U.S./World category, Page 972
Tulane basketball player charged with murder in GeorgiaVideo
MCDONOUGH, Ga. — A Tulane University basketball player who recently declared for the NBA draft is charged with murder and other counts in a Georgia slaying. Teshaun Hightower, who led the Green Wave in scoring last season, was booked into jail Saturday on multiple charges, including murder and aggravated assault,...
Supreme Court tosses N.Y. case that could have expanded gun rightsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court sidestepped a major decision on gun rights Monday in a dispute over New York City’s former ban on transporting guns. The justices threw out a challenge from gun rights groups. It ruled that the city’s move to ease restrictions on taking licensed, locked and unloaded...
Welcome mat at Florida home demands ‘warrant’ — and deputies got one
PALM COAST, Fla. — A welcome mat at the front door of a Florida home read “come back with a warrant” — and that’s just what deputies did before finding drugs and drug paraphernalia inside. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports the home in Palm Coast was part of an investigation...
IRS adds details to online stimulus money toolVideo
For nearly two weeks now, taxpayers have been able to use a tool on the IRS website to find out the status of their coronavirus stimulus money. Now, the Get My Payment tool has been expanded to include more information about your payment from the government’s $2.2 trillion economic relief...
Notre Dame Cathedral worksite refitted for virus safetyVideo
PARIS — Workers are refitting the construction site at fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral to protect staff from the virus and allow cleanup efforts at the Paris landmark to resume. More than a year after the blaze, workers still haven’t finished stabilizing the medieval cathedral, much less rebuilding it. And the...
Italy plans to reopen country after weeks of lockdownVideo
ROME — Italy is set to ease a number of coronavirus-related restrictions from May 4 onward, allowing citizens to do more outdoor sports and exercise near their homes, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Sunday. Conte made the announcement in Rome while presenting the government’s plan for the gradual reopening of...
Pentagon focusing on most vital personnel for virus testingVideo
WASHINGTON — With limited supplies of coronavirus tests available, the Pentagon is focusing first on testing those performing duties deemed most vital to national security. Atop the list are the men and women who operate the nation’s nuclear forces, some counterterrorism forces, and the crew of a soon-to-deploy aircraft carrier....
Local California official resigns after throwing cat in online meeting
VALLEJO, Calif. — A planning commissioner of Vallejo, Calif., has resigned after throwing his pet cat and apparently drinking a beer during a Zoom meeting between city officials that was made public, according to a newspaper report. During the April 20 teleconference of the city’s Planning Commission, Chris Platzer announced,...
Police: 1 officer dies, 2nd wounded in Louisiana shootingVideo
BATON ROUGE, La. — A shooting in Louisiana’s capital city left one police officer dead and his wounded colleague fighting for his life Sunday, authorities said, adding a suspect was later taken into custody after an hourslong standoff in which shots were exchanged with a SWAT team. Baton Rouge Police...
Satellite imagery finds likely Kim Jong Un train amid health rumorsVideo
SEOUL, South Korea — A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been parked at his compound on the country’s east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the...
1-eyed squirrel with Instagram account is returned to nature
LAFAYETTE, La. — A one-eyed squirrel that gained a social media following is being returned to nature. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries took Willamina the squirrel from Emily Istre of Lafayette on Thursday, the Acadiana Advocate reported. Istre created an Instagram account for the squirrel, one-eyed-willa, and posted...
Average U.S. gas price drops 9 cents over 2 weeks to $1.93
CAMARILLO, Calif. — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline fell 9 cents over the past two weeks, to $1.93 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday prices at the pump have dropped 61 cents over the past nine weeks and 80 cents since mid-October....
Police: Bandit skates off after Dunkin’ Donuts stickup
HICKSVILLE, N.Y. — A robber wearing in-line skates skated off into the night after sticking up a Dunkin’ Donuts on Long Island, police said. Nassau County police said the suspect glided into the Hicksville shop around 7:50 p.m. Friday, bought a cup of coffee and then demanded cash while making...
UK’s Boris Johnson to return to Downing Street office on Monday
Britain’s Boris Johnson will return to work on Monday and take charge of the U.K.’s handling of the pandemic, a month after he was struck down by the coronavirus. The government has been without a leader since the prime minister was admitted to a London hospital on April 5. Since...
Fauci urges careful science on coronavirus drugs
Dr. Anthony Fauci is urging careful science to prove whether any of the drugs being explored as covid-19 treatments actually work. Fauci, infectious diseases chief at the National Institutes of Health, said Saturday during an online meeting of the National Academy of Sciences that the only way to get an...
New York opens antibody testing to healthcare, front line workers
NEW YORK — New York is starting to test healthcare workers for coronavirus antibodies and will do the same next week with transit and law enforcement workers as the state eases away from the worst days of the pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday, Doctors, nurses and other employees at...
Naval destroyer USS Kidd reports rise in coronavirus cases to 33
WASHINGTON — The Navy reports that the number of sailors aboard the USS Kidd confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus has nearly doubled, rising from 18 on Friday to 33. The destroyer, with its crew of 350, is off the Pacific coast of South America. Its current mission...
Hospital ship offloads few remaining patients before NY exit
NEW YORK — The Navy hospital ship sent to relieve stress on New York City hospitals at the height the pandemic is discharging or transferring its last 12 patients this weekend as it nears the end of its mission, according to Northwell Health, which provides operational assistance to the vessel....
Attackers lob explosive at Lebanon bank amid currency crisis
BEIRUT — Unknown assailants lobbed an explosive device at a private bank branch in southern Lebanon on Saturday, damaging its facade and roof, the country’s state news agency reported. The assault on a branch of Fransabank in the southern city of Sidon came at a time of rising public anger...
FBI investigates fire that damaged Missouri Islamic center
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone connected to a fire that badly damaged an Islamic center in southeastern Missouri and that coincided with the start of a holy month for Muslims. Richard Quinn, the special agent in...
Cuomo on coronavirus sacrifices: ‘What you’re doing is actually saving lives’
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday acknowledged frustration with coronavirus stay-home orders that have kept his state’s residents largely restricted to their homes for nearly two months, but he compared them to past generations’ sacrifices during prior national crises. “It’s been 56 long days,” Cuomo said at his daily...
Court: City of Baltimore must pay for claims police officers planted guns
BALTIMORE — Maryland’s highest court has ruled that the city of Baltimore must pay for two settlements resolving claims that police officers from a rogue unit planted guns during arrests. The Court of Appeals’ unanimous decision Friday rejected the city’s argument that officers from the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace...
Tampa mayor lightheartedly apologizes to NFL’s Tom Brady
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — When it comes to first impressions, Tampa didn’t exactly give the best of welcomes to one of its newest and most famous residents when NFL superstar Tom Brady was ejected from a downtown park while working out. Mayor Jane Castor tried to make amends by issuing a...
Global death toll from coronavirus surpasses 200,000
ATLANTA — As the global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 200,000 on Saturday, countries took cautious steps toward easing some lockdowns, while fears of infection made even some pandemic-wounded businesses reluctant to reopen. The states of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska started loosening restrictions on businesses despite warnings from experts...
Boy Scouts suit filed as Hawaii shuts abuse claims window
HONOLULU — Eight men were sexually abused when they were Boy Scouts in Hawaii in the 1960s and 1970s, they alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday as the state’s window closed on allowing child sex abuse claims that would have been barred under a statute of limitations. Various states and...
