U.S./World category, Page 916
Debate begins over who’s first in line for covid-19 vaccine
Who gets to be first in line for a covid-19 vaccine? U.S. health authorities hope by late next month to have some draft guidance on how to ration initial doses, but it’s a vexing decision. “Not everybody’s going to like the answer,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes...
Annual Sturgis rally expecting 250K, stirring virus concerns
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sturgis is on. The message has been broadcast across social media as South Dakota, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, braces to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. More than 250,000 people...
Florida sheriff: Burger King worker shot, killed in waiting dispute
ORLANDO, Fla. — Authorities in Florida say a Burger King worker was fatally shot after a dispute over a delay in a food order. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office identified the shooter in a news release Sunday as 37-year-old Kelvis Rodriguez Tormes. Authorities said he is charged with first-degree murder...
Portland police declare unlawful assembly amid continued protests
The Portland Police Bureau declared an unlawful assembly Saturday night when people gathered outside a police precinct in Oregon’s largest city and threw bottles toward officers, police said. Up to that point, federal, state and local law enforcement had been seemingly absent from protests Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The demonstrations,...
Indiana student, school staff member test positive for coronavirus just after reopening
INDIANAPOLIS — Just days after public schools around the state reopened their doors for the first time since March, at least one student and one school staff member have tested positive for the coronavirus. In the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation, 20 miles east of Indianapolis, a student tested positive for...
Isaias strengthens slightly as it crawls up Florida coastVideo
VERO BEACH, Fla. — Bands of heavy rain from Isaias lashed Florida’s east coast Sunday, with the tropical storm strengthening slightly in the evening on its way up the Eastern seabord. Officials dealing with surging cases of the coronavirus in Florida kept a close watch on the storm that was...
Marines halt search for 8 missing troops, all presumed dead
SAN DIEGO — Eight troops missing after their landing craft sank off the Southern California coast during a training exercise are presumed dead, the Marine Corps announced Sunday. The Marines said they had called off the search that started late Thursday afternoon when the amphibious assault vehicle sank with 15...
SpaceX capsule and NASA crew make 1st splashdown in 45 yearsVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the...
As school begins amid virus, parents see few good options
WOODSTOCK, Ga. — John Barrett plans to keep his daughter home from elementary school this year in suburban Atlanta, but he wishes she were going. Molly Ball is sending her teenage sons to school in the same district on Monday, but not without feelings of regret. As the academic year...
Clock is ticking on Trump comeback as early voting nears
WASHINGTON — It’s getting late early. President Donald Trump is privately reassuring Republicans anxious about his deficits to Democrat Joe Biden, noting there are three months until Election Day and reminding them of the late-breaking events that propelled his 2016 comeback. But four years later, the dynamics are very different....
Despite virus threat, Black voters wary of voting by mail
DETROIT — Despite fears that the coronavirus pandemic will worsen, Victor Gibson said he’s not planning to take advantage of Michigan’s expanded vote-by-mail system when he casts his ballot in November. The retired teacher from Detroit just isn’t sure he can trust it. Many Black Americans share similar concerns and...
Trump suggests he might want to take on income inequality
President Trump suggested he might be interested in pushing for policy that addresses the widening income gap in the U.S., but didn’t suggest a plan. Trump commented in a retweet about how much some prominent billionaires have increased their net worth during the coronavirus pandemic, while tens of millions of...
Isaias weakens, may strengthen on path to virus-hit Florida
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power Saturday as it blew through the Bahamas and churned toward the Florida coast, threatening to complicate efforts to contain the coronavirus in places where cases are surging. Isaias weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon, but...
Salmonella outbreak linked to red onions, health officials warn
Check your refrigerator and kitchen for raw onions and products that contain them. Get ready to toss them out. Federal health official have linked red onions as the source of the current nationwide salmonella newport outbreak being investigated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday said the onions...
Ruling renews fairness debate in Boston Marathon bomber case
“Boston Strong” remains a “vibrant” rallying cry more than seven years after the marathon bombing killed three people and injured more than 260, a federal appeals court noted as it threw out the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. But even as the ruling opened old wounds, it raised familiar questions...
Texas city commissioner killed in gun battle with police
MISSION, Texas — A Texas city commissioner was fatally shot in an exchange of gunfire with police and a sheriff’s deputy who responded to a domestic disturbance call at his home, authorities said. Officers who responded late Thursday at Sullivan City Commissioner Gabriel Salinas’ home in Mission found his 39-year-old...
‘Murder hornet’ captured in trap for first time in Washington state
Nearly two months after the “murder hornet” invaded Washington, state officials have managed to capture one of the massive insects in a trap for the first time. Scientists have been working to capture the invasive Asian giant hornets, which are more than 2 inches long, in a bid to prevent...
House Dems urge Pentagon to reverse policy banning LGBTQ Pride, Native Nations flags
More than two dozen House Democrats are demanding the reinstatement of LGBTQ Pride and Sovereign Native Nations flags on military installations — and an explicit ban on the Confederate Flag. In a letter sent Friday to Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, 34 lawmakers argued a new policy he issued...
Thousands protest in Berlin against coronavirus restrictions
BERLIN — Thousands protested Germany’s coronavirus restrictions Saturday in a Berlin demonstration marking what organizers called “the end of the pandemic” — a declaration that comes just as authorities are voicing increasing concerns about an uptick in new infections. With few masks in sight, a dense crowd marched through downtown...
Negotiators report progress in covid-19 aid talks
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers participating in rare weekend talks on a huge coronavirus relief measure reported progress Saturday, as political pressure mounts to restore a newly expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen. “This was the longest meeting we had, and it was more productive than...
Arizona congressman tests positive for virus; 2nd this week
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee said Saturday he tested positive for the coronavirus days after he sat close to another member of the panel, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, who also tested positive. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said in a statement he has the virus but,...
Joe Biden nears final decision on his vice presidential choice
WASHINGTON — As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals. The campaign hasn’t finalized a date for naming a running mate, but three people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans said a public...
Hurricane Isaias lashes Bahamas while Florida battens down
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Isaias ripped shingles off roofs and blew over trees as it carved its way through the Bahamas early Saturday and headed toward the Florida coast, where officials in Miami said they were closing beaches, marinas and parks. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez said Friday that...
Portland protest strives for peace as U.S. forces drawn down
PORTLAND, Ore. — More than a thousand people showed up in downtown Portland early Saturday to peacefully protest, about three days after the announcement that the presence of U.S. agents there would be reduced — a deal that Oregon officials hope will continue to ease tensions as the city tries...
Trump says he’ll act to ban TikTok in U.S. as soon as Saturday
NEW YORK — President Trump said he will take action as soon as Saturday to ban TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned video app that has been a source of national security and censorship concerns. Trump’s comments were made after published reports that the administration is planning to order China’s ByteDance to...
