U.S./World category, Page 1194
Boris Johnson builds momentum in U.K. Conservative race
LONDON — Boris Johnson solidified his front-runner status in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister on Tuesday, gaining backing from leading pro-Brexit lawmakers. But he faced calls from his rivals to abandon his low-profile campaign strategy and start answering questions from journalists and the public. Ten candidates are...
Republican governor signs bill protecting abortion rights
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont’s Republican governor has signed a bill into law that protects a woman’s access to abortion services. Gov. Phil Scott signed the legislation Monday, saying he has consistently supported a woman’s right to choose. He says “the legislation affirms what is already allowable in Vermont — protecting...
Botswana decriminalizes gay sex in landmark Africa case
JOHANNESBURG — Botswana became the latest country to decriminalize gay sex on Tuesday in a landmark case for Africa when the High Court rejected as unconstitutional sections of the penal code punishing same-sex relations with up to seven years in prison. Jubilant activists in the packed courtroom cheered the unanimous...
Accused Mar-a-Lago intruder allowed to be her own attorney
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Chinese woman charged with illegally entering President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort will be allowed to act as her own attorney. Federal Judge Roy Altman granted Yujing Zhang’s request Tuesday to fire her public defenders and represent herself. Altman found Zhang competent and intelligent, but strongly...
Bishops meeting on sex abuse clouded by state investigations
DETROIT — Hundreds of boxes. Millions of records. From Michigan to New Mexico this month, attorneys general are sifting through files on clergy sex abuse, seized through search warrants and subpoenas at dozens of archdioceses. They’re looking to prosecute, and not just priests. If the boxes lining the hallways of...
Near-record ‘dead zone’ predicted in Gulf of Mexico
NEW ORLEANS — Scientists are predicting a near-record Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” where the water holds too little oxygen to sustain marine life. “A major factor contributing to the large dead zone this year is the abnormally high amount of spring rainfall in many parts of the Mississippi River...
Woodstock 50 in doubt but organizers say in talks with venue
The fate of the Woodstock 50 festival was unclear Monday when the host of the event pulled out, but organizers said they were in talks with another venue. The festival has faced a series of setbacks, and the latest came Monday afternoon, when Watkins Glen International announced it’s not hosting...
Move to bar rainbow flags outside U.S. embassies was ‘right decision,’ Pence saysVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence on Monday defended the Trump administration’s barring of rainbow flags from being flown on flagpoles outside U.S. embassies during LGBT Pride Month, calling it “the right decision.” Pence made the remarks in an interview with NBC News, which first reported on the move last...
Photos of travelers taken in data breach, Customs and Border Protection saysVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Monday that photos of travelers had been compromised as part of a “malicious cyberattack,” raising concerns over how federal officials’ expanding surveillance efforts could imperil Americans’ privacy. Customs officials said in a statement Monday that the images, which included photos of...
Two Florida deputies wounded in gunfight that began after man shot at an Amazon AlexaVideo
Two Florida deputies were injured in a shootout Saturday morning, which began with a girl’s call for help. Her father, she said, had fired a gun at her mother’s Amazon Alexa smart speaker. Members of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office responded to the home after midnight and encountered 62-year-old Terrance...
Report: Almost all U.S. coal production consumed for electric power
Almost all U.S. coal production is consumed for electric power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Monday. Nearly all of the coal consumed in the United States is produced domestically, and most is consumed by the electric power sector to generate electricity, EIA said. In 2018, of the more...
Helicopter crashes on roof of Manhattan skyscraper; pilot killedVideo
NEW YORK — A helicopter crashed on the roof of a rain-shrouded midtown Manhattan skyscraper Monday, killing the pilot and briefly triggering memories of 9/11, after an erratic trip across some of the nation’s most restricted airspace. Authorities said they did not suspect terrorism. The crash near Times Square and...
Grandmother of dad who killed 5 kids asks to spare his life
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The grandmother of a South Carolina man facing a possible death sentence for killing his five children is asking a jury to spare his life. She says the family has already been through too much. Roberta Thornsberry testified Monday that along with losing her five great-grandchildren when...
Mother charged with putting newborn in garbage bag in wooded area pleads not guilty
CHARDON, Ohio — A woman who authorities say put her newborn baby boy in a garbage bag and left him in a wooded area in 1993 has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder. Forty-nine-year-old Gail Eastwood-Ritchey pleaded not guilty Monday in Geauga County to aggravated murder and murder...
Largely unregulated, facial-recognition technology comes to airport gates
NEW YORK — You won’t need to pull out your ticket to board the flight to Cancun at JetBlue’s Gate 18 at John F. Kennedy Airport. Put away your passport, too. All this convenience costs is your face. You get only one of those, so I hope it’s worth it....
Wildfire prompts evacuation at California Six Flags park
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A fast-moving brush fire erupted near a huge amusement and water park in Southern California on Sunday, sending hundreds of visitors to the exit to escape clouds of smoke and ash before fire officials asked them to stay put while they worked to contain the blaze....
Deputies urge woman in Robert Kraft-related sex ring to say she was trafficked
STUART, Fla. — The Chinese masseuse shrinks into her chair as the Florida sheriff’s detective tells her deputies installed hidden cameras in her spa’s ceiling. He knows she and other women had sex with men for money. But you can save yourself, Martin County Detective Mike Fenton and others tell...
Seagull photobombs, steals woman’s lobster roll
Alicia Jessop knew Friday was going to be a memorable day, but she didn’t realize it would be one she’d never forget. The 34-year-old Pepperdine University professor planned to finally visit New England, hitting some of the last seven states she’d never been to, and try her first-ever lobster roll....
Canada to ban single-use plastics
TORONTO — Canada will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday. Trudeau said the specific items to be banned will be determined based on a science-based review, but the government is considering items such as water bottles, plastic bags and straws. “As early as...
11-year-old Missouri girl dies in bulldozer accident
LABADIE, Mo. — An 11-year-old Missouri girl is dead after an accident involving a bulldozer. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Emma Proemsey of Labadie died Saturday. The child was on a utility vehicle that came up behind the bulldozer. The patrol says the bulldozer driver, 65-year-old Larry Proemsey, had...
Amid criticism, Trump defends Mexico deal avoiding tariffs
STERLING, Va. — Stung by criticism that his deal to avert threatened Mexican tariffs mostly ramps up existing efforts, President Donald Trump is insisting there’s more to it than meets the eye. In a pair of tweets Monday morning, Trump claimed that Mexico had agreed to more than what was...
Where are they now? Key players in O.J. Simpson murder trial
LOS ANGELES — The June 12, 1994, killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman brought the “Trial of the Century” that saw O.J. Simpson acquitted of the murders. From Johnnie to Kato to Ito, the trial brought together a fascinating cast of charters. Here’s a look at...
25 years after murders, O.J. Simpson says ‘life is fine’
LOS ANGELES — After 25 years living under the shadow of one of the nation’s most notorious murder cases, O.J. Simpson says his life has entered a phase he calls the “no negative zone.” In a telephone Interview, Simpson told The Associated Press he is healthy and happy living in...
Body of Texas police Chief Chris Reed found in Houston Ship ChannelVideo
HOUSTON — Authorities say they’ve recovered the body of a Texas police chief who fell out of a boat into Galveston Bay Friday. The Coast Guard says a search crew pulled Kemah Police Chief Chris Reed’s body from the water of the Houston Ship Channel Sunday morning, ending a 40-hour...
Massive extradition bill protest fills Hong Kong streets
HONG KONG — Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Hong Kong on Sunday to voice their opposition to legislation that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China where they could face politically charged trials. The massive demonstration took place three days before the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s government...
