U.S./World category, Page 912
Report: U.S. knew of problems family separation would cause
HOUSTON — Months before the Trump administration separated thousands of families at the U.S.-Mexico border, a “pilot program” in Texas left child-welfare officials scrambling to find empty beds for babies taken from their parents in a preview of bigger problems to come, according to a report released Thursday by congressional...
Virginia Military Institute to remove statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson
LEXINGTON, Va. — The Virginia Military Institute’s board voted Thursday to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson that currently stands in front of the historic barracks on campus, a school spokesperson said. Spokesman William “Bill” Wyatt said the board also voted to take a number of other...
Asteroid samples tucked into capsule for return to Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft more than 200 million miles away has tucked asteroid samples into a capsule for return to Earth, after losing some of its precious loot. Flight controllers moved up the crucial operation after some of the collected rubble spilled into space last week. The...
Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of U.S.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states in charge of overseeing the predators. The U.S. Department of Interior announcement just days ahead of the Nov. 3 election could lead...
Girl Scouts tweet, then delete post about Amy Coney Barrett
A tweet by the Girl Scouts congratulating new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett drew such outrage from Barrett’s critics that the youth organization swiftly deleted it — only to draw a new backlash from Barrett’s supporters. The original tweet, posted Wednesday evening, said, “Congratulations Amy Coney Barrett on becoming...
Evacuation orders lifted for many Californians who fled fire
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of Californians were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday as calmer winds helped firefighters beat back two wind-driven wildfires that had spurred widespread evacuations. Roughly 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate Monday after the wildfires broke out in brushy hills above cities in Southern California’s...
Defendant pleads guilty in Rudy Giuliani associates’ case
NEW YORK — Prosecutors secured a guilty plea Thursday from a Florida businessman who hired one of President Donald Trump’s lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, to lend credibility to a supposedly fraud-busting company authorities say was a fraud itself. The plea by David Correia, 45, a former golf professional, came to charges...
Falwell sues Liberty, saying school damaged his reputation
RICHMOND, Va. — Jerry Falwell Jr. has sued Liberty University, alleging the evangelical school founded by his late pastor father damaged his reputation after he resigned as president and chancellor in August amid a series of scandals. The lawsuit filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Wednesday includes claims of defamation...
Zeta batters Southeast after swamping Gulf Coast; 6 deadVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Zeta sped across the Southeast on Thursday, leaving a trail of damage and more than 2.6 million homes and businesses without power in Atlanta and beyond after pounding New Orleans with winds and water that splintered homes and were blamed for at least six deaths. A Category...
French prosecutor: Nice killer of 3 got to France from ItalyVideo
PARIS — A man armed with a knife attacked people inside a French church and killed three Thursday, prompting the government to raise its security alert to the maximum level hours before a nationwide coronavirus lockdown. The attack in Mediterranean city of Nice was the third in two months that...
Postal Service ordered to increase late trips for election mail
WASHINGTON — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was ordered to immediately begin expanding mail delivery with extra trips and later deliveries after the U.S. Postal Service failed to improve performance less than a week before the election. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan late Tuesday in Washington granted an emergency request to...
Hurricane Zeta hammers Gulf Coast with rain, wind, outagesVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Zeta slammed into the storm-weary Gulf Coast on Wednesday, pelting the New Orleans metro area with rain and howling winds that ripped apart buildings, knocked out power to thousands and threatened to push up to 9 feet of sea water inland in a region already pounded...
Gang member who says he beat up R. Kelly sentenced in deaths
HAMMOND, Ind. — A convicted gang member who said he beat up jailed R&B singer R. Kelly in a Chicago cell in August has been sentenced to life in prison for a racketeering conviction that involved two 1999 murders. A federal judge in Hammond, Ind., sentenced Jeremiah Farmer, 39, on...
Social media CEOs get earful on bias, warning of new limits
WASHINGTON — With next week’s election looming, the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google received a hectoring from Republicans at a Senate hearing Wednesday for alleged anti-conservative bias in the companies’ social media platforms — and were warned of coming restrictions from Congress. Lawmakers of both parties, citing the companies’...
60 charged in $300M phone scam targeting elderly victims
MINNEAPOLIS — Sixty people have been charged in a widespread magazine telemarketing scam that authorities say netted $300 million from more than 150,000 elderly and vulnerable people nationwide, the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota announced Wednesday. U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald called the scam the largest elder fraud scheme in the...
Justice Department charges 8 in Chinese harassment plot in U.S.Video
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has charged eight people with working on behalf of the Chinese government in a pressure campaign aimed at coercing a New Jersey man who was wanted by Beijing to return to China to face charges, officials said Wednesday. The defendants participated in a Chinese government...
Police: 7 taken to hospitals after Trump Omaha airport rally
OMAHA, Neb. — At least seven people were taken to hospitals after an Omaha airport rally for President Donald Trump that drew thousands, many of whom were left stranded miles from their parked cars in freezing weather. Omaha police said in a written statement that first responders dealt with 30...
Germany, France look to more limits to curb rebounding virus
BERLIN — French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a second lockdown in France from Friday, to try to combat a strong resurgence of the coronavirus. With over 520 deaths recorded Tuesday, the French leader said that a new nationwide lockdown would be the only possible way to successfully fight covid-19....
Breonna Taylor grand jurors: Louisville officers deserved more chargesVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky man who served on the Breonna Taylor grand jury said he felt police actions on the night of her death were “criminal” but grand jurors were not given the chance to explore charges related to her shooting death by officers. Two grand jurors, one a...
German officials agree on partial lockdown to curb virus
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel says German officials have agreed to a four-week shutdown of restaurants, bars, cinemas, theaters and other leisure facilities in a bid to curb a sharp rise in coronavirus infections. Merkel and the country’s 16 state governors, who are responsible for imposing and easing restrictions, agreed...
All about Section 230, a rule that made the modern internet
OAKLAND, Calif. — Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today. Those are the words President Donald Trump’s administration has challenged directly via executive order, one that would strip those protections if online...
QAnon’s ‘Save the Children’ morphs into popular slogan
MORRIS, Ill. — At a busy intersection in this small Illinois town, Lynn Vermillion smiles at passing drivers who honk their support for the colorful posters she and friends wave: “Save Our Children. Save their Children. Save ALL the Children.” As the U.S. presidential campaign heated up in recent months,...
2 conservative hoaxers charged in Ohio for robocalls
CLEVELAND — Two conservative operatives facing criminal charges in Michigan were indicted in Cleveland on Tuesday for organizing tens of thousands of hoax robocalls — made to predominantly Black Midwestern cities — that falsely warned people information gleaned from their mail-in ballots could lead to their arrest or forced vaccinations....
Judge stops Election Day gun ban near Michigan polling sites
DETROIT — A judge on Tuesday blocked a ban on the open display of guns near Michigan polling places on Election Day, agreeing with critics who said a Democratic secretary of state failed to follow state law with her sudden order. Gun-rights groups accused Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of...
Medicare finalizing coverage policy for coronavirus vaccine
WASHINGTON — Medicare will cover the yet-to-be approved coronavirus vaccine free for older people under a policy change expected to be announced shortly, a senior Trump administration official said Tuesday. The coming announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services aims to align the time-consuming process for securing Medicare...
