U.S./World category, Page 965
New York City stepping up distancing enforcement in parks
NEW YORK — Police officers will start limiting access to a handful of New York City parks whose scofflaw visitors have become poster children for bad social distancing, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday. Users of the parks, two built on piers that jut into the Hudson River and one...
Grit and red wine: Famous war photographer beats virus at 97
NEW YORK — Tony Vaccaro’s mother died in childbirth, and at a tender age he also lost his father to tuberculosis. By age 5, he was an orphan in Italy, enduring beatings from an uncle. As an American GI during World War II, he survived the Battle of Normandy. Now,...
World Health Organization says it has $1.3 billion funding shortfall
LONDON — The head of the World Health Organization says the agency needs $1.7 billion to fund its response efforts for covid-19 for the rest of the year — and that it’s about $1.3 billion short. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was suspending funding to the U.N....
Georgia promises thorough probe in killing of Ahmaud Arbery
SAVANNAH, Ga. — More than two months after a black man was shot to death while jogging on a Sunday afternoon, Georgia investigators conceded that the facts show enough evidence to jail a white father and son on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. The investigation appeared stalled by...
Lost your job? Here’s an updated list of things you need to know
Nearly 33.5 million Americans have lost their jobs and applied for unemployment benefits in the past 7 weeks — a stunning record high that reflects the near-complete shutdown of the U.S. economy. On Friday, the government said the U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the...
World War II veterans to join Trump at V-E Day ceremony
WASHINGTON — Seven World War II veterans, ages 96 to 100, planned to join President Donald Trump at a wreath-laying ceremony Friday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. The veterans had hoped to mark the day in Moscow, but that idea was dashed...
U.S. jobless rate spikes to 14.7%, highest since Great Depression
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy. The losses reflect what has...
2 men arrested in killing of unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia after outrage
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Georgia authorities arrested a white father and son Thursday and charged them with murder in the February shooting death of a black man they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. The charges came more than two months after Ahmaud Arbery, 25,...
Shooting over dining area closure hurts 3 McDonald’s workers in OklahomaVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — Three McDonald’s employees in Oklahoma City suffered gunshot wounds when a customer opened fire because she was angry that the restaurant’s dining area was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, police said Thursday. Gloricia Woody, 32, was in custody after the Wednesday night shooting on four counts...
Republican donor, fundraiser Louis DeJoy named next postmaster general
RALEIGH, N.C. — A Republican fundraiser and prolific political donor from North Carolina will be the next postmaster general. Louis DeJoy of Greensboro, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was the unanimous pick of the U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors, which made the announcement. He’s expected to begin...
Ohio restaurants, bars, salons, barbershops to fully reopen by May 21
Ohio restaurants with outdoor seating, salons and barbershops will begin to reopen next week, with a more expanded opening of restaurants coming the following week, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday. Personal services — barbershops, hair salons, day spas, nail salons and others — can reopen May 15, as can outdoor-seating...
U.S. pulls anti-missile systems from Saudi Arabia amid oil disputeVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States is pulling two Patriot missile batteries and some fighter aircraft out of Saudi Arabia, an American official said Thursday, amid tensions between the kingdom and the Trump administration over oil production. The official said the decision removes two batteries that were guarding oil facilities in...
Justice Department dropping Michael Flynn’s Trump-Russia caseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. The action was a stunning reversal...
Mermaids returning to Montana tiki bar as it reopens
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — For patrons at a Montana tiki bar that has a back wall of a window into a motel swimming pool, it’s typical to see mermaids in the water five nights a week. So as the owner of the O’Haire Motor Inn and the Sip ‘n Dip...
Unanimous Supreme Court throws out New Jersey ‘Bridgegate’ convictions
WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the convictions of two political insiders involved in the “Bridgegate” scandal that ultimately derailed the 2016 presidential bid of then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The justices found evidence of deception, corruption and abuse of power in the scheme, but said...
Governor softens order over jailed Texas hair salon ownerVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday removed jail as a punishment for violating his coronavirus restrictions following outcry by conservatives over a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for refusing to keep her business closed. In a swift reversal of his own rules, Abbott said his...
South African brewer says it may dump 400 million bottles of beer
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South African Breweries, one of the world’s largest brewers, says it may have to destroy 400 million bottles of beer as a result of the country’s ban on alcohol sales that is part of its lockdown measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. South...
Indianapolis police officer fatally strikes pregnant woman
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis police officer on his way to work struck and killed a pregnant woman who was walking on an expressway ramp, police said Thursday. Officer Jonathon Henderson, a 22-year veteran, struck the woman about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The accident happened as he traveled on the...
Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage in Florida Panhandle
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Firefighters in the Florida Panhandle have been battling wildfires that forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes, and a stretch of Interstate 10 remained closed in both directions Thursday morning due to smoke, authorities said. A more than 575-acre fire in Walton County prompted about...
Trucker charged in serial killings faces scrutiny across U.S.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Investigators from multiple states were looking Thursday into whether a long-haul trucker from Iowa who’s implicated in at least three women’s slayings in the 1990s could be responsible for other unsolved homicides. Officers arrested Clark Perry Baldwin, 58, in Waterloo on Wednesday after new DNA evidence...
California doom: Staggering $54 billion budget deficit loomsVideo
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will have a budget shortfall of $54.3 billion because of the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced Thursday, a stunning reversal for a state that had a $21 billion surplus a year ago. The state has been under a mandatory stay-at-home...
New Banksy art unveiled at British hospital to thank doctors, nurses
A new work by the elusive street artist Banksy, honoring health workers, has been unveiled at a British hospital. The framed picture, titled “Game Changer,” depicts a young boy sitting on the floor playing with a nurse superhero toy. Batman and Spiderman action figure toys lie in a wastepaper basket...
Police: 2 McDonald’s workers shot over dining area closure
OKLAHOMA CITY — Two McDonald’s employees in Oklahoma City were shot and wounded by a customer who was angry that the restaurant’s dining area was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, police said. A female suspect was in custody after the Wednesday night shooting, but police have not yet released...
Gunman sought after 3 dead in string of Houston shootings
HOUSTON — Police searched early Thursday for a man suspected of fatally shooting three men during the span of less than an hour at separate locations in Houston. The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Joshua Kelsey, was believed to be driving a car that was stolen from the scene of the...
Outer Banks set to reopen to visitorsVideo
Three counties on North Carolina’s tourist-reliant Outer Banks announced plans Wednesday to lift coronavirus-related visitor restrictions, although they warned of the need to continue to practice social distancing amid the ongoing pandemic. In a joint statement, officials in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties said restrictions on entry for visitors will...
