U.S./World category, Page 1274
Southwest hit by computer outage, adding to its problems
DALLAS — Hundreds of Southwest Airlines flights have been delayed as the carrier deals with winter weather and a computer outage. The outage occurred early Friday and grounded Southwest flights around the country for nearly an hour. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration says Southwest had a problem with...
Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is being charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution after he was twice videotaped paying for a sex act at an illicit massage parlor, police in Florida said Friday. Jupiter police told reporters Friday that the 77-year-old Kraft hasn’t been arrested. A warrant will be...
EU says it’s ready to hit back if U.S. imposes car tariffs
BUCHAREST, Romania — A European Union official says “there is full support” from member states to hit back if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on cars and car parts. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said EU trade ministers had discussed the bloc’s trading relationship with Washington during an informal meeting...
Church of England says Sunday services no longer mandatory
LONDON — The Church of England has acknowledged the reality of shrinking congregations and overworked priests and lifted a 400-year-old rule requiring that all churches hold services every Sunday. Canon law dating from 1603 required priests to hold morning and evening prayers and a communion service each Sunday in every...
Swede gets 4½ years for royal jewels heist
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A 22-year-old Swede was sentenced Friday to four and a half years in prison after he was convicted of stealing 17th-century Swedish royal treasures estimated to be worth $7 million from a cathedral last year. The Eskiltuna District Court said Johan Nicklas Backstrom stole two crowns and...
Powerful 7.5-magnitude quake hits eastern Ecuador
LONDON — A very powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck southern Ecuador in the early hours of Friday close to the country’s border with Peru, although no immediate reports of possible casualties or damage were available. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake happened at 5:17 a.m. (EST) 71 miles southeast...
Police: Stolen rare coins ended up in change machines
NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say a Florida man stole collectible coins worth tens of thousands of dollars, then ran them through grocery store change machines that returned just a fraction of their value. The Palm Beach Post report s 20-year-old Shane Anthony Mele of Riviera Beach told investigators...
New York mother killed by driver who plowed into family called a hero
HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. — The 32-year-old mother who was killed when an enraged driver plowed into a family of six young children outside a 7-Eleven store in Rockland County is being called a hero. Melissa DeLoatch was killed when police say 35-year-old Jason Mendez, of Washingtonville, deliberately rammed his car twice...
Coast Guard lieutenant ordered held 14 days while prosecutors weigh terror charges
GREENBELT, Md. — The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant spent hours on end planning a wide-scale domestic terrorist attack, even logging in at his work computer on the job at headquarters to study the manifestos and heinous paths of mass shooters, prosecutors say. He researched how to carry out sniper attacks,...
Israel flying to moon as a result of SpaceX launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An Israeli spacecraft rocketed toward the moon for the country’s first attempted lunar landing, following a launch Thursday night by SpaceX. A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel’s privately...
White House says U.S. will keep 200 troops in Syria
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said Thursday that it will keep 200 U.S. troops in the country for now. “A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time,” White House press...
Judge scolds Jussie Smollett over ‘vile’ allegations; actor released after posting bond
A Cook County judge scolded Jussie Smollett as he set bond Thursday at $100,000 on charges that the “Empire” actor staged an attack on himself, falsely claiming that two men called him slurs while placing a noose around his neck and beating him last month in downtown Chicago. “The most...
Judge: U.S. violated victim rights in Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case
FORT LAUDERDALE — Federal prosecutors in Florida violated the rights of victims by secretly reaching a non-prosecution agreement with a wealthy financier accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra said in a 33-page decision that victims of financier Jeffrey...
Judge tightens gag order on Roger Stone after controversial Instagram postVideo
WASHINGTON — A federal judge issued a tighter gag order on Roger Stone, the former political adviser to President Trump, after he posted an image on social media showing what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gunsight next to her head. “I want to be clear today. I gave...
New election ordered in disputed North Carolina House race
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s elections board Thursday ordered a new election in the nation’s last undecided congressional race after the Republican candidate conceded that his apparent victory was tainted by evidence of ballot-tampering by political operatives working for him. The State Board of Elections voted 5-0 in favor of...
Former Kansas volleyball coach catalogued stolen underwear
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Court documents say a former volunteer volleyball coach at the University of Kansas stole dozens of pairs of underwear from players and catalogued them in labeled plastic storage containers. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the police affidavit released Wednesday says that a search of 23-year-old Skyler Yee’s...
Pacific typhoon expected to lash Guam with gusty wind, rain
HAGATNA, Guam — A growing typhoon in the Pacific is heading toward the Mariana Islands and could lash Guam with strong winds, rain and surf this weekend. The U.S. National Weather Service in Guam reports Typhoon Wutip was packing 100 mph winds and will continue to intensify through Saturday. The...
Police: Alabama woman burglarized homes during funerals
PRICEVILLE, Ala. — An Alabama woman is accused of breaking into the homes of people who were attending relatives’ funerals. A statement released Thursday by police in the north Alabama town of Priceville says they’ve arrested 43-year-old Jennifer Lynn Azizian on four counts of burglary. Police say evidence obtained in...
Pope offers 21 proposals to fight abuse at start of summit
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis opened a landmark sex abuse prevention summit Thursday by offering senior Catholic leaders 21 proposals to punish predators and keep children safe, warning that the faithful are demanding concrete action and not just words. The tone for the high stakes, four-day summit was set at...
Police: Man says he stole Pepsi truck to get to the airport
TULSA, Okla. — Authorities say an Oklahoma man stole a Pepsi truck as the driver was unloading soda in the back. Tulsa police say no one was hurt. The driver jumped out of the back when he felt his rig move. A trail of sodas spilled out as the truck...
Paris wants Olympic debut for breakdance
PARIS — From the streets of New York to the Olympic podium: Breakdancing’s conquest of the globe seemingly knows no bounds. Getting hip to breakdancing’s appeal with young audiences, organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics want the dance sport that spread from New York in the 1970s to become a...
18 members of white supremacist prison gang indicted
TULSA, Okla. — A federal indictment in Tulsa charges 18 members of a white supremacist prison gang with racketeering, drug conspiracy and kidnapping that resulted in at least six homicides since 2005. The indictment unsealed Wednesday says the 18 are members of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood, described as a violent...
Snow in Vegas! 1st measurable since record keeping started
LAS VEGAS — Winter storms in the U.S. Southwest brought rare snowfall Thursday to the Las Vegas Strip, dusting casino marquees and prompting revelers to erect a snowman near the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. A half-inch of the white stuff began falling late Wednesday, marking the first significant...
Delaware State Police reviewing traffic stop in which officer drew gun
DOVER, Del. — Delaware State Police say they’re reviewing a traffic stop in which a trooper is seen on cellphone video pulling a gun on the driver. Mack Buckley, 40, of Lincoln captured the Feb. 14 encounter on video and posted it on Facebook. The trooper opened the car door...
Measles outbreak leads lawmakers to rethink religion exemptions for vaccines
Recent measles outbreaks in states such as Washington, New York and New Jersey have cast a spotlight on a group of Americans who receive exemptions from immunizing their children on the grounds that the vaccines violate their religious freedoms. Now the states that suffered outbreaks are taking aim at those...
