U.S./World category, Page 1213
Fire officials determine PG&E equipment sparked deadly wildfire
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As California fire investigators officially concluded that the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century was caused by Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. power lines, lawmakers expressed deep skepticism about whether the utility had made the dramatic changes needed to prevent another deadly blaze. The company’s new chief...
Prince Harry accepts apology for intrusive images
LONDON — Prince Harry settled privacy and data protection claims Thursday against a news agency that hovered over his home in a helicopter and took photos directly into his living room and bedroom. Harry accepted substantial damages and an apology from Splash News and Picture Agency. The figure was not...
Firefighter killed, 3 injured in Wisconsin shooting
APPLETON, Wis. — A firefighter responding to a medical emergency has been killed in a shooting in Wisconsin that left three others injured, officials said. The shooting happened after police and firefighters responded to a medical emergency around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in downtown Appleton, fire and police officials said. Appleton...
Man shot dead over allegation of smuggling cows in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India — A Muslim man was shot and killed and another injured by Hindu vigilantes on Thursday in Indian-controlled Kashmir over allegations of smuggling cows. A group of Hindu men intercepted the two Muslims in the outskirts of southeastern Bhaderwah town before dawn and shot at them after an...
Thousands protest against cathedral in Russian city
MOSCOW — Several thousand people rallied on Wednesday in Russia’s fourth-largest city as the showdown between authorities and activists protesting the plans to a build a new cathedral in a local park entered its third day. Thousands gathered Wednesday evening in a riverside park in Yekaterinburg. Some of them were...
Mexico cancels school in capital due to poor air quality
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s education ministry cancelled schools in the capital and surrounding areas for Thursday due to a siege of air pollution. Weather conditions at the end of Mexico’s dry season combined with dozens of brush fires burning in and around the city have produced a blanket of smoky...
8 days after cyberattack, Baltimore’s network still hobbled
BALTIMORE — More than a week after a cyberattack hobbled Baltimore’s computer network, city officials said Wednesday they can’t predict when its overall system will be up and running and continued to give only the broadest outlines of the problem. Baltimore’s government rushed to take down most computer servers May...
Wisconsin lawmakers recognize Jayme Closs as ‘Hometown Hero’
Jayme Closs, the 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who was kidnapped after her parents were brutally murdered in their home last October, was recognized for her bravery by the state’s lawmakers Wednesday. Closs was missing for nearly three months until she escaped her captor in January. #FBI Milwaukee salutes Wisconsin teenager Jayme...
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin optimistic on trade battles
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that the U.S. is making progress on lifting tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico, potentially overcoming a key hurdle toward approval of a trade agreement among the three countries. Addressing another contentious trade issue, Mnuchin said he expects...
‘Time for us to live for him’: Slain Colorado student remembered
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Nearly 2,000 people turned out Wednesday for a memorial service to honor the Colorado teenager who was killed while charging one of the two gunmen who opened fire inside a high school and shot nine people just days before graduation. A line of Jeeps and trucks...
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs abortion ban into law
MONTGOMERY — Alabama’s Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases. “To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every...
Immigrant soldiers now denied U.S. citizenship at higher rate than civilians
WASHINGTON — Immigrants serving in the U.S. military are being denied citizenship at a higher rate than foreign-born civilians, according to new government data that has revealed the impact of stricter Trump administration immigration policies on service members. According to the same data, the actual number of service members even...
Lawsuit filed to stop Ohio abortion ban after 1st heartbeat
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Planned Parenthood and abortion clinics sued Wednesday to thwart Ohio’s latest and most restrictive abortion law, an anticipated move that’s part of a national anti-abortion strategy to challenge the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The lawsuit is similar to legal fights in several southern states that recently...
Students in Colorado shooting face murder, other charges
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Two students suspected of shooting nine classmates, one fatally, in their Colorado charter school appeared in court Wednesday to face dozens of criminal charges that included murder, attempted murder, theft and arson. The charges were filed on the same day a memorial service was scheduled for...
These events have led to heightened tensions between U.S., Iran
Tensions between the United States and Iran have soared in recent weeks, with Washington dispatching warships and bombers to the Persian Gulf, and Tehran threatening to resume higher uranium enrichment. The tensions come a year after President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers and restored...
Audience member calls 911 on comedian’s joke
Most everyone has a comedian they don’t find to be funny. And somehow almost all of them manage to not call the police. However, one guy who attended a recent comedy show at Off the Hook Comedy Club in Naples, Fla., wasn’t able to restrain himself. Yahoo News reports that...
Chicago-area police warn of ‘zombie raccoons’ with distemper
RIVERSIDE, Ill. — The warning about “zombie raccoons” may sound like something out of a bad television show, but a suburban Chicago police department says they present serious dangers to family pets. The critters are called zombies because those carrying the distemper virus often stagger on their hind legs and...
Mom runs inside burning home to rescue kids; all 3 die
TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities say a Florida woman ran back into her burning apartment after realizing her two children hadn’t made it out. All three died in the fire. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a Wednesday morning news conference that the woman and another adult living in the...
Family questions how inmate jailed 17 months got pregnant
ROCKFORD, Ala. — Relatives of a jailed Alabama woman are questioning how the woman became pregnant. Al.com reports 26-year-old Latoni Daniel has been jailed for 17 months and is set to give birth to her first child this month. The U.S. National Guard veteran became pregnant while at a Coosa...
Doctor charged with driving drunk, striking pedestrians
BOSTON — Authorities have charged a prominent Massachusetts doctor with driving drunk, striking three pedestrians in a crosswalk and then leaving the scene. Dr. Michael Watkins, a vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, was released on $1,500 bail after pleading not guilty Tuesday to charges including assault and battery by...
Judge: Florida newlywed lost at sea declared dead
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A judge has declared a missing Florida newlywed dead, almost two years to the day she disappeared while honeymooning in the Bahamas with her husband. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Scott Suskauer’s May 9th order declares that 41-year-old Isabella Hellman is presumed dead...
Kamala Harris wants ban on importing AR-15-style assault weapons
NASHUA, N.H. — Kamala Harris wants to ban the importation of AR-15-style assault weapons by executive action if elected president. On Wednesday, the Democratic senator from California is set to detail her proposal to stop importing the weapons until the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can analyze whether...
Democrats may fund parts of Trump’s $4.5B border request
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are signaling a willingness to include major elements of President Trump’s $4.5 billion request for humanitarian and security needs on the U.S.-Mexico border in an unrelated, widely backed disaster aid bill that appears to finally be breaking free of a partisan logjam. Democratic aides said Tuesday...
White House in talks over confronting Iran
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering a range of options for using military force against Iran, officials said Tuesday, as lawmakers from both parties complained that the White House has not fully briefed them on the escalating tensions. Top advisers to President Trump met at the White House late...
College student who says he mistook mom for intruder and beat her to death with a bat charged with murder
GENEVA, Ill. — A suburban Chicago man charged in the beating death of his mother mistook the woman for an intruder when he repeatedly hit her with a baseball bat, an attorney said. Thomas J. Summerwill of Campton Hills is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the March...
