U.S./World category, Page 913
States on hook for billions under Trump’s unemployment plan
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Whether President Donald Trump has the constitutional authority to extend federal unemployment benefits by executive order remains unclear. Equally up in the air is whether states, which are necessary partners in Trump’s plan to bypass Congress, will sign on. Trump announced an executive order Saturday that...
6 French citizens, 2 guides killed by gunmen at giraffe park in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger — Unidentified gunmen killed six French aid workers and two Nigerien guides who were visiting a wildlife park east of Niger’s capital early Sunday, authorities from both countries said. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences and support for the victims’ families in a statement. Macron had a...
Sturgis arrests and crashes keep pace with last yearVideo
South Dakota authorities on Sunday reported the first haul of crashes, arrests and citations from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the western part of the state. The annual rally started on Friday, drawing thousands of maskless riders to the streets and bars of Sturgis. While organizers have said they expect...
Heat wave returns before electricity for some after tropical stormVideo
NEW YORK — Another heat wave was rolling into the New York tristate region Sunday as over 300,000 residents and businesses waited for electricity to return after last week’s tropical storm. The race to restore fuel for desperately needed air conditioners, refrigerators and electronic devices as another work week approached...
Bill Gates says U.S. virus testing has ‘mind-blowing’ problems
Microsoft Corp. founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said it’s “mind-blowing” that the U.S. government hasn’t improved covid-19 testing that he described as slow and lacking fair access. “You’re paying billions of dollars in this very inequitable way to get the most worthless test results of any country in the...
U.S. tops 5 million confirmed virus cases, to Europe’s alarm
ROME — With confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hitting 5 million Sunday, by far the highest of any country, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe. Perhaps nowhere outside the U.S. is America’s...
5.1-magnitude quake hits North Carolina; no damage reported
SPARTA, N.C. — The most powerful earthquake to hit North Carolina in more than 100 years shook much of the state early Sunday, rattling homes, businesses and residents. The National Weather Service in Greenville said the 5.1-magnitude temblor struck at 8:07 a.m., following a much smaller quake several hours earlier....
World donors demand change before money to rebuild BeirutVideo
BEIRUT — World leaders and international organizations pledged nearly $300 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut in the wake of the devastating explosion, but warned on Sunday that no money for rebuilding the capital will be made available until Lebanese authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms...
Missouri town divided by move to change its ‘Savages’ mascot
SAVANNAH, Mo. — A nearly all-white northwest Missouri town is divided over an effort to change its high school’s “Savages” mascot that depicts a Native American amid a nationwide movement calling for racial justice. The high school had a “Savannah Savages” mascot since at least 1926 and the name and...
Nagasaki urges nuclear weapon ban on 75th anniversary of bombing
TOKYO — The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday marked the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the town, with the mayor and a dwindling number of survivors urging world leaders including their own to do more for a nuclear weapons ban. At 11:02 a.m., the moment a...
Trump’s order to bypass Congress on coronavirus relief faces likely legal challenges
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Saturday said he was bypassing Congress and taking unilateral action to provide financial relief to Americans struggling during the coronavirus crisis, despite uncertainty about his legal authority to do so. Following the breakdown of talks on Capitol Hill to reach a bipartisan deal, Trump signed...
Georgia police investigated for firing at car carrying kids
WAYCROSS, Ga. — State authorities said they’re investigating after a Georgia police officer opened fire Saturday morning at a vehicle with at least two teenagers inside during an attempted traffic stop. Nobody was injured by the gunshots in Waycross near the Georgia-Florida state line, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said....
Alaska Native Vietnam vets offered land through federal program
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Stewy Carlo had a short life, but he lived every moment. While serving in the Army, he bought a 1951 Mercedes and motored around Europe. After his service years, he roamed South America where he developed a love of photography and then later turned heads while driving...
Oregon trooper injured, 24 arrested in Portland protests
PORTLAND, Ore. — Protesters in Portland, Ore., defied police orders to disperse and threw rocks, frozen or hard-boiled eggs and commercial-grade fireworks at officers as unrest in the Northwest city continued early Saturday. An Oregon State Police trooper was struck in the head by a large rock and suffered a...
TikTok to sue Trump administration as soon as Tuesday, NPR says
TikTok plans to file a federal lawsuit as soon as Tuesday to challenge President Trump’s executive order banning the video-sharing service from the U.S. as unconstitutional, National Public Radio reported. The lawsuit will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where TikTok’s American operations...
Critics: Housing company pressured Georgia system to reopen campuses
ATLANTA — A letter recently posted online is raising questions about whether the University System of Georgia’s reopening plans for the fall semester, which starts Monday on some campuses, is being steered by finances and not the health and safety of its students and employees. The May 29 letter from...
Local, federal officials warn against drinking hand sanitizers to combat coronavirus
Local and federal officials are warning people not to ingest hand sanitizers as more people turn to the popular cleansing agent to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are liquids, gels or foams that can disinfect hands. Such products should contain only ethanol or isopropanol. But...
LGBT protesters decry rising homophobia, arrests in Poland
WARSAW, Poland — A large crowd of LGBT rights supporters gathered in Warsaw on Saturday to protest the arrest of a transgender activist who had carried out acts of civil disobedience against rising homophobia in Poland. “You will not lock all of us up!” people chanted at the demonstration that...
Census Bureau dropouts complicate door-knocking efforts
ORLANDO, Fla. — Bob Garick was looking forward to being a field supervisor during the door-knocking phase of the 2020 census, but as the number of new coronavirus cases in Florida shot up last month, he changed his mind. With widespread home visits for the 2020 census set to begin...
Kentucky attorney general waiting on ballistics evidence to make decision in Breonna Taylor case
The delay in a decision over whether charges will be raised in the death of Breonna Taylor has been caused by a wait for additional evidence, which is still being tested and analyzed by federal authorities, the attorney general said. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was fatally shot by plainclothes police...
Trump aims to bypass lawmakers on virus aid
BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Ready and willing to bypass elected lawmakers, President Trump seemed set to claim the power to suspend payroll taxes and extend expired unemployment benefits after negotiations with Congress on coronavirus rescue money collapsed. The White House signaled Saturday the president was soon expected to sign four executive...
Schools face major virus test as students return to classroom
Reopening schools is easy. Keeping them open will be the hard part. As educators prepare to welcome students back to class for the first time in months, schools’ ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand will be put to the test in thousands...
Few signs of pandemic visible at 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
STURGIS, S.D. — The coronavirus may be changing the world, but there aren’t many signs of the pandemic at the massive annual motorcycle rally being held this week at a small city along Interstate 90 in western South Dakota. The scene Saturday at the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was familiar...
Father, son charged in Ahmaud Arbery slaying seeking bond
SAVANNAH, Ga. — The father and son jailed on murder charges in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery are asking a Georgia judge to grant them bond and to throw out two charges in their indictment. Gregory McMichael and his adult son, Travis McMichael, were jailed in May, more than two...
Doctors, hospitals launch voter registration efforts
An emergency room doctor in Boston is assembling thousands of voter registration kits for distribution at hospitals and doctor’s offices. Later this month, students at Harvard and Yale’s medical schools are planning a contest to see which of the Ivy League rivals can register the most voters. And a medical...
