U.S./World category, Page 1019
Trump consults faith leaders on phased-in reopening
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump held a call with faith leaders on Friday that included discussion about a phased-in return to broader in-person worship after weeks of religious services largely shifting online in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump’s call with faith leaders came one day after the White...
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz attracts attention over office spending
WASHINGTON — Rep. Matt Gaetz might be subject to even more scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee after a Politico report disclosed that he has paid more than $184,000 in office rent to a friend, who is also a donor, legal client and adviser, a revelation that could trigger an...
Sheriff: Off-duty officer shot 14-year-old outside Louisiana home
METAIRIE, La. — An off-duty Louisiana police officer shot and wounded a 14-year-old boy after he found several people in his front yard early Friday morning, authorities said. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said the boy was hospitalized in critical condition Friday afternoon, news outlets reported. Lopinto said the officer...
More questions over China’s virus response as Wuhan death tally revised sharply upward
WASHINGTON — The United States, Germany and France have questioned Beijing’s response to the coronavirus as Chinese authorities announced a large jump in the official number of fatalities in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak. Earlier on Friday, China revised the number of virus-related fatalities in the central city...
Georgia high school students expelled after posting racist video
CARROLLTON, Ga. — Two high school students in Georgia have been expelled after they posted a racist video on a social media site. Carrollton City Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Albertus, in a statement Friday, said the students “behavior was unacceptable and is not representative of the district’s respect for all...
Florida governor gives some beaches green light to reopen
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s governor on Friday gave the green light for some beaches and parks to reopen if it can be done safely, and north Florida beaches became among the first to allow people to return since closures because of the coronavirus. Mayor Lenny Curry said Duval County beaches...
Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to serve out prison sentence at home
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and longtime fixer Michael Cohen will be released from federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen is currently locked up at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges,...
Lockdown weighs heavily on Orthodox Christians during Easter
ATHENS, Greece — For Orthodox Christians, this is normally a time of reflection and mourning followed by joyful release, of centuries-old ceremonies steeped in symbolism and tradition. But this year, Easter — by far the most significant religious holiday for the world’s roughly 300 million Orthodox — has essentially been...
France finds more than 1,000 coronavirus cases on aircraft carrier
PARIS — The French navy is investigating how the coronavirus infected more than 1,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, amid growing pressure on government leaders to explain how it could have happened. The ship, France’s biggest carrier and the flagship of its navy, is undergoing a lengthy...
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice orders virus testing in nursing homes across state
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Friday ordered that residents and staffers of all nursing homes in the state immediately be tested for the coronavirus. The Republican governor said his executive order comes after some testing discrepancies when outbreaks have cropped up in nursing homes. The state...
NASA, SpaceX tab May 27 for first astronaut launch in US since 2011
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA and SpaceX have picked May 27 for resuming astronaut launches from the U.S. after nine years of complete Russian dependence. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the launch date Friday. Astronauts haven’t launched into orbit from the U.S. since NASA’s last space shuttle flight in 2011....
Fort Bragg soldiers make masks to fight coronavirus pandemic
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — It’s become a competition for the soldiers of 647th Quartermaster Company to see who can crank out the most face masks during a shift to protect against the coronavirus. The parachute rigging unit is essential to Airborne operations at Fort Bragg. On any given day, their...
Florida man encases self in concrete at governor’s mansion
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida man encased himself in concrete Friday outside the Governor’s Mansion in the state capital apparently to protest prison conditions related to the coronavirus. Tallahassee police spokesman Kevin Bradshaw said the man, identified as 28-year-old Jordan Mazurek, put PVC pipes horizontally into two 55-gallon plastic drums...
Comic-Con canceled over coronavirus, plans 2021 return
LOS ANGELES — This year’s San Diego Comic-Con has been canceled due to coronavirus-related restrictions around large gatherings. Organizers say they are planning for the festival to return in July 2021. The annual confab was scheduled to take place July 23-26 in and around the San Diego Convention Center. California...
‘Heartbreaking’ report shows virus ravaging N.Y. nursing homes
ALBANY, N.Y. — The despair wrought on nursing homes by the coronavirus was laid bare Friday in a state survey identifying numerous New York facilities where multiple patients died over the past few weeks. Nineteen of the state’s nursing homes reported 20 or more deaths linked to the pandemic, the...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slams feds for ‘passing the buck’ on coronavirus
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed the federal government for “passing the buck” amid the coronavirus crisis — and President Donald Trump wasted no time in hitting him back for “complaining.” Cuomo accused Congress and President Donald Trump of ignoring the financial needs of hard-hit state governments...
Relief checks are a lifeline for some, a cushion for others
Millions of Americans received government relief checks this week, and more are on the way. For some, the payment gets them to a more comfortable place financially; for others, the money just gets them to next month. Bridget Hughes, a mother of three, received a $2,200 stimulus check this week...
Africa could see 300,000 coronavirus deaths this year
JOHANNESBURG — Africa could see 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus even under the best-case scenario, according to a new report released Friday that cites modeling from Imperial College London. Under the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the virus, Africa could see 3.3 million deaths and 1.2 billion infections, the...
25 years after Oklahoma City bombing, anxiety remains high
OKLAHOMA CITY — In the 25 years since a truck bomb ripped through a federal building in downtown Oklahoma City and killed 168 people, the United States has suffered through foreign wars, a rise in mass shootings and a much deadlier act of terror, the Sept. 11 attacks. But the...
Pro-Trump protesters push back on stay-at-home orders
While many Americans are filled with fear, Melissa Ackison says the coronavirus pandemic has filled her with anger. The stay-at home orders are government overreach, the conservative Ohio state Senate candidate says, and the labeling of some workers as “essential” arbitrary. “It enrages something inside of you,” said Ackison, who...
Federal judge denies new criminal trial for Roger Stone
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday denied a request for a new trial made by Trump ally Roger Stone following his conviction on charges related to the Russia investigation. Stone claimed the jury forewoman was biased and petitioned for a new trial; his first such request was denied. It...
Home restrictions on New Yorkers extended another month
NEW YORK — New York planned for a long fight against the coronavirus outbreak amid hopeful hospitalization trends. Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended stay-at-home restrictions Thursday through mid-May, and New York City is getting ready to use 11,000 empty hotel rooms for coronavirus quarantines. Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the...
Congressional Budget Office puts coronavirus relief bill cost at $1.8 trillion
WASHINGTON — The massive coronavirus relief bill passed virtually unanimously by Congress last month is estimated at costing taxpayers $1.8 trillion — slightly less than the $2.2 trillion informally projected at the time by the White House. That’s according to the Congressional Budget Office, which says the difference is due...
Trump gives governors 3-phase plan to reopen economy
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump gave governors a road map Thursday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out “a phased and deliberate approach” to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in covid-19 cases. “We’re starting our life...
‘Amazing’ find: Bald eagles, eaglets found nesting in arms of Arizona cactus
PHOENIX — For the first time in decades, bald eagles have been found nesting in an Arizona saguaro cactus. The Arizona Game and Fish Department revealed Wednesday that biologists discovered a pair of eagles and their eaglets in the arms of a large saguaro during a recent eagle survey. Kenneth...
