U.S./World category, Page 474
Texas bill to raise age on AR-style gun purchases advances days after Allen shooting
AUSTIN, Texas — Facing pressure from parents whose children died in the Uvalde school massacre, a Texas House committee voted Monday to raise the minimum age to buy AR-style rifles from 18 to 21. Two Republicans, Reps. Sam Harless of Spring and Justin Holland of Rockwall, joined with all six...
Jury hears final arguments in writer’s claims against TrumpVideo
NEW YORK — Donald Trump should be held accountable for sexually attacking an advice columnist in 1996 because even a former president is not above the law, a lawyer for the columnist told a jury Monday in closing arguments in the lawsuit that accuses Trump of rape. A lawyer for...
Source: Army booted Texas mall gunman over mental health
DALLAS — The man accused of killing eight people and wounding several others in a mass shooting at a suburban Dallas shopping mall was discharged from the Army in 2008 because of mental health issues and apparently had been working as a security guard, according to neighbors and an Army...
Vermont bans owning, running paramilitary training camps
Vermont on Monday made it a crime to own or operate paramilitary training camps in the state after Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed legislation introduced in response to a firearms training facility built without permits that neighbors called a menace. Violators face up to five years in prison or a...
Texas lawmaker resigns ahead of misconduct expulsion vote
AUSTIN — A Republican Texas state lawmaker resigned Monday ahead of an expected vote to expel him after an investigation found he had inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old intern. Rep. Bryan Slaton, 45, had faced mounting calls from the state Republican party and conservative groups to resign after the...
As Trump probes intensify, foes of ex-president see opening
WASHINGTON — An investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents has intensified in recent weeks, with prosecutors summoning a broad range of witnesses before a federal grand jury and zeroing in on questions of whether the former president or others obstructed government efforts to recover the records. It remains...
Disney updates lawsuit against DeSantis to add new events
ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney on Monday amended its free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis to add recent developments in the tit-for-tat fight between the entertainment giant and the Florida governor, such as a new law granting the state unprecedented authority to inspect a monorail system at Disney World. Disney’s...
Simulation suggests 2020 census missed many noncitizens
New results from a U.S. Census Bureau simulation suggest a significant number of noncitizens were missed in the 2020 census, a national head count during which the Trump administration tried but failed to prevent people in the country illegally from being tallied. A simulated head count by the statistical agency...
Driver in deadly Texas crash charged with manslaughterVideo
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The driver of an SUV that killed eight people when it slammed into a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas, has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday as investigators tried to determine if the crash was intentional. Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, lost control...
Hotel guest wakes up to find night manager sucking on his toes: reports
A bizarre scene occurred at a Hilton Hotel located in downtown Nashville, Tenn., when a hotel guest woke up to find the night manager sucking on his toes, according to news sources. The incident occurred around 5 a.m. March 30 when manager David Neal, 52, created a key card and...
Macron leads ceremony marking end of WWII in Europe
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron led the traditional ceremony on Paris’ Champs-Elysees Monday, commemorating the day that marked the end of World War II in Europe in 1945. Flanked by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Macron laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de...
U.S. to propose new rules for airline cancellations, delays
The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of the...
War overshadows holiday integral to Russian identity
Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, lauds two tenets that are central to its identity: military might and moral rectitude. But the war in Ukraine undermines both this year. The holiday falling on Tuesday marks the 78th anniversary of Germany’s capitulation in World War II after a relentless Red...
Russia bans jet skis, ride-hailing ahead of WWII tributes
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia enacted a major security clampdown ahead of Tuesday’s annual commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, curbing the use of drones, jet skis and car-sharing services in its largest cities amid its 14-month war with Ukraine. At least 21 Russian cities canceled...
Teacher appreciation? Try better pay, more governors say
HARRISBURG — As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases, bonuses and other perks for the beleaguered profession — with some vowing to beat out other states competing for educators. Already in 2023, governors in Georgia and Arkansas have pushed...
Why so many mass killings? Families, experts seek answers
More than five years after his son was gunned down in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Richard Berger still asks why. Why Stephen Berger was killed the day after celebrating his 44th birthday. Why the gunman rained bullets over the Las Vegas Strip in 2017, turning a...
13 charged after Jordan Neely protesters line up on NYC subway tracks
Thirteen people were hit with charges after a group of protesters angry about Jordan Neely’s chokehold death took over a Manhattan subway station and jumped onto the train bed, cops said Sunday. The protest brought a busy Q train at the Lexington Ave. and E. 63rd St. station to a...
Trump rejects last chance to testify at New York civil trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump rejected his last chance Sunday to testify at a civil trial where a longtime advice columnist has accused him of raping her in a luxury department store dressing room in 1996. Trump, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, was given until 5...
Biden orders flags to half-staff, accuses GOP of ‘shrug’ on guns after Allen mall massacre
WASHINGTON — After ordering flags to half-staff Sunday to honor victims of the Allen shopping mall rampage, President Joe Biden accused Republicans of shrugging off an epidemic of gun violence and reiterated demands to ban assault-style guns and high-capacity magazines. “Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables....
SUV driver hits crowd at Texas bus stop near border; 8 deadVideo
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Police are preparing to arrest the hospitalized driver of an SUV that slammed into a crowd, killing eight people waiting for a bus Sunday outside a migrant shelter in the border city of Brownsville, Texas. At least 10 others were injured, authorities said. With no bench at...
Source: Investigators examine ideology of Texas gunman
ALLEN, Texas — Federal officials are looking into whether the gunman who killed eight people at a Dallas-area mall expressed an interest in white supremacist ideology as they work to try to discern a motive for the attack, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official cautioned the...
Teen dies from sand hole collapse in Outer Banks
NORFOLK, Va. — Authorities in coastal North Carolina are investigating the death of a teenager who became trapped in a hole that was dug in the sand, the latest fatality from the scourge of sand holes that continues to claim young people’s lives. The 17-year-old male died Saturday afternoon in...
California reparations panel OKs state apology, payments
OAKLAND, Calif — California’s reparations task force voted Saturday to approve recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by discriminatory policies. The nine-member committee, which first convened nearly two years ago, gave final approval at a meeting in Oakland to...
Yellen: ‘No good options’ if Congress fails to act on debt
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday that there are “no good options” for the United States to avoid an economic “calamity” if Congress fails to raise the nation’s borrowing limit of $31.381 trillion in the coming weeks. She did not rule out President Joe Biden bypassing lawmakers and...
To improve kids’ mental health, some schools start later
DREXEL HILL, Pa. — In the hours before he’s due at Upper Darby High School, senior Khalid Doulat has time to say prayers, help his mother or prepare for track practice. It’s a welcome shift from last year for him and thousands of students at the school, which pushed its...
