4 ex-cops indicted on U.S. civil rights charges in George Floyd death
MINNEAPOLIS — A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest and death, accusing them of violating the Black man’s constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air, according to indictments unsealed Friday. The three-count indictment...
High-level talks resume on returning U.S. to Iran nuclear deal
VIENNA — World powers began a fourth round of high-level talks in Austria aimed at bringing the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran, with major stumbling blocks remaining Friday but both sides suggesting a resolution was possible. The U.S. pulled out of the landmark 2015 deal in...
Carbon emissions from energy dropped 10% in the EU last year
BRUSSELS — Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion dropped 10% in the European Union last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to estimates from the EU’s statistical office. Eurostat said in a statement Friday that emissions fell in all of the EU’s 27 member nations compared to 2019 as...
Front-line, farm-state Democrats push back against Biden tax plan
WASHINGTON — A group of 13 House Democrats, led by Iowa’s Cindy Axne and California’s Jim Costa, is pressing party leaders to exempt family farms from a tax increase President Joe Biden has proposed on inherited assets to help pay for new child care, education and other spending. Under Biden’s...
Main stage of Chinese rocket likely to plunge to Earth soonVideo
BEIJING — The largest section of the rocket that launched the main module of China’s first permanent space station into orbit is expected to plunge back to Earth as early as Saturday at an unknown location. Usually, discarded core, or first-stage, rockets reenter soon after liftoff, normally over water, and...
South Carolina cuts federal unemployment boost from weekly payments
COLUMBIA — South Carolina will leave the federal unemployment programs providing extra money to jobless residents in light of “unprecedented” workforce shortages across the state, Gov. Henry McMaster announced on Thursday. The state will opt out of the coronavirus pandemic assistance programs beginning June 30. The federal benefits include an...
2 women freed from ongoing Minnesota bank robbery standoff
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A standoff between police in St. Cloud, Minn., and an alleged hostage-taker continued into the evening Thursday despite the release of two employees. The women were released from a Wells Fargo Bank branch, according to authorities. The first woman ran from the bank toward members of...
U.S. sends more warplanes to protect pullout from AfghanistanVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States has deployed a dozen additional warplanes to bolster protection of American and coalition troops making a final withdrawal from Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents step up pressure on Afghan government forces, top Pentagon officials said Thursday. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,...
New York City aims to offer coronavirus vaccinations to touristsVideo
NEW YORK — See the sights — and get a shot. New York City hopes to begin offering coronavirus inoculations to tourists by stationing vaccination vans at Times Square and other attractions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. The city needs state approval to vaccinate visitors and hopes to get...
Colorado GOP lawmaker who used racist term is reprimandedVideo
DENVER — A Republican lawmaker in Colorado was reprimanded Thursday after calling a colleague “Buckwheat” during debate on legislation — a racist term that provoked outcry from Democrats at a time when America is confronting its history of discrimination. It wasn’t clear who state Rep. Richard Holtorf was directing the...
House panel: Separation-of-powers concerns no longer apply in Trump financial records case
WASHINGTON — The House Oversight and Reform Committee told a federal judge late Wednesday that it should be easier to obtain former President Donald Trump’s financial records from an accounting firm now that he is just that — the former president. The committee has returned to the U.S. District Court...
Ohio latest state to see GOP-backed voting law rewrite
COLUMBUS — Ohio became the latest state Thursday where Republicans are proposing a significant rewrite of state election laws, an effort that comes despite sweeping GOP victories in the state last year and a smooth election. Legislation introduced in the Ohio House calls for prohibiting placement of ballot drop boxes...
At least 25 dead during Brazilian police raid in Rio
RIO DE JANEIRO — Police targeting drug traffickers raided a slum in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and at least one officer and 24 suspects died after being shot, authorities said. A police helicopter flew low over the Jacarezinho favela as heavily armed men fled police by leaping from roof...
Blinken reaffirms U.S. support for Ukraine amid Russia tension
KYIV, Ukraine — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine at a meeting Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the wake of Kyiv’s heightened tensions with Russia, fueled by Moscow’s recent troop buildup near their border. The top American diplomat met with Zelenskyy during his one-day...
4-year-old mistakenly places Amazon order for 51 cases of SpongeBob popsicles worth $2.6K
A 4-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants fan got carried away while using his mother’s Amazon account this week. A New York Post report said the Brooklyn boy, named Noah, ordered nearly $3,000 worth of non-refundable SpongeBob SquarePants Popsicles on Amazon. On Monday, a friend, Katie Schloss, set up a GoFundMe page to...
Sheriff: Girl shoots 3 at Idaho school; teacher disarms her
RIGBY, Idaho — A sixth-grade girl brought a gun to her Idaho middle school, shot and wounded two students and a custodian and then was disarmed by a teacher Thursday, authorities said. The three were shot in their extremities and were expected to survive, officials said at a news conference....
Armed South Carolina soldier hijacks bus full of elementary school kids, officials say
COLUMBIA, S.C. — An armed soldier who ran off Fort Jackson was arrested Thursday morning after he boarded a bus with 18 elementary school children, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. No students were injured, and neither was the school bus driver, Lott said at a news conference. “Very scary...
India’s government eases hospital oxygen shortage as demand jumps
Under order by the Supreme Court, India’s government agreed on Thursday to provide more medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, potentially easing a 2-week-old shortage that worsened the country’s exploding coronavirus crisis. Government officials also denied reports that they have been slow in distributing life-saving supplies donated from abroad....
U.S. proposes ending rule that weakened wild bird protections
The Biden administration on Monday proposed revoking a rule imposed under former President Donald Trump that weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species. The Interior Department announcement comes after officials in March said they were reversing a Trump policy that ended criminal...
Dunkin’ offers free coffee to health care workers on National Nurses Day
Dunkin’ is offering a free medium hot or iced coffee today — no purchase necessary — to all health care workers who visit participating restaurants nationwide, while supplies last. Abby Zweigle, spokesperson for Dunkin’ Brands, said ID is required and the promotion excludes Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew, and...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs GOP voting law critics call ‘un-American’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a major rewrite of Florida’s elections law on Thursday, tightening rules around drop boxes and mail-in voting in the presidential battleground. Critics say the changes will make it harder for voters, particularly the elderly and people of color, to cast ballots. It’s the...
Federal judge strikes down CDC’s national moratorium on evictions
A federal judge in Washington blocked a nationwide eviction moratorium the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established as the covid-19 lockdowns put millions of renters out of work during the past year. In a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said the agency exceeded its authority by...
Knives out: GOP leaders turn on Liz CheneyVideo
WASHINGTON — Key Republicans continue to signal their support for dumping House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney from her leadership spot, with momentum building as Cheney has held former President Donald Trump to account for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and stood firm that the...
Josh Duggar granted release as he awaits child porn trial
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal judge on Wednesday allowed former reality TV star Josh Duggar to be released as he awaits trial on charges that he downloaded and possessed child pornography. Magistrate Judge Christy Comstock ordered Duggar, 33, confined to the home of family friends who have agreed to...
Texas Senate advances bill allowing handguns without license
AUSTIN — Texas would allow people to carry a handgun without a license, and the background check and training that go with it, under a measure approved by the state Senate on Wednesday. Texas already has some of the loosest gun laws in the country and has more than 1.6...
