U.S./World category, Page 838
Eruption of Iceland volcano easing, not affecting flights
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The eruption of a long-dormant volcano that sent streams of lava flowing across a small valley in southwestern Iceland is easing and shouldn’t interfere with air travel, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said Saturday. The fissure eruption began at around 8:45 p.m. Friday in the Geldinga Valley, about...
Biden, Harris offer solace, denounce racism in Atlanta visit
ATLANTA — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris offered solace to Asian Americans and denounced the scourge of racism at times hidden “in plain sight” as they visited Atlanta on Friday, just days after a white gunman killed eight people, most of them Asian American women. Addressing the...
2 journalists detained as Myanmar junta clamps down on press
YANGON, Myanmar — Two more journalists were detained in Myanmar on Friday, part of the junta’s intensifying efforts to choke off information about resistance to last month’s coup. Mizzima News reported that one of its former reporters, Than Htike Aung, and Aung Thura, a journalist from the BBC’s Burmese-language service,...
Attacked Georgia spas had been targeted by prostitution stings
ATLANTA — Two Atlanta area massage businesses where a gunman waged a deadly assault this week had been repeatedly targeted in police prostitution investigations over the years, raising questions about the mayor’s earlier comments that the spas operated legally. Police records show officers went to the businesses at least 21...
Mexico launches crackdown on migrant smuggling
MEXICO CITY — In a rare show of force Friday, Mexico sent hundreds of immigration agents, police and National Guard officers marching through the streets of the capital of the southern state of Chiapas to launch an operation to crack down on migrant smuggling. The parade Friday in the city...
Russian national pleads guilty in $150 million kickback plot
NEW BERN, N.C. — A Russian national living in North Carolina has pleaded guilty to bribery and other charges after prosecutors say he received more than $150 million in kickbacks from contractors seeking deals with the Russian military. Leonid Teyf, 59, of Raleigh, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in...
No charges for Texas officer in killing of college student
DENTON, Texas — A grand jury declined to indict a North Texas police officer in the fatal shooting of a college student who had refused to drop a frying pan and a cleaver and then advanced toward police with the pan. The Denton County grand jury made the decision Thursday...
U.S., China spar in 1st face-to-face meetings under Biden
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Top U.S. and Chinese officials met again Friday after sparring over sharply different views of each other and the world in their first face-to-face talks since President Joe Biden took office. The two sides gathered for a new session a day after a contentious opening in which...
Montana lawmakers revisit dress code some call sexist
Montana lawmakers have revived a dress code that drew accusations of sexism when it was first introduced ahead of the 2015 legislative session before being tabled without ever taking effect. The dress code made a reappearance Thursday in response to a Republican lawmaker’s objection to a male Democrat’s decision not...
Vaccine withheld from hospital that gave Trump Tower shots
The city of Chicago on Thursday decided to withhold first doses of covid-19 vaccines from a hospital that improperly administered vaccinations to Trump Tower workers. The withholding of vaccines comes as the city conducts a review of actions by Loretto Hospital, whose president said in a memo to hospital staff...
4 men linked to Proud Boys charged in plot to attack Capitol
Four men described as leaders of the far-right Proud Boys have been charged in the U.S. Capitol riots, as an indictment ordered unsealed on Friday presents fresh evidence of how federal officials believe group members planned and carried out a coordinated attack to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s...
Biden picks former Florida senator who flew in space to lead NASA
President Joe Biden has chosen a former senator from Florida who flew on the space shuttle right before the Challenger accident to lead NASA. Biden on Friday announced his intent to nominate Bill Nelson as the space agency’s administrator. If confirmed by the Senate, Nelson will become NASA’s 14th administrator,...
Kremlin: Putin’s offer of a call with Biden was to save ties
MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Friday that President Vladimir Putin’s offer to speak by phone with U.S. President Joe Biden was intended to prevent bilateral ties from completely falling apart over the American’s remark that the Russian leader was a killer. Putin made it clear that “it makes sense to...
Happiness Report: World shows resilience in face of covid-19
STOCKHOLM — The coronavirus brought a year of fear and anxiety, loneliness and lockdown, and illness and death, but an annual report on happiness around the world released Friday suggests the pandemic has not crushed people’s spirits. The editors of the 2021 World Happiness Report found that while emotions changed...
In dealing with immigration, Biden is using some of same tactics as Trump, leaving Democrats in political bind
WASHINGTON — Democrats who long blistered the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies are suddenly in a tough political bind. The Biden administration is responding to a wave of children crossing the southern border into the U.S. with some of the very tactics that evoked moral outrage from Democrats when former...
Atlanta police on shooting probe: ‘Nothing is off the table’
ATLANTA — Police said Thursday that “nothing is off the table” in the investigation of the deadly shootings at two Atlanta massage businesses, including whether the slayings were a hate crime. Those attacks and a third one near the suburban town of Woodstock killed eight people and prompted President Joe...
Judge refuses to delay, move trial of ex-cop in George Floyd death
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge on Friday denied a defense request to delay or move the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death after a $27 million settlement for Floyd’s family raised concern about a tainted jury. Jury selection was halfway complete last week in former...
Emergency sites for migrant children raising safety concerns
McALLEN, Texas — The U.S. government has stopped taking immigrant teenagers to a converted camp for oil field workers in West Texas as it faces questions about the safety of emergency sites it is quickly setting up to hold children crossing the southern border. The Associated Press has learned that...
U.S. won’t recognize Syria presidency vote unless UN involved
UNITED NATIONS — The United States warned Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday that the Biden administration will not recognize the result of its upcoming presidential election unless the voting is free, fair, supervised by the United Nation and represents all of Syrian society. The acting U.S. deputy ambassador to...
North Korea cuts diplomat ties with Malaysia over U.S. extradition
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Friday said it was cutting diplomatic ties with Malaysia to protest a court ruling that allowed a North Korean to be extradited to the United States to face money laundering charges. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the charges an “absurd fabrication and sheer...
Newsmax beefs up Trump team, hiring Jason Miller, Andrew Giuliani
NEW YORK — The conservative network Newsmax said Thursday it is hiring Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump as a contributor who will provide commentary on a variety of issues. Newsmax also says it is also hiring Andrew Giuliani, an ex-Trump aide and son of former...
11th juror picked, lawyers clash over expert in George Floyd trial
MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys at the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death moved closer to seating a jury Thursday, choosing two jurors hours after clashing over how much the panel should hear of Floyd’s own actions. The latest jurors include a white registered nurse in...
Biden, Harris to focus on Atlanta-area shootings during Georgia trip
ATLANTA — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to meet with Asian American community leaders in Georgia in the wake of the deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors, the White House announced Thursday. Meanwhile, authorities said the investigation was wide open and could still result in...
Biden plans to send AstraZeneca covid shots to Mexico, Canada
The U.S. is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots, the White House said Thursday. Press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration is in the process of finalizing efforts to distribute 2.5 million...
No cigar: Interstellar object is cookie-shaped planet shard
Our solar system’s first known interstellar visitor is neither a comet nor asteroid as first suspected and looks nothing like a cigar. A new study says the mystery object is likely a remnant of a Pluto-like world and shaped like a cookie. Arizona State University astronomers reported this week that...
