U.S./World category, Page 928
Ghislaine Maxwell seeks jail release in Epstein abuse case
NEW YORK — British socialite and longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was made a scapegoat for the disgraced financier since he killed himself last summer while he was facing sex abuse charges, her lawyers said in court papers filed Friday seeking her release from jail while she awaits trial....
Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail. Comet Neowise — the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere in a quarter-century — swept within Mercury’s orbit a week ago. Its close proximity...
Wisconsin high court gives mixed ruling on partial vetoes
MADISON, Wis. — The conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday overturned three of four partial budget vetoes issued by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, bucking decades of court precedent that upheld the governor’s broad veto powers. However, the justices also upheld one of Evers’ vetoes as well as two made by...
Tropical Storm Fay churns north toward NYC, New England
MIAMI — Rain lashed the New Jersey shore Friday as the fast-moving Tropical Storm Fay churned north on a path expected to soak the New York City region. The storm system was expected to bring 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain, with the possibility of flash...
Russia skeptical about nuclear pact extension prospects
MOSCOW — Russia’s top diplomat said Friday he’s not very optimistic about prospects for an extension of the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control agreement because of Washington’s focus on making China sign up to the pact. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Russia only wants to keep the New START...
Authorities search for ‘Glee’ star Naya Rivera believed to have drowned
Authorities planned Friday to renew the search for “Glee” star Naya Rivera, who is believed to have drowned in a Southern California lake while boating with her 4-year-old son. Rivera, 33, disappeared after renting the pontoon boat for three hours Wednesday afternoon and taking it out on Lake Piru in...
What you need to know about Supreme Court ruling over Trump’s tax returns
NEW YORK — The Supreme Court ruled that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. can obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns for a criminal investigation but sent a second request by Congress for the records back to lower courts. Here are some key questions and answers stemming from Thursday’s...
West Virginia mail carrier admits attempted election fraud
ELKINS, W.Va. — A West Virginia postal carrier pleaded guilty Thursday to altering mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots. Thomas Cooper entered the plea in federal court in Elkins to attempted election fraud and injury to the mail, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell said in a statement. Cooper was charged in...
D.C. judge asks for full appeal review of Michael Flynn dismissal
WASHINGTON — The U.S. District Court judge who oversaw the criminal case of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn has requested a full appeals court review after a three-judge panel ordered him to dismiss it. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan made the highly unusual the request Thursday....
Tropical Storm Fay edges north from off North Carolina coastVideo
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Fay, the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, began to edge away from the North Carolina coast Thursday evening, its sights set on the mid-Atlantic coast and southern New England. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Fay was about 70 miles east of...
NYC mayor helps paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ on street outside Trump TowerVideo
NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio joined protesters Thursday in painting a vibrant yellow “Black Lives Matter” mural on the street outside Trump Tower, delivering a message to the president on his old home turf. “No justice, no peace!” chanted the demonstrators, raising their fists in solidarity as an...
Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen back in federal prison
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, was returned to federal prison, weeks after his early release to serve the remainder of his sentence at home because of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal Bureau of Prisons said Thursday. In a statement to The Associated...
Pentagon: U.S. will respond if Russia bounty reports are trueVideo
WASHINGTON — Top Pentagon leaders told Congress on Thursday that reports of Russia offering Taliban militants bounties for killing Americans were not corroborated by defense intelligence agencies, but said they are looking into it and the U.S. will respond if necessary. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said his military commanders heard...
Supreme Court rulings keep Trump’s financial records private for now
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court issued a mixed verdict Thursday on demands for President Donald Trump’s financial records that will keep his tax returns, banking and other documents out of the public eye for the time being. The court rejected broad arguments by Trump’s lawyers and the Justice Department that...
Layoffs stuck at high level as 1.3 million seek jobless aid
WASHINGTON — More than 1.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a historically high pace that shows that many employers are still laying people off in the face of a resurgent coronavirus. The persistently elevated level of layoffs are occurring as a spike in virus cases has forced...
Authorities: 1 dead after tornadoes hit western Minnesota
DALTON, Minn. — Two powerful tornadoes damaged farms, left one person dead and at least one other injured in western Minnesota as severe storms moved across parts of the Midwest, authorities said. The National Weather Service told the Otter Tail County sheriff’s office that two tornadoes touched down near Dalton...
Schools or bars? Opening classrooms may mean hard choices
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — President Donald Trump insists that schools reopen this fall. Many parents, educators, doctors and economists want the same thing. But getting children back to school safely could mean keeping high-risk spots like bars and gyms closed. A growing chorus of public health experts is urging federal, state...
Justice Department plows ahead with execution plan next week
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is plowing ahead with its plan to resume federal executions next week for the first time in more than 15 years, despite the coronavirus pandemic raging both inside and outside prisons and stagnating national support for the death penalty. Three people are scheduled to die...
Harvard, MIT sue to block ICE rule on international studentsVideo
BOSTON — Colleges and universities pushed back Wednesday against the Trump administration’s decision to make international students leave the country if they plan on taking classes entirely online this fall, with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filing a lawsuit to try to block it, and others promising...
Minneapolis officer to George Floyd: ‘It takes … a lot of oxygen to talk’
MINNEAPOLIS — As George Floyd told Minneapolis police officers that he couldn’t breathe more than 20 times in the moments before he died, the officer who pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck dismissed his pleas, saying “it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk,” according to transcripts...
Alexander Vindman retiring from Army, lawyer blames TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide who played a central role in President Trump’s impeachment case, announced his retirement from the Army on Wednesday in a scathing statement that accused the president of running a “campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation.” The statement from attorney David...
Germany laments U.S. exit from WHO, says EU seeks to reform it
GENEVA — Germany’s health minister on Wednesday lamented the formal U.S. notification of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization as a “setback for international cooperation” and said Europe would work to reform the U.N. health agency. The comments from German Health Minister Jens Spahn epitomized concerns in Europe over...
Supreme Court: Some employers can refuse to offer free birth control
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Trump administration rules allowing some employers to decline to provide contraceptive coverage on religious or moral grounds, which could leave more than 70,000 women without cost-free birth control. The high court ruled 7-2 for the administration, which made a policy change to...
Mary Kay Letourneau, teacher jailed for raping student, dies
SEATTLE — Mary Kay Letourneau, a teacher who married her former sixth-grade student after she was convicted of raping him in a case that drew international headlines, has died. She was 58. Her lawyer David Gehrke told multiple news outlets Letourneau died Tuesday of cancer. He did not immediately return...
U.S. general sees smaller but enduring troop presence in Iraq
WASHINGTON — Six months after a deadly American airstrike in Baghdad enraged Iraqis and fueled demands to send all U.S. troops home, the top U.S. general for the Middle East is talking optimistically about keeping a smaller but enduring military presence there. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S....
