U.S./World category, Page 655
Ukraine cracks down on ‘traitors’ helping Russian troops
Viktor appeared nervous as masked Ukrainian security officers in full riot gear, camouflage and weapons pushed into his cluttered apartment in the northern city of Kharkiv. His hands trembled and he tried to cover his face. The middle-aged man came to the attention of Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, after...
102 marathons in 102 days: Amputee’s unofficial world record
As Forrest Gump in the Oscar-winning 1994 film of the same name, lead actor Tom Hanks abruptly trots to a halt after more than three years of nonstop running and tells his followers: “I’m pretty tired — I think I’ll go home now.” Jacky Hunt-Broersma can relate. On Thursday, the...
Tennis great Boris Becker gets 2 1/2 years in prison for bankruptcy offenses
Tennis great Boris Becker was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Friday for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt. The three-time Wimbledon champion was convicted earlier this month on four charges under the Insolvency Act and had faced a maximum...
Munich to stage 1st Oktoberfest after 2-year hiatus
BERLIN — The annual Oktoberfest festival is on again for this fall, the city of Munich said Friday, following a two-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dieter Reiter, the mayor of the Bavarian capital, said the popular beer festival will be held without restrictions from Sept. 17 to Oct....
Relatives: Former U.S. Marine killed fighting in Ukraine
WASHINGTON — A former U.S. Marine was killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in war with Russia, his relatives told media outlets. He is the first U.S. citizen known to have been killed while fighting in Ukraine. Rebecca Cabrera told CNN her son, 22-year-old Willy Joseph Cancel, was killed Monday while...
Allegheny County algorithm to screen for child neglect raises concerns
Inside a cavernous stone fortress in downtown Pittsburgh, attorney Robin Frank defends parents at one of their lowest points — when they risk losing their children. The job is never easy, but in the past she knew what she was up against when squaring off against child protective services in...
House passes military lend-lease bill to speed Ukraine aidVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House gave final passage Thursday to legislation that would streamline a World War II-era military lend-lease program to more quickly provide Ukraine and other Eastern European countries with American equipment to fight the Russian invasion. The measure, which passed by an overwhelming 417-10 vote, now goes...
Key players urge accountability for atrocities in Ukraine
UNITED NATIONS — For the first time, key players seeking accountability for atrocities during the Ukraine war have come together at an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council to spur investigations into abuses that many Western countries blame on Russia. The session Wednesday included the International Criminal Court’s chief...
U.S. Army ‘returns’ cake to Italian woman for 90th birthday
ROME — With a round of “Happy Birthday” in Italian and English, the U.S. Army toasted an Italian woman with a birthday cake Thursday to replace the one that U.S. soldiers ate as they entered her hometown during one of the final battles of World War II. Meri Mion, who...
FDA to issue plan banning menthol in cigarettes, cigarsVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government on Thursday released its long-awaited plan to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, citing the toll on Black smokers and young people. “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said Health and Human...
Harvard report brings joy, grief for descendants of enslaved
BOSTON — Egypt Lloyd couldn’t hold back tears when she saw the names — her ancestors, Tony, Cuba and Darby — in a study chronicling Harvard University’s involvement in America’s slave trade. Lloyd grew up nearby, in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, but her family learned only recently of ancestors who were...
Survey: Americans increasingly see China as a threat
BEIJING — Americans are increasingly seeing China as a world superpower and a threat, though growing numbers perceive it more as a competitor than an enemy, according to a survey released Thursday. The Washington-based Pew Research Center said that negative views of China reached a new high, with 82% of...
Explosions rock Kyiv again as Russians rain fire on Ukraine
IRPIN, Ukraine — Russia pounded targets from practically one end of Ukraine to the other Thursday, including Kyiv, bombarding the city while the head of the United Nations was visiting in the boldest attack on the capital since Moscow’s forces retreated weeks ago. Several people were wounded in the attack...
Federal judge halts preparations for end of U.S. asylum limits
NEW ORLEANS — The Biden administration must stop what amounts to the phasing out a pandemic-related public health rule allowing the expulsion of migrants without giving them an opportunity to seek asylum, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled Wednesday. The administration plans to end the policy outright on May 23....
Bond set at $1M for teen accused of killing 10-year-old Wisconsin girl
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — A judge set a $1 million cash bond Wednesday for a 14-year-old boy prosecutors say fatally strangled and then sexually assaulted a 10-year-old western Wisconsin girl. The boy, who authorities say was known to the victim, Illiana “Lily” Peters, appeared in adult court in Chippewa County...
One-fifth of reptiles worldwide face risk of extinction
Even the king cobra is “vulnerable.” More than 1 in 5 species of reptiles worldwide are threatened with extinction, according to a comprehensive new assessment of thousands of species published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Of 10,196 reptile species analyzed, 21% percent were classified as endangered, critically endangered or vulnerable...
Post-Floyd probe finds discrimination by Minneapolis police
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern of race discrimination, according to the findings released Wednesday of a two-year investigation by the state’s Department of Human Rights launched after George Floyd was killed by a city police officer. The report said the department will...
Police union backs Michigan officer in Patrick Lyoya killing
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The union representing police officers in a Michigan city is defending the officer who shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head. The Grand Rapids Police Officers Association called Lyoya’s death “tragic” but said an “officer has the legal right to protect themselves and community...
Georgia tax cut could hit $2 billion, but maybe not by 2029
BONAIRE, Ga. — A major state income tax cut signed by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as he seeks reelection could eventually total more than $2 billion, but the reductions may only happen by a 2029 target date if state revenue holds up. For Kemp, Tuesday’s signing was a tax-cutting...
Russia cuts off gas to 2 NATO nations in bid to divide West
POKROVSK, Ukraine — Russia cut off natural gas to NATO members Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday and threatened to do the same to other countries, using its most essential export in what was seen as a bid to punish and divide the West over its support for Ukraine. The move,...
Fruity near-miss for France’s Macron, targeted by tomatoes
PARIS — Newly reelected French President Emmanuel Macron narrowly avoided being pelted by what looked like a small sackful of cherry tomatoes Wednesday as he waded through a boisterous and packed crowd in a market northwest of Paris. About six of the small fruits, some orange, some red, contained in...
Russia releases U.S. Marine vet as part of prisoner exchange
WASHINGTON — Russia and the United States have carried out a dramatic prisoner exchange, trading a Marine veteran jailed in Moscow for a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving a long prison sentence in America, both countries announced Wednesday. The surprise deal involving Trevor Reed, an American jailed for nearly three...
Researchers: Covid, Israel-Gaza war fueled antisemitism
JERUSALEM — The coronavrius pandemic and Israel’s overwhelming force during the Gaza war helped fuel a worldwide spike in antisemitism last year, Israeli researchers reported on Wednesday. The prominence of political extremism and the reach of social media also may have intensified the ancient phenomenon of scapegoating Jews in recent...
Los Angeles sheriff investigates how reporter obtained leaked videoVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County sheriff on Tuesday disputed allegations he orchestrated a cover-up of an incident where a deputy knelt on a handcuffed inmate’s head and said a Los Angeles Times reporter who used leaked documents and video to first report on the case is part of...
Nuclear chief: Russia’s Chernobyl seizure risked accidentVideo
CHERNOBYL, Ukraine — Thirty-six years after the world’s worst nuclear disaster, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that Russian troops risked causing an accident with their “very, very dangerous” seizure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Standing under an umbrella during a rain shower...
