U.S./World category, Page 724
Winds whip up volcanic ash from 1912 eruption in Alaska
Volcano scientists issued an alert Wednesday, warning that a cloud of ash — from an eruption more than century ago — was headed toward Alaska’s Kodiak Island. The ash is from the powerful 1912 eruption of Novarupta, a volcano on the Alaska Peninsula that dropped volcanic ash that is still...
U.S. overdose deaths topped 100,000 in 1 year, officials say
An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a never-before-seen milestone that health officials say is tied to the covid-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades, accelerated in the past two years and, according to new...
Rittenhouse lawyers ask judge to declare mistrial over videoVideo
KENOSHA, Wis. — Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorneys asked the judge to declare a mistrial even as the jury was deliberating Wednesday, saying the defense received an inferior copy of a potentially crucial video from prosecutors. Judge Bruce Schroeder did not immediately rule on the request, the second mistrial motion from the...
2 men set to be cleared in the 1965 killing of Malcolm X
NEW YORK — Two of the three men convicted in the assassination of Malcolm X are set to be cleared Thursday after insisting on their innocence since the 1965 killing of one of the United States’ most formidable fighters for civil rights, their lawyers and Manhattan’s top prosecutor said Wednesday....
U.S. offers investment to boost global covid vaccine capacity
Pressed to address gaping inequality in global covid-19 vaccines, the Biden administration took steps Wednesday to make billions of dollars available to drugmakers to scale up domestic production to share with the world and prepare for the next pandemic. Under the new initiative, the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development...
Jan. 6 rioter who carried spear, wore horns gets 41 months in prison
Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying Jan. 6 rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the assault on the Capitol, was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison. Chansley, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official...
Judge: Vegas man’s vote fraud claim ‘cheap political stunt’
LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas man’s admission that he voted twice in November 2020 in a case that state Republicans seized on to claim voter irregularities amounted to “a cheap political stunt” that backfired, a state court judge said Tuesday. Donald “Kirk” Hartle appeared by videoconference from his defense...
Police: Infant run over, killed after falling out car door in TexasVideo
IRVING, Texas — An 8-month-old child fell from the rear passenger door of a vehicle and was run over and killed by the car behind it, Irving police said. Police in the Dallas suburb were seeking information from the public after the child was struck about 10:30 a.m. Sunday at...
Russia rejects accusations of endangering ISS astronautsVideo
MOSCOW — Russian officials on Tuesday rejected accusations that they endangered astronauts aboard the International Space Station by conducting a weapons test that created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk but a White House official said the move by Russia would threaten activities in space “for years to come.”...
Bishops urged to listen as they consider Communion document
BALTIMORE — Pope Francis’ top envoy to the United States cautioned the country’s bishops on Tuesday that the church needs to listen before it teaches as they deliberated at their fall meeting on a sensitive document about Holy Communion that emerged amid debates over Catholic politicians’ support for abortion. “It...
Lawsuit challenges North Carolina rules on transgender ID
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — North Carolina’s requirement that transgender people undergo sex reassignment surgery as part of establishing their identity is discriminatory and does not align with a majority of states and medical organizations, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court. Three law firms joined to file the lawsuit...
Affidavit: Kansas lawmaker hit brother in fight over baptism
MISSION, Kan. — A 21-year-old Kansas lawmaker pushed, hit and spit on his 18-year-old brother in a fight that erupted because the brother was going to get baptized, according to court documents released Tuesday in a pending domestic battery case. An Overland Park police sergeant wrote in the probable cause...
Times Square is back open on New Year’s Eve — with vax proof
Crowds will once again fill New York’s Times Square this New Year’s Eve, with proof of covid-19 vaccination required for revelers who want to watch the ball drop in person, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday. “Yes, we are proud to announce that Times Square, wonderful celebration in Times Square,...
Ahmaud Arbery autopsy photos shown to jurors at murder trial
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Ahmaud Arbery’s autopsy photos were shown to jurors Tuesday at the murder trial of three white men who chased the Black man down before he was fatally shot last year in their neighborhood. Dr. Edmund Donoghue, a medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, testified that...
Ex-pork buyer dies in Iowa crash following fraud indictment
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A former manager for an influential Iowa-based pork dealer has died in a crash, days after federal prosecutors charged him in a scheme to swindle hog farmers through fraudulent buying practices. Steven Demaray, 70, the former regional buying manager for Lynch Livestock, was driving a truck...
Jury begins deliberations at Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial
KENOSHA, Wis. — The jury has begun deliberating at the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse after listening to two weeks of dueling portrayals of Rittenhouse. Prosecutors say he was a “wannabe soldier” who instigated the bloodshed; the defense says he acted in self-defense after coming under attack. The 18-year-old Rittenhouse...
Poland uses water hoses at border, blames Belarus for attack
WARSAW, Poland — Polish border forces said they were attacked with stones by migrants Tuesday at the border with Belarus and responded by using water cannons against them. Police said the migrants were given gas grenades and other weapons by Belarusian forces, who directed the entire violent operation with a...
Woman bites off part of Louisiana officer’s ear in bar fight
HOUMA, La. — Authorities in southern Louisiana are searching for a woman who bit off part of an officer’s ear. Houma police were trying to break up a fight between several women in a bar’s parking lot just after midnight on Friday when one of them started biting the ear...
Heavy rain in Pacific Northwest brings flooding, evacuations, school closuresVideo
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Heavy rainfall in Washington caused flooding Monday that forced school closures and evacuation warnings and stranded people in their cars as storms with high winds pounded the Pacific Northwest. The National Weather Service warned that winds nearing hurricane strength were possible in the region that has seen...
Infowars’ Alex Jones ordered to pay damages to families of Sandy Hook shooting victims
Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was found liable Monday for damages in lawsuits brought by parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting over Jones’ claims that the massacre was a hoax. Judge Barbara Bellis took the rare step of defaulting Jones in the defamation...
Flu rips through University of Michigan campus, bringing CDC to Ann Arbor
DETROIT — Influenza is sweeping the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus, with 528 cases diagnosed at the University Health Service since Oct. 6. The outbreak is so sudden and large — 313 cases were identified the week of Nov. 8 alone and 37% of flu tests that week were...
6 teens injured in drive-by shooting near Denver area school
AURORA, Colo. — Six teenagers were shot in a drive-by shooting Monday in a park near a high school in suburban Denver, but all were expected to survive, police said. The victims, who range in age from 14 to 18, are all students at Aurora Central High School, Aurora police...
Thousands of military families struggle with food insecurity
It’s a hidden crisis that has existed for years inside one of the most well-funded institutions on the planet and has only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. As many as 160,000 active-duty military members are having trouble feeding their families. That estimate by Feeding America, which coordinates the work of...
Washington seeks over $38 billion from opioid distributors
SEATTLE — After rejecting a half-billion-dollar settlement, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday took the state’s case against the nation’s three biggest drug distributors to trial, saying they must be held accountable for their role in the nation’s opioid epidemic. The Democrat delivered part of the opening statement in...
Space junk sends station astronauts into docked capsules
Space junk threatened the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Monday and forced them to seek shelter in their docked capsules. The U.S. Space Command said it was tracking a field of orbiting debris, the apparent result of some type of satellite break-up. The astronauts retreated into their...
