News category, Page 1250
Nashville bombing spotlights vulnerable voice, data networks
The Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville led to phone and data service outages and disruptions over hundreds of miles in the southern U.S., raising new concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. communications. The blast seriously damaged a key AT&T network facility, an important hub that provides local wireless, internet...
Security firms say suspicious object on oil tanker off Iraq
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sailors involved in transferring fuel oil from an Iraqi tanker in the Persian Gulf to another vessel owned by a shipping company traded in the U.S. discovered a “suspicious object” they fear could be a mine, authorities said Thursday. The discovery comes amid heightened tensions...
Man called most prolific serial killer in U.S. history dies
LOS ANGELES — The man authorities say was the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, with nearly 60 confirmed victims, died Wednesday in California. He was 80. Samuel Little, who had diabetes, heart trouble and other ailments, died at a California hospital, according to the state Department of Corrections...
No reason given for Trump cutting short his Florida vacation
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is cutting short his Florida vacation and returning to Washington on Thursday, one day earlier than expected for reasons the White House didn’t explain. The White House announced the abrupt change in the president’s schedule late Wednesday, hours after Sen. Josh Hawley,...
Bodies pile up, patient care falters as covid-19 devastates LA County hospitals
Los Angeles County’s healthcare system was buckling Wednesday under the unprecedented surge of covid-19 patients, with bodies piling up at morgues and medical professionals resorting to increasingly desperate measures as they brace for conditions to worsen in the coming weeks. With hospitals overwhelmed by patients and no outlet valve available,...
China OKs 1st homegrown vaccine as covid-19 surges globally
China authorized its first homegrown covid-19 vaccine for general use Thursday, adding another shot that could see wide use in poorer countries as the virus surges back around the globe. The Sinopharm vaccine had already been given to groups such as health care professionals and essential workers under emergency-use guidelines...
9 simple ways to troubleshoot your furnace before calling a repair technician
Brrrrr. There is nothing worse than waking up in a freezing house in the middle of a cold winter’s night — except maybe, knowing you’ll have a big, expensive furnace bill to pay later that day! But don’t fret. With a few do-it-yourself tips, you might be able to avoid...
Minneapolis to release bodycam video in fatal shootingVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Police in Minneapolis said they would release body camera video on Thursday from a traffic stop that ended with a man shot dead, the city’s first police-involved death since George Floyd died while being restrained by officers in May. Police said the man was a suspect in a...
Bomb-sniffing dogs? Check. Times Square crowd? Not this year
NEW YORK — New York City police turned to familiar tactics ahead of Thursday’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, deploying bomb-sniffing dogs and sand-filled sanitation trucks intended to guard against explosions. But the department’s playbook this year includes an unusual mandate: preventing crowds of any size from gathering in Times Square....
Back pain causes pope to skip Vatican New Year’s ceremonies
VATICAN CITY — A back condition has forced Pope Francis to skip New Year’s ceremonies at St. Peter’s Basilica, a Vatican spokesman said Thursday. Francis was suffering from “painful sciatica” and could not preside at an hour-long, year-end prayer service Thursday evening, spokesman Matteo Bruni said. The pope also won’t...
New Year brings final U.K.-EU Brexit split
LONDON — Like a separated couple still living together, Britain and the European Union spent 2020 wrangling and wondering whether they can still be friends. On Thursday, the U.K. is finally moving out. At 11 p.m. London time — midnight in Brussels — Britain will economically and practically leave the...
Sluggish vaccine campaign raises specter of U.S. dysfunctionVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials acknowledged that a covid-19 immunization campaign is crawling out of the starting gate, raising the prospect that the nation’s all-in bet on vaccines could be afflicted by the same dysfunction that hobbled other measures to contain the pandemic. Only about 2.7 million Americans had been...
Trump to return to White House early from Florida vacation
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is cutting short his Florida holiday vacation and returning to Washington on Thursday, one day earlier than expected for reasons the White House didn’t explain. The White House announced the abrupt change in the president’s schedule late Wednesday, hours after Sen. Josh...
Heavy snow expected in Texas; storm could spawn tornadoesVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — A winter storm moving across southwestern Texas on Wednesday could dump more than a foot of snow before moving eastward and possibly spawning tornadoes in parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi on New Year’s Eve, according to weather forecasters. Jeremy Grams, a forecaster with the National Weather...
Baltimore police detective charged with assaulting a shopper who refused to wear a mask
BALTIMORE — A Baltimore Police detective has been charged with misdemeanor assault and misconduct in office for allegedly slamming to the ground a man who refused to wear a face covering inside a West Baltimore grocery store last April. Detective Andre Pringle, 45, faces a maximum of 10 years in...
New York gets new train hub, in transformed postal buildingVideo
NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo and transit officials cut the ribbon Wednesday on a gleaming new train hub that will give travelers an alternative to cramped, dingy Penn Station across the street. The Moynihan Train Hall takes up 255,000 square feet of what formerly served as a mail sorting...
California has nation’s 2nd confirmed case of coronavirus variantVideo
California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the infection found in Southern California during an online conversation with...
New Hampshire governor cancels inaugural, citing mask protests at his home
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire’s Republican governor said Wednesday that he is canceling his outdoor inauguration ceremony next month because of public safety concerns — namely, armed protesters who have been gathering outside his home in the weeks since he issued a mask order. “My first responsibility is ensuring the...
Indiana AG: No charges recommended in fetal remains case
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s attorney general recommended no criminal charges or licensing actions Wednesday after concluding an investigation into more than 2,000 sets of fetal remains found last year at the suburban Chicago garage of a late prolific abortion doctor. Attorney General Curtis Hill said his office’s investigation determined the fetal...
Florida seniors begin swarming covid-19 vaccination sitesVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis begged for patience from anxious seniors waiting their turn to get inoculated against covid-19, as confusion and frustration arose over the availability of the life-saving vaccine among some of the state’s most vulnerable. At vaccination sites across the state, seniors formed long lines —...
Census Bureau to miss deadline, jeopardizing Trump plan
The Census Bureau plans to announce it will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats, a delay that could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to exclude people in the country illegally from the count if the figures aren’t turned in before President-elect Joe...
As runoff nears, Trump complicates GOP case by demanding that Gov. Brian Kemp resignVideo
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump demanded that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp resign because he refused his demand to illegally overturn election results, his harshest rebuke yet of his fellow Republican days before crucial Georgia runoff votes for control of the U.S. Senate. The president’s attack on Kemp, calling him an...
Quake aftershocks keep people out of homes in CroatiaVideo
PETRINJA, Croatia — A series of aftershocks jolted central Croatia on Wednesday, a day after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake killed at least seven people, injured dozens and left several towns and villages in ruins. Authorities warned that the coronavirus could spread in crowded shelters. Many people are in tents, their cars...
California governor offers plans to reopen in-person schools
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday encouraged schools to resume in-person education next year, starting with the youngest students, and promised $2 billion in state aid to promote coronavirus testing, increased ventilation of classrooms and personal protective equipment. The recommendation was driven by increasing evidence that there...
After a year like this, expect a strange New Year’s Eve
NEW YORK — If ever a year’s end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. Yet the coronavirus scourge that dominated the year is also looming over New Year’s festivities and forcing officials worldwide to tone them down. From New York’s Times Square to Sydney Harbor, big public...
