U.S./World category, Page 716
Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother says U.S. prosecutors seeking to ‘break’ her
The brother of a British socialite charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein exploit underage girls says her prosecution is “the most over-hyped trial of the century,” designed to break a woman targeted by authorities desperate to blame someone for the late financier’s crimes. Ghislaine Maxwell continues to have the backing of...
New variant hits sports just as they were nearing normality
Golf, cricket and rugby became the first major sports to be affected by the new covid-19 variant on Friday, prompting fears of renewed travel restrictions and disrupted events just as they were returning to normal nearly two years into the pandemic. European golfers withdrew midway through the season-opening DP World...
Celebrated snowboarder Marko Grilc dies in Austria after hitting head on snow-covered rock
Slovenian snowboarder Marko Grilc died Tuesday in a tragic accident in the Austrian ski resort of Solden, authorities said. He was 38. Police in the western Austrian state of Tyrol released a press release late on Tuesday saying that a “38-year-old Slovene” had “suffered fatal head injuries” after a snowboarding...
NATO chief warns Russia of ‘costs’ if it moves on Ukraine
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia Friday that any attempt to invade Ukraine would have costs, as concern mounts about a Russian military buildup near its former Soviet neighbor’s borders. Ukraine says Moscow kept about 90,000 troops near their common border following massive war games in western Russia earlier this...
New Russian module docks with International Space Station
A Russian cargo craft carrying a new docking module successfully hooked up with the International Space Station Friday after a two-day space journey. The new spherical module, named Prichal (Pier), docked with the orbiting outpost at 6:19 p.m. Moscow time (1519 GMT). It has six docking ports and will allow...
Biden sets out oil, gas leasing reform, stops short of ban
The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation’s oil and gas leasing program to focus on areas that are most suitable for energy development and raise costs for energy companies to drill on public lands and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of...
Hundreds of FedEx packages are found in Alabama woods
An Alabama sheriff is trying to figure out how hundreds of FedEx packages ended up dumped in the woods. An estimated 300 to 400 packages of various sizes were found in a ravine near the small town of Hayden on Wednesday, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement....
U.S. lawmakers visit Taiwan; China conducts military patrols
Five U.S. lawmakers met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday in a surprise one-day visit intended to reaffirm America’s “rock-solid” support for the self-governing island that is claimed by China. The visit came as tensions between Taiwan and China have risen to their highest level in decades. Taiwan has...
World races to contain omicron variant — the new covid threat
Nearly two years into the covid-19 pandemic, the world raced Friday to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent. A World Health Organization panel named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible...
Egypt unveils renovated ‘Avenue of the Sphinxes’ in Luxor
Egyptian authorities were unveiling Thursday a renovated ancient promenade in the city of Luxor dating back 3,000 years, the latest government project undertaken to highlight the country’s archaeological treasures. Egypt has struggled to revive its tourism industry, battered by years of political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled...
Acquitted and in demand, Kyle Rittenhouse ponders what’s next
KENOSHA, Wis. — When he was acquitted of murder in shootings during unrest in Wisconsin, Kyle Rittenhouse went from staring at possible life behind bars to red-hot star of the right: an exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson and a visit with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago capped by a photo of...
Afghan girl from famous National Geographic cover portrait evacuated to Italy
ROME — National Geographic magazine’s famed green-eyed “Afghan Girl” has arrived in Italy as part of the West’s evacuation of Afghans following the Taliban takeover of the country, the Italian government said Thursday. The office of Premier Mario Draghi said Italy organized the evacuation of Sharbat Gulla after she asked...
Survivor found in coal mine accident in Russia’s Siberia, with death toll at 51
MOSCOW — Rescuers have found a survivor in a Siberian coal mine where dozens of miners are presumed dead after a devastating methane explosion, a top local official announced Friday. Sergei Tsivilyov, governor of the Kemerovo region where the mine is located, said on the messaging app Telegram that the...
Explainer: What is this new covid variant in South Africa?
LONDON — South African scientists have identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind a recent spike in covid-19 infections in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. It’s unclear from where the new variant actually arose, but it was first detected by scientists in...
Families struggle with how to hold 2nd pandemic Thanksgiving
Back in the spring, Pauline Criel and her cousins talked about reuniting for Thanksgiving at her home near Detroit after many painful months of seclusion because of the covid-19 pandemic. But the virus had a different plan. Michigan is now the nation’s hot spot. Hospitals there are teeming with patients,...
Ahmaud Arbery’s mom: Thankful for justice and son’s legacy
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Ahmaud Arbery’s mother woke up Thursday with a new, very important blessing on Thanksgiving Day. But there will still be an empty chair at the family’s celebrations. It is a reminder that while she feels justice was served when the three white men who helped shoot her...
South Korea to launch task force on banning dog meat
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea on Thursday said it will launch a task force to consider outlawing dog meat consumption after the country’s president offered to look into ending the centuries-old practice. Restaurants that serve dog meat are dwindling in South Korea as younger people find dog meat a...
Who’s a hero? Some states, cities still debating hazard pay
HARTFORD, Conn. — When the U.S. government allowed so-called hero pay for frontline workers as a possible use of pandemic relief money, it suggested occupations that could be eligible from farm workers and childcare staff to janitors and truck drivers. State and local governments have struggled to determine who among...
Officials: Brian Laundrie fatally shot himself in the head
MIAMI — Brian Laundrie, who was found dead last month in a Florida swamp, shot himself in the head, officials announced Tuesday. Laundrie had been the subject of a manhunt for more than a month as investigators searched for clues in the slaying of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, during their...
All 3 defendants found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Jurors on Wednesday convicted the three white men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, the Black man who was chased and fatally shot while running through their neighborhood in an attack that became part of the larger national reckoning on racial injustice. The jury deliberated for...
White House: 92% of fed workers under mandate are vaccinated
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers seems to be working, with no apparent disruption to law enforcement, intelligence-gathering or holiday travel. On Tuesday, one day after the deadline for compliance, 92% of the 3.5 million federal workers covered by Biden’s mandate reported to the...
Sweden’s first female prime minister quits hours later
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Hours after being tapped as Sweden’s first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson resigned Wednesday after suffering a budget defeat in parliament and her coalition partner the Greens left the two-party minority government. The government’s own budget proposal was rejected in favor of one presented by the opposition...
Settlement: Old toxic phone cables coming out of Lake Tahoe
RENO, Nev. — AT&T’s Pac Bell subsidiary has settled a lawsuit conservationists filed under a U.S. law more typically cited in Superfund cases, agreeing to spend up to $1.5 million to remove 8 miles of toxic telephone cables that were abandoned on the bottom of Lake Tahoe decades ago. A...
U.S. to require vaccines for all border crossers in January
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce. A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings...
Sweden’s parliament approves first female prime minister
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Sweden’s parliament on Wednesday approved Magdalena Andersson as the country’s first female prime minister, tapping the finance minister who recently became the new leader of the Social Democratic party. Andersson was tapped to replace Stefan Lofven as party leader and prime minister, roles he relinquished earlier this...
