U.S./World category, Page 713
Florida district to pay $26 million to shooting victims
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Broward County, Fla., school district will pay more than $26 million to the families of 17 people killed and some of those injured in the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Board members approved the two legal settlements on Tuesday. A...
Florida science teacher fired for refusing to wear mask
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A teacher in South Florida has been fired for repeatedly refusing to wear a mask. The school board in Broward County on Tuesday unanimously voted to fire John C. Alvarez, a science teacher at Piper High for gross insubordination. Alvarez plans to appeal the decision to...
Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans brush off rising prices
NEW YORK — Americans slowed their spending in November from October, but continued shopping despite higher prices and shortages in stores. Retail sales rose a modest seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November from the month before when sales rose a revised 1.8%, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday, a bit weaker...
O.J. Simpson a ‘completely free man’; parole ends in Nevada
LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson is a free man. The 74-year-old former football hero and actor, acquitted California murder defendant and convicted Las Vegas armed robber was granted good behavior credits and discharged from parole effective Dec. 1, Nevada State Police spokeswoman Kim Yoko Smith said Tuesday. “Mr. Simpson is...
Blaze traps hundreds in Hong Kong tower, 13 hospitalized
HONG KONG — Firefighters on Wednesday rescued hundreds of people who fled to the rooftop of a Hong Kong skyscraper and became trapped there after a major fire broke out. Hours later, the fire service said the blaze was extinguished. In addition to those on the roof, dozens jammed into...
House votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt in Jan. 6 probeVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he ceased to cooperate with the Jan. 6 Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection — making it the first time the chamber has voted to hold a former member in...
Calls for Louisiana judge to resign over video with racist language
LAFAYETTE, La. — Racist language heard in a video recorded at the home of a Louisiana judge has led to calls for her resignation. The video shows a television set displaying security footage of what appears to be a foiled burglary at the judge’s home. Laughter and racist slurs are...
3 voters from retirement haven in Florida charged with voting fraud
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Three voters from a Florida retirement community that is a GOP stronghold have been arrested on charges of voting more than once. The arrests come weeks after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to create a law enforcement agency to investigate election crimes, despite there being...
District of Columbia sues Proud Boys, Oath Keepers over Jan. 6Video
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has filed a civil lawsuit seeking harsh financial penalties against far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court, also names...
Powerful storm drenches Southern California with heavy rainVideo
LOS ANGELES — A powerful storm charged south through California on Tuesday, drenching the drought-stricken state with desperately needed rain but also triggering rescue efforts on a swollen river and mandatory evacuations due to the threat of mudslides in some areas scarred by wildfires. The National Weather Service reported remarkable...
Fireball from overturned tanker kills dozens in Haiti
CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti — A gasoline tanker overturned and exploded in northern Haiti, unleashing a fireball that swept through homes and businesses on its way to killing at least 60 people in the latest tragedy to befall the Caribbean nation. The blast occurred shortly after midnight in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest...
Far too little vote fraud to tip election to Trump, AP finds
An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by former President Donald Trump has found fewer than 475 — a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania...
Cities wracked by opioids close to getting $26B settlement
McMINNVILLE, Ore. — The opioid epidemic blew into this picturesque Oregon town like a toxic wind, leaving overdoses, addiction, homelessness and wrecked families in its wake. In a humble, single-story brick building, three blocks from downtown McMinnville’s wine-tasting rooms and cafes, staffers and volunteers of a recovery center called Provoking...
What’s your religion? In U.S., a common reply now is ‘None’
Nathalie Charles, even in her mid-teens, felt unwelcome in her Baptist congregation, with its conservative views on immigration, gender and sexuality. So she left. “I just don’t feel like that gelled with my view of what God is and what God can be,” said Charles, an 18-year-old of Haitian descent...
UN nuclear chief: Limited Iran access giving ‘blurred image’
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned Tuesday that the restrictions faced by his inspectors in Iran threaten to give the world only a “very blurred image” of Tehran’s program as it enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Speaking in...
Air Force discharges 27 for refusal to get covid vaccine
WASHINGTON — The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the covid-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots. The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine,...
Fireballs expected to blaze across the sky
The Geminid meteor shower — always a highlight of the meteor year — is expected to peak Monday night into Tuesday morning, with prime viewing opportunities arriving from 3 a.m. to dawn. “The Geminids are a reliable shower for those who watch around 2 a.m. local time from a dark-sky...
Supreme Court allows vaccine mandate for New York health care workers
WASHINGTON — A divided U.S. Supreme Court left in force New York’s requirement that health care workers be vaccinated against covid-19, refusing to order exemptions for 20 providers who say they object to the shot on religious grounds. The rebuff, which came with no explanation, follows a similar rejection in...
Navy: Sailor accused of igniting warship was ‘disgruntled’
SAN DIEGO — Navy prosecutors alleged Monday that a sailor charged with setting the fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard last year was “disgruntled” after dropping out of Navy SEAL training, while his defense lawyers criticized the preliminary hearing as unfair. Prosecutor Cmdr. Rich Federico told the court that...
Biden visiting Kentucky to console tornado victims, give aidVideo
WASHINGTON — For the fifth time since taking office less than a year ago, President Joe Biden is taking on the grim task Wednesday of visiting an area ravaged by natural disaster to offer comfort and condolences. Biden was headed to Kentucky to survey damage and offer federal support for...
Derek Chauvin expected to plead guilty in Floyd civil rights case
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin appears to be on the verge of pleading guilty to violating George Floyd ‘s civil rights, according to a notice sent out Monday by the court’s electronic filing system. The federal docket entry shows a hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for...
Thousands without heat, water after tornadoes kill dozensVideo
MAYFIELD, Ky. — Residents of Kentucky counties where tornadoes killed dozens of people could be without heat, water or electricity in frigid temperatures for weeks or longer, state officials warned Monday, as the toll of damage and deaths came into clearer focus in five states slammed by the swarm of...
Remains found after pre-execution tip from Mississippi man
PONTOTOC, Miss. — Authorities have uncovered the remains of a Mississippi woman following a tip from an inmate who revealed the location of her body prior to his execution on other crimes last month. On Sunday, police discovered what’s believed to be the body of Felicia Cox on land that...
Sri Lanka company prepares to sell massive blue gemstone
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A gem company in Sri Lanka has unveiled a rare and massive gemstone weighing 683 pounds (310 kilograms) that has been certified as one of the biggest corundums ever found in the country. Sri Lanka’s National Gem and Jewelry Authority says it has done a series...
Jan. 6 panel votes for contempt charges against Mark MeadowsVideo
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted Monday to recommend contempt charges against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as lawmakers demand his testimony about then-President Donald Trump’s actions before and during the attack. “Whatever legacy he thought he left in the House,...
