U.S./World category, Page 1052
Royal courtiers chart path for Prince Harry’s independence
Queen Elizabeth II has moved quickly to take control of the crisis surrounding the decision by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to distance themselves from the royal family, ordering royal courtiers to find a future role for the pair within days. Officials representing the most senior members...
South Korea conveys Trump’s birthday message to Kim Jong Un
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Friday it conveyed a message by President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wishing him a happy birthday, which is believed to be Jan. 8. Returning from a visit to Washington on Friday, Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s presidential national security...
Iran denies downing plane, says West should share evidenceVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Friday denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran, and called on the United States and Canada to share any information they have on the crash, which killed all 176 people on board. Western leaders said...
Stakes high as U.S. Supreme Court weighs New Jersey ‘Bridgegate’ case
NEWARK, N.J. — “This is not going to end well.” Those words spoken by a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official in the summer of 2013 could hardly have been more prophetic. The plot to create gridlock near the busy George Washington Bridge that September to punish...
Iraqi PM tells U.S. to decide mechanism for troop withdrawal
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq, according to a statement released Friday. The statement, from the office of the Iraqi caretaker prime minister,...
Florida teacher arrested after video shows him throwing student from class, deputies sayVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Flagler County teacher was arrested Wednesday after picking a 14-year-old student up and throwing him out of the classroom, deputies said. Jeffrey Paffumi, 47, of Palm Coast, was taken to Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and faces a charge of battery, according to Flagler County...
Trump proposes sweeping rollback of environmental oversight
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic rollback of environmental oversight, President Trump took action Thursday to clear the way and speed up development of a wide range of commercial projects by cutting back federal review of their impact on the environment. “The United States can’t compete and prosper if a bureaucratic...
Video in apparent Jeffrey Epstein suicide attempt ‘no longer exists,’ feds say
NEW YORK — Video footage of the area around Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell on a day he apparently tried to kill himself “no longer exists,” federal prosecutors told a judge Thursday. Officials at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York believed they had preserved footage of guards finding Jeffrey Epstein...
Feds realize a jailed man’s 3,000 pounds of ‘marijuana’ isn’t pot, Texas lawyer says
It was trumpeted as a huge drug bust. Texas Department of Public Safety posted a picture on Facebook of dozens of boxes — presumably filled with over 3,000 pounds of marijuana — piled in front of a U-Haul truck stopped by troopers in early December. During the traffic stop east...
Anti-establishment views unite, divide Hong Kong protesters
HONG KONG — Trump signs, Pepe the Frog graffiti and British and American flags have become a common sight at Hong Kong’s anti-government protests — and an unsettling one to longtime democracy activists on the left. Beijing has seized on the images to portray the movement as a coddled, westernized...
Puerto Rico earthquake aftermath deepens as government seeks help
SAN JUAN — More than 2,000 people in shelters. Nearly one million without power. Hundreds of thousands without water. The aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that killed one person, injured nine others and severely damaged infrastructure in Puerto Rico’s southwest coast is deepening as the island’s government says it is...
Report: 2019 natural gas prices lowest in 3 years
A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) notes that natural gas prices in 2019 were the lowest in the last three years. That won’t come as a surprise to Marcellus shale gas drillers, who spent much of 2019 adjusting to a low-price market. Analysts believe low prices...
Lawmakers approve Brexit bill, U.K. on course for Jan. 31 exit
LONDON — Britain passed a major milestone on the road to Brexit when the House of Commons on Thursday approved a bill authorizing the country’s departure from the European Union at the end of the month. Lawmakers voted by 330-231 to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which sets the terms...
U.S. officials: ‘Highly likely’ Iran shot down Ukrainian jetliner
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. officials said Thursday it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid...
Timeline: A look at tensions between U.S., Iran since 2018
Iran is sending mixed signals as tensions with the U.S. appear to ease. President Hassan Rouhani has warned of a “very dangerous response” if the U.S. makes “another mistake,” and a senior commander has vowed “harsher revenge” for the killing of a top Iranian general. Both sides appeared to step...
Samoan fruit bat coming to U.S. quarters
A new quarter is headed into circulation next month and it may qualify as the cutest quarter yet. The quarter, part of the America the Beautiful series, has a reverse-side depiction of a Samoan fruit bat mother hanging upside-down in a tree with her pup. The coin is scheduled for...
UK royals scramble to contain Harry, Meghan announcement
Britain’s royal family scrambled Thursday to contain the fallout from the surprise announcement by Prince Harry and Meghan that they plan “to step back” from royal duties, a shift that ignited media outrage and public unease in the U.K. The couple’s declaration that they planned to forge a “progressive” new...
Iran says Ukrainian plane was on fire, tried to turn back
TEHRAN, Iran — The crew of a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people on board, never made a radio call for help and were trying to turn back for the airport when their burning plane went down, an initial Iranian investigative report said Thursday. Ukraine, meanwhile,...
Statue mocking Donald Trump torched in Slovenia
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — A wooden statue mocking U.S. President Donald Trump was burned to the ground Thursday in Slovenia, the birthplace of his wife Melania, authorities said. The nearly eight-meter (26-foot) high construction, erected last year in a village in northeast of Slovenia, showed Trump with his trademark hair style,...
Baby dies after being put in backpack; Texas man charged
LUBBOCK, Texas — A West Texas man accused of putting his girlfriend’s 10-month-old daughter in a backpack and leaving her in a car trunk for five hours was charged Wednesday with capital murder. Trevor Marquis Rowe of Lubbock was arrested Tuesday night for the death of Marion Jester-Montoya. He was...
Fewer than a quarter of U.S. voters can find Iran on a world map
Iran so far away — but that’s no excuse. Despite the United States being on the brink or war with Iran, fewer than a quarter of American voters can find the 81-million person nation on a world map. According to a poll by Morning Consult/Politico, that number leaps only slightly...
IRS’ failure to collect from tax cheats could cost you $3,000 a year
WASHINGTON — The average U.S. household is paying an annual surtax of more than $3,000 to subsidize taxpayers who aren’t paying all they owe, a new report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service found. Reduced funding for the Internal Revenue Service has led to lower staffing levels and fewer audits, which...
Arizona official quits amid charges he paid women to give up babies
PHOENIX — An elected official in metro Phoenix resigned Tuesday, months after being charged with running a human smuggling operation that paid pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to give up their babies in the United States. The resignation of Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen occurred when leaders in the...
Idaho resort looks for skier after avalanche; 2 others die
KELLOGG, Idaho — Officials were searching Wednesday for a missing skier at an Idaho resort where a series of avalanches killed two skiers and injured five others the day before. The Silver Mountain Resort was closed Wednesday “to focus all available resources on the search,” the resort said on Facebook....
Indiana teen gets 65 years in pregnant schoolmate’s killingVideo
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A 17-year-old northern Indiana boy has been sentenced to 65 years in prison in the fatal stabbing of a schoolmate who was pregnant with his child. St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hurley sentenced Aaron Trejo on Tuesday to 55 years for murder and 10 years...
