U.S./World category, Page 543
Jesuit case underscores secrecy, leniency for abuse of women
ROME — Revelations that the Vatican let a famous priest off the hook twice for abusing his authority over adult women has exposed two main weaknesses in the Holy See’s abuse policies: sexual and spiritual misconduct against adult women is rarely if ever punished, and secrecy still reigns supreme, especially...
Russia warns of ‘consequences’ if U.S. missiles go to Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the United States confirms reports that it plans to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine, it would be “another provocative move by the U.S.” that could prompt a response from Moscow. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a weekly...
White House reveals winter covid-19 plans, more free tests
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is again making some free covid-19 tests available to all U.S. households as it unveils its contingency plans for potential coronavirus surges this winter. After a three-month hiatus, the administration is making four rapid virus tests available through covidtests.gov starting Thursday, a senior administration official...
Memorial planned for Indiana County man killed volunteering in Ukraine
A memorial gathering will be held Friday for an Indiana County man killed in Ukraine. Trent Braxton Davis, 21, of Indiana, Pa. was a U.S. Army veteran who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine. He was shot and killed Nov. 8 while trying to save civilians, according to Tribune-Review news...
Report: Texas AG sought driver license data on gender change
AUSTIN — The office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this summer sought data on how many people had changed the gender information on their driver’s license, according to a newspaper report published Wednesday that civil rights attorneys described as worrying. The Washington Post reported that public records obtained...
Alabama women convicted for feeding, trapping stray cats
WETUMPKA, Ala. — Two Alabama women have been convicted of misdemeanor crimes because of their efforts to feed and trap stray cats. Local news outlets report that Wetumpka Municipal Judge Jeff Courtney on Tuesday found Beverly Roberts, 85, guilty of criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. Mary Alston, 61, was found...
EU lawmaker at heart of corruption case to remain in custody
BRUSSELS — A Greek European lawmaker charged with corruption in an alleged plot by a Gulf country that’s tarnishing EU institutions will stay in detention until at least next week after her hearing by a judge was postponed, judicial officials said on Wednesday. Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, whose term...
Twitter changes rules over account tracking Elon Musk’s jet
Twitter on Wednesday suspended an account that used publicly available flight data to track Elon Musk’s private jet, despite a pledge by the social media platform’s new owner to keep it up because of his free speech principles. Then, hours later, Musk brought back the jet-tracking account after imposing new...
Police: 2 officers slain in Mississippi; shooter also dead
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. — Two police officers in coastal Mississippi were shot and killed by a woman early Wednesday as they checked on a call at a motel, authorities said. The woman killed herself after shooting the Bay St. Louis police officers at a Motel 6 in the city...
U.S. storm brings tornadoes, blizzard-like conditions; 2 deadVideo
DALLAS — A volatile storm ripping across the United States spawned tornadoes that killed a young boy and his mother in Louisiana, smashed mobile homes and chicken houses in Mississippi and threatened neighboring Southern states with more punishing weather Wednesday. To the north, the huge storm system delivered blizzard-like conditions...
A decade after Sandy Hook, grief remains but hope grows
NEWTOWN, Conn. — They would have been 16 or 17 this year. High school juniors. The children killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 should have spent this year thinking about college, taking their SATs and getting their driver’s licenses. Maybe attending their first prom. Instead,...
U.S. death toll tied to long covid exceeds 3,500, CDC report says
The health challenges that a bout of covid-19 sometimes leaves in its wake can be troublesome, scary and quite mysterious. New research confirms they can be deadly as well. A study released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that between January 2020 and June 2022, long...
U.S. military creates space unit in South Korea to watch North
SEOUL, South Korea — The U.S. military formally launched a space force unit in South Korea on Wednesday, its first such facility on foreign territory that will likely enable Washington to better monitor its rivals North Korea, China and Russia. The activation of the U.S. Space Forces Korea at Osan...
U.S. study: Over half of car crash victims had drugs in system
DETROIT — A large study by U.S. highway safety regulators found that more than half the people injured or killed in traffic crashes had one or more drugs, or alcohol, in their bloodstreams. Also, just over 54% of injured drivers had drugs or alcohol in their systems, with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),...
Report: U.S. Rep. Scott Perry shared plan to seize voting machines nationwide
Compelled to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, GOP U.S. Rep. Scott Perry shared detailed plans to seize voting machines nationwide with a White House official. According to a report this week by Talking Points Memo, which obtained text logs between Perry and then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows,...
Army sergeant killed at Georgia base identified as Plum resident
FORT STEWART, Ga. — The Army on Tuesday said a soldier who was fatally shot at a Georgia base was a sergeant whose nearly eight years of military service included a deployment to Afghanistan. Sgt. Nathan M. Hillman, 30, of Plum was killed Monday by a gunman at Fort Stewart,...
8 hurt in fire at NYPD warehouse where evidence is storedVideo
NEW YORK — Eight people suffered minor injuries Tuesday in a fire at a New York Police Department warehouse that houses DNA evidence from crime scenes as well as cars, e-bikes and motor scooters, police and fire officials said. The fire at the Erie Basin Auto Pound, a low warehouse...
U.S. poised to approve Patriot missile battery for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian attacks, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The approval is likely to come later this week and could...
Fusion breakthrough is a milestone for climate, clean energy
WASHINGTON — Scientists announced Tuesday that they have for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it — a major breakthrough in the decades-long quest to harness the process that powers the sun. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California...
At least 100 people killed by floods in capital of CongoVideo
KINSHASA, Congo — At least 100 people have been killed and dozens injured on Tuesday by widespread floods and landslides caused by heavy rain in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa. Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde said officials were still searching for more bodies. “We came to assess the damage and the primary...
With success of Artemis I, when will NASA fly Artemis II?
ORLANDO, Fla. — With Orion safe back on Earth, the last and most important tests of the Artemis I mission have been completed, but there are still miles to travel and months of data sifting to go before NASA will target an Artemis II launch date. While the latest announced...
Netanyahu inches closer to power with new parliament speaker
JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament on Tuesday elected a new speaker closely allied to the country’s likely next prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, setting the stage for a flurry of contentious new legislation to appease the former leader’s expected coalition partners. Lawmaker Yariv Levin’s election as speaker comes as Netanyahu continues negotiations...
Feds report big jump in people coming to Florida from Cuba
MIAMI — Border Patrol agents in the Florida Keys are responding to almost nonstop migrant landings this week that continued through Tuesday morning. On Monday, the federal agency reported that arrivals in South Florida are up five times what they were this time last year. “Agents are responding to multiple...
China students return home amid fears of covid-19 spread
BEIJING — Some Chinese universities say they will allow students to finish the semester from home in hopes of reducing the potential for a bigger covid-19 outbreak during the January Lunar New Year travel rush. It wasn’t clear how many schools were participating, but universities in Shanghai and nearby cities...
China urges citizens to leave Afghanistan after Kabul attack
ISLAMABAD — China on Tuesday advised its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country “as soon as possible,” following a coordinated attack by Islamic State militants the previous day on a Chinese-owned hotel in the heart of Kabul. The Chinese advisory appeared to be a setback for Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers...
