U.S./World category, Page 655
Justice Dept. files challenge to Alabama transgender law
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday challenged an Alabama law making it a felony for doctors to treat transgender people under age 19 with puberty-blockers and hormones to help affirm their new gender identity. The Justice Department filed a motion seeking to intervene in an ongoing...
Russia makes last-minute bond payment to avoid default
NEW YORK — Russia staved off a default on its debt Friday by making a last-minute payment using its precious dollar reserves sitting outside the country, U.S. Treasury officials said. The amount of the payment was not disclosed, but earlier this month Russia’s finance ministry said it tried to make...
Prosecutor: L.A. funeral home director left remains to rot
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles funeral home owner illegally left the remains of 11 people, including infants, in stages of decay and mummification and faces more than a decade in jail, prosecutors said Friday. City Attorney Mike Feuer, whose office can only file misdemeanor offenses, announced the charges Friday,...
Judge delays some New York primaries after court tosses maps
ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York judge ordered Friday that the state’s congressional and state Senate primaries be delayed until Aug. 23 to provide enough time to replace district maps that were ruled unconstitutional this week. State Judge Patrick McAllister moved the primaries back from their original date of June...
Americans bring ‘souvenir’ artillery shell to Israel airport
A bomb scare set off scenes of panic at Israel’s airport after an American family showed up with an unexploded artillery shell they had found in the Golan Heights and intended to bring back as a souvenir. Videos circulating online showed passengers ducking for cover, running and screaming at the...
New York Times’ top editor may speak out more on journalism
The New York Times has a tradition of letting its work speak for itself, rather than publicly defending its journalism from criticism. Yet with democracy, truth, and the news business under attack, that’s a luxury The Times’ incoming executive editor, Joe Kahn, may not be able to afford. Kahn, a...
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...
