U.S./World category, Page 936
Texas man cited with disorderly conduct over mask dispute
SAN ANTONIO — A 47-year-old Texas man was cited for disorderly conduct Thursday after he allegedly smacked the hand of a San Antonio-area official who was trying to persuade him to put on a face covering, officials said. The man’s lawyer disputes the claim. Terry Toller turned himself in to...
Tucson mayor sticks with police chief after custody death
TUCSON, Ariz. — The mayor of Tucson, Arizona, said Thursday that the city’s police chief should stay in his job, even as criticism mounts over the death of a young Hispanic man while handcuffed in police custody. Mayor Regina Romero, a Democrat, said Chief Chris Magnus should not resign because...
Colorado reopens inquiry into Elijah McClain’s 2019 death
DENVER — The Colorado governor on Thursday ordered prosecutors to reopen the investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold by police who stopped him on the street in suburban Denver last year because he was “being suspicious.” Gov. Jared Polis signed an...
Lobbying grows against Mississippi’s rebel-themed flag
JACKSON, Miss. — University coaches and Christian ministers filled the Mississippi Capitol on Thursday, urging legislators to seize the moment and remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag while Americans are reckoning with difficult discussions about race and history. “It doesn’t take courage. It takes conscience,” said the...
U.S. Catholic bishops: Clergy sex abuse claims tripled in 2019
NEW YORK — U.S. Roman Catholic bishops said Thursday that the church tallied 4,434 sex abuse allegations against clergy in the 2018-19 audit year, triple the number seen the previous year, with much of the increase stemming from a wave of lawsuits and claims by survivors of decades-old molestation. In...
Families of 3 deceased workers sue Tyson over Iowa outbreak
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The families of three workers who died after contracting the coronavirus in an Iowa meat plant outbreak sued Tyson Foods and its top executives Thursday, saying the company knowingly put employees at risk and lied to keep them on the job. The lawsuit alleges that Tyson...
A look at a Colorado Black man’s death in police encounter
DENVER — As protests continue across the U.S. against excessive police force against people of color, Elijah McClain’s name has become another rallying cry on social media. McClain, a 23-year-old Black man in the Denver suburb of Aurora, died in August after police officers confronted him as he was walking...
Wildfire near Mount Rushmore contained ahead of Trump visit
CUSTER, S.D. — A wildfire located near Mount Rushmore in South Dakota has been completely contained, according to Gov. Kristi Noem’s office. The fire comes amid preparations for President Donald Trump’s visit to the monument for Independence Day celebrations and fireworks next week. The state called in 117 firefighters, including...
Kentucky capitol rally urges action in Breonna Taylor death
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Hundreds of people rallied at Kentucky’s capitol on Thursday to urge action in the investigation of three officers in the fatal police shooting of a Black woman, Breonna Taylor, at her Louisville home. Taylor’s family, hip hop artists and civil rights lawyers addressed a large crowd on...
Funding for key Minneapolis police initiative falls through
MINNEAPOLIS — Funding for a key Minneapolis Police Department accountability initiative after the death of George Floyd has fallen through, officials confirmed Thursday, meaning potential delays as the city scrambles to find another source for the money. Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced June 10 the department would contract with Benchmark...
US virus cases near an all-time high as governors backtrack
NEW YORK —The coronavirus crisis deepened in Arizona on Thursday, and the governor of Texas began to backtrack after making one of the most aggressive pushes in the nation to reopen, as the daily number of confirmed cases across the U.S. closed in on the peak reached during the dark...
U.S. health officials estimate 20 million Americans have had virus
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials estimate that 20 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since it first arrived in the United States, meaning that the vast majority of the population remains susceptible. Thursday’s estimate is roughly 10 times as many infections as the 2.3 million cases that have been...
NYPD officer charged with using banned chokehold
NEW YORK — Moving swiftly amid a global furor over police misconduct, New York City prosecutors on Thursday filed criminal charges against a police officer caught on video putting a Black man in what they said was a banned chokehold. Officer David Afanador pleaded not guilty on Thursday to strangulation...
Arizona politician condemned for using George Floyd’s last words
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A city council member in suburban Phoenix is drawing criticism from the governor and others after invoking George Floyd’s dying words of “I can’t breathe” during a protest over an order to wear masks to stop the spread of coronavirus. Scottsdale Councilman Guy Phillips uttered the remark...
Texas putting reopening on ‘pause’ as virus cases soar
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday halted elective surgeries in Texas’ biggest counties and said the state would “pause” its aggressive re-opening as it deals with a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations that has made it one of the nation’s virus hotspots. The suspension of elective surgeries...
‘Coming back and biting us’: U.S. sees virus resurgence
HOUSTON — A coronavirus resurgence is wiping out two months of progress in the U.S. and sending infections to dire new levels across the South and West, with hospital administrators and health experts warning Wednesday that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a...
Mississippi gov might not block change to rebel-themed flag
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday, for the first time, that he probably would not stand in the way if legislators muster a large enough majority to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag. Amid the backdrop of national protests over racial injustice, Mississippi...
Malls, movies, gyms in New York still not cleared to reopen
ALBANY, N.Y. — Malls, movie theaters and gyms will not be cleared to open again when areas of New York state progress to the fourth phase of the state’s reopening plan Friday. The businesses had been hoping Gov. Andrew Cuomo would allow them to open their doors after an over...
South Carolina prosecutor decides not to charge officer who shot Black teen
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina prosecutor said Wednesday that he will not file charges against the white police officer who fatally shot a Black teenager who pointed a gun at the officer as he ran away. Josh Ruffin, 17, was an immediate threat to the safety of the officers...
California voters will be asked whether to restore affirmative action in November
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California could allow college admissions and government contracting decisions with a focus on race and gender diversity under a measure placed on the November ballot Wednesday, a decision that would reverse strict limits imposed by voters in 1996. The ballot measure, which won final approval from the...
Wisconsin governor activates National Guard after violence
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s governor activated the National Guard on Wednesday to protect state properties after a night of violence that included the toppling of two statues outside the state Capitol, one of which commemorated an abolitionist Civil War hero. Protesters also attacked a state senator, threw a Molotov cocktail...
Virus cases surging among the young, endangering the elderly
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states where bars, stores and restaurants have reopened — a disturbing generational shift that not only puts them in greater peril than many realize but poses an even bigger danger to older people who...
3 men indicted on murder charges in killing of Ahmaud Arbery
ATLANTA — A prosecutor on Wednesday announced that three men have been indicted on murder charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in coastal Georgia. Prosecutor Joyette Holmes said a Glynn County grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. on charges including malice and...
Icons of 1960s civil rights movement voice cautious optimism
CINCINNATI — Bob Moses says America is at “a lurching moment” for racial change, potentially as transforming as the Civil War era and as the 1960s civil rights movement that he helped lead. “What we are experiencing now as a nation has only happened a couple times in our history,”...
Slavery advocate’s statue being removed in South Carolina
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The historic South Carolina city of Charleston was removing a symbol of its legacy on Wednesday, sending crews to take away a statue honoring John C. Calhoun, an early U.S. vice president whose zealous defense of slavery led the nation toward civil war. After a nightlong struggle...
