U.S./World category, Page 894
Iran strikes defiant tone at U.N. under crushing U.S. sanctions
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivered a defiant and fiery speech Tuesday to the U.N. General Assembly as his nation grapples with the Middle East’s worst coronavirus outbreak and a weakened economy, but he insisted that it is the U.S. that will surrender to the resilience...
‘Unfathomable’: U.S. death toll from coronavirus hits 200,000
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation with its state-of-the-art laboratories, top-flight scientists and stockpiles of medicines and emergency supplies. “It is completely unfathomable that we’ve reached this point,” said Jennifer Nuzzo,...
U.S. homes sales rise 2.4% in August
Sales of existing homes rose 2.4% in August to its highest level since 2006 as the housing market recovers from a widespread shutdown in the spring brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6...
Louisville restricts access before decision in Breonna Taylor caseVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Officials in Kentucky’s largest city were preparing Tuesday for more protests and possible unrest as the public nervously awaits the state attorney general’s announcement about whether he will charge officers in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death. With timing of the announcement still uncertain, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer declared...
Louisiana trooper who faced firing in Black man’s death dies in crash
A Louisiana state trooper has died following a single-vehicle highway crash that happened just hours after he learned he would be fired for his role last year in the in-custody death of a Black man. Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth was pronounced dead Tuesday following a brief hospitalization, Warren Lee, chief...
Complaint flushed: No charge in toilet election display
MASON, Mich. — A prosecutor in Michigan has flushed a complaint about a toilet that was promoted as a place to drop absentee ballots. The election clerk in Ingham County informed police about a toilet on the front lawn of a home in Mason, near Lansing. A sign said, “Place...
UN chief: ‘Epochal’ crisis as world powers meet remotelyVideo
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the U.N.’s first-ever virtual meeting of global leaders Tuesday that the world is facing an “epochal” health crisis, the biggest economic calamity and job losses since the Great Depression, threats to human rights and worries of a new Cold War between the U.S....
Trump calls Swedish lawmaker in thanks for Nobel nomination
STOCKHOLM — A Swedish lawmaker who nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the Middle East says he got a phone call of thanks from the American leader. Magnus Jacobsson, a member of Sweden’s Parliament for the Christian Democrats, wrote Tuesday on...
Dog trapped in 30-foot hole lured to safety with beef jerky
MORGANTON, N.C. — A group of mountain bikers on a North Carolina trail spotted a dog trapped 30 feet down in a sinkhole — and it took a salty snack and some straps to lift him to safety. The group was riding the Sinkhole Trail at Pisgah National Forest, about...
Professor put on leave for comments about Trump supporters
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A university professor who told her students in West Virginia that she hopes people who attend political rallies without masks get the coronavirus and die has been placed on administrative leave. The video posted on social media last week identifies the professor as Jennifer Mosher, who teaches...
National park sign vandalized with racist message, bear skin
WALLAND, Tenn. — The National Park Service is trying to identify who mounted a cardboard sign with a racist message and hung a black bear skin over an entrance sign at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors reported seeing the bear skin and sign on Saturday morning on a welcome...
Beta weakens to tropical depression, stalls over Texas coastVideo
HOUSTON — Beta weakened to a tropical depression Tuesday as it parked itself over the Texas coast, raising concerns of extensive flooding in Houston and areas farther inland. Beta made landfall late Monday as a tropical storm just north of Port O’Connor, Texas, and has the distinction of being the...
DA seeking Trump’s taxes cites ‘mountain’ of allegations
NEW YORK — The Manhattan district attorney’s office told a federal appeals court Monday that its quest to gain access to President Donald Trump’s tax returns is supported by “a mountainous record” of public allegations of misconduct. The president and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. have been battling for...
Florida Gov. DeSantis proposes law to quash ‘disorderly assemblies’
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida leaders plan to crack down on people involved in what Gov. Ron DeSantis called “disorderly assemblies,” including making it a felony to block a road or topple monuments. DeSantis proposed a tough new law on Monday in reaction to demonstrations that erupted nationwide after the death...
Federal judge: Postal Service must process election mail on time
NEW YORK — For the second time in a week, a federal judge said a nationwide order is necessary to ensure mail for November’s election is delivered on time, and he is threatening to demand weekly updates on efforts by the U.S. Postal Service to process election mail. On Monday,...
Louisville police cancel vacations; prepare for Breonna Taylor decision
LOUISVILLE — Louisville, Ky., police said Monday that they had canceled vacations and were setting up barricades in preparation for the state attorney general’s announcement about whether he will charge officers in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death. A statement from the department said all requests for vacation and days off were...
Michigan official: Toilet display mocking mail-in voting is a crime
MASON, Mich. — A Michigan resident’s apparent joke showing disdain for voting by mail is no laughing matter for one election official. The resident put a toilet on the lawn with a sign that says, “Place mail in ballots here.” Barb Byrum, the Democratic clerk of Ingham County, filed a...
Trump to make court pick by Saturday, before Ginsburg burial
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court by week’s end, before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is buried, launching a monumental Senate confirmation fight ahead of the November election. Trump said he is planning to name his pick by Friday or...
$20,000 acrylic case installed around Jefferson marker
COLUMBIA, Mo. — A $20,000 acrylic case now protects Thomas Jefferson’s original headstone on the University of Missouri campus, a response to vandalism concerns amid an ongoing dispute about whether the university should honor the third president who also was a slave owner. The clear case was installed Saturday over...
AG Barr announces $100M more to combat human trafficking
ATLANTA — U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr says the federal government is awarding more than $100 million in grants to target human trafficking. The money will go to task forces combatting human trafficking, to victim services and victim housing. Barr made the announcement Monday in Atlanta with presidential adviser Ivanka...
Desert homes threatened by enormous California wildfire
JUNIPER HILLS, Calif. — An enormous wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert was still threatening homes on Monday, but officials said calmer winds could help crews corral the flames. At 165 square miles, the Bobcat Fire is one of the largest ever...
Archaeologists unearth 27 coffins at Egypt’s Saqqara pyramid
Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed more than two dozen ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo, an official said Monday. The sarcophagi have remained unopened since they were buried more than 2,500 years ago near the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, said Neveine el-Arif, a spokeswomen for...
Meghan’s lawyers deny she cooperated with royal book authors
Lawyers for a British newspaper publisher that’s being sued for invasion of privacy by the Duchess of Sussex argued Monday that she made personal information public by cooperating with the authors of a book about her relationship with Prince Harry. The former Meghan Markle is suing the publisher of the...
Biggest unknown with Tropical Storm Beta is how much rain it will bringVideo
HOUSTON — As Tropical Storm Beta neared the Texas coast Monday, the biggest unknown was how much rainfall it could produce in areas that have already seen their share of damaging weather during a busy hurricane season. Beta’s winds were weakening as it got closer to making landfall sometime Monday...
Police detain over 400 during Sunday protests in BelarusVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — Police in Belarus said they detained more than 400 protesters who took part in a weekend demonstration demanding the resignation of the nation’s authoritarian president following a disputed vote. With protests rocking the country for more than six weeks, tens of thousands of Belarusians marched through Minsk,...
