U.S./World category, Page 932
2 arrested in Wendy’s fire after Rayshard Brooks’ shooting
ATLANTA — Authorities on Thursday arrested two more people on suspicion of arson in the burning of an Atlanta Wendy’s restaurant where a police officer fatally shot Rayshard Brooks. The arrests of John Wade, 33, and Chisom Kingston, 23, were confirmed by Atlanta fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford, the Atlanta...
US issues guidelines but no new rules for safe air travel
Federal officials said Thursday that airlines should consider limiting capacity on planes to promote social distancing, but they are not considering making the airlines do it. The officials also recommended — but did not move to require — that travelers wear face coverings in airports and on planes. All leading...
Confirmed coronavirus cases are rising in 40 of 50 states
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Four U.S. states — Arizona, California, Florida and Texas — reported a combined 25,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday as the infection curve rose in 40 of the 50 states heading into the July Fourth holiday weekend. With the number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases nationwide...
Hugh Downs, genial presence on TV news and game shows, dies
NEW YORK — Hugh Downs, the genial, versatile broadcaster who became one of television’s most familiar and welcome faces with more than 15,000 hours on news, game and talk shows, has died at age 99. Downs died of natural causes at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Wednesday, said his...
FBI arrests Epstein pal Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of enabling abuse of girls
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested Thursday on charges she helped lure at least three girls — one as young as 14 — to be sexually abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of victimizing dozens of girls and women over many years. According to the indictment,...
Massachusetts tells fireworks seller to stop ads in stateVideo
BOSTON — The Massachusetts attorney general is demanding that a fireworks retailer with stores in New Hampshire stop targeting its advertising to residents of Massachusetts, where fireworks are illegal. Attorney General Maura Healey in a cease-and-desist letter sent Wednesday to Phantom Fireworks alleges the company is violating state consumer protection...
U.S. adds 4.8 million jobs as unemployment falls to 11.1%Video
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a substantial 4.8 million jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%, as the job market improved for a second straight month yet still remained far short of regaining the colossal losses it suffered this spring. The nation has now recovered roughly one-third...
Landslide at Myanmar jade mine kills at least 113 people
YANGON, Myanmar — At least 113 people were killed Thursday in a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, the government and rescue workers said, the latest in a series of deadly accidents at the sites in recent years. A statement from the Ministry of Information gave the death...
‘Incident’ damages construction near Iran nuclear siteVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — An “incident” damaged an under-construction building Thursday near Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, though it did not affect its centrifuge operations or cause any release of radiation, a spokesman said. The affected building, described as an “industrial shed,” was above ground and not part of the...
British judge denies Venezuela access to gold in bank vault
LONDON — A British judge on Thursday refused to give Venezuela control of over $1 billion in gold sitting in a Bank of England vault, ruling that it is unlawful to give it to the President Nicolás Maduro since Britain does not recognize him as the president. Maduro has demanded...
Myrtle Beach awaits tourists despite being ‘hot spot’ for covid-19 outbreaksVideo
As the Myrtle Beach area braces for tourists to flock the Grand Strand this holiday weekend, a record high of covid-19 cases were announced Wednesday. South Carolina health officials announced 228 new coronavirus cases in Horry County, along with 45 deaths. Some new signage in the sand in Myrtle Beach...Coming...
Alabama students throwing ‘covid parties’ to see who gets sick, officials sayVideo
College students in Tuscaloosa, Ala., who tested positive for the coronavirus have been attending parties in that area as part of a perplexing and unwise contest to see who will be the first to contract covid-19, according to an ABC News report. Tuscaloosa is the seventh-largest city in the state...
Georgia man sentenced to 1,000 years for child porn gets parole
ATLANTA — A former Troup County commissioner once called a prolific collector of child porn will have a chance to spend the rest of his 1,000-year prison sentence on parole. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles released Peter Mallory on parole May 27, three weeks after an appeals court...
Family: Human remains found in Texas are missing soldier Vanessa GuillenVideo
KILLEEN, Texas — The family of a soldier who has been missing since April believes partial remains that were found in Central Texas are her remains, the lawyer for her family said Wednesday, and the Army said it has identified two suspects in her disappearance. Pfc. Vanessa Guillen was last...
Richmond orders removal of Confederate statues on city landVideo
RICHMOND — The mayor of Richmond, Va., on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate statues on city land, saying he was using his emergency powers to speed up the healing process for the former capital of the Confederacy amid weeks of protests over police brutality and racial injustice....
New York City will paint Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower
NEW YORK — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that the city will paint a Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue soon — and the president hit back at what he called a wasteful “symbol of hate.” “(Trump) will get a message...
Seattle cops dismantle ‘occupied’ zone, arrest more than 30Video
SEATTLE — Seattle police turned out in force early Wednesday at the city’s “occupied” protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ encampments and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks. Television images showed police, many in riot...
Retired pope’s elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, dies at 96
BERLIN — The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at 96. The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Ratzinger lived, said in a statement on his website that...
Pilot killed in fighter jet crash at South Carolina Air Force base
SUMTER, S.C. — A military pilot has died in the crash of a fighter jet during a training mission at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. 20th Fighter Wing Commander Larry Sullivan confirmed the pilot’s death early Wednesday morning. The crash happened on the military base around 11:30 p.m....
Astronauts perform 2nd spacewalk to swap station batteries
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts performed their second spacewalk in under a week Wednesday to replace old batteries outside the International Space Station. Commander Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken ventured out to tackle the big, boxy batteries.. For every two outdated batteries coming out, a new and improved one goes...
UN says Afghan army mistakenly fired mortars that killed 23
KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said its findings indicate the Afghan military had mistakenly fired the mortars this week at a busy market in southern Helmand province that inflicted heavy civilian casualties. According to a statement from the office of the Helmand provincial governor, Gen. Mohammad Yasin,...
Police say Lori Vallow, missing kids’ mom, helped keep their bodies hidden
BOISE, Idaho — Prosecutors say the mother of two children who were found dead in rural Idaho months after they vanished in a bizarre case that captured worldwide attention had conspired with her new husband to hide or destroy the kids’ bodies. The new felony charges against Lori Vallow Daybell...
Trump’s deference to Putin back under harsh scrutiny after Russian bounty reportsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s deference to Vladimir Putin is back under the microscope amid accusations that he ignored intelligence that Russia offered to pay Taliban militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Democrats returning from a classified briefing at the White House on Tuesday pledged to get to the...
California prison’s 1,080 positive covid-19 cases blamed on corrections officialsVideo
A California prison that had zero covid-19 cases at the end of May has racked up more than 1,000 during June, prompting officials to set up triage tents outside the facility to keep contagious inmates away from the general population. As of Tuesday, 1,080 prisoners at San Quentin State Prison...
With a pen stroke, Mississippi drops Confederate-themed flag
JACKSON, Miss. — With a stroke of the governor’s pen, Mississippi is retiring the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem — a symbol that’s widely condemned as racist. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the historic bill on Tuesday afternoon that takes the 126-year-old state flag...
