U.S./World category, Page 941
Flooding in Niger kills 45, displaces more than 226,000
NIAMEY, Niger — Flooding from heavy rains in Niger has killed at least 45 people this week and forced more than 226,000 from their homes, officials in the West African nation said Friday. Niger’s western region has been hardest hit by days of rain that caused the Niger River to...
Mom charged after 6-year-old son accidentally shoots himself
CINCINNATI — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in his family’s Cincinnati home while she slept has been charged with felony child endangerment. Darnasia McKinney, 26, also faces a charge of receiving stolen property stemming from Thursday’s shooting. She was scheduled to make her initial court...
Russian navy conducts major maneuvers near Alaska
MOSCOW — The Russian navy conducted major war games near Alaska involving dozens of ships and aircraft, the military said Friday, the biggest such drills in the area since Soviet times. Russia’s navy chief, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, said that more than 50 warships and about 40 aircraft were taking part...
U.K. to allow emergency use of any effective covid-19 vaccineVideo
LONDON — Britain is preparing to revise its laws to allow the emergency use of any effective coronavirus vaccine before it is fully licensed — but only if the shots meet required safety and quality standards. In a statement Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government said it was adopting...
Ill. teen charged in Kenosha shooting that killed 2, hurt 1
KENOSHA, Wis. — Prosecutors on Thursday charged a 17-year-old from Illinois in the fatal shooting of two protesters and the wounding of a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake. Kyle Rittenhouse faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, one count...
Laura thrashes Louisiana, nearby states face tornado threats
LAKE CHARLES, La. — One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., Laura barreled across Louisiana on Thursday, shearing off roofs, killing at least six people and maintaining ferocious strength while carving a destructive path hundreds of miles inland. A full assessment of the damage wrought by the...
North Carolina man freed after 1976 rape conviction vacated
CONCORD, N.C. — A North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison for a rape he says he didn’t commit was freed Thursday. Ronnie Long’s attorney broke the news of his impending release via Twitter on Wednesday, the Charlotte Observer reported. “The state said it will ask the district...
Parish votes to keep Confederate statue; Laura topples it
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Just days ago, officials in Louisiana’s Calcasieu Parish voted not to move a Confederate statue from its prominent place in front of the courthouse. Then Hurricane Laura came along and toppled it. The South’s Defenders Monument was knocked off its pedestal as the Category 4 monster...
Innocent Florida inmate to be released after 37 years
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man who has spent the last 37 years in prison on a rape and murder charge was ordered released Thursday, after officials discovered new evidence that proved his innocence. Robert Duboise, who is 56, was serving a life sentence, convicted in 1983 for the murder...
France warns Lebanon risks collapse after explosion, crisis
BEIRUT — Lebanon is in such a deep political and economic crisis the country risks collapsing altogether, France’s foreign minister said Thursday, ahead of the French president’s visit to the country next week. Lebanon’s government resigned amid accusations of entrenched corruption and negligence after the Aug. 4 explosion that killed...
Russia blames U.S. for military vehicles’ collision in Syria
MOSCOW — The Russian military on Thursday blamed the U.S. troops for a collision of Russian and U.S. military vehicles in Syria’s northeast. U.S. officials said Wednesday that a Russian vehicle sideswiped a light-armored U.S. military vehicle, injuring four Americans, while two Russian helicopters flew overhead, one as close as...
Russia announces preliminary probe into Navalny’s illness
MOSCOW — Russian police on Thursday announced a preliminary probe into the circumstances of the sudden illness of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who fell into a coma last week following a suspected poisoning and amid growing pressure from Western officials to investigate. According to a statement released Thursday by a...
GOP Convention takeaways: Pence pounces while crises swirl
WASHINGTON — Republicans proceeded with the third night of their national convention, but many Americans — particularly those in the path of Hurricane Laura — were focused on more immediate concerns. Here are some key takeaways: Pence takes on attack role The attack role often assigned to vice presidential candidates...
17-year-old arrested after 2 killed during unrest in Kenosha
KENOSHA, Wis. — A white, 17-year-old police admirer was arrested Wednesday after two people were shot to death during a third straight night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, about 15 miles from Kenosha, was taken into...
Laura slams Louisiana coast with fierce wind, surging seaVideo
LAKE ARTHUR, La. — Hurricane Laura is headed toward Arkansas, where an unusual tropical storm warning has been issued for much of the state. The storm is hitting during the state’s first week back at public school since March. Many schools in the southern half of Arkansas opted to cancel...
Only Native American on federal death row executed
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The only Native American on federal death row was put to death Wednesday, despite objections from many Navajo leaders who had urged President Donald Trump to halt the execution on the grounds it would violate tribal culture and sovereignty. With the execution of Lezmond Mitchell for...
CDC, Pa. health department ease up on covid-19 travel guidelines
Federal and state officials have eased up on some of their guidelines for coronavirus-related travel restrictions. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health removed Arizona from its list of travel restrictions originally announced on July 2. No new states were added. The states that remain on Pennsylvania’s travel restriction list...
Chief: Still trying to learn how ‘dead’ woman was found alive at funeral home
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — A suburban Detroit fire chief said Wednesday that he still can’t explain why a 20-year-old woman declared dead at her home was discovered alive hours later at a funeral home. An emergency medical crew did not “detect signs of life,” despite immediately attempting to revive Timesha Beauchamp...
Heeding warnings, Gulf Coast residents flee coming hurricane
LaFITTE, Louisiana — Thousands of Gulf Coast residents fled inland from an approaching storm deemed “unsurvivable” by forecasters, heeding warnings from leaders in two states, but leaving some without help as available space in hotels and shelters filled quickly. Evacuees arrived as far as Ennis, Texas, a city south of...
Moscow announces advanced trials for new covid-19 vaccine
MOSCOW — The mayor of Moscow invited residents Wednesday to join trials of a coronavirus vaccine that Russia approved for use earlier this month, in what officials described as a breakthrough on par with the Soviet Union’s launch of the world’s first satellite in 1957. The world’s first vaccine against...
Plea agreement of ex-N.C. state Rep. David Lewis accepted
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge on Wednesday accepted the guilty plea of a longtime North Carolina state lawmaker who acknowledged conducting a scheme to funnel campaign dollars to his ailing farm. David Lewis, 49, who until last week was a chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, appeared before...
Pressure mounts on Russia to investigate Navalny’s illness
MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Wednesday it doesn’t want the condition of sickened opposition leader Alexei Navalny to affect Russia’s relations with the West as international pressure mounted on Moscow to investigate what caused the Russian politician to fall into a coma almost a week ago. The Kremlin statement came...
Only Native American on federal death row set to be executed
CHICAGO — The only Native American on federal death row is set to die Wednesday for the slayings of a 9-year-old and her grandmother nearly two decades ago, though many Navajos are hoping for last-minute intervention by President Donald Trump to halt the execution. If Lezmond Mitchell is put to...
Hong Kong police arrest 16, including 2 opposition lawmakers
HONG KONG — Hong Kong police arrested 16 people, including two opposition lawmakers, on Wednesday on charges related to anti-government protests last year. The arrests of pro-democracy legislators Ted Hui and Lam Cheuk-ting were announced via social media posts. A post on Hui’s Facebook page said he was arrested on...
Roman Polanski’s request to restore film academy membership denied
A judge on Tuesday denied Roman Polanski’s request to restore his membership in the organization that bestows the Academy Awards two years after he was expelled from it for raping a minor. The fugitive film director sued in April 2019, asking the court to compel the Academy of Motion Picture...
