U.S./World category, Page 1288
Chief: Injured Houston officer shot 3 times in line of duty
HOUSTON — Houston’s police chief says one of four narcotics officers shot while serving a search warrant at a suspected drug house has been struck by gunfire two other times during his career. Police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday that the 54-year-old police supervisor, whose name hasn’t been released, was...
FBI finds no specific motive in Las Vegas shooting
LAS VEGAS — A high-stakes gambler who rained a hail of gunfire down on a crowd of country music fans, killing 58, took any specific motive for the 2017 attack to his grave, the FBI said Tuesday as it concluded the investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S....
Some journalists wonder if their profession is tweet-crazy
NEW YORK — If Twitter is the town square for journalists, some are ready to step away. That’s happening this week at the online news site Insider — by order of the boss. Reporters have been told to take a week off from tweeting at work and to keep TweetDeck...
73-year-old Frenchman wins solo round-the-world sailing race
LES SABLES D’OLONNE, France — A 73-year-old French sailor has won an unusual, around-the-world yacht race after 212 days alone at sea without modern instruments — his first sailing victory. Jean-Luc Van Den Heede arrived Tuesday in the harbor of Les Sables d’Olonne in western France in his Rustler 36,...
Baltimore will longer prosecute marijuana possession cases
BALTIMORE — The state’s attorney in Baltimore says her office will no longer prosecute any marijuana possession cases, regardless of the quantity of the drug or an individual’s prior criminal record. Marilyn Mosby says pot possession cases have no public safety value, waste money, and disproportionately impact communities of color....
Spy agencies doubt North Korea will give up nuclear weapons
WASHINGTON — In an assessment casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s goal of a nuclear-disarmed North Korea, U.S. intelligence agencies told Congress on Tuesday that the North is unlikely to entirely dismantle its nuclear arsenal. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, noted that...
Poll: Most Americans see nation on the wrong track
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — The state of the union is dark. A large majority of Americans say they are pessimistic about the state of the country and few expect things will get better in the year ahead, according to a poll released Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs...
National Zoo, Smithsonian museums reopening after shutdown
WASHINGTON — There was no line of people waiting to rush the gates Tuesday at the National Zoo, the institution’s first day back after a partial government shutdown left the gates locked for more than three weeks. But the regulars were back, and the animals were happy to have them....
911 dispatcher helps boy with his fractions homework
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Police dispatchers are trained to deal with a number of situations, and a dispatcher in Indiana had to know her numbers when a boy called 911 seeking help with his homework. Lafayette Police dispatcher Antonia Bundy answered the call from the boy, who said he had “a...
L.A. doctor in trouble after prescribing marijuana to 4-year-old
LOS ANGELES — A Hollywood physician has lost his medical license after recommending that a father give his 4-year-old son marijuana cookies to control temper tantrums, according to California’s medical board. Dr. William Eidelman, a natural medicine physician, improperly diagnosed the boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder...
Officials urge vaccinations amid Northwest measles outbreak
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Public health officials scrambling to contain a measles outbreak in the U.S. Northwest warned people to vaccinate their children Monday and worried that it could take months to contain the highly contagious viral illness due to a lower-than-normal vaccination rate at the epicenter of the crisis. The...
Houston police: 5 officers hurt in shooting, 2 suspects dead
HOUSTON — Two suspects are dead after a shooting on Monday that injured five Houston police officers, including four who were hit by gunfire as they attempted to serve a search warrant at a home where drug selling was suspected, the police chief said. A group of about a dozen...
Trump hits Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in pocketbook
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration slapped new sanctions Monday against Venezuelan’s state-owned oil company in its latest effort to push out President Nicolas Maduro and install new leadership under National Assembly chief Juan Guaido. “We have continued to expose the corruption of Maduro and his cronies and today’s action ensures...
St. Louis officer accused of killing colleague in Russian roulette shooting is booked into jail
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis police officer who allegedly killed a colleague last week as they took turns firing a revolver containing a single bullet was booked into jail Monday. A booking photo of Officer Nathaniel Hendren was released by the department Monday afternoon. He was charged Friday with...
Science Says: Get used to polar vortex outbreaks
WASHINGTON — It might seem counterintuitive, but the dreaded polar vortex is bringing its icy grip to parts of the United States thanks to a sudden blast of warm air in the Arctic. Get used to it. The polar vortex has been wandering more often in recent years. It all...
Driver, man clinging to hood in road rage case, arraigned
WALTHAM, Mass. — Two Massachusetts men involved in an apparent case of road rage in which one drove at speeds of up to 70 mph with the other clinging to the hood of his vehicle, some of which was caught on video , were released after their arraignments Monday. Mark...
Insurance claims from deadly California wildfires top $11.4B
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance claims from California’s deadly November 2018 wildfires have topped $11.4 billion, making the series of fires one of the most expensive in state history, officials said Monday. More than $8 billion of those losses are from the fire that leveled the town of Paradise, killing 86...
Heavy snow hitting parts of Midwest; dangerous cold coming
MILWAUKEE — Heavy snow and powerful wind created blizzard-like conditions Monday across parts of the Midwest, prompting officials to cancel about 1,000 flights at Chicago’s airports and close hundreds of schools. But forecasters warned the most dangerous weather is yet to come: frigidly low temperatures that the region hasn’t seen...
30-year-old orca dies at SeaWorld’s Orlando park
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 30-year-old orca has died at SeaWorld’s Orlando park. SeaWorld officials say Kayla died Monday after a brief illness. SeaWorld officials say a cause of death won’t be known until a post-mortem examination is conducted. Kayla began showing signs of discomfort on Saturday, and veterinarians began treating...
Report: U.S. coal production declined in 2018 as prices, exports rose
U.S. coal production continued its downward trend in 2018, even as coal prices rose in three of the five major coal-producing regions, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The federal agency estimated that U.S. coal production in 2018 totaled 755 million short tons — 20 million short tons less than...
More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Vt. ski resort
STOWE, Vt. — A Vermont ski resort says more than 150 skiers and snowboarders were evacuated off of a chairlift that got stuck. Stowe Mountain Resort spokesman Jeff Wise says the Lookout Double lift stopped operating about 10:30 a.m. Sunday due to an electrical issue. Mychampaignvalley.com reports Mount Mansfield Ski...
Tornado hits Havana; Cuban president says 3 dead, 172 hurt
HAVANA — A tornado and pounding rains smashed into the eastern part of Cuba’s capital overnight, toppling trees, bending power poles and flinging shards of metal roofing through the air as the storm cut a path of destruction across eastern Havana. Power was cut to many areas and President Miguel...
Pope lowers expectations for next month’s sex abuse summit
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis has sought to lower expectations from his big sex abuse prevention summit next month. Francis told reporters returning from Panama on Sunday that he wants the Feb. 21-24 meeting to essentially be a catechism class for bishops about sex abuse. He said he...
Rare red panda found after escape from Belfast Zoo
LONDON — Officials say a rare red panda is safe and sound, a day after it escaped from Belfast Zoo in Northern Ireland. The animal went missing on Sunday, and Belfast City Council had urged members of the public to report any sightings to the zoo. The council said Monday...
Small Florida city honors 5 bank shooting victims with vigil
SEBRING, Fla. — Residents in a small Florida city gathered Sunday and held a vigil to honor the five women killed in a SunTrust branch mass shooting. People lit flashlights and cell phones instead of candles to honor the victims because heavy rain in Sebring pushed the vigil to an...
