U.S./World category, Page 1037
Benetton fires famed photographer over insensitive remarks
MILAN — Photographer Olivier Toscani made a career out of provocative advertising campaigns for Benetton, the Italian clothing brand famed for its colorful knitwear. But that decades-long relationship has been severed after Toscani outraged relatives of victims in the deadly 2018 Genoa bridge collapse. Toscani told RAI television this week,...
Russia says Israel nearly shot down passenger plane in Syria
MOSCOW — Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that Israeli air forces nearly shot down a passenger jetliner in Syria during a missile strike on the suburbs of Damascus a day earlier. The allegation comes as tensions run high in Syria, where fighting has escalated in the northern province of Idlib....
Russian parliament member dies in helicopter crash
MOSCOW — A member of the lower house of the Russian parliament was killed in a helicopter crash in his home region Friday, officials said. Airat Khairullin was killed in the crash in Tatarstan, about 500 miles east of Moscow, Russian news agencies reported, citing parliamentary and local officials. Reports...
Trump to promote opportunity zones on North Carolina visit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday will promote economic revitalization in low-income areas on his first trip outside of Washington since he was acquitted in the Senate impeachment trial. Before leaving for North Carolina, Trump continued to air grievances about his impeachment ordeal, saying of Democrats: “I think there’s...
Spain and Italy ready joint migration policy proposal for EU
MADRID — Spain and Italy want to forge a new strategic alliance that can shape the European Union’s future policies on migration, the two countries’ foreign ministers said Friday. Spain’s Arancha González Laya and Italy’s Luigi di Maio also said after talks in Madrid that an informal document on proposed...
Ohio police say woman lost $2,400 in ‘grandparent scam’
MANSFIELD, Ohio — A woman lost $2,400 in a so-called “grandparent scam” after receiving a call that her grandson was in jail, police in Ohio said. The 76-year-old woman in Mansfield in north-central Ohio received the call Wednesday from a man claiming to be her grandson’s lawyer, according to Mansfield...
Palestinians deny U.S. charges of incitement, blame Trump planVideo
JERUSALEM — The Palestinians on Friday rejected U.S. allegations of incitement after a day of clashes and attacks left three Palestinians dead, including a member of the security forces, and wounded more than a dozen Israeli soldiers. They instead linked the violence to President Donald Trump’s Mideast initiative, which heavily...
Weinstein trial: Here are the prosecution’s 6 women’s accounts
NEW YORK — Some were aspiring actresses. One was a star on the rise. Another was looking to get more involved in behind-the-scenes aspects of the film and TV business. Six women out of the many who have accused Harvey Weinstein of vile sexual behavior have testified over the last...
Woman who left U.K. to join Islamic State group loses challenge to restore citizenship
LONDON — A U.K. woman who as a teenager ran away to join the Islamic State group lost a legal challenge Friday aimed at restoring her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds. Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015, resurfaced at...
Egypt frees pro-democracy activist imprisoned for four years
CAIRO — Egypt on Friday freed a pro-democracy activist who spent over four years in prison and rose to local prominence as one of the faces of the country’s 2011 uprising, his lawyer said. Ramy Sayed, 31, had coordinated protests for the April 6 youth movement, a group that helped...
Putin hosts Belarus leader for tough economic talks
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the leader of Belarus Friday for another round of difficult talks on closer integration amid mounting Russian economic pressure on its ex-Soviet ally. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused the Kremlin of flouting its obligations on energy supplies while trying to strong-arm him...
India to continue rebel peace accord push in troubled areasVideo
GAUHATI, India — India’s prime minister said on Friday that his government will continue its peace push in the insurgency-wracked northeastern region bordering China and Myanmar where accords with key rebel groups have led to the surrender of thousands of fighters in recent weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said decades...
Russia repatriates 26 children from Syrian refugee camp
MOSCOW — Russia has repatriated 26 Russian children from Syria and plans to take dozens more home in the future, a Kremlin official said Friday. Presidential children’s rights ombudswoman Anna Kuznetsova visited Syria to organize the effort and met with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s wife, Asma, in Damascus. Kuznetsova said...
Bad weather moves into Eastern states; 5 dead in SouthVideo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Extreme wind gusts, blowing snow and widespread flooding made traveling treacherous on Friday as a storm system moved into the northeastern United States, leaving rising water and at least five deaths in its wake across the South. More than 400,000 homes and businesses were without power Friday...
Doctor’s death unleashes mourning, fury at Chinese officialsVideo
BEIJING — The death of a doctor who was reprimanded for warning about China’s new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety. In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Party’s...
Flooding inundates Pacific Northwest, major highway closed
PORTLAND, Ore. — Severe flooding in eastern Oregon closed a major freeway on Friday, forced evacuations and stranded at least one family on their roof as other parts of the Pacific Northwest also braced for more flooding and landslides from relentless rain and rapid snowmelt. Images showed massive big rigs...
Rules on what can be brought into Kentucky statehouse under reviewVideo
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s Capitol are being evaluated, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday. But the Democratic governor said any changes by his administration won’t restrict the ability to bring guns into the statehouse, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. “We believe that the rules right now, if followed, are appropriate, at least...
Disney apologizes to school charged for showing ‘Lion King’
BERKELEY, Calif. — The Walt Disney Co. has apologized to a California school that was charged a $250 licensing fee after showing the company’s 2019 remake of “The Lion King” during a fundraiser. Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley was billed by Movie Licensing USA on behalf of Disney for “illegally...
El Paso shooter faces 90 federal counts, including hate crime charges that could bring death penalty
EL PASO, Texas — The confessed shooter who in August targeted Mexicans at an El Paso Walmart, killing 22 and injuring dozens more, will face federal hate crime charges that carry a potential penalty of death. A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed Thursday against Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen....
Milwaukee teacher placed on leave for tweet about Rush Limbaugh’s cancer
MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee Public Schools teacher has been placed on leave after tweeting that it was “awesome” that conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has cancer. The district said English teacher Travis Sarandos was placed on leave Wednesday pending an investigation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Sarandos tweeted “limbaugh...
FDA crackdown on vaping flavors has blind spot: disposables
WASHINGTON — The federal government Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules. Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isn’t...
Neighbor uses crossbow to try to save man from dog attack, but kills him
ADAMS, Mass. — A man was shot and killed in his apartment by a crossbow bolt that a neighbor had fired at dogs who were attacking the man, authorities in Massachusetts said. The death Wednesday afternoon in Adams appears to be accidental, according to Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. The...
Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm about coronavirus diesVideo
BEIJING — A Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak died after coming down with the illness Friday, a hospital reported. The Wuhan Central Hospital said on its social media account that Dr. Li Wenliang, a...
Scotland’s finance chief quits over messages to teenager
LONDON — Scotland’s finance minister resigned Thursday after revelations he had reportedly sent hundreds of messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media. Derek Mackay, who was due to deliver his annual budget on Thursday, said he had “behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry.” “I apologize unreservedly to the...
Passengers screamed, panicked as Istanbul plane crash-landedVideo
ISTANBUL — Passengers on the Turkish airliner that crash-landed and crumpled into pieces in Istanbul, killing three people, say the plane’s descent felt unusually fast and left those on board screaming and panicking. Engin Demir, who was among the 180 people injured in the crash, told NTV television that he...
