Robert Trump, President Trump’s younger brother, dead at 71
NEW YORK — President Trump’s younger brother, Robert Trump, a businessman known for an even keel that seemed almost incompatible with the family name, died Saturday night after being hospitalized in New York, the president said in a statement. He was 71. The president visited his brother at a New...
Protesters in Portland, Ore., skirmish, fire pepper spray
PORTLAND, Ore. — A rally by a small group of alt-right demonstrators in Portland, Ore., quickly devolved Saturday as they traded paint balls and pepper spray with counter-protesters. About 30 people were participating the Patriot Prayer rally in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center in Oregon’s biggest city. Several...
In a reversal, 9/11 Memorial and Museum to go ahead with annual tribute
NEW YORK — Pressured by politicians and public safety unions, 9/11 Memorial leaders reversed course Saturday and said they’ll go ahead with this year’s Tribute in Lights commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks. The change came two days after the 9/11 Memorial and Museum called off the display over coronavirus...
Baby born in Dallas believed to be first to contract covid-19 in womb
FORT WORTH, Texas — Doctors at Parkland Hospital in Dallas reported the first baby in the U.S. known to have contracted the coronavirus while in the womb. Baby Alexa Figueroa tested positive for covid-19 less than 24 hours after being delivered six weeks early by mother Wendy Figueroa on May...
Trump to campaign in Old Forge this week
President Trump will make a campaign appearance in Old Forge on Thursday, his reelection campaign announced Saturday. Trump will visit Mariotti Building Products at 3 p.m. Thursday, according to a campaign announcement. The president will speak about the record of his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, the announcement said....
‘We need to have a blowout’: Inside the half-billion-dollar super PAC plan to beat Trump
WASHINGTON — Dozens of groups. A well-coordinated plan of attack. And spending that could approach a half-billion dollars by November. Welcome to the super PAC-led effort to defeat President Trump. A collection of outside groups — ranging from shoestring outfits with a handful of employees to deep-pocketed operations run by...
Japan marks 75 years since World War II’s end
TOKYO — Japan on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of its surrender in World War II, with Emperor Naruhito expressing “deep remorse” over his country’s wartime actions at a somber annual ceremony curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic. Naruhito pledged to reflect on the war’s events and expressed hope that the...
Trump nixes controversial nominee to Bureau of Land Management
President Trump plans to withdraw the nomination of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management, a senior administration official said Saturday. Pendley has functionally led the bureau since mid-2019 as deputy director for policy and programs. Conservation groups had lambasted his positions on a number of issues,...
Right-wing group, counter-protesters clash in Michigan
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Members of the far-right Proud Boys group and counter-protesters clashed violently Saturday afternoon in western Michigan, resulting in arrests, police said. Assistant Chief Vernon Coakley of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said a few people were arrested, but didn’t know exactly how many. “A fight occurred,...
Training pushed to show officers how to stop abuse in own ranks
HARTFORD, Conn. — Despite policies on the books for years that require officers across the United States to stop colleagues from using excessive force, there has been little or no effort to teach officers how to intervene, law enforcement officials and experts say. That’s changing after the killing of George...
Climate change packs twice as many storms into hurricane season
Atlantic hurricane records go back to 1851, and in all that time the ocean has never piled up so many storms in such a short span as this year. So far, 11 storms have formed since May. This is the earliest date on record for a storm with a “K”...
Man sues Nebraska officer who used Taser on him
COZAD, Neb. — A Nebraska man who was sitting in a swing in his sister’s backyard with his empty hands visible when a police officer shocked him with a Taser has filed an excessive force lawsuit over the videotaped encounter. Hilario Velasquez of Lexington and his sister, Sarah Garrett, filed...
Police: Girl killed by gunfire during birthday party in Ohio
AKRON, Ohio — An 8-year-old girl was shot and killed during a backyard birthday party for a teenager at an Ohio home, authorities said. Akron police said shots were fired shortly before midnight Friday in the Sherbondy Hill neighborhood. The 8-year-old was found wounded and was taken to Akron Children’s...
Severe heat wave causes rolling blackouts, dangerous conditions across California
LOS ANGELES — What forecasters say is shaping up to be the worst heat wave in years caused rolling blackouts Friday because of power shortages and is setting up dangerous conditions across California. The power crisis was caused in part by the coronavirus restrictions, which have closed movie theaters, malls...
Philly Naked Bike Ride called off because of the coronavirus
PHILADELPHIA — The coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on this year’s Philly Naked Bike Ride. The annual event, which usually draws thousands of nude cyclists for a trip around Philadelphia and its tourist sites, had been set for this month. But organizers who had been gearing up for it...
Doctors see rise in limb-threatening blood clots during covid-19 crisis
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Health experts are encountering a rare and terrifying covid-19 complication: plug-like blood clots in the limbs of coronavirus victims that strangle circulation. And that means you could lose a limb to covid-19, even if you don’t lose your life. After querying 10 major hospital networks in...
Crews battle wildfires amid brutal heat wave in California
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters struggled to contain three wildfires near Los Angeles on Saturday as forecasters warned the risk of new fires was high with temperatures expected to spike and humidity levels to drop across California. A huge forest fire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles flared up about...
Police move in after fights break out during Georgia protest
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — After hours of mostly peaceful demonstrations Saturday in an Atlanta suburb that’s home to a giant Confederate memorial, large numbers of police moved in to disperse the crowds when fights broke out. Several dozen right-wing demonstrators, some waving the Confederate battle flag and many wearing military...
2 workers die from injuries in Mississippi plant explosion
BYRAM, Miss. — Two workers severely injured in an explosion at a Mississippi processing plant have died, authorities confirmed. The explosion happened Monday at the DAR PRO Solutions plant at the Greater Jackson Industrial Park near Byram. William Jackson, 51, of Vicksburg, and Terrence Fortenberry, 56, died from complications of...
Newsweek apologizes for op-ed questioning Harris birthright
NEW YORK — Newsweek has apologized for an op-ed that questioned Sen. Kamala Harris’ U.S. citizenship and her eligibility to be Joe Biden’s running mate, a false and racist conspiracy theory which President Trump has not dismissed. “This op-ed is being used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism...
‘Do something:’ Harris’ rapid rise driven by call to action
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Hours before Kamala Harris took the stage for the first time as Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, she received a text message from a childhood classmate with photos from their school days. A pensive Harris sits on the floor, dutifully looking ahead toward a teacher out of...
Leader of Belarus rejects calls to rerun presidential voteVideo
MINSK, Belarus — The embattled president of Belarus tried to put on a show of strength Sunday, holding a rally with tens of thousands of supporters and rejecting any possibility of repeating the vote that gave him a sixth term. But opponents countered with a far larger demonstration that attracted...
Officer minimized role in Floyd’s death to investigators
A former Minneapolis police officer involved in George Floyd’s arrest told investigators that he was focused on crowd control and minimized his role in the actions that led to Floyd’s death, video of the interview shows. Tou Thao, one of four former officers charged in Floyd’s death, described himself as...
Post Office warns states across U.S. about mail voting
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service is warning states coast to coast it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted, even if mailed by state deadlines, raising the possibility millions of voters could be disenfranchised. Voters and lawmakers in...
Coronavirus upends conventions, changes TV coverage
LOS ANGELES — The Democratic and Republican conventions will lack for crowds but not television coverage. The standard political gatherings that were to unfold for the Democratic Party in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and for the GOP in Charlotte, North Carolina, will be largely virtual, constrained by the coronavirus. That won’t stop...
