U.S./World category, Page 924
Texas deaths hit record, schools get OK for virtual classes
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas on Friday gave public schools permission to keep campuses closed for more than 5 million students well into the fall as the state scrambles to contain one of the largest resurgences of the coronavirus in the country. California also issued strict guidance that makes it unlikely...
Tennessee governor delays scheduled execution due to virus
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee death row inmate received a rare temporary reprieve from Gov. Bill Lee on Friday, after the Republican announced the execution would not take place this year because of the coronavirus — a reason the state’s highest court had previously dismissed as cause to delaying the...
Pentagon report: Turkey sent up to 3,800 fighters to Libya
Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters to Libya over the first three months of the year, the U.S. Defense Department’s inspector general concluded in a new report, its first to detail Turkish deployments that helped change the course of Libya’s war. The report comes as the conflict...
Jay-Z, other celebs ask feds to probe student’s 2010 killing
Rihanna, Jay-Z, Charlize Theron and other celebrities are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the death of 20-year-old Danroy “DJ” Henry Jr., a Black football player at Pace University killed by a white police officer in New York nearly a decade ago. In a letter sent this...
Mayor of Portland to Trump: Get your troops out of the city
PORTLAND, Ore. — The mayor of Portland demanded Friday that President Donald Trump remove militarized federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on streets far from federal property they were sent to protect. “Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,”...
New California rules mean most schools will start online
SAN FRANCISCO — With the first day of school just weeks away in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out sweeping new rules Friday that all but ensure most of the state’s K-12 schools serving 6.7 million students will not reopen classrooms when the academic year starts. The rules also mandate...
Study: Andean condors can fly up to 100 miles without flapping wings
Talk about the path of least resistance. An observation from a recent study on flight habits of large birds followed an Andean condor that soared in the skies for 100 miles without having to flap its wings even once. Scientists tracked a soaring Andean condor for 100 miles (172 kilometers)...
Utility worker in Nebraska recovering after being impaled by steel rod
FIRTH, Neb. — A Nebraska power utility worker is recovering from surgery after being impaled by a 2-foot-long steel rod while on the job near Firth, authorities said. The incident happened Thursday afternoon while Nebraska Public Power District worker Roger Kempf, 46, and a coworker were clearing brush from underneath...
Israel to shut down on weekends in response to virus surgeVideo
JERUSALEM — Israel announced sweeping new restrictions Friday in response to a new surge in coronavirus cases, including weekend closures of many businesses and limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery. The government announced the restrictions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “interim steps” were needed to avoid another general lockdown....
Pentagon bans Confederate flag in way to avoid Trump’s wrath
After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon is banning displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn’t mention the word ban or that specific flag. The policy, laid out in a memo released Friday, was described by officials as a creative way to bar...
China moves rocket into place for upcoming Mars missionVideo
BEIJING — China has moved a rocket into position to launch a rover to Mars in one of three upcoming missions to the red planet, one from the United States and another by the United Arab Emirates. The Long March-5 carrier rocket is China’s heaviest-lift launch vehicle and has been...
Military medics deploy in California, Texas as coronavirus surges
Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients, as Miami area authorities began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement — echoing efforts in many parts of the world to contain surging infections. In California, military doctors, nurses and other...
Chicago plan would have kids in classrooms 2 days per week
CHICAGO — Most Chicago children would return to the classroom two days a week and spend the other three days learning remotely once the school year begins under a tentative plan outlined Friday by officials from the nation’s third-largest school district. Chicago Public Schools officials called the proposed hybrid approach...
Queen makes veteran a knight at 100 — no kneeling requiredVideo
LONDON — In the end, Sir Tom didn’t need to rise. On a day infused with emotion, Queen Elizabeth II tapped the blade of a sword once owned by her father on the slender shoulders of 100-year-old Tom Moore, making a hero of a nation a knight of the realm...
Germany: Black Forest fugitive held after 5 days on the run
BERLIN — A man who disarmed four officers at gunpoint in southwestern Germany before fleeing into the Black Forest has been arrested after five days on the run, police said Friday. Four firearms were seized, police said in a brief statement, without giving further details of what happened. Hours earlier,...
Person in custody in killing of tech CEO who was found dismembered
NEW YORK — A person was taken into police custody Friday in the killing of a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur found dismembered inside his luxury Manhattan condo, two law enforcement officials said. The person in custody had worked as Fahim Saleh’s personal assistant, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials...
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says cancer has returned, but won’t retireVideo
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, but has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court. The 87-year-old Ginsburg, who spent time in the hospital this week for a possible infection, said her treatment so far has succeeded in...
Express yourself: It’s World Emoji Day
Thanks to texts and tweets, we’re all about quick and simple communication — the quicker and simpler, the better. That’s where the emoji comes in — why type “I’m happy” or “I’m sad,” when a quick click can give plenty of options for expressing those emotions and an array of...
France delays retirement reform that caused mass strikes
PARIS — France’s government is delaying a divisive overhaul of the country’s retirement system until at least the end of the year because of the economic crisis unleashed by the pandemic. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced after meeting with unions Friday that the pension reform “will be maintained.” But he...
Princess Beatrice marries in private ceremony at Windsor
LONDON — Buckingham Palace says that Princess Beatrice has got married in a private ceremony, with her grandmother Queen Elizabeth II in attendance. Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Friday morning at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The monarch, the Duke of Edinburgh and other close...
U.S. official visits Portland, calls protesters ‘anarchists’Video
PORTLAND, Ore. — The head of the Department of Homeland Security visited Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, just hours after issuing a scathing statement that called the protesters who have taken to the streets every night for nearly two months “violent anarchists” and a “violent mob” that have kept the liberal...
Baseless Wayfair child-trafficking theory spreads online
CHICAGO — The baseless conspiracy theory took off after an anonymous user posed a bizarre question in an internet chatroom: What if retail giant Wayfair is using pricey storage cabinets to traffic children? Self-proclaimed internet sleuths quickly responded by matching up the names of Wayfair products to those of missing...
EU court cancels U.S. data-sharing pact over snooping concerns
The European Union’s top court ruled Thursday that an agreement that allows thousands of companies — from tech giants to small financial firms — to transfer data to the United States is invalid because the American government can snoop on people’s data. The ruling to invalidate Privacy Shield will likely...
Columbus statue to remain on Ohio Statehouse grounds for at least 5 more years
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A statue of Christopher Columbus will not be removed from in front of the Ohio Statehouse until at least 2025, officials said Thursday. The 9-foot-tall, copper statue of Columbus will remain erected in front of the Statehouse in the largest city that bears the explorer’s name until...
USA Today: Peter Navarro’s anti-Fauci column didn’t meet standards
NEW YORK — USA Today says that a column that the newspaper solicited and published from presidential trade adviser Peter Navarro criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci was misleading and did not meet fact-checking standards. The newspaper explained the decision in a note by Bill Sternberg, editorial page editor, attached to the...
