U.S./World category, Page 902
Germany says Soviet-era nerve agent used on Putin opponent NavalnyVideo
BERLIN — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the same type of Soviet-era nerve agent used in a 2018 attack on a former Russian spy, the German government said Wednesday, provoking outrage from Western leaders who demanded Moscow provide an explanation. The findings — which experts say point...
Old Navy will pay its employees to work polls on Election Day
Old Navy said it will pay its 50,000 workers to not come into the stores this Election Day. That is if they head to the polls instead — as workers. The San Francisco-based retailer announced Tuesday — National Poll Worker Recruitment Day — that it will encourage workers in its...
Cosmic Legos: Black holes merge into never before seen size
Black holes are getting stranger — even to astronomers. They’ve now detected the signal from a long ago violent collision of two black holes that created a new one of a size that had never been seen before. “It’s the biggest bang since the Big Bang observed by humanity,” said...
Mnuchin says Trump still wants coronavirus deal with Democrats
WASHINGTON — Pressed by Democrats to quickly negotiate a new coronavirus relief package, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday the administration remains willing to work on a bipartisan agreement to help small businesses, the unemployed, children and schools. Democratic leaders in Congress are holding it up with hardened positions, he...
CDC directs halt to renter evictions to prevent virus spread
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has issued a directive halting the eviction of certain renters though the end of 2020 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Federal, state and local governments have approved eviction moratoriums during the course of the pandemic for many renters, but those protections are...
Lawyer: Plea deal offer tried to link Breonna Taylor to drug ringVideo
LOUISVILLE — A lawyer for Breonna Taylor’s family said prosecutors offered a plea deal to an accused drug trafficker that would have forced him to implicate Taylor in criminal activity after her killing by police had pushed her name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race. Louisville’s top...
Police: Dallas man killed wife, 2 sons for being too loud while he had headacheVideo
DALLAS — A man who confessed to fatally shooting his wife and two children in their Dallas home told police he killed them because he had a headache and they were being too loud, according to an affidavit. James Webb, 57, was arrested Monday on a capital murder charge after...
Ex-Ohio House speaker will plead not guilty to corruption charge
COLUMBUS — The former speaker of the Ohio House said Tuesday he will plead not guilty to a corruption charge following his arrest in a $60 million federal bribery probe that shook the Statehouse earlier this summer. Rep. Larry Householder returned to the Statehouse for the first time since his...
Suspect in St. Louis officer’s slaying has long crime record
ST. LOUIS — The man charged with first-degree murder Tuesday in the fatal shooting of a St. Louis police officer has a long history of violent crime and missed a court appearance last month in Florida, where he is accused of false imprisonment and sexual battery. St. Louis Circuit Attorney...
Florida announces it will lift ban on nursing home visits
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he will lift the state’s ban on visiting nursing homes that has cut off vulnerable seniors from family since mid-March over fears of spreading the new coronavirus. With his voice cracking at times, he wondered aloud if his actions might have contributed to...
House panel warns of fraud, abuse in business aid program
WASHINGTON — Congressional investigators say they have identified lapses pointing to possible fraud and abuse in the Trump administration’s coronavirus relief program, including more than $1 billion awarded to small businesses that received multiple loans. A report issued Tuesday by a House subcommittee says a lack of government oversight and...
Hong Kong begins mass testing for virus amid public doubts
Hong Kong tested more than 120,000 people for the coronavirus Tuesday at the start of a mass-testing effort that’s become another political flash point in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Volunteers stood in lines at some of the more than 100 testing centers, though many residents are distrustful of the resources...
Appeals court weighs Trump’s new bid to shield tax returns
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court is weighing whether to allow a New York prosecutor access to President Donald Trump’s tax returns while his lawyers fight a subpoena seeking the records. The three-judge panel said it would rule later Tuesday, after hearing brief arguments from both sides. Trump’s lawyer...
2 pythons weighing 100 pounds collapse ceiling in Australia
An Australian returned home and was surprised to discover that his kitchen ceiling had collapsed under the weight of two large pythons apparently fighting over a mate. David Tait entered his home in Laceys Creek in Queensland state on Monday and found a large chunk of his ceiling lying on...
L.A. Sheriff’s Dept: Deputies kill Black man who dropped a gun
LOS ANGELES — Two deputies fatally shot a black man who scuffled with them after they tried to stop him for riding a bicycle in an unlawful manner, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said. A crowd gathered and marched to the sheriff’s station after the Monday afternoon shooting, demanding justice....
Sheriffs slam governor’s plan to curb Portland violenceVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — A plan by the governor of Oregon to use sheriff’s deputies from surrounding counties to help patrol Portland following the deadly shooting of a right-wing Trump supporter was sharply criticized by law enforcement officials who said it wouldn’t end the “cycle of violence” in the city that’s...
University of South Carolina officials suspend groups, students over covid-19 rules
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina has suspended six sororities or fraternities, as well 15 students, for violating covid-19 safety rules, the school announced Monday. The announcement came as the number of confirmed cases on campus passed the 500 mark. It also came as some student complained of...
Steve Bannon, co-defendant in border wall scam case, fumes over being called ‘fraudster’
NEW YORK — The founder of the We Build the Wall charity is outraged by the feds’ description of him as a “fraudster” who used charitable donations for a “lavish lifestyle.” An attorney for Brian Kolfage said Monday that the comments, contained in a press release announcing the indictment of...
Buffalo protester pushed by police out of hospital, looking ahead
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A 75-year-old protester who had been hospitalized with a severe head injury as a result of being shoved by police and falling backward plans to press on with his grassroots activism. “My life is headed in a new direction,” Martin Gugino said in an interview with USA...
St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey, charged after waving guns, appear in courtVideo
ST. LOUIS — The attorney for a white St. Louis couple charged for waving guns during a racial injustice protest outside their home said Monday that they’re anxious to prove “with absolute certainty” that they did not commit a crime. One week after Mark and Patricia McCloskey spoke on video...
Liberty University announces investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure
RICHMOND, Va. — Liberty University is opening an independent investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president, a wide-ranging inquiry that will include financial, real estate and legal matters, the evangelical school’s board announced Monday. In a statement, the board said it had retained an outside firm to investigate “all...
Ohio couple, twin teenage children found dead in their home
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — A couple and their twin teenage children were found dead in their home after authorities were asked to conduct a welfare check at the residence in a Cleveland suburb, authorities said. Shaker Heights police went to the home around 2:20 p.m. Sunday and soon found Regina...
‘Antifa hunter’ gets 3 years for online racist threats
A Florida man who called himself “the Antifa hunter” as he waged an online campaign to terrorize and harass those who opposed his white supremacist ideology was sentenced to more than three years in prison Monday. Daniel McMahon, 32, of Brandon, Fla., pleaded guilty in April to using social media...
Americans divided over armed civilians who flock to protestsVideo
BOISE, Idaho — The scenes have become commonplace in 2020: People gathered at state Capitols with semiautomatic long guns strapped across their chests. A couple near St. Louis emerging from their mansion brandishing firearms as Black Lives Matter demonstrators marched by the house. Men roaming the streets with rifles during...
John Oliver: Name sewage plant for me, I’ll give to charity
Comedian John Oliver upped the stakes in a tongue-in-cheek spat with a Connecticut city, offering to donate $55,000 to charity if officials follow through on a joke to name its sewage treatment plant after him. Mayor Mark Boughton said last week that Danbury was going to rename the facility the...
