U.S./World category, Page 1152
Authorities: Woman pulls gator from pants during stop – Aug. 15, 2019
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Officials say a Florida woman who pulled a small alligator from her yoga pants during a traffic stop and illegally possessed numerous other wild animals has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to four charges. Florida prosecutors say a Charlotte County sheriff’s deputy stopped a...
U.S. long-term mortgage rates stay near historic lows
WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates remained near historically low levels this week against a backdrop of volatile financial markets around the globe. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the benchmark 30-year loan was unchanged at 3.60%, its lowest level since November 2016. A year ago the...
Man who fell 15 feet in Ohio says dog saved him
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — A man in Ohio is crediting his dog for saving him after the man suffered a bad fall. WSAZ-TV reports Jimmy Hale fell off a flood wall in Portsmouth last week while walking his dog Taco. Hale ended up passing out after falling 15 feet and didn’t...
Report: Levi’s, Wrangler, Lee seamstresses harassed, abused
Women sewing blue jeans for Levi’s, Wrangler, Lee and The Children’s Place faced sexual harassment and gender-based violence and some were coerced into having sex with supervisors to keep their jobs in African factories, labor rights groups say. In response to the revelations, the brands have agreed to bring in...
Coast Guard finds 43 bales of pot floating off California
AVALON, Calif. — Authorities have found 1,300 pounds of plastic-wrapped marijuana floating in the ocean near Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. The Daily News reports Wednesday that the U.S. Coast Guard acting on a tip discovered 43 bales of pot worth about $1 million. The marijuana was...
Judge: Georgia must scrap old voting machines after 2019
ATLANTA — A federal judge on Thursday ordered Georgia to stop using its outdated voting machines after this year and to be ready with hand-marked paper ballots if its new system isn’t in place for the presidential primaries. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg’s 153-page ruling Thursday is not a complete...
Report: Autopsy finds broken bones in Jeffrey Epstein’s neck
An updated autopsy report reveals that imprisoned financier Jeffrey Epstein had broken bones in his neck, the Washington Post reported early Thursday. NEW >>>> Jeff Epstein autopsy found multiple neck bone fractures, which can be caused by suicidal hanging -- but are more commonly found in homicidal strangulation. The mystery...
Michigan governor: Civil rights director should resign over comments
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday that the state’s civil rights director should resign or be fired after he made inappropriate, offensive comments about women. Whitmer, who does not have the power to dismiss Agustin Arbulu, said she will no longer let him attend Cabinet meetings and...
Epstein’s Caribbean islands drawing tourists after his death
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — Jeffrey Epstein’s armed guards and the sharp rocks that lie beneath the turquoise waters glistening around his Caribbean island have long deterred boaters from the area, but curiosity has overcome concern since the financier apparently killed himself in jail as he awaited trial in...
Iowa Rep. Steve King suggests rapes, incest helped populate the worldVideo
DES MOINES — U.S. Rep. Steve King on Wednesday defended his call for a ban on all abortions by questioning whether “there would be any population of the world left” if not for births because of rape and incest. Speaking before a conservative group in the Des Moines suburb of...
Florida man arrested for threatening neighbors with nunchucks, hits himself with them
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Police say they’ve arrested a Florida man who’s accused of threatening his neighbors with nunchucks and bug spray before cutting his own head when he accidently hit himself with the weapon. Daytona Beach police spokesman Messod Bendayan says 61-year-old Larry Adams complained about his neighbor’s loud...
Man dies after competing in California taco-eating contest
FRESNO, Calif. — Authorities say a man died shortly after competing in a taco-eating contest at a minor league baseball game Fresno Sheriff spokesman Tony Botti says 41-year-old Dana Hutchings, of Fresno, died Tuesday night shortly after arriving at a hospital. Botti says an autopsy on Hutchings will be done...
Some Apple MacBooks banned from airline flights for fire risk
Federal safety officials have banned some Apple laptops from airline flights after Apple recalled the batteries because they could catch fire. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Wednesday that it alerted airlines last month about the recall involving batteries for some Apple MacBook Pro laptops. Under FAA policy,...
Police: Man broke into hotel, took shower, stole TV
A northern New Mexico man is facing charges after authorities say he broke into a hotel room and took a shower before stealing a television. The Las Vegas Optic reports Ignacio Gallegos was recently arrested following reports of a man leaving the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico, with...
Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Center provides outreach to El Paso
A Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh official traveled this week to El Paso, Texas, to help with the community’s healing process after the Aug. 3 mass shooting. “There’s no playbook for any of the communities affected,” said JCC chief program officer Jason Kunzman, who traveled to Texas on Sunday....
Army veteran pleads not guilty in anthem assault on teen
SUPERIOR, Mont. — An Army veteran pleaded not guilty to assaulting a 13-year-old boy who the suspect said refused to remove his hat during the national anthem at a rodeo in Montana. Attorney Lance Jasper has told the Missoulian that defendant Curt Brockway, a 39-year-old veteran with a traumatic brain...
Nepal committee recommends new rules for Everest climbers
KATHMANDU, Nepal — A Nepal government committee formed after a bad mountaineering season on Mount Everest has recommended new rules that would require climbers to have scaled tall peaks, undergone proper training, and possess certificates of good health and insurance that would cover rescue costs if required. A report by...
Ohio State seeks to trademark ‘The’ for its merchandise
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University wants to trademark the word “The” when used as part of the school’s name on university merchandise. The Columbus Dispatch reports OSU submitted a trademark application this month to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington. The application requests a standard character...
Administration takes step to relax trucker drive-time rules
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration took a key step Wednesday toward relaxing federal rules that govern the length of time truck drivers can spend behind the wheel, a move long sought by the trucking industry but opposed by safety advocates who warn it could lead to more highway crashes. The...
Amazon says its facial software can recognize fear
With Halloween just months away, Amazon’s timing seems perfect. The tech company announced in a blog post this week that it’s facial recognition software — Rekognition — now has the ability to recognize fear. Amazon Rekognition has “improved accuracy for emotion detection (for all 7 emotions: ‘Happy’, ‘Sad’, ‘Angry’, ‘Surprised’,...
ICE raids raise question: What about the employers?
HOUSTON — The images of children crying after their parents were arrested in a massive immigration raid in Mississippi revived a longstanding complaint: Unauthorized workers are jailed or deported, while the managers and business owners who profit from their labor often go unprosecuted. Under President Donald Trump, the number of...
Satellite photos appear to show Chinese paramilitary vehicles near Hong Kong
BEIJING (AP) — Satellite photos show what appear to be armored personnel carriers and other vehicles belonging to the China’s paramilitary People’s Armed Police parked in a sports complex in the city of Shenzhen, in what some have interpreted as a threat from Beijing to use increased force against pro-democracy...
Epstein accuser sues as questions swirl about his death
NEW YORK — Jail guards on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein apparently killed himself are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on inmates every half-hour as required, according to a person familiar with the investigation into his death. Surveillance video shows guards never made some of...
French government: Stones fall from damaged Notre Dame
PARIS — France’s Culture Ministry says several stones fell from the vaulted ceiling of the fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral after last month’s heat wave, and is urging renewed stabilization efforts to prevent further damage. A ministry official said Wednesday that the stones fell after temperatures reached a record 108.7 degrees...
Library of spider silk could hold secrets for new materials
NEW YORK — A scientist at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is creating a sort of “silk library” that could be the key to designing newer and better materials. Cheryl Hayashi has collected spider silk glands of about 50 species, just a small dent in the more...
