U.S./World category, Page 865
Court: Tennessee can enforce Down syndrome abortion ban
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Tennessee can begin outlawing abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, as well prohibit the procedure if it’s based on the race or gender of the fetus. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee enacted the so-called “reason bans” earlier...
Police: 8 injured in Wisconsin mall shooting; suspect sought
WAUWATOSA, Wis. — Police searched Friday evening for the suspect in a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall that left seven adults and a teenager injured. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber gave no motive for the attack at the Mayfair Mall in a brief update about three hours after the...
Fetterman’s flags fly in the face of some Pa. lawmakers
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, Democrat John Fetterman, may have gotten under somebody’s skin. A provision slipped into lame-duck budget legislation Friday would ban flags not approved by lawmakers from flying at the state Capitol — such as the pro-marijuana legalization and LGBTQ- and transgender-rights flags that Fetterman hangs...
Spokesman: Trump’s eldest son tests positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, was quarantining Friday after learning he has been infected with the coronavirus, a spokesperson said. The younger Trump learned his diagnosis at the beginning of the week and has had no symptoms, said the spokesperson, who was granted...
Advocates want light show moved from former mental facility
WALTHAM, Mass. — A battle is underway in a Boston suburb over whether it is appropriate to hold a joyous holiday celebration at the site of a now-closed institution where developmentally disabled children were once abused, neglected and warehoused under deplorable conditions. The Waltham Lions Club drive-thru Greater Boston Holiday...
U.K.’s Boris Johnson stands by minister found to have bullied staff
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to fire or censure his interior minister Friday, despite an investigator’s conclusion that she bullied members of her staff. A report said Home Secretary Priti Patel had not met the standards required of a government minister, and concluded her behavior fit the...
Thousands mourn death of Belarus protester seized by police
KYIV, Ukraine — Thousands of Belarusians streamed to a church in the capital of Minsk on Friday for the funeral of a protester who was allegedly beaten to death after being arrested by police. Raman Bandarenka’s death on Nov. 12 angered opposition supporters who have held near-daily demonstrations against the...
Police: 4-year-old left on school bus, found 2 hours later
NEWNAN, Ga. — A 4-year-old boy was left on a Georgia school bus Thursday morning and ended up outside of the driver’s home, authorities said. A Jefferson Parkway Elementary pre-kindergarten student had fallen asleep on the bus while students were being dropped off at school, Coweta County School System spokesman...
Biden turns 78, will be oldest U.S. president
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden turned 78 on Friday. In two months, he’ll take the reins of a politically fractured nation facing the worst public health crisis in a century, high unemployment and a reckoning on racial injustice. As he wrestles with those issues, Biden will be attempting to accomplish...
Sanders, Warren under scrutiny as Biden weighs Cabinet picks
WILMINGTON, Del. — Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, leaders of the Democratic Party’s left wing, are at risk of being excluded from the senior ranks of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration as the incoming president balances the demands of his party’s progressive base against the political realities of a narrowly divided...
Vatican reportedly launching probe after Pope Francis’ Instagram account ‘likes’ racy photo
“At least I’m going to heaven.” That was the quip from bikini model Natalia Garibotto after the official Instagram account of Pope Francis was one of 100,000 to “like” a racy photo of the half-clothed Brazilian. According to the Catholic News Agency, the photo was quickly “unliked” by the verified...
Isolated for months, island crew sees pandemic for 1st time
HONOLULU — Just as the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold, in February, four people set sail for one of the most remote places on Earth — a small camp on Kure Atoll, at the edge of the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. There, more than 1,400 miles from Honolulu, they...
Tyson suspends Iowa plant managers amid virus betting claim
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tyson Foods suspended top officials at its largest pork plant on Thursday and launched an investigation into allegations that they bet on how many workers would get infected during a widespread coronavirus outbreak. The company’s president and CEO, Dean Banks, said he was “extremely upset” about...
Anomalies found in data put census deadline in jeopardy
The director of the Census Bureau said Thursday that irregularities have been found during the numbers-crunching phase of the 2020 census, a development that jeopardizes the statistical agency’s ability to meet a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats. The Census Bureau already was facing...
CDC pleads with Americans to not travel for Thanksgiving
NEW YORK — With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation’s top public health agency pleaded with Americans on Thursday not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household. It was some of the firmest guidance yet from the government on...
Toomey, Casey propose bill to increase oversight, resources at nursing homesVideo
Bucking the stereotypical lack of bipartisan cooperation in federal politics, U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey were exploring weaknesses in the country’s nursing homes long before the coronavirus pandemic, commissioning a June 2019 report examining their federal oversight. This week, they announced a bipartisan bill that aims to enhance...
Astronaut: SpaceX Dragon beats shuttle, Soyuz for launching
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The most experienced astronaut on SpaceX’s newly launched crew said Thursday that riding a Dragon capsule to orbit is like being inside the actual mythical beast, and a lot more fun than NASA’s shuttles or Russian flights. As for the crew’s space rookie, he pulled more...
Polish police criticized for using tear gas on protesters
WARSAW, Poland — Polish police came under criticism on Thursday for using tear gas and force on mostly female and young protesters during the latest in a string of women-led protests against a top court ruling restricting abortion. Political tensions have been extremely high in Poland since the constitutional court...
Illinois man, 81, uses antique walking stick to beat thieves
NILES, Ill. — An 81-year-old retired Marine from suburban Chicago used his grandfather’s antique Irish walking stick to chase off three burglars and deliver one a thump in the head for his trouble. Dan and Barbara Donovan told the Pioneer Press newspaper group that a man in a reflective vest...
Huge Puerto Rico radio telescope to close in blow to science
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will close the huge telescope at the renowned Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in a blow to scientists worldwide who depend on it to search for planets, asteroids and extraterrestrial life. The independent, federally funded agency said...
Brexit trade talks suspended because of covid-19 case
BRUSSELS — The Brexit trade negotiations have been suspended at a crucial stage because an EU negotiator has tested positive for the coronavirus, adding new uncertainty to the talks as a deadline looms. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that together with his U.K. counterpart, David Frost, “we have decided...
Kansas man accused of illegal autopsies faces fraud charges
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas man accused of performing illegal autopsies has been indicted on 10 counts of federal wire fraud and the government wants to recover more than $1 million in fees paid to him by clients. The indictment accuses Shawn Parcells, 41, of Leawood of falsely leading people...
Democrat concedes, GOP’s Garbarino to succeed King in New York district
NEW YORK — Democrat Jackie Gordon has conceded to Republican Andrew Garbarino in a closely watched battle to succeed a longtime Republican congressman in a swing district on Long Island’s South Shore. Garbarino, a four-term state assemblyman, battled to replace U.S. Rep. Peter King in New York’s 2nd Congressional District....
Report finds Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghans
A shocking Australian military report into war crimes has found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians. Australian Defence Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell said Thursday the shameful record included alleged instances in which new patrol members would shoot a prisoner in order to...
Video shows car driving at Florida deputy in teens’ fatal shootingVideo
COCOA, Fla. — Video released by a Florida sheriff’s office shows two deputies pulling their weapons and one firing at a car as it drives at him in a shooting that killed two Black teenagers. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office released the video Tuesday after the teenagers’ families and their...
