U.S./World category, Page 712
GOP Oklahoma House leader, wife accused of multiple felonies
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma County grand jury indicted a top Republican House leader on multiple felony counts, alleging he misused his power to change state law so his wife could become a tag agent. House Speaker Pro Tempore Terry O’Donnell, the second-highest ranking member in the House, was charged...
Ghislaine Maxwell declines to testify as defense rests case
NEW YORK — After 12 days of testimony over three weeks, jurors heard from the final witnesses Friday in the sex trafficking trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who told the judge she wouldn’t testify because she was confident prosecutors hadn’t proved their case. Closing arguments are now set for...
California governor boosts efforts to combat smash-and-grabs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Stung by recent headline-grabbing smash-and-grab robberies, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said he will seek more than $300 million in state funding over three years to boost law enforcement efforts to combat retail theft. “The issue of crime and violence is top of mind all throughout...
Amazon driver texts reveal chaos as Illinois tornado bore down
The messages between an Amazon delivery driver and her boss began about 80 minutes before a tornado struck one of the company’s warehouses in Edwardsville, Ill., on Dec. 10, killing six workers. The dramatic exchange cast in sharp relief the chaos that can ensue when disaster hits and disagreements erupt...
Typhoon leaves 12 dead, traps people on roofs in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — A powerful typhoon that battered the central Philippines left at least 12 people dead in massive floods that trapped residents on roofs and damaged buildings including a hotel and an airport, officials said. Typhoon Rai slightly weakened after slamming ashore Thursday on the country’s southeastern coast but...
‘Doomsday glacier’: Giant Antarctica ice mass could collapse within 3 to 5 years
The rapid deterioration of Thwaites Glacier, the widest glacier on Earth, and one of Antarctica’s largest could result in the ice shelf’s total collapse within a few years, contributing to rising sea levels, researchers have warned. According to a report by Live Science, the warning came during a virtual press...
Suspected arson in downtown Osaka building leaves 24 dead
OSAKA, Japan — A fire that spread from a fourth-floor mental clinic in an eight-story building in downtown Osaka in western Japan on Friday left 24 dead in what police were investigating as a possible case of arson and murder. Police were searching for a man in his 50s to...
Officials: 22 die in Istanbul from bootleg alcohol poisoning
ANKARA, Turkey — At least 22 people have died in Istanbul and 16 others have been hospitalized and are in serious condition after drinking bootleg alcohol, the local governor’s office said Friday, as authorities intensified a crackdown on counterfeit drinks across Turkey ahead of New Year’s celebrations. Eleven of the...
Judge rejects Purdue Pharma’s sweeping opioid settlement
A federal judge rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement of thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic Thursday because of a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from facing litigation of their own. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found that federal bankruptcy law...
House subpoenas Mark Meadows contact who pushed false fraud claim
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is subpoenaing James P. “Phil” Waldron, a onetime contact of former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who the panel says pushed false claims about fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The Democratic chairman of the committee, Mississippi...
Michigan teen charged after shooting brother; mistook him for deer
SOLON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A teenager who told investigators that he mistook his brother for a deer when he shot him has been charged with a gun crime, authorities in western Michigan said Thursday. The 17-year-old faces a charge of careless discharge of a firearm causing injury, the Kent County...
EPA details push to tighten rules for lead in drinking water
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration took steps Thursday aimed at reducing lead in drinking water, announcing plans to release $2.9 billion in infrastructure bill funds next year for lead pipe removal and impose stricter rules to limit exposure to the health hazard. Vice President Kamala Harris made the case for...
U.S. regulators lift in-person restrictions on abortion pill
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently loosened a key restriction on abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that the medication be picked up in person. Millions of American women will now be able to get a prescription via an online consultation and receive the pills through...
5 children die in bouncy castle accident in AustraliaVideo
SYDNEY — Five children died and four others were in critical condition on Thursday as a result of falling from a bouncy castle that was lifted 33 feet into the air by a gust of wind at a school on Australia’s island state of Tasmania. The school was holding a...
How brothers in arms plotted theft, sale of U.S. Army weaponry
Packed with rifles and explosives, the SUV hurtled down a Florida interstate beneath bright blue autumn skies, passing other motorists with little notice. It was November 2018, and the driver, Tyler Sumlin, was uncomfortable. Clammy. The husky, bearded former U.S. Army soldier was getting a cold, and understandably tense: He...
Army vet, 3-year-old among the dead in widespread twisters
Details about the fathers and mothers, children, friends and siblings who died during a tornado outbreak that ripped through the Midwest and South are still coming into focus nearly a week after the onslaught. At least 89 people have been confirmed dead across multiple states after more than 40 tornadoes...
Haiti gang releases all 12 Christian missionaries held captive for 2 months
A Haiti gang has released all 12 hostages two months to the day that they were kidnapped in Haiti’s capital, Haiti National Police Spokesman Garry Desrosiers and two U.S. government sources confirmed to the Miami Herald. The hostages were abducted just east of Port-au-Prince by a notorious gang, 400 Mawozo,...
Young Americans motivated to make change: AP-NORC, MTV poll
WASHINGTON — There are plenty of reasons for Sebastian Garcia to feel downbeat about the future. After his family immigrated from Mexico, he was raised on a farm in northwest Texas, where he says there aren’t many racial slurs he hasn’t heard. When the now-24-year-old graduated from college, he decided...
U.S. releases new batch of documents about JFK assassination
WASHINGTON — The National Archives on Wednesday made public nearly 1,500 documents related to the U.S. government’s investigation into the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The disclosure of secret cables, internal memos and other documents satisfies a deadline set in October by President Joe Biden and is in...
Senate sends Biden big defense bill, plans new war memorial
WASHINGTON — Congress sent President Joe Biden a $768.2 billion defense bill on Wednesday that makes landmark changes to the way the military handles sexual assaults, keeps women out of the draft and lays the groundwork for a new war memorial on the National Mall. The annual bill, which has...
Veteran’s case brings War Powers to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will decide whether Congress can give military service members the right to file civil lawsuits against states for employment discrimination based on their military service, in a case about how much power lawmakers have regarding military forces. The justices announced Wednesday they will hear a...
Minnesota delivery driver cited after running over groceries
BLAINE, Minn. — A Minnesota grocery delivery driver accused of running over bags of food she had dropped off in a Twin Cities suburb because she didn’t like the homeowners’ pro-police yard sign has been cited for criminal damage to property, authorities said. The incident happened Dec. 6 after the...
Disney World fire may have sprung from fireworks debris
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — A small fire at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom started in a tree and may have been caused by fireworks debris, officials said Wednesday. The blaze broke out Tuesday after fireworks were set off near the Cinderalla Castle, Reedy Creek Fire Association president Jon Shirey...
Chauvin pleads guilty to federal charges in Floyd’s death
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, averting a trial but likely extending the time he is already spending behind bars on a state conviction. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted this spring of state...
UN watchdog says Iran will allow new cameras at nuclear site
TEHRAN, Iran — The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Iran reached a deal Wednesday to reinstall cameras damaged at an Iranian site that manufactures centrifuge parts, though inspectors remain limited on what footage they can access. The agreement will see cameras put back at Karaj, which came under what Iran...
