U.S./World category, Page 698
A record 1,101 Florida manatees died in 2021. When will it end?
TAMPA, Fla. — It’s been clear for months that 2021 would be the deadliest year on record for Florida’s manatees. When the death count surpassed 1,000 in November, experts sounded the alarm, fearing the toll the winter months ahead would continue to inflict. The final death count is in —...
Tarnished Gold: Aircraft, fuel key to illegal Amazon mining
BOA VISTA, Brazil — The scorching Amazon sun beats down as a group of agents inspect the body of a black helicopter. Nearby, in the backyard of the federal police headquarters in the city of Boa Vista, sit more than twenty aircraft — all seized. Some bear signs of violent...
Some escapees pay bribes, cross rivers, risk lives to return to Kim Jong Un’s North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — Not long after nightfall on New Year’s Day, a short, slight man picked a spot along one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world, a quarter-mile from the nearest platoon of soldiers, and scaled a 10-foot-tall wire fence. Warning lights flashed and an alarm...
U.S. announces $308 million in aid for Afghans as crisis grows
WASHINGTON — The White House has announced $308 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, offering new aid to the country as it edges toward a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover nearly five months ago. White House spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement Tuesday that the new aid...
Biden on voting rights passage: ‘I’m tired of being quiet!’Video
WASHINGTON — Pounding his fist for emphasis, President Joe Biden challenged senators on Tuesday to “stand against voter suppression,” urging them to change Senate rules in order to pass voting rights legislation that Republicans are blocking from debate and votes. Biden told a crowd in Atlanta that he’d been having...
Trump attorneys cite immunity, want Jan. 6 lawsuits tossedVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorneys for former President Donald Trump and his associates argued Monday that incendiary statements by Trump and others last Jan. 6 prior to the Capitol riot were protected speech and in line with their official duties. In response to civil suits running parallel to Congress’ own Jan. 6...
North Carolina agency asked to look into shooting by deputy
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said Monday that its agents have been asked to look into a fatal shooting involving an off-duty sheriff’s deputy that sparked a local protest. A news release said Fayetteville police Chief Gina Hawkins and the Cumberland County district attorney asked the NCSBI to...
In 1st, U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patientVideo
A Maryland man is doing well after surgeons and clinicians from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center performed the first successful transplant of a genetically modified pig’s heart Friday to save his life, officials from the health system said Monday. After being...
Pilot rescued from wreckage in L.A. moments before train hitsVideo
The pilot of a small plane averted death twice in a span of minutes on Sunday, first when he crash-landed onto railroad tracks, then when Los Angeles police rescued him just before a commuter train smashed into the aircraft. Bodycam video showed the officers working furiously to disentangle the bloodied...
Rare snowy owl soars over Washington, thrills crowds
A snowy owl apparently touring iconic buildings of the nation’s capital is captivating birdwatchers who manage to get a glimpse of the rare, resplendent visitor from the Arctic. Far from its summer breeding grounds in Canada, the snowy owl was first seen on January 3, the day a winter storm...
Tax season begins 2 weeks early due to virus, IRS funding
WASHINGTON — This year’s tax filing season will begin on Jan. 24, 17 days earlier than last year, the Internal Revenue Service announced Monday. The IRS is warning that a resurgence of covid-19 infections on top of less funding authorization from Congress than the Biden administration had requested could make...
Robert Durst, real estate heir convicted of murder, dies
LOS ANGELES — Robert Durst, the wealthy New York real estate heir and failed fugitive who was dogged for decades with suspicion in the disappearance and deaths of those around him before he was convicted of killing his best friend and sentenced to life in prison, has died. He was...
Man who bought gun for Kyle Rittenhouse pleads no contest
MADISON, Wis. — The man who bought an AR-15-style rifle for Kyle Rittenhouse pleaded no contest Monday to a reduced charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in a deal with prosecutors that allows him to avoid prison. Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder accepted Dominick Black’s plea...
Avalanche in Colorado mountains kills 2 snowshoers and dog
ALMA, Colo. — Two people snowshoeing in the mountains of Colorado were killed in an avalanche over the weekend, authorities said. Their bodies and the body of their dog were found buried near Hoosier Pass in central Colorado by searchers using an avalanche rescue dog, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center...
Pfizer seeks conditional EU authorization for covid pill
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The European drug regulator said Monday it has started evaluating an application by Pfizer for its pill to treat the effects of covid-19. The announcement comes as countries in much of the 27-nation bloc are reporting soaring numbers of infections as the highly transmissible omicron variant...
U.S., Russia meet for talks amid tensions linked to Ukraine
GENEVA — Senior U.S. and Russian officials launched special talks Monday on strategic stability, part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Europe this week aimed at defusing tensions over a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine, though no major breakthrough was immediately in sight. Russian Deputy Foreign...
In Iran, Taliban hold talks with anti-Taliban Afghan group
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers held talks over the weekend with senior leaders of an anti-Taliban alliance, the Taliban said Monday. The meeting, held in Tehran, was the first of its kind, underscoring Taliban efforts to bring their former opponents into the fold. During the meeting, the alliance...
Norway tells conscripts to return underwear after service
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Conscripts in Norway have been ordered to return their underwear, bras and socks after the end of their military service so that the next group of recruits can use them. The Norwegian military said Monday that it is struggling with dwindling supplies, in part due to the...
Black man shot by off-duty deputy, sparking protest in North CarolinaVideo
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Protesters gathered outside a police station Sunday to decry the fatal shooting of a Black man a day earlier by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina. The demonstrators disputed an initial account of the shooting given by police Saturday. Police in Fayetteville said a preliminary investigation...
Judge says Novak Djokovic can stay in Australia but saga not over
Novak Djokovic returned to the tennis court Monday for training, having won a legal battle to stay in Australia to play in the Australian Open after his exemption from strict coronavirus vaccine rules was questioned. But the government is still threatening to cancel his visa and deport him. The unvaccinated...
Death toll in rockfall on Brazilian lake rises to 10
BRASILIA, Brazil — The death toll from an accident in which a slab of cliff rock toppled onto pleasure boaters on a Brazilian lake has risen to 10, police said Sunday. Authorities worked to identify the dead and divers were searching the lake in case there were more victims. Police...
Man who bought Kyle Rittenhouse his assault-style rifle used in Kenosha killings reportedly will take plea deal
The man who bought Kyle Rittenhouse the gun used to kill two people in Kenosha, Wis., and injure a third when he was just 17 is expected to take a plea deal to avoid convictions on the two felony charges. Dominick Black, now 20, purchased the Smith & Wesson M&P...
Bob Saget, known for ‘Full House,’ ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ dead at 65Video
Bob Saget, the actor-comedian known for his role as beloved single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom “Full House” and as the wisecracking host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” died while on a stand-up tour. He was 65. Deputies in Orange County, Florida, were called Sunday about an “unresponsive man”...
19 dead, including 9 children, in New York City apartment fireVideo
NEW YORK — A malfunctioning space heater sparked a fire that filled a Bronx apartment building with thick smoke, killing 19 people including nine children Sunday in New York City’s deadliest fire in three decades. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the fire “started in a malfunctioning electric space heater” in...
27 people rescued from floating ice chunk in Green Bay
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Authorities rescued 27 people from a floating chunk of ice that broke away from shore in the bay of Green Bay in eastern Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office said Sunday. No injuries were reported in the incident that happened Saturday morning north of Green Bay, in the...
