U.S./World category, Page 547
China dismisses FBI statement on covid-19 lab leak theory
BEIJING — For the second day in a row, China on Wednesday dismissed U.S. suggestions that the covid-19 pandemic may have been triggered by a virus that leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Responding to comments by FBI Director Christopher Wray, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the involvement of the...
Steve Bannon proclaims ‘I ain’t going to prison’ at New York court appearance
NEW YORK — Trump adviser Steve Bannon isn’t worried about going to the big house because New York’s case against him is “a sham.” The right-wing strategist shared his belief when he appeared Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court for his alleged role in the We Build the Wall crowdfunding scam....
Greek stationmaster arrested in head-on train crash; 36 deadVideo
TEMPE, Greece — Rescuers searched for survivors Wednesday in the mangled, burned-out wreckage of two trains that slammed into each other in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country’s worst-ever rail crash. The impact just before midnight Tuesday threw some...
FBI says man tried to board plane with guns, ammo, fake marshal ID in baggage
A man who federal agents say tried to board a plane in New Jersey with three guns, including a semi-automatic rifle, and a fake law-enforcement ID is in federal custody and facing two charges. Seretse Clouden, who has a prior weapon-related conviction, is charged with possession of a firearm by...
Florida suspect charged in deaths of 3, including 9-year-old and TV reporterVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A newly released affidavit in the case against Keith Moses, the alleged killer of three people in Pine Hills last week, offers a timeline of the Feb. 22 shootings, which happened within feet of each other over several hours. Released Tuesday, the affidavit filed in court late...
JetBlue pilot landing in Boston averts potential collision
BOSTON — A JetBlue pilot had to take “evasive action” while landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport when another aircraft crossed an intersecting runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The close call occurred at about 7 p.m. Monday when the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as...
Pennsylvania unseals search warrant in Idaho killings
STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Law enforcement officials seized dark clothing, medical gloves, a flashlight and other items from a Pennsylvania home where they arrested a graduate student charged with stabbing four University of Idaho students to death, according to newly unsealed court documents. The records were made public Tuesday, two months...
Putin signs bill to suspend last nuclear arms pact with U.S.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a bill formally suspending the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States, amid soaring tensions with Washington over Moscow’s action in Ukraine. Putin had declared a week ago in his state-of-the-nation address that Moscow was suspending its participation in...
Last witnesses in Murdaugh case before jury sees crime scene
Alex Murdaugh’s former law partner said Tuesday that he is past his anger over millions of dollars stolen from the firm as the final witnesses in the South Carolina double murder trial testified and the court prepared to bring jurors to the scene of the killings. Ronnie Crosby had a...
Biden to visit Selma, Ala., for voting rights anniversary
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — President Joe Biden will travel to Alabama on Sunday to mark the 58th anniversary of a landmark event of the civil rights movement. Biden will speak in Selma for the annual remembrance of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 that white police beat Black civil rights marchers...
Heinz offers to buy boat for sailor who survived on ketchup while lost at sea
Heinz has found the sailor who survived at sea for 24 days by eating ketchup, garlic powder and seasoning cubes. Elvis Francois, 47, of Dominica was adrift on his sailboat in the Caribbean after getting swept out to sea while making repairs to his boat. He survived by collecting rainwater...
U.S. officials make case for renewal of surveillance powers
WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials urged Congress on Tuesday to renew a surveillance program the government has long seen as vital in protecting national security but whose future is uncertain because of scrutiny from an unusual alignment of civil liberties advocates and some Republicans. The program, which is under the...
Low-calorie sweetener may increase risk of heart attack and stroke, study finds
We all know staying away from sugar has been of caution for ages, but has the time come to start keeping an eye on sugar substitutes as well? Apparently, a new study said consuming food or drinks flavored by a sugary replacement called erythritol — often found in Splenda packets,...
Putin orders Ukraine border tightening as drones hit Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered officials to tighten control of the border with Ukraine after a spate of drone attacks that Russian authorities blamed on Kyiv delivered a new challenge to Moscow more than a year after its full-scale invasion of its neighbor. One drone...
Suspect in Florida TV crew attack faces more murder charges
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A 19-year-old Florida man is now facing three first-degree-murder charges related to a shooting last week that killed a television news reporter, a 9-year-old girl and a 38-year-old woman, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday. Orange County Sheriff’s officials released an arrest warrant Tuesday morning that included two...
China says it’s been ‘open and transparent’ on covid origins
BEIJING — China on Tuesday pushed back at renewed suggestions that the covid-19 pandemic could have been the result of a lab leak, saying it has been “open and transparent” in the search for the virus’ origins. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy assessed with “low confidence” that the pandemic...
Coronavirus origins still a mystery 3 years into pandemic
WASHINGTON — A crucial question has eluded governments and health agencies around the world since the covid-19 pandemic began: Did the virus originate in animals or leak from a Chinese lab? Now, the U.S. Department of Energy has assessed with “low confidence” in that it began with a lab leak,...
Supreme Court appears ready to reject student loan forgivenessVideo
WASHINGTON — Conservative justices holding the Supreme Court’s majority seem ready to sink President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe away or reduce student loans held by millions of Americans. In arguments lasting more than three hours Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts led his conservative colleagues in questioning the administration’s authority...
Student loan forgiveness gets its day in court: What to know
NEW YORK — The Supreme Court is meeting Tuesday to hear two cases challenging President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. At stake: forgiveness of up to $20,000 in debt for more than 40 million Americans. Nearly half of those people could have their federal student debt wiped out entirely....
Rupert Murdoch knew Fox News hosts endorsed false election fraud claims, depositions showVideo
NEW YORK — New court documents show that Rupert Murdoch and his top lieutenants at Fox News were aware that former President Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were false, but agreed to give them continued coverage in an effort to keep its unhappy viewers from fleeing....
Wind shreds Southern Plains; California to see more snowVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — Parts of the Southern Plains counted the injured and surveyed the damage Monday after tornadoes and other powerful winds swept through, killing at least one person in Oklahoma, while some Michigan residents faced a fifth consecutive day without power following last week’s ice storm. In California, the...
Explainer: Windstorm was likely a derecho. What is that?
A long line of quick-moving thunderstorms that produced a swath of damaging wind gusts across northern Texas and Oklahoma late Sunday likely qualified the event as a derecho, although that’s not an official designation, said Nolan Meister, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Last night we had a prolific...
‘Dilbert,’ Scott Adams lose distributor over racist remarks
“Dilbert” creator Scott Adams experienced possibly the biggest repercussion of recent racist comments when a major comics syndicator, which also operates the GoComics website, announced Sunday it would it would no longer work with the cartoonist. Andrews McMeel Universal said in a statement that the syndication company was “severing” their...
Supreme Court student loan case: The arguments explainedVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. So far, Republican-appointed judges have kept the Democratic president’s plan from going into effect, and it remains to...
Survey: Business economists push back U.S. recession forecasts
WASHINGTON — A majority of the nation’s business economists expect a U.S. recession to begin later this year than they had previously forecast, after a series of reports have pointed to a surprisingly resilient economy despite steadily higher interest rates. Fifty-eight percent of 48 economists who responded to a survey...
