U.S./World category, Page 1182
Deemed dangerous, Jeffrey Epstein denied bail in sex abuse case
NEW YORK — A judge denied bail for jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges Thursday, saying the danger to the community that would result if the jet-setting defendant was free formed the “heart of this decision.” Epstein, with his hands folded before him, showed no reaction to the...
House approves $15 minimum wage, Senate prospects are dim
WASHINGTON — House Democrats approved legislation Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade, to $15 an hour, but the bill has almost no chance in the Republican-controlled Senate. Passage was assured after centrists won concessions for a slower phase-in, over six years instead...
Assange drops appeal of 50-week sentence for jumping bail
LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has dropped an appeal of his 50-week prison term for jumping bail in Britain. Court officials said Thursday that a hearing on the appeal set for next week had been cancelled. Assange is jailed in London’s Belmarsh Prison at the same time as he...
National Park Service reminds people not to pet bobcatsVideo
Just in case you’re tempted by that adorable wild creature … don’t pet the bobcat in the park. The National Park Service posted a public service announcement Wednesday telling people that bobcats are not pets. They advise that visitors to the parks should resist the urge to pet and hold...
India reschedules launch of its moon mission for Monday
CHENNAI, India — India’s space agency said it will launch a spacecraft to the south pole of the moon on Monday after stopping an attempt this week. The Indian Space Research Organization said the Chandrayaan-2 launch is now set at 2:43 p.m. on Monday. It said Thursday that the cause...
Man shouting ‘You die’ kills over 30 at Japan anime studio
TOKYO — A man screaming “You die!” burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing 33 people in a shocking attack. Thirty-six others were injured, some of them critically. The suspect was hurt and taken to a hospital....
Robbery suspect walks out of trial while jury deliberates
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — An armed-robbery defendant walked out of his trial just moments before a Florida jury found him guilty. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that 29-year-old Antonio Jama Gearing had been released on $75,000 bail so he was free to move about the Daytona Beach courtroom Tuesday. But...
How risky is it to use app that allows you to ‘see’ your older self?
You may have thought it was cute to allow a now-viral application to morph photos of you today into life-like images of you a generation from now. But did you read the fine print? According to Forbes Magazine, more than 100 million users of FaceApp have — maybe unknowingly —...
Utah family mourns 6-year-old girl killed by father’s golf ball
OREM, Utah — Relatives of a 6-year-old Utah girl who died after her father accidentally struck her with a golf ball are remembering her as a loving, playful child. Aria Hill’s uncle David Smith described her as a happy child who greeted strangers and enjoyed spending time with her parents....
Florida man says he tossed son in ocean to teach him to swimVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 37-year-old Florida man is accused of throwing his 5-year-old son into the Atlantic Ocean and then doing back flips off a city pier as the boy struggled in the water. An arrest report says that when Daytona Beach police arrested John Bloodsworth on child abuse...
Prosecutors drop groping case against Kevin SpaceyVideo
BOSTON — Prosecutors dropped a case Wednesday accusing Kevin Spacey of groping a young man at a resort island bar in 2016, more than a week after the accuser refused to testify about a missing cellphone the defense says contains information that supports the actor’s claims of innocence. Spacey was...
Rand Paul blocks Senate from funding 9/11 victims fund over budget concernsVideo
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan bill that would extend victims’ compensation for the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bethel Park-born Paul, a Republican, questioned the bill’s 70-year time frame and claimed that the federal government already faces a $22 trillion debt. He said any new spending...
Plane makes emergency landing at Ocean City beachVideo
Swimmers were a little surprised when a plane splashed down at this Maryland beach. Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Va., reported that his single-engine Cessna 172RG was having engine problems before he landed it in the Atlantic Ocean, Maryland State Police told Fox News. Authorities praised the pilot for...
Driver suffers minor injuries when car slides under truck
UXBRIDGE, Mass. — Fire officials say they are amazed that a driver wasn’t seriously hurt when his vehicle slid under a tractor-trailer in Massachusetts. Authorities say the car was on Route 146 in Uxbridge on Tuesday when it hit something in the road and went airborne. The brakes didn’t work,...
Boy’s beer stand prompts calls to police
A boy selling beer on the street in Utah was unusual enough for passers-by to call police. Officers from the Brigham City Police Department on Tuesday found the boy hawking beer of the root variety. The department praised the youngster’s “Ice Cold Beer” sign as an effective marketing strategy. ”Yep,...
Facebook event to storm Area 51 gets deadpan response from Air Force
About 1.5 million people say they’re going, and another 1.1 million are interested, but how many, if any, will actually show up remains to be seen. A Facebook event called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” is organizing people to rush the fabled Nevada Air Force base...
Georgia beachgoers keep pilot whales from stranding on shore
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A state biologist says beachgoers in Georgia helped keep about 30 pilot whales from stranding themselves on the shore. Clay George with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources says the whales showed up Tuesday afternoon off the beach at St. Simons Island. Three whales beached...
Steamy text message sparks marriage fraud investigation
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A steamy text message at the most inopportune moment has sparked a federal marriage fraud trial in Rhode Island. The Boston Globe reports Prince Mark Boley, a Liberian man living in Providence, married Amanda Hames-Whitman in 2016. According to court documents, the two visited a U.S. Citizenship...
Nesting penguins can’t resist lure of New Zealand sushi shop
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Two little blue penguins just couldn’t stay away from a New Zealand sushi store, returning to nest there even after police had captured them and escorted them back to the ocean. Wellington police described them as “waddling vagrants,” while the store’s co-owner joked he had no...
City hopes ‘Baby Shark’ song will drive homeless from park
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Officials in West Palm Beach are hoping a continuous loop of children’s songs played throughout the night will keep homeless people from sleeping in a city park. West Palm Beach parks and recreation director Leah Rockwell tells the Palm Beach Post they’re trying to discourage...
Deputies: Florida man tied up wife’s lover, cut off penis, took it home
BELL, Fla. — Authorities say a Florida man held his wife’s lover at gunpoint, cut off the man’s penis and fled with it. News outlets report 49-year-old Alex Bonilla was arrested hours later on charges including aggravated assault. The Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Tuesday that said Bonilla...
Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman sentenced to life in prison
NEW YORK — The Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced to life behind bars in a U.S. prison, a humbling end for a drug lord notorious for his ability to kill, bribe or tunnel his way out of trouble. A federal judge in Brooklyn handed down the...
CHP helps reunite 250-pound tortoise with owners
SANTA YNEZ, Calif. — A 250-pound tortoise that wandered away from its home has been rescued after California Highway Patrol officers found it on the side of a road. And no, they didn’t arrest it for speeding. The CHP says it got a call about the big reptile Sunday evening....
Reports: Plane had engine trouble before landing on Ocean City beach
OCEAN CITY, Md. — Police in Maryland say the pilot of a small plane told them he was experiencing engine trouble before he made an emergency landing in the shallow ocean waters of a Maryland beach. News outlets quote Ocean City police as saying in a news release that 23-year-old...
Rescuers look for survivors after building collapse in India
MUMBAI, India — Rescuers cleared debris and used sniffer dogs Wednesday to find possible survivors under the rubble of a dilapidated building that collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai. At least 12 people were killed, and several are still feared trapped. Dozens of rescuers worked overnight at the site...
