U.S./World category, Page 1080
Cheers, tears, prayers for 2020: A new decade is ushered in
Revelers around the globe are bidding farewell to a decade that will be remembered for the rise of social media, the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement and, of course, President Donald Trump. A look at how the world is ushering in 2020: ——— PARIS A joyful crowd of Parisians and...
Headless torso found in Idaho cave identified as bootlegger
BOISE, Idaho — The headless torso that was found in a remote Idaho cave 40 years ago has finally been identified as belonging to an outlaw who killed his wife with an ax and was last seen after escaping from jail in 1916. Clark County Sheriff Bart May said Tuesday...
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un promises look at new weapon soon
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused the Trump administration of dragging its feet in nuclear negotiations and warned that his country will soon show a new strategic weapon to the world as its bolsters its nuclear deterrent in face of “gangster-like” U.S. sanctions and...
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker clears thousands of marijuana convictionsVideo
CHICAGO — Illinois’ governor granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions on Tuesday, describing the step as a first wave of thousands of such expungements anticipated under the state’s new marijuana legalization law. The expungement process is a key part of the law, which takes effect Wednesday and...
Judge orders Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook case
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in another court setback over the Infowars host using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax. Jones is being sued for defamation in Austin, Texas, by the parents...
Happy 2020: Server at Michigan restaurant gets $2,020 tip
ALPENA, Mich. — The restaurant bill was $23. But the tip at a small-town restaurant in Michigan was much larger: $2,020. “Things like this don’t happen to people like me,” server Danielle Franzoni told The Alpena News. Franzoni, 31, got the tip while working Sunday at Thunder Bay River Restaurant...
Cheers, tears, prayers for 2020: A new decade is ushered in around the world
Revelers around the globe are bidding farewell to a decade that will be remembered for the rise of social media, the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement and, of course, President Donald Trump. A look at how the world is ushering in 2020: ——— AUSTRALIA More than a million people descended...
Raging wildfires trap 4,000 at Australian town’s waterfront
PERTH, Australia — Wildfires burning across Australia’s two most populous states Tuesday trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions and killed at least two people while more property along the country’s east coast fell victim to a devastating fire season. About 4,000 residents in the southeastern town of...
West Virginia governor fires 34 prison guard trainees who gave Nazi salute
CHARLESTON, W. Va. — West Virginia’s governor has fired 34 correction officer trainees who were photographed giving a Nazi salute, and he fired their instructor. He also says four instructors are being suspended without pay. Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced his decision Monday after receiving a report from state investigators...
Protesters attack U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after airstrikesVideo
BAGHDAD — Angered by deadly airstrikes targeting an Iran-backed militia, dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area in one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent...
Trump ally Erik Prince may have broken Venezuela sanctions
MIAMI — Erik Prince, a major Republican donor and founder of controversial security firm Blackwater, has been referred to the U.S. Treasury Department for possible sanctions violations tied to his recent trip to Venezuela for a meeting with a top aide of President Nicolas Maduro, two senior U.S. officials said....
Alabama police chief apologizes for officer’s ‘homeless quilt’ post
MOBILE, Ala. — A police chief in the south Alabama city of Mobile is apologizing for an officer’s social media post appearing to ridicule homeless people that was shared widely over the holidays. The Facebook post showed two Mobile Police officers, holding what the post called a “homeless quilt” made...
Kansas officer resigns, faked story of expletive on his coffee cupVideo
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — A Kansas police officer has resigned after he admitted to making up a story that a McDonald’s employee wrote an expletive and the word “pig” on a coffee cup, the police chief announced Monday. Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday said at a news conference that the...
Report: West Virginia cadets gave Nazi salute as ‘sign of respect’
CHARLESTON, W. Va. — Correction officer trainees in West Virginia regularly gave the Nazi salute “as a sign of respect” for their instructor in the weeks prior to the release of a photo of the cadets with arms raised that triggered widespread outrage, state investigators said in a report Monday....
Prosecutors: Boyfriend shot and killed Michigan State student while playing with gun
CHICAGO — A Michigan State University student home for winter break was shot and killed by her boyfriend as he played with a revolver in a South Side apartment, prosecutors said Monday. Lafayette Hodges, 18, held his hands to his head as he appeared in court on charges of involuntary...
Father who made kids panhandle for drug money gets 20 years
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A judge sentenced a New Mexico father to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of forcing his children to panhandle to get him money for drugs. The office of Attorney General Hector Balderas said Monday the man was sentenced in Albuquerque, nearly three months after...
With births down, U.S. had slowest growth rate in a centuryVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — The past year’s population growth rate in the United States was the slowest in a century because of declining births, increasing deaths and the slowdown of international migration, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. grew from 2018 to 2019 by almost...
Big red buoy missing for 2 years beached in Florida
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — A big red navigation buoy that bounced along Atlantic waves for two years has beached in Florida, where it’s drawing attention. Crowds of spectators streamed to New Smyrna Beach over the weekend for a close up view and some pictures with the navigational marker that...
Woman set on fire during surgery in Romania dies
A woman in Romania has died, eight days after she was set on fire during surgery, The Guardian reports. The country’s health ministry said the 66-year-old patient was undergoing a procedure on Dec. 22 at Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest to treat her pancreatic cancer. Prior to the surgery, the patient...
Mom takes selfie instead of recording daughter’s proposal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A future mother-in-law tasked with making a phone recording of her future son-in-law proposing to her daughter apparently missed the moment. She ended up recording a selfie on her reaction to what she was seeing. KOB-TV reports Susan Griego somehow took a selfie video of herself watching...
White House: Putin called Trump to thank U.S. for info that helped foil potential attack
WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Donald Trump on Sunday to thank him for information that helped foil a potential holiday terrorist attack in Russia. White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Putin thanked Trump for information the United States...
UCLA researchers say there is a way to predict who will become homeless
LOS ANGELES — With the ranks of homeless people growing faster than housing is being built, one of the most popular strategies for reducing homelessness has become to simply keep people in their homes. In theory, a small infusion of cash, counseling or legal aid could be the difference that...
Bill would require schools to have climate change lessons
CONCORD, N.H. — A bill up for consideration before the New Hampshire Legislature in 2020 would require school districts to offer lessons on climate change. The House bill would require at least 10 hours of climate education or a full semester of environmental education in high school, and anywhere from...
Hate crimes charges against man accused in Hanukkah stabbing
MONSEY, N.Y. — Handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references were found in the home of the man charged with federal hate crimes Monday in the stabbing and slashing of five people celebrating Hanukkah at a rabbi’s house north of New York City, authorities said. Grafton E. Thomas, 37, was held without...
Endangered brown bat may become official D.C. ‘state’ mammal
WASHINGTON — A small, brown endangered bat would become the “official state mammal” of America’s capital city, under a proposed ordinance that will get a public hearing in January. The idea was proposed earlier this year by several Girl Scout troops after they studied the little brown bats, according to...
