U.S./World category, Page 857
2 killed, 2 critically injured in Omaha house explosionVideo
OMAHA, Neb. — An explosion that leveled a home in Omaha killed two people and left two others critically injured Tuesday morning, fire officials said. Omaha Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Fitzpatrick said firefighters responded to the explosion shortly after 8 a.m. The house was destroyed, he said. The explosion...
Family: Black man shot by Ohio deputy held a sandwich, not a gun
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Civil rights and FBI investigators will help look into the fatal shooting by an Ohio sheriff’s deputy of a Black man whose family says that he was holding not a gun, but a sandwich, and that he was shot in front of two toddlers and his grandmother...
14 Fort Hood soldiers fired, suspended over violence at baseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Army on Tuesday said it has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic failures of leadership that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence, including murder, sexual assault and harassment. In a sweeping condemnation of...
Judge dismisses Michael Flynn case as a result of pardon from Trump
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn but pointedly noted that a pardon Flynn received from the president last month does not mean that he is innocent. The order from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan was expected...
Man linked to white supremacist group gets 5 years in prison
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A Maryland man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from an FBI undercover investigation of a white supremacist group that espoused using violence to accelerate overthrowing the U.S. government. William Garfield Bilbrough IV was an “unabashed” member of...
Vast wildfires in Siberia linked to warming Arctic
WASHINGTON — This year’s vast wildfires in far northeastern Russia were linked to broader changes in a warming Arctic, according to a report Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Wildfires are a natural part of many boreal ecosystems. But the extent of flames during the 2020 fire season...
Trump thought courts were key to winning. Judges disagreed.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his allies say their lawsuits aimed at subverting the 2020 election and reversing his loss to Joe Biden would be substantiated, if only judges were allowed to hear the cases. There is a central flaw in the argument. Judges have heard the cases and...
Avalanche kills 1 skier in Switzerland, snow pummels Austria
BERLIN — An avalanche killed one skier in Switzerland and Austrian authorities issued avalanche warnings Tuesday for the country’s mountainous east after days of heavy snow pummeled the region. In hard-hit East Tyrol and other parts in the Austrian Alps, several roads were still closed in Tyrol and some valleys...
Pope makes surprise early morning prayer visit in rainy Rome
ROME — Pope Francis on Tuesday made a surprise early morning visit to the Spanish Steps in Rome to pray for people worldwide struggling in the pandemic. The Vatican last week said that, because of social distancing concerns, Francis was canceling the traditional Dec. 8 afternoon visit to the square...
UK-EU talks near collapse ahead of Johnson trip to Brussels
LONDON — Britain and the European Union warned Tuesday that talks on a post-Brexit free-trade deal are teetering on the brink of collapse, with just over three weeks until an economic rupture that will cause upheaval for businesses on both sides of the English Channel. Officials downplayed the chances of...
Florida agents raid home of ousted covid-19 data curator Rebekah JonesVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida authorities investigating an alleged hack into the state’s emergency response system raided the home Monday of a woman fired earlier this year from her job as covid-19 data curator. Florida Department of Law Enforcement said that Rebekah Jones, who was fired for unauthorized public comments about the...
Pearl Harbor dead remembered in ceremony shrunk by pandemicVideo
HONOLULU — U.S. servicemen and women and National Park Service officials gathered at Pearl Harbor on Monday to remember those killed in the attack — but elderly survivors stayed home to pay their respects from afar to avoid health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. The USS Arizona battleship bell rang...
EPA overrides scientists’ calls for tougher pollutant limit
The Trump administration on Monday made final its decision to leave limits for a deadly kind of air pollutant unchanged, overriding scientific findings that tougher standards could save tens of thousands of lives yearly. Environmental groups and many scientists have condemned the decision, slated to be among the final actions...
3 years later, dog and Michigan owners reunited in Illinois
WHEATON, Ill. — A whiff of her old blanket was enough for Lola: The black Lab was back in her owners’ arms three years after the Michigan dog disappeared on a trip to suburban Chicago. “I feel like I’m in a dream right now,” Debra Mejeur said Saturday when she...
Report finds ‘directed’ microwave energy likely made U.S. diplomats ill
WASHINGTON — A new report by a National Academy of Sciences committee has found that “directed” microwave radiation is the likely cause of illnesses among American diplomats in Cuba and China. The study commissioned by the State Department and released Saturday is the latest attempt to find a cause for...
SpaceX capsules parked side-by-side at station for 1st time
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX supply ship bearing Christmas goodies arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, parking alongside another Dragon capsule that carried up astronauts three weeks ago. It’s the first time Elon Musk’s company has two Dragons at the orbiting lab, filling both available slots. Unlike...
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Biden’s win in GeorgiaVideo
ATLANTA — A federal judge threw out a lawsuit Monday that relied on conspiracy theories to try to invalidate Georgia election results showing Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten dismissed the lawsuit brought by former Trump attorney Sidney Powell in an attempt to decertify...
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2020
In a year defined by a devastating pandemic, the world lost iconic defenders of civil rights, great athletes and entertainers who helped define their genres. Many of their names hold a prominent place in the collective consciousness — RBG, Kobe, Maradona, Eddie Van Halen, Little Richard, Sean Connery, Alex Trebek,...
Romania’s center-right prime minister resigns after election
BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s center-right prime minister resigned Monday after a general election in which voters delivered nominal victory to the left-leaning, populist opposition party. With 95% of votes counted in Sunday’s election, Ludovic Orban’s National Liberals have been defeated by the populist Social Democrat Party. However the Social Democrats...
Alabama sheriff removes ‘thugshots’ Christmas tree post
MOBILE, Ala. — An Alabama sheriff’s department has removed a photo of a Christmas tree adorned with what they called “thugshots” of people who have been arrested after criticism that it was demeaning and cruel. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Department deleted the photo from its Facebook page on Saturday, AL.com...
Millions of hungry Americans turn to food banks for 1st time
The deadly pandemic that tore through the nation’s heartland struck just as Aaron Crawford was in a moment of crisis. He was looking for work, his wife needed surgery, then the virus began eating away at her work hours and her paycheck. The Crawfords had no savings, mounting bills and...
Virginia Military Institute removing Confederate statue
LEXINGTON, Va. — The Virginia Military Institute began work Monday to remove a prominent statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, an effort initiated this fall after allegations of systemic racism roiled the school. A crew was inspecting the statue at the public military college in Lexington, poised to haul...
Trump cementing death penalty legacy up to Biden inaugural
CHICAGO — As Donald Trump’s presidency winds down, his administration is ratcheting up the pace of federal executions despite a surge of coronavirus cases in prisons, announcing plans for five starting Thursday and concluding just days before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. If the five go off...
Vatican says pope will visit Iraq in March, pandemic permitting
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will make a pilgrimage to Iraq in March, pandemic conditions permitting, the Vatican said Monday, in announcing what would be the pontiff’s first trip aboard in more than a year. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni on Monday said Francis will make the March 5-8 visit, with...
Romania’s opposition Social Democrats win national election
BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s opposition Social Democrats have taken a surprise lead over the governing National Liberals after a parliamentary election but appear less likely to emerge on top in what promises to be prolonged post-election wrangling to form a new coalition government. With 95% of ballots counted Monday, the...
