were repeated across the world as...
‘We are struggling’: A bleak Christmas for America’s jobless
NEW YORK — Last Christmas, Shanita Matthews cooked up a feast for her family of three: Roast chicken, barbecue spareribs, spinach, macaroni and cheese. This year? They’ll stick with tuna fish and crackers, among the few items she can afford at the supermarket. “We’re not really doing Christmas — I...
U.K., EU reach post-Brexit trade deal
BRUSSELS — Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough came Thursday with just over a week to go until the U.K.’s split...
Santa’s ride has begun: Here’s how to track the jolly elf online
The Ride has begun. It’s officially Christmas Day — somewhere — and Santa has begun making his annual rounds. The jolly old elf can be tracked online, as he has for years now, via NORAD and Google’s Santa Tracker. NORAD’s tracker — aka the North American Aerospace Defense Command —...
Winter storm in Dakotas, Minnesota make travel frightfulVideo
FARGO, N.D. — A storm that began with snow, strong winds and bitter cold into the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota early Wednesday was making travel treacherous and grounded flights on one of the most anticipated air travel days since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Blizzard warnings were posted...
Baltimore building explosion injures 23, traps workersVideo
BALTIMORE — An explosion in a high-rise building in Baltimore injured 23 people Wednesday and temporarily trapped a window washing crew on dangling scaffolding. Twenty-one of the victims were brought to area hospitals following the explosion, which caused a partial roof collapse. The city’s fire department tweeted that at least...
Video released in Ohio police shooting of Black man holding phone
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Body camera footage released Wednesday shows Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, emerging from a garage and holding up a cellphone in his left hand seconds before he is fatally shot by a Columbus police officer. About six seconds pass between the time Hill is visible in...
Covid relief bill morphs into a test of GOP loyalty to Trump
Threatening to tank Congress’ massive covid relief and government funding package, President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger aid checks for Americans confronts Republicans traditionally leery of such spending with an uncomfortable test of allegiance. On Thursday, House Democrats who also favor $2,000 checks will all but dare Republicans to break...
Trump’s threat plunges covid talks – and GOP – into tumult
The video message that plunged Washington into chaos was filmed in secret. President Donald Trump stood in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room, holiday garland and gleaming ornaments draped on the fireplace behind him, and spoke into the camera not to deliver warm Christmas wishes, but to threaten to detonate...
Woman charged in threats against Michigan election official
DETROIT — A woman angry with a Detroit-area election official sent photos of a dead body and threatened her family, a day after a clamorous meeting at which Republican board members initially refused to certify local results in favor of Joe Biden, authorities said Wednesday. Katelyn Jones, 23, was charged...
‘Mom’s worth it’: U.S. holiday travel surges despite outbreak
TAMPA, Fla. — Some are elderly and figure they don’t have many Christmases left. Others are trying to keep long-distance romance alive. Some just yearn for the human connection that’s been absent for the past nine months. Millions of Americans are traveling ahead of Christmas and New Year’s, despite pleas...
UPS driver in Connecticut dies after assault; police seek co-worker
WATERTOWN, Conn. — A UPS truck driver died after an assault in Connecticut, and authorities were searching Wednesday for a suspect identified as his co-worker. The victim and the suspect apparently were riding in the same vehicle before the assault Tuesday evening but the motive is unknown, Connecticut State Police...
Violent crash in New York City suburb splits vehicle in half, kills 5 in both carsVideo
YONKERS, N.Y. — A car speeding away from police Tuesday night in suburban New York City barreled into another car, splitting that vehicle in half and killing five people, officials said. The 36-year-old driver of the speeding car and four 18-year-old men, who were ejected from the other vehicle, died...
Trump’s presidential legacy, by the numbers
Words matter. But numbers tell stories, too. Presidential historians and others will plumb them as they assess President Donald Trump’s legacy, Trump’s presidency is reflected in a broad range of numbers representing everything from the U.S. death toll during the coronavirus pandemic to the miles of his “big, beautiful wall”...
Trump EPA overhaul of lead pipe regulations allows toxic plumbing to stay in the ground in Chicago, other cities
Chicago has more lead water pipes than any other American city, yet federal regulations unveiled this week by the Trump administration likely won’t require anything new to prevent homeowners and renters from ingesting the brain-damaging metal. Physicians and scientists say that unless water drawn from household faucets is properly filtered,...
Holland Tunnel toll booths no longer accept cash
Staring Wednesday, cash is gone forever as a method to pay the $16 toll at the Holland Tunnel. The tunnel between Jersey City and Lower Manhattan will be the first Port Authority Hudson River crossing to use cashless toll collection and joins the authorities’ Staten Island bridges, which already use...
GM recalls 840K vehicles for seat belt, suspension problems
DETROIT — General Motors is recalling nearly 840,000 vehicles in the U.S. for suspension problems or because the front seat belts can fail. The seat belt recall covers 624,000 2019 through 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickup trucks. Also included are the 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe...
Gunman kills 3 French police in domestic abuse standoff
PARIS — A gunman who had beaten and threatened his wife in southern France killed three policemen who came to the woman’s aid and then fled, prompting a wide manhunt, authorities said. The suspected assailant was later found dead. The unusual killing of three police officers on duty drew national...
Video released in Columbus police shooting of Black man holding phone
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Body camera footage released Wednesday shows Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, emerging from a garage and holding up a cellphone in his left hand seconds before he is fatally shot by a Columbus police officer. About six seconds pass between the time Hill is visible in...
Cuomo signs voter registration, facial recognition bills for New York
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is set to launch automatic voter registration and prohibit the use of facial recognition in schools under bills the governor signed Tuesday. Lawmakers who have largely met virtually this year passed those bills this summer. Several bills that lawmakers have passed are still in limbo...
City of Flint joins $641M deal to settle lawsuits over lead in water
FLINT, Mich. — The Flint City Council on Tuesday signed off on its portion of a $641 million settlement with residents of the poor, majority-Black city who were exposed to lead-tainted water. The city’s insurer would kick in $20 million as part of a sweeping deal to settle lawsuits against...
North Carolina boy dies from accidental BB gun shooting
STONY POINT, N.C. — Police in North Carolina say that an 8-year-old child has died after being struck in the chest by “a single shot from a BB or pellet gun.” The Hickory Daily Record reports that the incident occurred Sunday near a family’s home in Stony Point. The Alexander...
Feds sue Walmart over role in opioid crisis
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is suing Walmart, alleging the company unlawfully dispensed controlled substances through its pharmacies, helping to fuel the opioid crisis in America. The civil complaint being filed Tuesday points to the role Walmart’s pharmacies may have played in the crisis by filling opioid prescriptions and by...
