U.S./World category, Page 811
U.S. trashes unwanted gear in Afghanistan to be sold as scrap
BAGRAM, Afghanistan — The twisted remains of several all-terrain vehicles leaned precariously inside Baba Mir’s sprawling scrap yard, alongside smashed shards that were once generators, tank tracks that have been dismantled into chunks of metal, and mountains of tents reduced to sliced up fabric. It’s all U.S. military equipment. The...
Biden to join meeting of NATO’s eastern members by video
BUCHAREST, Romania — U.S. President Joe Biden will join a meeting by video link of presidents of countries on NATO’s eastern flank being held Monday in the Romanian capital, according to the offices of the Romanian and Polish presidents. The presidents gathering represent the so-called Bucharest Nine, a group of...
Hamas targets Jerusalem after clashes at revered mosque
JERUSALEM — Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Monday, including a barrage that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city. The rocket fire...
California man used $5 million in coronavirus relief loans to buy luxury cars, federal authorities say
LOS ANGELES — An Irvine man was arrested on fraud charges this week after authorities say he used $5 million in pandemic relief loans to buy luxury sports cars, take lavish vacations and cover his personal expenses. Mustafa Qadiri, 38, submitted bogus applications for federal loans under the Paycheck Protection...
2 Catholic bishops at odds over Biden receiving Communion
They share Roman Catholicism as a faith and California as their home base. Yet there’s a deep gulf between Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego in the high-stakes debate over whether politicians who support abortion rights should be denied Communion. Cordileone, who has...
Police: Maryland man killed 3 neighbors, set house ablaze
WOODLAWN, Md. — A Maryland man who neighbors said had a long history of aggression went on a rampage over the weekend, shooting or stabbing three people to death and setting his home on fire before responding officers fatally shot him, police said Sunday. A news release from the Baltimore...
Queen’s cousin accused of willingness to sell Kremlin access
LONDON — An investigative report by British media said Sunday that Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, was willing to use his royal status for personal profit and to seek favors from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The undercover investigation by the Sunday Times and Channel 4 saw reporters...
Navy seizes weapons in Arabian Sea likely bound for Yemen
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy announced Sunday it seized an arms shipment of thousands of assault weapons, machines guns and sniper rifles hidden aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea, apparently bound for Yemen to support the country’s Houthi rebels. An American defense official told The Associated...
Police say turkey hunter accidentally shot hiker in Missouri
WELDON SPRING, Mo. — A hiker was accidentally shot by a turkey hunter Saturday in the St. Louis area, authorities said. The shooting happened on the Lewis and Clark Trail in the Weldon Spring Conservation Area around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, St. Charles County Police Department spokeswoman Val Joyner said. “It...
7 dead including gunman in Colorado birthday party shooting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A gunman opened fire at a birthday party in Colorado, slaying six adults before killing himself Sunday, police said. The shooting happened just after midnight in a mobile home park on the east side of Colorado Springs, police said. Officers arrived at a trailer to find...
China says most of its Long March 5B rocket burned up during its reentry to Earth’s atmosphereVideo
China’s space agency said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and that most of it burned up early Sunday. Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracked the tumbling rocket part, said on Twitter, “An ocean reentry was always statistically the...
Cyberattack on U.S. pipeline is linked to criminal gangVideo
NEW YORK — The cyberextortion attempt that has forced the shutdown of a vital U.S. pipeline was carried out by a criminal gang known as DarkSide that cultivates a Robin Hood image of stealing from corporations and giving a cut to charity, a person close to the investigation said Sunday....
What are cicadas and why do they bug some people?
Cicadas, red-eyed bugs singing loud sci-fi sounding songs, can seem downright creepy. Especially since the trillions of them coming this year emerge from underground only every 17 years. But they’re not monsters or a plague of locusts. Once you get to know them, scientists say you can appreciate the wonder...
Tearful reunions mark second Mother’s Day under pandemic
Joyous reunions among vaccinated parents and children across the country marked this year’s Mother’s Day, the second one celebrated during the coronavirus pandemic. Some families separated by worries of transmitting the virus saw each other for the first time in over a year, emboldened by their vaccinations. Jeanie Codianni of...
China says most rocket debris burned up during reentry
BEIJING — China’s space agency said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and that most of it burned up early Sunday. Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracked the tumbling rocket part, said on Twitter, “An ocean reentry was always...
Death toll soars to 50 in school bombing in Afghan capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — Grieving families buried their dead Sunday following a horrific bombing at a girls’ school in the Afghan capital that killed 50 people, many of them pupils between 11 and 15 years old. The number of wounded in Saturday’s attack climbed to more than 100, said Interior Ministry...
Pandemic gives boost as more states move to digital IDs
The card that millions of people use to prove their identity to everyone from police officers to liquor store owners may soon be a thing of the past as a growing number of states develop digital driver’s licenses. With the advent of digital wallets and boarding passes, people are relying...
Bomb kills at least 30 near girls’ school in Afghan capital
A bomb exploded near a girls’ school in a majority Shiite district of west Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 30 people, many of them young pupils between 11 and 15 years old. The Taliban condemned the attack and denied any responsibility. Ambulances evacuated the wounded as relatives and residents...
Archaeologists discover remains of 9 Neanderthals near Rome
Italian archaeologists have uncovered the fossilized remains of nine Neanderthals in a cave near Rome, shedding new light on how the Italian peninsula was populated and under what environmental conditions. The Italian Culture Ministry announced the discovery Saturday, saying it confirmed that the Guattari Cave in San Felice Circeo was...
Major U.S. pipeline halts operations after ransomware attack
The operator of a major pipeline system that transports fuel across the East Coast said Saturday that it had been victimized by a ransomware attack and that it had halted all pipeline operations to deal with the threat. The attack is unlikely to affect gasoline supply and prices unless it...
Thailand wants to buy more vaccines as surge worsens
Thailand’s prime minister said he wants to secure more vaccines for his country and give as many first doses as possible, as it battles a surge of the pandemic with Bangkok reporting a record number of cases. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced Friday night it will extend restrictions that were...
Washington Post says U.S. secretly obtained reporters’ records
The Trump Justice Department secretly seized the phone records of three Washington Post reporters who covered the federal investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, the newspaper said Friday. The disclosure sets up a new clash between the federal government and news organizations and advocates for...
Authorities: Fake vaccination cards sold at California bar
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The owner of a Northern California bar where authorities say made-to-order fake covid-19 vaccination cards were sold to undercover state agents for $20 each was arrested in what officials call the first such foiled operation they are aware of nationwide. The plainclothes agents from California’s Department of...
California reports 1st ever yearly population decline
California’s population fell by more than 182,000 people in 2020, marking the first year-over-year loss ever recorded for the nation’s most populous state. State officials announced Friday that California’s population dipped 0.46% to just under 39.5 million people from January 2020 to January 2021. The news comes one week after...
19 charged in ride-hailing fake driver account scheme
BOSTON — Federal prosecutors charged 19 people Friday for their alleged roles in a nationwide scheme that used stolen identities to cheat ride-hailing and delivery service companies. The suspects, all Brazilian citizens, set up fraudulent driver accounts with multiple ride-hailing and delivery companies using about 2,000 stolen identities, federal prosecutors...
