U.S./World category, Page 922
U.S. hits all of Iran’s financial sector with sanctions
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has blacklisted virtually all of Iran’s financial sector, dealing another blow to an economy that is already reeling under U.S. sanctions. The move will deepen tensions with European nations and others over Iran. Thursday’s move hits 18 Iranian banks that had thus far escaped the...
Facebook removes fake accounts linked to conservative group
Facebook has removed 276 accounts that used fake profiles to pose as right-leaning Americans and comment on news articles, often in favor of President Donald Trump, the company announced Thursday. The platform also permanently banned an Arizona-based digital communications firm that it said was behind the fake accounts. The move...
Waymo removing backup drivers from its autonomous vehicles
Waymo is allowing the general public to hitch a ride in its driverless autonomous vehicles in Phoenix, expanding a service it had been quietly offering to a select group of riders for the past year. The service launches to the general public Thursday. The vehicles, which will have no back-up...
West Virginia site chosen for high-speed travel facilityVideo
Virgin Hyperloop One will build a certification center in West Virginia for the high-speed transportation concept that uses enclosed pods to zip passengers underground at over 600 mph. The company had received bids from more than a dozen states in the past year to build a 6-mile testing track and...
After 46 years, Cypriot ghost town’s beach opens to public
The pristine, azure waters lapping at the skirts of uninhabited Varosha contrast sharply with the dilapidated, crumbling buildings lining the beachfront of this abandoned suburb of Famagusta. For the first time in 46 years, members of the public were permitted on Thursday to access the beach of Varosha in the...
Brazil strains at quarantine as coronavirus cases pass 5 million
Dozens of people converged on the cobblestone streets of downtown Rio de Janeiro for its traditional Pedra do Sal samba party — the first since the pandemic began — and it seemed Brazil was returning to normal. Among those dancing Monday were Luana Jatobá and two friends, all of whom...
Tensions rise as virus cases surge in Wisconsin, Dakotas
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A surge of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas is forcing a scramble for hospital beds and raising political tensions, as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation’s most troubling hotspots. The three states now lead all others in new cases...
13 charged in plots against Michigan Gov. Whitmer, policeVideo
DETROIT — Agents foiled a stunning plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, authorities said Thursday in announcing charges in an alleged scheme that involved months of planning and even rehearsals to snatch her from her vacation home. Six men were charged in federal court with conspiring to kidnap...
Armenia says cathedral shelled in clashes with Azerbaijan
YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenia accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of shelling a historic cathedral in the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where nearly two weeks of heavy fighting has killed hundreds of people. The Holy Savior Cathedral, also known as the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, suffered interior and exterior damage, according to the state-run...
‘Sheer anxiety’: Louisiana braces itself for Hurricane Delta
MORGAN CITY, La. — Louisiana residents still recovering from the devastation of a powerful hurricane less than two months ago braced for another hit as Hurricane Delta steamed north through the Gulf on Thursday after swiping Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Forecasters warned that the storm could blow ashore Friday with winds...
Protests follow clearing of Wisconsin officer in killing of Black teen
MADISON, Wis. — Residents of a Milwaukee suburb where protests turned violent after a Black police officer was cleared in the fatal shooting of a Black teenager outside a shopping mall were out early Thursday cleaning up debris from overnight damage to businesses. Neighbors wearing masks to protect against the...
Large Chinese mitten crab crawls into German woman’s home
BERLIN — Police in southern Germany say a woman got a shock while airing out her home when a 10-inch Chinese mitten crab scurried in from the terrace through the open door. Freiburg police said Thursday that they received a call reporting the unwanted home invader in the nearby town...
U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 840,000 seek jobless aid
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to a still-high 840,000, evidence that job cuts remain elevated seven months into the pandemic recession. The latest sign of a flagging recovery comes two days after President Donald Trump cut off talks over a new rescue...
Hurricane Delta again strengthening, could hit in Louisiana as Category 2 stormVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Delta started strengthening again Wednesday night as it heads for into the warm waters of the southern Gulf of Mexico. For now it’s still a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 90 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. advisory. It’s...
Postal employee accused of dumping 1,800 pieces of mail
NEWARK, N.J. — A postal employee in New Jersey dumped more than 1,800 pieces of mail, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Nicholas Beauchene, 26, of Kearny, faced arraignment later in the day on charges of delay, secretion or detention of mail and obstruction of mail. It was not known if he...
Man pleads not guilty in death of former Pittsburgh resident over mask confrontation in New YorkVideo
WEST SENECA, N.Y. — A New York bar patron accused of giving a fatal shove to an 80-year-old man during a confrontation about the need to wear a mask has pleaded not guilty to criminally negligent homicide. Donald Lewinski, 65, entered a plea of not guilty at a court on...
Ex-cop Chauvin charged in George Floyd’s death freed on $1 million bond
MINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd posted bail on Wednesday and was released from prison. According to court documents, Derek Chauvin posted $1 million bond, and the Department of Corrections confirmed he was no longer in custody at the state’s...
N.C. city apologizes for deaths at 1979 anti-KKK rally
GREENSBORO, N.C. — A city council in North Carolina has approved a resolution which apologizes for the shooting deaths of five demonstrators at a 1979 rally against the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party. The Greensboro City Council voted 7-2 on Tuesday night to approve the resolution, which says...
Belgium’s 1st transgender vice premier target of verbal barb
BRUSSELS — Belgium’s first transgender politician to reach the higher echelons of government has come under stinging attack from the country’s extreme right, only days after she was appointed. The new Belgian government sworn in Saturday includes Green Vice Premier Petra De Sutter, a professor specializing in gynecology and fertility...
Google, Oracle meet in copyright clash at Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court justices discussed restaurant menus, computer keyboards, songs and even the periodic table Wednesday in trying to resolve a copyright dispute between tech giants Google and Oracle. The justices were hearing arguments Wednesday in a dispute that is worth billions and important to the future of...
Prince William and Kate welcome Ukraine president at palace
LONDON — London’s Buckingham Palace held its first royal event in more than six months on Wednesday as Prince William and his wife Kate welcomed Ukraine’s president and his wife. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge greeted Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife Olena in a brief meeting at the palace’s...
Nobel Peace Prize awaited as ray of hope after a tough year
In a year of the coronavirus pandemic, military conflicts, democratic backsliding and accelerating climate change, Friday’s announcement of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize is being awaited as a chance to impart hope to a world in turmoil. From climate activists to political dissidents to international organizations, there is no shortage...
Russia reports successful test launch of hypersonic missile
MOSCOW — The Russian military on Wednesday reported a successful test launch of the new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, giving Russian President Vladimir Putin something to smile about on his 68th birthday. Speaking to Putin via a video call, Russian General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov said the test launch was...
Hurricane Delta makes landfall in Mexico as a Category 2
Hurricane Delta made landfall in Mexico Wednesday as an extremely dangerous Category 2 storm, coming ashore near Puerto Morelos along the northeastern coast of Yucatan Peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said satellite imagery, radar data from Cuba and surface observations in Mexico indicate that the center of...
2 guilty of supporting deadly 2013 Westgate mall attack in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya — A Kenyan court on Wednesday found two men guilty for supporting the 2013 attack on Nairobi’s upscale Westgate Mall that left 67 people dead. Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi acquitted a third suspect. The attack by four gunmen with the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab was the first large-scale...
