U.S./World category, Page 889
Top Trump aide Hope Hicks tests positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides, has tested positive for the coronavirus after spending time in close proximity to him this week. Hicks, who serves as counselor to Trump and traveled with him to a rally Wednesday, tested positive Thursday, according to an administration official,...
Midshipman sues Naval Academy, claims looming expulsion for racist tweets violates his free speech rights
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A midshipman facing expulsion following an investigation of racist tweets he sent over the summer sued the Naval Academy Wednesday, claiming it is violating his constitutional rights of free speech and protection from self-incrimination. The Naval Academy opened an investigation into Midshipman 1st Class Chase Standage, 21,...
Hundreds of Honduran migrants set out for U.S. amid pandemic
CORINTO, Honduras — About 2,000 Honduran migrants hoping to reach the United States entered Guatemala on foot Thursday morning, testing the newly reopened frontier that had been shut by the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities had planned to register the migrants as they crossed and offer assistance to those willing to turn...
NASA tests new $23M titanium space toilet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s first new space potty in decades — a $23 million titanium toilet better suited for women — is getting a not-so-dry run at the International Space Station before eventually flying to the moon. It’s packed inside a cargo ship set to blast off late Thursday...
Doctors ask Supreme Court to strike down Trump abortion rule
WASHINGTON — The nation’s largest doctors’ group on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strike down a Trump administration rule that’s had a far-reaching impact on family planning by prohibiting taxpayer-funded clinics from referring women for abortions. The American Medical Association acted after two U.S. appeals courts issued conflicting rulings...
Court: Amazon not liable in Ohio teen’s powdered caffeine death
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Retail giant Amazon can’t be held responsible under current Ohio product liability law in the death of a high school senior who ingested powdered caffeine, the state Supreme Court said Thursday. At issue before the court was whether the state’s law, which predates online commerce, could be...
Judge says government’s suit over Bolton book can proceed
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration can move forward with its lawsuit against former national security adviser John Bolton over his tell-all book, a judge ruled Thursday in denying a request to dismiss the complaint. The Justice Department alleges that Bolton’s book, “The Room Where It Happened” contains classified information, and...
Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to the poor faces trouble
LONDON — An ambitious humanitarian project to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorest people is facing potential shortages of money, cargo planes, refrigeration and vaccines themselves — and is running into skepticism even from some of those it’s intended to help most. In one of the biggest obstacles, rich...
New rules for Liverpool as virus cases in England quadruple
Britain imposed tighter restrictions on social gatherings in the port city of Liverpool and three towns as scientists reported Thursday that the number of covid-19 cases in England has quadrupled or more in the last month. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons on Thursday that the infection...
Pompeo, Vatican talk China after tensions spill out publicly
ROME — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vatican officials discussed religious freedom and their differences over China on Thursday, a day after tensions over the Holy See’s outreach to Beijing spilled out in public. Pompeo spent 45 minutes in the Apostolic Palace with his Vatican counterpart, Cardinal Pietro...
Facebook tightens political ad bans as U.S. election nears
With just over a month to go before Americans head en masse to the polls in an extraordinarily contentious election, Facebook is expanding restrictions on political advertising, including new bans on messages claiming widespread voter fraud. New prohibitions laid out in a blog post come days after President Donald Trump...
French ‘Spiderman’ climbs Frankfurt skyscraper, faces fine
German police say French urban climber Alain Robert faces a criminal investigation and fine after scaling one of Frankfurt’s tallest buildings Thursday. Robert, known as “Spiderman” for his daring stunts, clambered to the top of rail company Deutsche Bahn’s 545-foot-high office building in Germany’s financial capital, untethered and wearing a...
Google to pay $1 billion over 3 years for news content
Google will pay publishers $1 billion over the next three years for their news content. The internet search giant said said Thursday that it has signed agreements for its news partnership program with nearly 200 publications in Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the U.K. and Australia. “This financial commitment - our...
Jimmy Carter, America’s oldest living president ever, turns 96
Former President Jimmy Carter marks his 96th birthday Thursday, the latest milestone for the longest-lived of the 44 men to hold the highest American office. Carter planned to celebrate at his home in Plains, Georgia, with his wife of 74 years, Rosalynn Carter, according to a spokeswoman for the Carter...
Report finds flaws in Catholic Church abuse-prevention plans
NEW YORK — Child-protection policies adopted by Roman Catholic leaders to curb clergy sex abuse in the United States are inconsistent and often worryingly incomplete, according to a think tank’s two-year investigation encompassing all 32 of the country’s archdioceses. The analysis by Philadelphia-based CHILD USA said the inconsistencies and gaps...
U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 837,000 seek jobless aid
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. The Labor Department’s report, released Thursday, suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the weekly...
12 Democratic governors vow that all votes will be counted
LANSING, Mich. — Twelve Democratic governors issued a joint statement on Wednesday defending American democracy, vowing that every valid ballot will be counted in the election after President Donald Trump sowed distrust during the first presidential debate. Trump claimed without evidence Tuesday night that mail voting — surging in popularity...
California to study reparations for Black Americans
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will develop a detailed plan for reparations under a new law signed on Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, making it the first state to mandate a study of how it can make amends for its role in the oppression of Black people. The law creates a...
Video: Hobbled Black woman begged for help in police cruiser
DENVER — A suburban police agency near Denver is facing more scrutiny for its officers’ treatment of Black people after a video emerged showing a woman begging to be lifted up after she fell to the floor in the back of a police cruiser with her hands and feet cuffed...
Pelosi, Mnuchin have ‘extensive’ talks on covid-19 relief
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held an “extensive conversation” Wednesday on a huge covid-19 rescue package, meeting face to face for the first time in more than a month in a last-ditch effort to seal a tentative accord on an additional round of coronavirus...
Julian Assange bugged while at Ecuadorian Embassy, UK court told
Julian Assange’s conversations in the latter part of his 7-year stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London were systematically bugged, even in the toilet, a London court heard Wednesday. In written statements at Assange’s extradition hearing, two anonymous witnesses who worked for a Spanish firm with a security contract at...
Gray parrots separated at zoo after swearing a blue streak
LONDON — A British zoo has had to separate five foul-mouthed parrots who keepers say were encouraging each other to swear. Billy, Eric, Tyson, Jade and Elsie joined Lincolnshire Wildlife Centre’s colony of 200 gray parrots in August, and soon revealed a penchant for blue language. “We are quite used...
Trump urged to intervene in trial of U.S.-Saudi national
The trial of a U.S. citizen who is also a Saudi national began Wednesday in Saudi Arabia in a counter-terrorism court that has been used to imprison rights activists in a case that could spark further tensions in already uneasy U.S.-Saudi relations. The case of Salah al-Haidar, who has been...
As Brazil’s wetlands burned, government did little to help
PORTO JOFRE, Brazil — After hours navigating Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands in search of jaguars earlier this month, Daniel Moura beached his boat to survey the fire damage. In every direction, he saw only devastation. No wildlife, and no support from federal authorities. “We used to see jaguars here all the...
Portland asks U.S. to rescind deputization of city police
The mayor of Portland has asked U.S. officials to end the federal deputation of dozens of police officers in Oregon’s largest city as part of the response to ongoing protests in the city. Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement late Tuesday that he had “asked the U.S. Attorney’s office...
