U.S./World category, Page 637
Spanish court dismisses Shakira appeal in tax fraud case
MADRID — A court in Spain on Thursday dismissed Colombian singer Shakira’s appeal in a tax fraud case, paving the way for a trial after a judge previously concluded there was enough evidence to suggest the pop star may have avoided her fiscal obligations to the state. The case first...
Greece tells UN that Turkey is challenging its sovereignty
ATHENS, Greece — Greece has told the head of the United Nations that Turkey is directly challenging its sovereignty over islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, and pursuing a hostile and “revisionist” policy that is destabilizing the region. The four-page letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated May 25 and signed...
Lawsuit: 13-year-old’s hands up when shot by Chicago police
CHICAGO — A 13-year-old boy shot in the back by a Chicago police officer was unarmed and had his arms raised to surrender when he was hit by the bullet, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday, saying the incident illustrates deeply flawed implementation of department policy on the pursuit of...
Doctors, hospitals in crisis-hit Lebanon go on 2-day strike
BEIRUT — Dozens of doctors, nurses and medical personnel rallied Thursday outside the Central Bank in the Lebanese capital of Beirut after declaring a two-day general strike to protest rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. The strike was declared by two medical professionals’ unions — The Syndicates of Doctors in Beirut and...
Davos ends with Germany pushing global work on climate, war
DAVOS, Switzerland — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed hopes Friday for global cooperation on climate change, hunger and war, while dozens of climate activists demonstrated in the Swiss town of Davos as a meeting of global elites ended with many words but little concrete action to solve the world’s most...
Russians shell dozens of Ukrainian towns in fierce battle for the Donbas
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Russia shelled more than 40 towns and villages in the Donbas region, Ukrainian officials said Thursday, as Moscow intensified attacks in Ukraine’s industrial heartland and attempted to encircle key eastern cities. Now in its fourth month, Russia’s war on its neighbor has increasingly zeroed in on efforts...
Fewer Americans apply for jobless benefits last week
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week with the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits already near five-decade lows. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 210,000 for the week ending May 21, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications are generally representative of the number...
Powerful earthquake shakes southern Peru
LIMA, Peru — A magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook a remote region of southern Peru on Thursday, sending frightened people running into the streets in nearby Bolivia, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7:02 a.m. quake was centered 8 miles west-northwest...
Hearts ‘forever broken’: Here are the victims of the Texas school shooting
UVALDE, Texas — At least 21 people — including 19 children — were killed by a gunman during Tuesday’s massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Among them were a 10-year-old girl who had just made the honor roll and a fourth-grade teacher who had worked for the school...
U.S. making covid antiviral drug more available at test sites
WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects covid-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island, providing patients...
States divided on gun controls, even as mass shootings rise
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was quick to react to this week’s carnage at a Texas elementary school, sending a tweet listing the gun control measures the Democratic-controlled state has taken. He finished with: “Your turn Congress.” But gun control measures are likely going nowhere in Congress, and...
Police suspect arson in fire at Wyoming abortion clinic site
CASPER, Wyo. — An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was damaged in a fire early Wednesday that police believe was deliberately set — possibly by someone seen running away from the building carrying what appeared to be a gas can and a bag. The blaze...
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice being treated for possible Lyme disease
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday he is bring treated for possible Lyme disease after becoming ill following two events he attended in the northern part of the state. The Republican governor postponed his regularly scheduled covid-19 briefings this week and said he has tested negative...
‘How to Murder Your Husband’ author found guilty of murder
PORTLAND, Ore. — A jury in Portland has convicted a self-published romance novelist — who once wrote an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband” — of fatally shooting her husband four years ago. The jury of seven women and five men found Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, guilty of second-degree...
Trump vows to speak at NRA convention days after Texas school shooting
Former President Donald Trump vowed to speak at the National Rifle Association convention this weekend even after an 18-year-old gunman killed 21 people, including 19 children, at a Texas elementary school. Denouncing “politicians and partisanship,” Trump said he would appear as scheduled on Friday at the pro-gun group’s annual confab...
Reality TV’s Josh Duggar gets 12 years in child porn case
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was sentenced Wednesday to about 12 1/2 years in prison after he was convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography. Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks to give the maximum term of 20 years to Duggar, whose large family...
Beto O’Rourke disrupts Texas governor’s news conference on shootingVideo
UVALDE, Texas — Surrounded by fellow Republicans on a high school stage, Gov. Greg Abbott was wrapping up his opening remarks about the killing of school children and teachers in Uvalde, Texas, when Beto O’Rourke strode forward from his seat in the audience. “Gov. Abbott, I have something to say,”...
From Columbine to Robb, 169 dead in U.S. mass school shootings
Mass shooters have killed hundreds of people throughout U.S. history in realms like stores, theaters and workplaces, but it is in schools and colleges where the carnage reverberates perhaps most keenly — places filled with children of tender ages, older students aspiring to new heights and the teachers planting the...
2 years after Floyd murder, racial trauma permeates US
Black Men Heal co-founder Zakia Williams was deeply moved as she watched a young Black man become emotional while speaking about the mental health toll the past few years have taken on him. “He said ‘I just want to play basketball without fear of getting shot, I just want to...
Blast in Kabul mosque, IS bombs in north Afghanistan kill 14
ISLAMABAD — A series of explosions shook Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Taliban said, including a blast inside a mosque in the capital of Kabul that killed at least five worshippers and three bombings of minivans in the country’s north that killed nine passengers. The Islamic State group’s local affiliate claimed...
Long covid affects more older adults; shots don’t prevent it
New U.S. research on long covid-19 provides fresh evidence that it can happen even after breakthrough infections in vaccinated people, and that older adults face higher risks for the long-term effects. In a study of veterans published Wednesday, about one-third who had breakthrough infections showed signs of long covid. A...
U.K.’s Johnson faulted for lockdown parties but won’t quit
LONDON — An investigative report released Wednesday blamed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior leaders for allowing boozy government parties that broke the U.K.’s covid-19 lockdown rules, and while Johnson said he took “full responsibility” for the breaches, he insisted he would not resign. Revelations that Johnson and...
Turkish foreign minister makes rare visit to Israel as nations mend ties
JERUSALEM — Turkey’s foreign minister visited Israel on Wednesday as part of ongoing efforts to improve ties between the two countries, which have often been bitterly divided in recent years over Turkey’s support for the Palestinians. Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the first official visit to Israel by a Turkish official in...
UN official urges world not to forget Rohingya refugees
DHAKA, Bangladesh — The head of the U.N. refugee agency urged the international community on Wednesday not to forget more than 1 million Rohingya refugees who are living in sprawling camps in Bangladesh after fleeing from neighboring Myanmar. Filippo Grandi, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, said he visited...
Texas school shooting live updates: Gunman sent Facebook messages before shooting
UVALDE, Texas — A Facebook spokesman says messages posted by the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school were private. Andy Stone says the messages “were private one-to-one text messages that were discovered after the terrible tragedy.” He says Facebook is cooperating with investigators....
