Fred strengthens to tropical storm as it heads to U.S. coast
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center said Fred regained its tropical storm status in the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday as parts of the Caribbean were gearing up for impacts from Tropical Storm Grace. Fred was forecast to move across the Gulf before reaching the coast Monday night...
Longest war: Were America’s decades in Afghanistan worth it?
Here’s what 19-year-old Lance Cpl. William Bee felt flying into southern Afghanistan on Christmas Day 2001: purely lucky. The U.S. was hitting back at the al-Qaida plotters who had brought down the World Trade Center, and Bee found himself among the first Marines on the ground. “Excitement,” Bee says these...
Spain clocks heat record of 116.96 degrees
MADRID — Spain set a new provisional heat record of 116.96 Fahrenheit on Saturday as Southern Europe sweltered under a relentless summer sun. Italy put 16 cities on red alert for health risks and Portugal warned 75% of its regions that they faced a “significantly increased risk” of wildfires. Data...
Taliban sweep into Afghan capital after government collapses
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital Sunday after the government collapsed and the embattled president joined an exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country. Heavily armed Taliban fighters fanned out across the capital, and...
After UN climate report, individuals seek to do their part
HOBOKEN, Belgium — Young urban shepherd Lukas Janssens guides his flock among the graves in Schoonselhof, one of Belgium’s iconic cemeteries, knowing sheep are kinder to nature than lawnmowers. Limiting emissions of carbon dioxide, a key contributor to climate change, and promoting biodiversity are two key goals of De Antwerpse...
Japan marks 76th anniversary of WWII defeat; no Suga apology
TOKYO — Japan marked the 76th anniversary of its World War II surrender on Sunday with a somber ceremony in which Prime Minister Yosihide Suga pledged for the tragedy of war to never be repeated but avoided apologizing for his country’s aggression. Suga said Japan never forgets that the peace...
Police in Florida release frantic 911 calls after toddler shoots mom on Zoom call
ORLANDO, Fla. — Shamaya Lynn was at her Altamonte Springs apartment on a Zoom call with a group of co-workers when she suddenly fell back away from the computer, according to 911 calls released Friday by the police department. The confused and frightened co-worker called 911 not knowing where Lynn...
Tropical Storm Grace forms; Fred now a tropical wave
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tropical Storm Grace formed Saturday morning in the Atlantic Ocean and grew stronger, while Fred weakened into a tropical wave as it headed into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Both systems were expected to bring heavy rain and flooding. Fred, which was once a tropical storm,...
Virus claims more young victims as deaths climb yet againVideo
MIAMI — A young mother had just celebrated her first wedding anniversary and was one of six members of a Jacksonville church to die over a 10-day span. Another Florida woman had just given birth to her first child, but was only able to hold the newborn girl for a...
Millions stolen from health fund spent at adult website
TAMPA, Fla. — A former accounts manager for a nonprofit affiliated with the University of South Florida’s medical school has pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $13 million, spending most of it at an adult website with some of it coming back to him. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Ralph...
As Taliban tighten their grip, Kabul airport only way out
KABUL, Afghanistan — As a Taliban offensive encircles the Afghan capital, there’s increasingly only one way out for those fleeing the war, and only one way in for U.S. troops sent to protect American diplomats still on the ground: Kabul’s international airport. A steady stream of people makes its way...
Russian firefighting plane crashes in Turkey; 8 killed
ISTANBUL, Turkey — A firefighting plane from Russia crashed Saturday in a mountainous area in southern Turkey, killing the eight crew members and emergency workers aboard, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The Russian ministry said five Russian and three Turkish citizens were on the amphibious Beriev BE-200, which crashed while trying...
At least 304 dead, 1,800 hurt as powerful quake slams Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, killing at least 304 people and injuring at least 1,800 others as buildings tumbled into rubble. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with incoming patients....
U.S. Senate bill calls for beefing up federal regulations on nursing homes
Nearly 18 months after covid-19 began to cut a broad swath through the nation’s nursing homes — killing 184,000 elderly and disabled residents and care workers — the U.S. Senate is weighing a bill to update federal policies and oversight of such facilities. The bill, dubbed the Nursing Home Improvement...
1 dies in New Mexico school shooting; student detained
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — One student was killed and another was taken into custody Friday after a shooting at a middle school near downtown Albuquerque during the lunch hour, police said. The gunfire at Washington Middle School marked the second shooting in New Mexico’s largest city in less than 24 hours....
2 Seattle cops who were at U.S. Capitol in January are fired
SEATTLE — Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz on Friday fired two police officers who authorities have said violated the law while attending events in Washington D.C. during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Married officers Caitlin and Alexander Everett were fired because “they crossed the outdoor barriers established by the Capitol Police and...
Wildfires threaten rural towns in Montana, California
LAME DEER, Mont. — Wildfires in Montana threatened rural towns and ranchland Friday and victims of a California blaze returned to their incinerated community, even as the U.S. West faced another round of dangerous weather and smoke pollution fouled the air. Firefighters and residents have scrambled to save hundreds of...
Gun owners can soon openly carry pistols with permit in S.C.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon in South Carolina will no longer have to keep their weapon hidden under clothing starting Sunday. Gov. Henry McMaster held a ceremonial signing Friday for a new state law allowing people to carry pistols in the open. The...
Covid-stricken Oregon deploys National Guard to hospitals
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s governor said Friday she will send up to 1,500 National Guard troops to hospitals around the state to assist healthcare workers who are being pushed to the brink by a surge of covid-19 cases driven by the delta variant. Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said the...
Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith dies
Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter from Texas whose literary songs like “Love at the Five and Dime” celebrated the South, has died. She was 68. Her management company, Gold Mountain Entertainment, said Griffith died Friday but did not provide a cause of death. “It was Nanci’s wish that no...
Las Vegas grocery storefront collapses at opening, injures 4
A storefront collapsed into rubble at a Las Vegas supermarket at opening time early Friday, injuring four people but none seriously, a fire official and witnesses said. Firefighters pulled one person from wood planking and roof debris about 6:20 a.m. at the La Bonita market east of the Las Vegas...
Penn State’s faculty senate passes ‘vote of no confidence’ on university’s fall covid-19 plan
Penn State’s faculty senate formally passed a vote of no confidence Friday on the university’s fall covid-19 plan, slamming the administration for what it perceives as an inadequate response while again reiterating its desire for a vaccine mandate. The resolution stopped short of directly expressing no confidence in the Penn...
Experts: False claims on voting machines obscure real flaws
The aftermath of the 2020 election put an intense spotlight on voting machines as supporters of former President Donald Trump claimed victory was stolen from him. While the theories were unproven — and many outlandish and blatantly false — election security experts say there are real concerns that need to...
Federal judge leaves CDC evictions moratorium in place
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday refused landlords’ request to put the Biden administration’s new eviction moratorium on hold, though she ruled that the freeze is illegal. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said her “hands are tied” by an appellate decision from the last time courts considered the evictions...
Woman using gun’s laser sight to play with cat shoots friend
A Wisconsin woman accidentally shot a friend while using the laser sight on a handgun to play with a cat, authorities said. A criminal complaint charging the 19-year-old woman with negligent use of a weapon said she was visiting a Kenosha apartment on Tuesday afternoon where a 21-year-old man had...
