U.S./World category, Page 1084
Operation Holiday Express brings gifts to U.S. troops in Syria
SHADDADEH, Syria — Hundreds of American troops based in Syria have received Christmas gifts thanks to Operation Holiday Express, launched by U.S.-led coalition forces from across the border in neighboring Iraq. This year, Santa’s sleigh and reindeer were apparently swapped for a workhorse CH-47 Chinook helicopter. But coalition forces still...
No Christmas at Notre Dame, as fire forces Mass into exile
PARIS — Notre Dame Cathedral is unable to host Christmas services for the first time since the French Revolution, because the Paris landmark was too deeply damaged by this year’s fire. So its exiled clergy, choir and congregation are celebrating the holiday in another Gothic church next to the Louvre...
28 killed as bus plunges into ravine in Indonesia
PALEMBANG, Indonesia — A bus plunged into a ravine on Indonesia’s Sumatra island after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 28 people and injuring 13 others, police and rescuers said Tuesday. The accident occurred just before midnight Monday on a winding road in South Sumatra province’s Pagaralam district. Palembang...
It takes a tech village to track Santa on Christmas Eve
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Depending on which country they’re from, the kids may ask about Father Christmas, Papa Noel, Saint Nick or Santa Claus. But they all want to know one thing: where in the world the jolly old man and his sleigh full of gifts are on...
Thousands mark Christmas in West Bank town of Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of Christian pilgrims on Tuesday flocked to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, celebrating Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Visitors converged on the town’s large Christmas tree in Manger Square, near the spot believed to mark Jesus’ birthplace. Uniformed Palestinian scouts wearing...
Police: Texas man confessed to killing pregnant sister
THE COLONY, Texas — A 19-year-old Texas man has been charged with capital murder after allegedly confessing to killing his pregnant sister, writing a fake suicide note in her name and leaving her body in an alley, authorities said Monday. Officers arrested Eduardo Arevalo Sunday evening after finding the lifeless...
Saudis sentence 5 people to death for Jamal Khashoggi’s killingVideo
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death Monday for the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi, whose grisly slaying in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul drew international condemnation and cast a cloud of suspicion over Crown Prince Mohammed...
Visine eye drops were murder weapon North Carolina man used to kill wife, cops say
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A paramedic from Gaston County is accused of using Visine eye drops to kill his wife last year for a hefty life insurance payout, according to the North Carolina Department of Insurance. The eye drops can cause heart failure when ingested in large quantity, which is what...
House committee raises prospect of more impeachment articles
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee held open the possibility Monday of recommending additional articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as it pressed anew for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn. The committee wants a federal appeals court to order McGahn to testify as it examines...
Trump signs measure to preserve Native languages
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — President Donald Trump has signed a measure that extends federal grant programs aimed at preserving indigenous languages and expands eligibility so more tribes can participate. The president’s signature came Friday, after the measure cleared the U.S. House with bipartisan support. Senate approval came earlier this year. The...
Report: Popular United Arab Emirates chat app ToTok a government spy tool
NEW YORK — A chat app that quickly became popular in the United Arab Emirates for communicating with friends and family is actually a spying tool used by the government to track its users, according to a newspaper report. The government uses ToTok to track conversations, locations, images and other...
Pacific seashell washes up on Outer Banks shores, stumping park service
A lot of crazy things have washed up on the shores of the Outer Banks. But it’s rare to have something show up that baffles the locals. What’s this strange object? A 3½-inch-long yellowish seashell. Of course, it’s not just any seashell. Turns out, it’s one that the National Park...
Pentagon says New Jersey soldier killed in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — A 33-year-old American soldier was killed in combat Monday in Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. The Taliban claimed they were behind a fatal roadside bombing in northern Kunduz province. In a statement Monday night, the Pentagon identified the casualty as Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble of...
Ukraine, rebels agree on prisoner exchange before year’s end
MOSCOW — Russia’s envoy at talks between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists said Monday that they agreed on conditions for a prisoner exchange following a deal reached by the two nations’ presidents. Boris Gryzlov, who represents Russia in the so-called Contact Group on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, said after Monday’s...
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to step down immediately
Boeing’s CEO is resigning amid ongoing problems at the company over the troubled Max 737 aircraft. The board of directors said Monday that Dennis Muilenburg is stepping down immediately. The board’s current chairman David Calhoun will become president and CEO on January 13. The board said a change in leadership...
To battle opioid crisis, some track overdoses in real time
ALBANY, N.Y. — Drug overdose patients rushed to some emergency rooms in New York’s Hudson Valley are asked a series of questions: Do you have stable housing? Do you have food? Times and location of overdoses are noted, too. The information is entered into a new overdose-tracking system that provides...
Saudi Arabia sentences 5 to death for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death on Monday for the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year by a team of Saudi agents. The killing of Khashoggi stunned the international...
Police: Texas barbershop worker shot over child’s haircut
KATY, Texas — A dispute over a child’s haircut ended with gunfire Saturday at a Texas barbershop, according to authorities. Deputies are looking for a man who shot an employee of a barbershop in the Houston suburb of Katy during an argument, the Harris County Sheriff’s office said in a...
Police: 69-vehicle pileup in Virginia leaves dozens injuredVideo
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A pileup involving more than 60 cars on a major interstate in Virginia on Sunday morning injured dozens of people, according to state police. The accident happened just before 8 a.m. Sunday on westbound Interstate 64 in York County near Williamsburg, Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya...
GOP governors grapple with whether to accept refugees or not
LINCOLN, Neb. — An executive order by President Donald Trump giving states the right to refuse to take refugees is putting Republican governors in an uncomfortable position. They’re caught between immigration hardliners who want to shut the door and some Christian evangelicals who believe helping refugees is a moral obligation....
Boeing capsule returns to Earth after aborted space mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing safely landed its crew capsule in the New Mexico desert Sunday after an aborted flight to the International Space Station that threatened to set back the company’s effort to launch astronauts for NASA next year. The Starliner descended into the Army’s White Sands Missile Range...
Chicago police: 13 wounded in shooting at memorial party
CHICAGO — A shooting early Sunday at a house party held in honor of someone who was killed in April left 13 people wounded, four of them critically, Chicago police said. The shooting stemmed from a dispute at the memorial party, Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said at an early...
Bracelet worth thousands dropped into Salvation Army red kettle in Maryland
A donor who gave off the aura of a “quiet spirit” donated thousands of dollars worth of jewelry into a Salvation Army red kettle in Annapolis, Md. on Tuesday. According to the Capital Gazette, one of the bracelets, a yellow-and-gold piece created by Tiffany & Co., was valued at more...
Study: Northwest killer whales shrinking in size — and so are their prey, chinook salmon
SEATTLE — Hungry young orcas grow up to be stunted orcas, new research shows, revealing that salmon run downturns can have lifelong effects. The findings, published last month in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Endangered Species Research, were based on aerial photos taken by drone of whales in both the southern...
Texas man to be exonerated after DNA leads to new arrest
HOUSTON — Authorities said they will begin the process to exonerate a Houston man who was convicted in a 2010 fatal stabbing that investigators now believe was committed by someone else. Lydell Grant, 42, was freed on bond last month after a new analysis of DNA found on the victim’s...
