U.S./World category, Page 949
Racist comments trigger another firing for Rochester, N.Y., radio duoVideo
Disclaimer: People in this story are quoted in their attempt to use an abbreviated version of a racial slur; they did not use the slur, itself. A Rochester, N.Y., radio duo with a history of bigoted on-air comments were fired Wednesday over an exchange in which they advocated for the...
ACLU sues Trump administration over police force on protesters near White House
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration Thursday, alleging officials violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents before President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo. The...
Texas GOP official urged to resign over George Floyd social media post
SAN ANTONIO — The GOP chairwoman of one of Texas’ largest counties faced widespread pressure from her party to resign Thursday for floating a conspiracy theory on social media suggesting that George Floyd’s death was staged. Cynthia Brehm is head of the Bexar County Republican Party in San Antonio. She...
White House tightens security with extra fencing as protests continue in D.C.Video
Extra metal fencing has been installed around the White House on Thursday for protection against recent protests in response of the death of George Floyd. The added fortification is “standard anti-riot fencing and ranges from seven feet to more than nine feet high,” a source from the Secret Service told...
New York Times writers condemn decision to run Sen. Tom Cotton’s op-ed calling for military mobilization
Demonstrations for the civil rights of black Americans that have gripped the country in recent days have spilled into the corridors of the New York Times, as writers protested the publication of an opinion piece calling for the military to be brought in to quell the unrest. Writers from across...
Judge rejects Ponzi king Bernie Madoff’s bid for early release
NEW YORK — Dying Ponzi king Bernard Madoff lost his bid for early release from prison Thursday when the judge who sentenced him to 150 years behind bars said he intended for him to die there and nothing has happened in the last 11 years to change his mind. Judge...
Russia urges U.S. to respect right to protest
MOSCOW — The Russian Foreign Ministry urged the U.S. authorities to respect Americans’ right for peaceful protest amid the wave of demonstrations sparked by George Floyd’s death. The ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, says Moscow has taken note of the use of tear gas to disperse rallies and massive arrests of...
Judge: $750K bail for 3 ex-officers accused in George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece Thursday for three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the killing of George Floyd, as a memorial service took place just blocks away. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng made their first appearances in Hennepin...
Federal inmate dies after being pepper sprayed by guards
NEW YORK — A federal jail inmate in New York City died Wednesday after correctional officers sprayed him with pepper spray, the Bureau of Prisons said. Officers sprayed Jamel Floyd, a 35-year-old black man, after he barricaded himself in his cell at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center and broke a cell...
After protests, Va. Gov. Northam orders removal of iconic Lee statueVideo
RICHMOND, Va. — A towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee will be removed as soon as possible from Richmond’s Monument Avenue, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday, pledging the state will no longer “preach a false version of history.” The bronze equestrian statue, which sits on an enormous...
`Get your knee off our necks!’: Floyd mourned in MinneapolisVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Hollywood celebrities, musicians and political leaders gathered in front of the golden casket of George Floyd at a fiery memorial Thursday for the man whose death at the hands of police sparked global protests, with a civil rights leader declaring it is time for black people to demand,...
Testimony: Shooter used racist slur as Ahmaud Arbery lay dying
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A state investigator alleged Thursday that a white man was heard saying a racist slur as he stood over Ahmaud Arbery’s body, moments after fatally shooting the black man with a pump-action shotgun. The inflammatory revelation came amid a week of angry nationwide protests over law enforcement...
Police think Madeleine McCann is dead; parents still hope
PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal — German police said Thursday they presume a British girl who went missing in southern Portugal 13 years ago is dead, but Madeleine McCann’s parents still nurture hope their daughter will be found alive. McCann was 3-years-old at the time of her disappearance from an apartment...
Detained U.S. Navy veteran freed by Iran, making his way home
WASHINGTON — A Navy veteran detained in Iran for nearly two years has been released and started making his way home, with the first leg on a Swiss government aircraft, U.S. officials said Thursday. “The nightmare is over,” his mother said. The U.S. special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, flew...
Pentagon-Trump clash breaks open over military and protests
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is not only drawing criticism from his usual political foes but also facing backtalk from his defense secretary, his former Pentagon chief and a growing number of fellow Republicans. A day after Defense Secretary Mark Esper shot down Trump’s idea of using active-duty troops to...
8:46: A number becomes a potent symbol of police brutality
MINNEAPOLIS — All protest movements have slogans. George Floyd’s has a number: 8:46 Eight minutes, 46 seconds is the length of time prosecutors say Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was pinned to the ground under a white Minneapolis police officer’s knee before he died last week. In the days since,...
Duchess of Sussex speaks out on racial divisions in U.S.Video
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has shared her sadness about racial divisions in the United States, telling students at her former high school that she felt moved to speak out because the life of George Floyd mattered. Meghan told graduates at Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles that she...
Slick SpaceX suits were made by Hollywood costume designer
If you are heading up to the International Space Station, you’re gonna wanna look your best. And who better to design your new space suit than a Hollywood costume designer. Elon Musk’s recent SpaceX-led mission — which launched a pair of NASA astronauts into space on May 30 — featured...
Florida officer on leave after pressing knee into man’s neck
SARASOTA, Fla. — A bystander video showing a Sarasota police officer pressing his knee into the neck of a handcuffed black man a week before the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has prompted an investigation and promises of transparency. Two Sarasota officers are seen on video holding down Patrick...
Protests eclipse pandemic, but White House fears resurgence
WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump has been eager to publicly turn the page on the coronavirus pandemic. Now fears are growing within the White House that the very thing that finally shoved the virus from center stage — mass protests over the death of George Floyd — may...
China easing airline access amid conflict with WashingtonVideo
BEIJING — Chinese regulators said Thursday more foreign airlines will be allowed to fly to China as anti-coronavirus controls ease, but it was unclear whether the change will defuse a fresh conflict with the Trump administration over air travel. The announcement came after Washington said Wednesday it would bar four...
Protests turn subdued after new charges in Floyd caseVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Demonstrations in cities across the United States to condemn racism and police abuses remained large but turned notably more subdued on the eve of a Thursday memorial service for George Floyd that kicks off a series of events to mourn the man whose death empowered a national movement....
Hong Kong outlaws insulting China’s national anthemVideo
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s legislature approved a contentious bill Thursday that makes it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem. The legislation was approved after pro-democracy opposition lawmakers tried to disrupt the vote. It passed with 41 lawmakers voting for it and just one voting against. Most of the...
Deputies: White Virginia man assaulted 3 people because of their race
LOCUST GROVE, Va. — Deputies in Virginia said a white man who called to report an assault turned out to be the aggressor, and has been charged with attacking three people because of their race. Authorities responding to a call from Edward Halstead in Locust Grove on Tuesday night “interviewed...
George Floyd autopsy report released; he tested positive for COVID-19 in April
MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office released the full autopsy results performed on George Floyd with his family’s permission. The release comes nine days after Floyd died following his detention on the pavement by police at a Minneapolis intersection and as crucial differences surfaced Monday with private autopsy...
