U.S./World category, Page 998
‘Egregious’ case of prosecutorial misconduct could set Missouri man free 2 decades later
ST. LOUIS — When Lawrence Callanan was convicted in 1996 of the murder of John M. Schuh, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch wasted no words in celebrating the jury’s decision. “The evidence was clear, convincing and overwhelming as to his guilt,” McCulloch said. “Mr. Callahan is heading for...
Florida: 2 dead who tested positive for coronavirus
MIAMI — Two people who tested positive for the new coronavirus have died in Florida, marking the first deaths on the East Coast attributed to the outbreak in the U.S., health officials said Friday. Helen Aguirre Ferre, a spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, confirmed the deaths on Twitter, writing...
SpaceX launches station supplies, nails 50th rocket landing
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched another load of station supplies for NASA late Friday night and nailed its 50th rocket landing. The Falcon rocket blasted off with 4,300 pounds of equipment and experiments for the International Space Station. Just minutes later, the spent first-stage booster made a dramatic...
Centenarian, never arrested, spends birthday in jail — fulfilling a bucket list requestVideo
A North Carolina woman celebrated her 100th birthday behind bars. No, she wasn’t arrested for wrongdoing, but rather was granted the opportunity to cross an item off her bucket list. Ruth Bryant, in fact, said she’s never been arrested, according to Raleigh, N.C.’s NBC-affiliate news station WRAL. The station reported...
Now this: Tornado clobbers historically black North Nashville neighborhood
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On a frigid Friday morning in North Nashville, Ishvicka Howell stood in her driveway and peered down the street at several utility trucks. “When I saw those blinking lights, it was like Christmas,” she said. Howell has been without electricity since a tornado tore through her neighborhood...
Mom of missing kids gets bond reduced to $1 million in Idaho
BOISE, Idaho — A judge on Friday reduced bail to $1 million for the mother of two missing children after her lawyer contended at her first hearing in Idaho that the amount had been set too high because of media attention. Wearing faded orange-and-white striped jail garb and bright pink...
What’s Happening: Cruise ship tests, Prisons sanitized
As cases of the new coronavirus surpassed 100,000 worldwide, people on a cruise ship tested positive, Tokyo Olympics organizers are adjusting for the torch’s arrival in Japan, migrants headed to Europe are facing added hardships and shoppers around the globe continue stocking up. These are some of the latest developments...
Why shutting down schools to prevent coronavirus spread could actually make it worse
SEATTLE — The University of Washington announced Friday it was moving all instruction online for the next two weeks, keeping more than 50,000 students out of classrooms as the death toll from COVID-19 continued to rise. At least 16 public elementary and secondary schools in the state have also closed,...
21 positive for coronavirus on cruise ship off California
SAN FRANCISCO — Twenty-one people aboard a mammoth cruise ship off the California coast tested positive for the new coronavirus and 19 of them are crew members, Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday, amid evidence the vessel was the breeding ground for a deadly cluster of more than 10 cases...
82-year-old with record of bank robberies convicted again
PHOENIX — An 82-year-old man who spent most of his adult life behind bars for robbing banks was convicted again for carrying out an armed heist at an Arizona credit union as he struggled to adjust to life outside prison. Robert Francis Krebs faces a maximum 25 years in prison...
Parents sue after daughters’ bodies switched after car crash
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The parents of two teenagers killed in a car crash are suing the Florida Highway Patrol and others, claiming the bodies of their daughters were misidentified and switched. The lawsuits follow a July 29 crash in the Pensacola area involving four friends. Two of them were...
Golf’s famous ‘Hinkle Tree’ from ’79 Open in Toledo uprooted by wind
A tree that appeared overnight during the 1979 U.S. Open to become a part of golf lore has met its end. The Black Hills spruce known as “The Hinkle Tree” was partially uprooted by a gust of wind this week at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, and was cut down....
Blueprints for original World Trade Center saved from trash, on sale
NEW YORK — Blueprints for the original World Trade Center are on sale at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair after a Colorado man rescued them from the trash. The set, which includes over 500 plans, is the largest for the Twin Towers ever offered for sale, according to...
Spanish court: Google search must show man’s acquittal first
MADRID — A Spanish court has partially accepted Google’s appeal against a ruling that ordered it to erase news articles about a man accused of sexual abuse, but the new judgement said the company had to display the man’s acquittal at the top of any search results. A National Court...
At sea: Passengers off California await virus test results
SAN FRANCISCO — Passengers on a cruise ship off the California coast were instructed to stay in their cabins as they awaited test results Friday that could show whether the coronavirus is circulating among the more than 3,500 people aboard. A military helicopter crew lowered test kits onto the 951-foot...
Putin says stability needed but won’t lift lid on his futureVideo
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he doesn’t want to scrap presidential term limits or resort to other suggested ways of extending his rule, but otherwise he kept mum about his plans. Putin has proposed a sweeping set of constitutional amendments, which are seen by his critics as...
Vatican confirms 1st virus case as pope recovers from cold
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican confirmed the walled city-state’s first case of the new coronavirus Friday and closed some offices as a precaution while Pope Francis continued recovering from a cold. Vatican City’s health clinic, which is used by Vatican employees and their families, was shuttered for sanitizing following the...
Trump CDC visit back on after false coronavirus scare there
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, briefly scuttled Friday because of unfounded fears that someone there had contracted the coronavirus, was back on, giving the president another chance to calm growing alarm about the spread of the virus in America. “Be calm....
Trump signs $8.3B bill to combat coronavirus outbreak in U.S.Video
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday signed an $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 12 people in the United States and infected more than 200. The legislation provides federal public health agencies with money for vaccines, tests and potential treatments and helps state...
Migrants, police clash again on Greek-Turkish borderVideo
KASTANIES, Greece — Clashes between Greek riot police and migrants attempting to cross the border from Turkey erupted anew Friday as European Union foreign ministers held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation on the Turkey-Greece border and in Syria, where Turkish troops are fighting. Greek riot-control police used tear...
Man gets probation for tossing water on Iowa Rep. King
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A Colorado man who threw a cup of water on Iowa Congressman Steve King has been sentenced to two years of probation. The sentence was handed down Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to Blake Gibbins, of Lafayette, Colo. He’d pleaded guilty to misdemeanor...
Gunmen kill at least 27 at memorial for Afghan Shiite leader
KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen killed at least 27 people and wounded at least 55 others in Afghanistan’s capital on Friday at a remembrance ceremony for a minority Shiite leader, officials said. Heath Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said the injured had been taken to hospitals in Kabul. All of the casualties...
Alabama executes inmate convicted in killing of 3 officers
ATMORE, Ala. — A man convicted in the 2004 killings of three police officers in Alabama who were shot by another man was executed Thursday evening. Inmate Nathaniel Woods, 43, was pronounced dead at 9:01 p.m. CST Thursday following a lethal injection at the state prison in Atmore, authorities said....
Scientists seed local seas with imperiled fish. Can giant sea bass make a comeback?
LOS ANGELES — A team of scuba-diving biologists has released nearly 200 baby giant sea bass into the murky depths of Santa Monica Bay where the critically endangered fish will grow to be the size of Volkswagen Beetles. The captive-bred infants released Wednesday quickly adapted to their new home, a...
In Tornado Alley, storms are even more dangerous for people with disabilities
NORMAN, Okla. — John High has diabetes, which led to his leg being amputated below the knee two years ago. He has been using a wheelchair since then and hasn’t gotten used to having to work out solutions to everyday problems — such as getting into and out of the...
