U.S./World category, Page 955
North Huntingdon historian seeks volunteers to help digitize WWI burial records
Andrew Capets’ initial interest in World War I was finding out more about his grandfather’s unit, the 313th Machine Gun Battalion. That research led the North Huntingdon resident and amateur historian to write “Good War, Great Men,” which focused on his grandfather’s battalion and its exploits, including fighting in the...
Man who hanged effigy of Kentucky governor fired from jobVideo
LOUISVILLE — A protester who participated in hanging an effigy of Kentucky’s governor at an armed rally on the State Capitol grounds has been fired from his job at an auto dealer. Neil Huffman Auto Group said it terminated the unidentified employee after an internal review, saying it “does not...
Amazon uses portion of headquarters for homeless shelter in Seattle
Cyber market giant Amazon has created a permanent homeless shelter inside one of its buildings at its Seattle headquarters. The facility is home to 50 families in private rooms and is slated to double that number in the near future, per media website Deadline. Officials at the shelter say they...
Postal service offers reward for info on paintball attacks in D.C. area
WASHINGTON — A $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and convictions of people who’ve been shooting mail carriers with paintball guns. The Washington Post reports that the mail carriers were attacked on Saturday in at least five incidents in Washington and Maryland. Postal Inspection...
Disney, SeaWorld announce plans for Florida parks to reopenVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — SeaWorld and Walt Disney World will reopen in Orlando in June and July after months of inactivity because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to plans a city task force approved Wednesday. The proposals will now be sent to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for final approval. The...
Mike Pompeo says Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from ChinaVideo
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has notified Congress that the Trump administration no longer regards Hong Kong as autonomous from mainland China, setting the stage for the united States to withdraw the former British colony’s preferential trade and financial status it has enjoyed since it reverted to Chinese...
Minneapolis mayor: Officer who put knee on man’s neck should be chargedVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — The mayor of Minneapolis called Wednesday for criminal charges against the white police officer seen on video kneeling against the neck of a handcuffed black man who complained that he could not breathe and died in police custody. Based on the video, Mayor Jacob Frey said officer Derek...
Disney plans to reopen parks beginning July 11Video
Looks like a lot of people are about to get a whole lot happier. Disney announced Wednesday it is hoping to reopen all four of its parks — the Happiest Place on Earth — in Orlando, Fla., by mid-July, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The phased reopening would begin July 11...
So-called honor killing of teen girl brings outcry in Iran
TEHRAN, Iran — The so-called honor killing of a 14-year-old Iranian girl by her father, who reportedly used a farming sickle to behead her as she slept, has prompted a nationwide outcry. Reza Ashrafi, now in custody, was apparently enraged when he killed his daughter Romina on Thursday after she...
U.S. deaths from coronavirus surpass 100,000 milestoneVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — The United States surpassed a jarring milestone Wednesday in the coronavirus pandemic: 100,000 deaths. That number is the best estimate and most assuredly an undercount. But it represents the stark reality that more Americans have died from the virus than from the Vietnam and Korea wars combined....
New requirements for dentists could raise prices for patients
PHILADELPHIA — When the dentist’s office called to cancel Laura Lizcano’s appointment for a crown and cavity filling in March because of the coronavirus, she wasn’t terribly worried. The 25-year-old freelance musician didn’t know at the time that the pandemic would keep medical offices closed for months — and prevent...
Historic SpaceX launch postponed because of stormy weather
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The launch of a SpaceX rocket ship with two NASA astronauts on a history-making flight into orbit has been called off with 16 minutes to go in the countdown because of the danger of lightning. Liftoff is rescheduled for Saturday. The spacecraft was set to blast...
Poll: Half of Americans would get a covid-19 vaccineVideo
Only about half of Americans say they would get a covid-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s surprisingly low considering the effort going into the global race for a vaccine against...
Tropical Storm Bertha forms, hits South Carolina coastVideo
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall on South Carolina’s coast Wednesday morning shortly after it formed, becoming the second named storm before the official start of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. A tropical storm warning was issued for South Carolina’s coast and the storm was expected to bring heavy...
Trump threatens social media after Twitter fact-checks him
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened social media companies with new regulation or even shuttering after Twitter moved a day earlier to add fact checks to two of his tweets. Claiming tech giants “silence conservative voices,” Trump said, “We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we...
Officials: Prison reform advocate rehearsed jail break plans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A longtime prison reform advocate accused of preparing to stage an escape at a Tennessee jail that’s under construction had a builder create a concrete room in his condominium’s basement so he could learn how to break into the walls, authorities say. The room built in a...
U.S. priest who founded Knights of Columbus gets closer to sainthood
VATICAN CITY — The founder of the Knights of Colombus, the influential U.S.-based lay Catholic organization, is moving a step closer to possible sainthood. Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Rev. Michael McGivney, a Connecticut priest who died at age 38 of pneumonia in...
EU proposes $825 billion coronavirus recovery fundVideo
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive arm is proposing a $825 billion recovery fund to help the bloc’s economy through the painful recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday. Gentiloni, who is in charge of economic affairs at the commission, wrote in a tweet that the...
Poll: 1 in 5 teachers unlikely to return to school if classrooms reopen this fallVideo
One in five teachers in the United States say they are unlikely to return to in-person instruction if schools reopen in the fall, a USA Today–Ipsos poll revealed Tuesday. The survey found 25% of teachers 55 and older say they are unlikely to return for in-person classes, hinting at the...
Boys let black widow spider bite them to gain Spider-Man-like powers
Three Bolivian boys landed themselves in the hospital after enticing a black widow spider to bite them in hopes of gaining super powers — a la Spider-Man, Telemundo reports. The boys, ages 12, 10 and 8, had gone into the fields to help goats graze in Chayanta, about 215 miles...
Woman fired as a result of backlash from racist Central Park confrontationVideo
NEW YORK — The verbal dispute between a white woman walking her dog and a black man bird watching in Central Park might normally have gone unnoticed in a city preoccupied by the coronavirus pandemic. That changed when birdwatcher Christian Cooper pulled out his phone and captured Amy Cooper calling...
Transgender bathroom ban heard by federal appeals court
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia school board defended its transgender bathroom ban before a federal appeals court Tuesday, as a transgender man who was barred as a student from using the boys’ bathrooms at his high school argued that the policy discriminated against him and violated his constitutional rights. A...
Costa Rica latest country to legalize same-sex marriage
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Costa Rica became the latest country to legalize same-sex marriage early Tuesday when a ruling from its supreme court went into effect ending the country’s ban. Couples held ceremonies — mostly private due to the covid-19 pandemic, but some that were broadcast — to celebrate...
Twitter gives Trump a pass on unfounded ‘murder’ allegationsVideo
President Donald Trump is again pushing the limits of Twitter’s attempts to deal with national leaders who spread misinformation and engage in personal abuse, this time with a barrage of baseless tweets suggesting that a television host he has feuded with committed murder. Twitter, which has tried to devise penalties...
4 Minneapolis police officers fired after death of black manVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Four Minneapolis officers involved in the arrest of a black man who died in police custody were fired Tuesday, hours after a bystander’s video showed an officer kneeling on the handcuffed man’s neck, even after he pleaded that he could not breathe and stopped moving. Mayor Jacob Frey...
