U.S./World category, Page 1188
Self-help guru convicted in lurid sex-trafficking case
NEW YORK — The former leader of a purported self-help group was convicted Wednesday of federal charges that centered on lurid details of what prosecutors called a secret society of “sex slaves” within a community of followers in upstate New York. A jury in federal court in Brooklyn took less...
Netflix’s first Arabic original sparks backlash on home turf
AMMAN, Jordan — On a high school trip to Jordan’s ancient city of Petra, a group of teenagers sneak out at night to drink beer, smoke weed and gossip around a bonfire. A girl asks her frisky boyfriend to take things slow. By global Netflix standards, its first original Arabic...
Cracker Barrel bars church event over LGBT execution remarks
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Cracker Barrel says it won’t host an event by a Tennessee church whose pastor was a detective who preached that the government should execute gay people. Cracker Barrel said Tuesday on Twitter that it’s not affiliated with All Scripture Baptist Church or its pastor, ex-Knox County sheriff’s...
10-year-old Colorado girl scales Yosemite’s famed El Capitan
SAN FRANCISCO — A 10-year-old Colorado girl has scaled Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, taking five days to reach the top of the iconic rock formation. Selah Schneiter of Glenwood Springs completed the challenging 3,000-foot (910 meters) climb last week with the help of her father and a family friend....
Push for marijuana legalization falls flat in New York
ALBANY, N.Y. — A push to legalize recreational marijuana in New York state has fallen flat. The sponsor of the main legalization bill in the state Senate says the bill will not pass before lawmakers adjourn for the year this week. Manhattan Democrat Liz Krueger says supporters came close to...
Man accused of stealing WWII dog tags from National Archives
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A Virginia National Guard sergeant is accused of stealing World War II-era dog tags from the National Archives and Records Administration research facility in Maryland. A criminal complaint filed in federal court last month says 29-year-old Robert Rumsby of Fredericksburg, Virginia, told investigators he took dog...
Billions of mosquito lookalikes plague New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — Billions of mosquito lookalikes are showing up in the New Orleans area, blanketing car windshields, littering the ground with little bodies and even scaring some folks. They’re aquatic midges, often called “blind mosquitoes.” They don’t bite, and they’re good for the environment, but they sure can be...
New England newspaper owner fights to save local journalism
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — These days, the news about local news seems relentlessly bad: Newsroom employment, down by nearly half over the past 15 years. Waves of layoffs continuing to hit both traditional newspaper chains and digital news startups. Cities and towns so denuded of coverage that they’re described as “news...
Arctic Norway island wants to be ‘time-free’ during summer
Residents on an Arctic Norwegian island with 69 days of constant light in the summer say they want to go “time-free” and be more flexible with school and working hours to make the most of the long days. Resident Kjell Ove Hveding says people on the island of Sommaroey —...
Polar bear spotted in Russian city, far from normal habitat
An emaciated polar bear has been sighted in a Russian industrial city in Siberia, far south of its normal hunting grounds. Emergency officials in the city of Norilsk in a statement on Tuesday warned local residents about a bear that has been spotted in one city district. Anatoly Nikolaichuk, chief...
Man caught at JFK smuggling 34 finches in hair curlers
In another life, Francis Gurahoo might have pursued a career as a hairstylist. But the three dozen-or-so plastic hair rollers stashed in his carry-on luggage weren’t meant for luscious curls. Instead, authorities found 34 colorful finches inside those rollers - each capable of producing songs worth thousands of dollars. If...
Driver dead after carjacking, being run over by officer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Police in Alabama say a person is dead after being assaulted during a carjacking and then run over by an off-duty officer. Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams tells news outlets a driver crashed into a motorcycle early Wednesday and was then carjacked by people who stopped at...
Woman trapped in St. Louis jail stairwell for 2.5 days
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Authorities say a woman was trapped in a St. Louis jail stairwell for more than two days after not understanding how to get out of the building. St. Louis Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass said the woman didn’t appear to be suffering when she was found and...
Trial over downing of MH17 to start in March; 4 suspects charged
NIEUWEGEIN, Netherlands — The mother of one of the 298 victims of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 says at least four suspects will be tried for murder in a case set to start in March 2020. Silene Fredriksz-Hoogzand, whose son Bryce was among the dead, expressed relief that...
Trump EPA rolls back Obama rule on coal-fired power plants
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration on Wednesday completed one of its biggest rollbacks of environmental rules, replacing a landmark Obama-era effort that sought to wean the nation’s electrical grid off coal-fired power plants and their climate-damaging pollution. Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, signed a...
House Democrats will question Hope Hicks about hush money, Russian contacts
WASHINGTON — House Democrats are intent on questioning one of President Trump’s most trusted former advisers about potential obstruction of justice, Russian attempts to woo Trump associates during the 2016 campaign and hush-money payments to women alleging affairs with Trump. Hope Hicks, the onetime White House communications director who is...
Donations to charity dropped, despite strong economy, follow tax law change
Donations to charity dropped an inflation-adjusted 1.7% in the United States last year, despite a strong economy, according to a new report, highlighting changes to federal tax law and continuing trends in who makes charitable gifts. The estimated $427.71 billion donated to U.S. charities in 2018 represented a growing share...
Over 16 tons of cocaine intercepted at Philadelphia port in one of the largest busts in U.S. historyVideo
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. authorities seized 33,000 pounds, or 15,000 kilograms, of cocaine from a ship at Philadelphia’s port in what they described as one of the largest drug busts in American history. They said the haul could have been worth more than $1 billion on the street. The U.S. attorney’s...
Extreme turbulence slams flight attendant into plane’s ceiling, 10 others injuredVideo
A viral video has captured a terrifying episode as severe turbulence slammed a flight attendant in to the plane’s ceiling and hot water scalding several passengers. The plane, from ALK Airlines, was flying Sunday from Pristina, Kosovo to Basel, Switzerland and experienced the turbulence 20 minutes before landing. According to...
Hiker rescued from New Hampshire summit may have to foot the bill
CONCORD, N.H. — An 80-year-old hiker who was rescued trying to reach the summit of Mount Washington could end up footing the bill for the emergency services, New Hampshire officials said Tuesday, amid efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of the popular tourist destination. Authorities may even file criminal...
Police: Arizona man beheads roommate’s dog as she moves out
BUCKEYE, Ariz. — An Arizona man has been arrested on suspicion of mutilating and beheading his roommate’s dog as she moved out of the home that the two shared in a Phoenix suburb. Jose Vega Meza, 21, told investigators that he killed the dog on Saturday because his roommate owed...
Vatican to consider ordaining married men as priests
A document released by the Vatican on Monday proposes that the Roman Catholic Church will consider ordaining married men as priests. The New York Times reports the move is being considered to address the dire pastoral need in some areas of the Amazon. However, the document states that only “viri...
Police: Mom intentionally drives into Michigan river; 3 dead
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Authorities say they’ve found the body of a woman and her 9-year-old twin daughters after she intentionally drove a car carrying them into a southwestern Michigan river. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety says two upset girls told officers late Monday that a family member had driven...
‘Baby’ found dead near park turns out to be realistic doll
NEW YORK — Police say what appeared to be a dead infant found outside a park in New York City turned out to be a realistic-looking doll. A runner spotted what she thought was a baby shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday in a grassy area outside Crocheron Park in the...
Police: Man faked heart attack while accomplice robbed store
MALDEN, Mass. — Police say a man faked a heart attack in a Massachusetts convenience store while his accomplice hopped over the counter to steal money from the register. Malden police on Facebook say they responded to the store Sunday afternoon on reports of a theft. Officers were told two...
