U.S./World category, Page 850

Earth sweltered to a record hot September last month, with U.S. climate officials saying there’s nearly a two-to-one chance that 2020 will end up as the globe’s hottest year on record. Boosted by human-caused climate change, global temperatures averaged 60.75 degrees (15.97 Celsius) last month, edging out 2015 and 2016...

Kimberly-Clark has issued a recall of its Cottonelle Flushable Wipes and Cottonelle GentlePlus Flushable Wipes because they may be contaminated with bacteria. The wipes were made between Feb. 7 and Sept. 14. According to the Cottonelle website, the wipes may be contaminated with “a bacterium (Pluralibacter gergoviae) which naturally occurs...

BAMAKO, Mali — Suspected Islamic extremists have carried out a series of attacks in central Mali killing at least 22 people, a spokesman for Mali’s defense minister said Wednesday. The attacks were the deadliest in Mali since an Aug. 18 military coup overthrew the country’s democratically elected president. Ten civilians...

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis apologized to the faithful Wednesday for not being able to greet them and shake their hands as Italy posted a record spike in coronavirus infections that is threatening to once again spiral out of control. Instead of wading into the crowd to embrace the sick...

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple celebrated in some circles and vilified in others for waving guns at protesters marching on their private street pleaded not guilty to two felony charges at a brief hearing Wednesday. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both attorneys in their early 60s, were...

RICHMOND, Va. — A federal judge has extended the deadline for registering to vote in Virginia by 48 hours after the state’s online voter registration system went down because of an accidentally severed cable. Wednesday’s order by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. in Richmond is an effort to...

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is presenting herself in her final round of confirmation questioning as a judge with deeply held personal and religious beliefs but vowing to keep an “open mind” on cases. Senate Republicans are championing her conservative approach to the law as doubtful Democrats...

LANSING, Mich. — A ballot drive has turned in more than 483,000 signatures for an initiative to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in Michigan by amending the state’s civil rights law. If election officials determine roughly 340,000 are valid, the bill would be placed before the Republican-led Legislature, where similar...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida municipal worker was suspended without pay for flying a flag supporting President Donald Trump’s re-election from his government truck. Palm Beach County suspended construction project specialist Randall Williams for five days for violating its rules against engaging in political activity during work hours....

BECKLEY, W.Va. — Authorities said a California inmate has been indicted in the shooting of a West Virginia school teacher whose body was found the night before her wedding in 1981. Earl James Robbins, 64, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Cynthia Miller, news outlets...

VATICAN CITY — A trial opened Wednesday in the Vatican’s criminal tribunal for two priests, one accused of sexually abusing an altar boy in the Vatican’s youth seminary and the other of covering it up. The charges read aloud in the courtroom marked the first time the Vatican had publicly...

President Trump is expected to present his plan for the nation’s economy on Wednesday to economists from Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago. The Economic Club of Pittsburgh will join with fellow Economic Club members from those major cities, as well as Florida and Sheboygan, for a 45-minute...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he’s scheduling a procedural vote on a GOP covid-19 relief bill next week, saying aid to hard-hit businesses shouldn’t be held up by gridlock involving other aid proposals. The Kentucky Republican says the first item of Senate business when the chamber returns...

Apple unveiled four new iPhones equipped with technology for use with faster new 5G wireless networks. There’s the iPhone 12, which Apple says is more durable, with a 6.1-inch display, the same as the iPhone 11 but lighter and thinner, for $799 and the iPhone 12 Mini with a 5.4-inch...

Tanzanian authorities say 500 volunteers have been trying to put out a fire on Africa’s tallest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro. The flames can be seen from miles away. A Tanzania National Parks statement said the volunteers have managed to limit the fire’s spread. Spokesman Pascal Shelutete said the area still burning...

The U.S. Census Bureau says it has counted 99.9% of the households in the U.S. during the 2020 census, but the nation’s largest statistical association, and even the bureau’s own census takers and partners, are raising questions about the quality of the data gathered for the nation’s once-a-decade head count....

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company launched a New Shepard rocket for a seventh time from a remote corner of Texas on Tuesday, testing new lunar-landing technology for NASA that could help put astronauts back on the moon by 2024. The entire flight — barely skimming...

RICHMOND, Va. — An accidentally severed fiber optic cable shut down Virginia’s online voter registration system Tuesday, the last day to register before the November general election, authorities said. The Virginia Department of Elections said in statement on Twitter that a “fiber cut” was affecting connectivity for multiple agencies, including...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A historic hotel and boarding house had to be parked overnight on a South Florida street during a move because of delays with its relocation. Traffic had to be blocked off overnight Sunday on a street in West Palm Beach, and some light posts were...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia’s governor during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified Tuesday during a court hearing in Michigan. Special Agent Richard Trask also revealed more detail about investigators’ use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication to...

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is vowing to bring no “agenda” to the court, batting back senators’ questions Tuesday on abortion, gun rights and the November election, insisting she would take a conservative approach to the law but decide cases as they come. “Judges can’t just wake...

LISBON, Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo has become the latest high-profile soccer star to test positive for the coronavirus. The Portuguese soccer federation said Tuesday that Ronaldo was doing well and had no symptoms after he tested positive while with his country’s national team. He was in isolation and was dropped...

WASHINGTON — Social Security recipients will get a modest 1.3% cost-of living-increase in 2021, but that might be small comfort amid worries about the coronavirus and its consequences for older people. The increase amounts to $20 a month for the average retired worker, according to estimates released Tuesday by the...