U.S./World category, Page 1172
All-white creature identified as rare albino porcupine
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — A curious visitor to a Maine train museum that resembled a white throw pillow or perhaps a lost toupee turned out to be a rare albino porcupine. The young rodent turned up Tuesday at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, perplexing the staff, who sought help identifying it...
Postcard from dad finds family 26 years late
No one knew the postcard was lost until it landed in a mailbox 26 years later. A father sent the Hong Kong memento to his family in 1993 and assumed they received it. His children, living in Springfield, Illinois, at the time, didn’t know it had been sent so they...
Jet2 sends big bill to passenger for flight return to London
LONDON — A passenger accused of severe misbehavior on a Jet2 flight that had to return to London’s Stansted Airport in June has received a huge bill from the airline. The airline has accused Chloe Haines of “aggressive, abusive and dangerous behavior” on a flight and sent her a bill...
Court upholds ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli’s conviction
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court upheld the securities fraud conviction against former drug company CEO Martin Shkreli, known as “Pharma Bro,” on Thursday, along with a $7.3 million forfeiture of assets. A judge sentenced Shkreli to seven years in prison last year for his conviction on charges he...
Pilot accused of flying while drunk in Nevada crash
MESQUITE, Nev. — Authorities say a pilot from Washington state was arrested on suspicion of flying while drunk after a private plane crash and fire at an airport in Nevada. Police say 41-year-old Ryan Raymond Dashiell of Spokane escaped serious injury in the crash of the twin-engine Cessna 550 on...
Circle K Mexico apologizes for ‘sexist’ Secretary Day ad
MEXICO CITY — Circle K Mexico is apologizing for an ad on “Secretary Day” promoting a deal on chocolate, red wine and condoms. The convenience store brand said in a Wednesday statement that it did not intend to “promote any stereotype” and highlighted its “promise to be a business that...
Fort Lauderdale, surrounding cities will run out of water within hours
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tens of thousands of residents in Fort Lauderdale and surrounding cities were warned early Thursday to brace for a prolonged water outage, after a private contractor hit a water main during construction. City officials said customers could be without water — and thus, without working toilets...
Deemed dangerous, Jeffrey Epstein denied bail in sex abuse case
NEW YORK — A judge denied bail for jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges Thursday, saying the danger to the community that would result if the jet-setting defendant was free formed the “heart of this decision.” Epstein, with his hands folded before him, showed no reaction to the...
House approves $15 minimum wage, Senate prospects are dim
WASHINGTON — House Democrats approved legislation Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade, to $15 an hour, but the bill has almost no chance in the Republican-controlled Senate. Passage was assured after centrists won concessions for a slower phase-in, over six years instead...
Assange drops appeal of 50-week sentence for jumping bail
LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has dropped an appeal of his 50-week prison term for jumping bail in Britain. Court officials said Thursday that a hearing on the appeal set for next week had been cancelled. Assange is jailed in London’s Belmarsh Prison at the same time as he...
National Park Service reminds people not to pet bobcatsVideo
Just in case you’re tempted by that adorable wild creature … don’t pet the bobcat in the park. The National Park Service posted a public service announcement Wednesday telling people that bobcats are not pets. They advise that visitors to the parks should resist the urge to pet and hold...
India reschedules launch of its moon mission for Monday
CHENNAI, India — India’s space agency said it will launch a spacecraft to the south pole of the moon on Monday after stopping an attempt this week. The Indian Space Research Organization said the Chandrayaan-2 launch is now set at 2:43 p.m. on Monday. It said Thursday that the cause...
Man shouting ‘You die’ kills over 30 at Japan anime studio
TOKYO — A man screaming “You die!” burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing 33 people in a shocking attack. Thirty-six others were injured, some of them critically. The suspect was hurt and taken to a hospital....
Robbery suspect walks out of trial while jury deliberates
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — An armed-robbery defendant walked out of his trial just moments before a Florida jury found him guilty. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that 29-year-old Antonio Jama Gearing had been released on $75,000 bail so he was free to move about the Daytona Beach courtroom Tuesday. But...
How risky is it to use app that allows you to ‘see’ your older self?
You may have thought it was cute to allow a now-viral application to morph photos of you today into life-like images of you a generation from now. But did you read the fine print? According to Forbes Magazine, more than 100 million users of FaceApp have — maybe unknowingly —...
Utah family mourns 6-year-old girl killed by father’s golf ball
OREM, Utah — Relatives of a 6-year-old Utah girl who died after her father accidentally struck her with a golf ball are remembering her as a loving, playful child. Aria Hill’s uncle David Smith described her as a happy child who greeted strangers and enjoyed spending time with her parents....
Florida man says he tossed son in ocean to teach him to swimVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 37-year-old Florida man is accused of throwing his 5-year-old son into the Atlantic Ocean and then doing back flips off a city pier as the boy struggled in the water. An arrest report says that when Daytona Beach police arrested John Bloodsworth on child abuse...
Prosecutors drop groping case against Kevin SpaceyVideo
BOSTON — Prosecutors dropped a case Wednesday accusing Kevin Spacey of groping a young man at a resort island bar in 2016, more than a week after the accuser refused to testify about a missing cellphone the defense says contains information that supports the actor’s claims of innocence. Spacey was...
Rand Paul blocks Senate from funding 9/11 victims fund over budget concernsVideo
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan bill that would extend victims’ compensation for the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bethel Park-born Paul, a Republican, questioned the bill’s 70-year time frame and claimed that the federal government already faces a $22 trillion debt. He said any new spending...
Plane makes emergency landing at Ocean City beachVideo
Swimmers were a little surprised when a plane splashed down at this Maryland beach. Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Va., reported that his single-engine Cessna 172RG was having engine problems before he landed it in the Atlantic Ocean, Maryland State Police told Fox News. Authorities praised the pilot for...
Driver suffers minor injuries when car slides under truck
UXBRIDGE, Mass. — Fire officials say they are amazed that a driver wasn’t seriously hurt when his vehicle slid under a tractor-trailer in Massachusetts. Authorities say the car was on Route 146 in Uxbridge on Tuesday when it hit something in the road and went airborne. The brakes didn’t work,...
Boy’s beer stand prompts calls to police
A boy selling beer on the street in Utah was unusual enough for passers-by to call police. Officers from the Brigham City Police Department on Tuesday found the boy hawking beer of the root variety. The department praised the youngster’s “Ice Cold Beer” sign as an effective marketing strategy. ”Yep,...
Facebook event to storm Area 51 gets deadpan response from Air Force
About 1.5 million people say they’re going, and another 1.1 million are interested, but how many, if any, will actually show up remains to be seen. A Facebook event called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” is organizing people to rush the fabled Nevada Air Force base...
Georgia beachgoers keep pilot whales from stranding on shore
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A state biologist says beachgoers in Georgia helped keep about 30 pilot whales from stranding themselves on the shore. Clay George with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources says the whales showed up Tuesday afternoon off the beach at St. Simons Island. Three whales beached...
Steamy text message sparks marriage fraud investigation
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A steamy text message at the most inopportune moment has sparked a federal marriage fraud trial in Rhode Island. The Boston Globe reports Prince Mark Boley, a Liberian man living in Providence, married Amanda Hames-Whitman in 2016. According to court documents, the two visited a U.S. Citizenship...
