U.S./World category, Page 739
Hurricane Ida devastation lingers in Louisiana 1 month later
IRONTON, La. — The land on which Audrey Trufant Salvant’s home sits in the small Louisiana town of Ironton has become an island in a sea of mud and snake-infested marsh grass. Nearby houses are disconnected from their foundations, a refrigerator is lodged sideways in a tree, and dozens of...
U.S. says ivory-billed woodpecker, 22 other species extinct
BILLINGS, Mont. — Death’s come knocking a last time for the splendid ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 more birds, fish and other species: The U.S. government is declaring them extinct. It’s a rare move for wildlife officials to give up hope on a plant or animal, but government scientists say they’ve...
U.K. officer accused of citing covid to detain slaying victim
LONDON — A prosecutor argued Wednesday that a serving London police officer handcuffed a woman on the pretext of breaking covid-19 lockdown rules before he kidnapped and killed her. Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court charged with the kidnap, rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who...
6 arrested at Greek school protest backed by far-right group
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Police in northern Greece have arrested six people and detained at least 40 others following clashes involving youths backed by an extreme right-wing political group. The youths entered a vocational high school and hurled gasoline bombs, flares and rocks at a rival gathering organized by left-wing university...
Gang clash at Ecuador prison kills 30 inmates and injures 47
QUITO, Ecuador — A battle between prison gangs in the coastal city of Guayaquil killed 30 inmates and injured 47, according to Ecuadorian officials. Police Commander Fabian Bustos told reporters that a police and military operation had regained control of the prison after five hours. He said several weapons had...
London honors Princes Diana with blue plaque at former home
LONDON — London finally honored the late Princess Diana on Wednesday with a blue plaque at the place she called home in the two years before she married Prince Charles and her life in the goldfish bowl began. For Diana, 60 Coleherne Court, an apartment near London’s fashionable King’s Road,...
Capitol Police chief sees rising threats
WASHINGTON — The newly installed chief of the U.S. Capitol Police says the force, still struggling six months after an insurrection that left its officers battled, bloodied and bruised, “cannot afford to be complacent.” The risk to lawmakers is higher than ever. And the threat from lone-wolf attackers is only...
Washington state man who sexually exploited teens sentenced to 20 years
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. — A southwest Washington man who pleaded guilty in a scheme in which he enticed and pressured teens into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Joshua Punt, of Ridgefield, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in...
Massachusetts sheriff proposes using jail to house people with opioid addiction
BOSTON — A Massachusetts sheriff has proposed turning a part of his jail into a treatment center to help ease the drug use and homelessness in an area of Boston hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins last week said he wants to house up to...
Biden nominates 9 candidates for federal prosecutor posts
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is nominating nine lawyers to run U.S. attorney’s offices across the country, a diverse group of candidates in the latest round of picks for the top law enforcement positions. The nominations, announced by the White House on Tuesday, are expected to run the federal prosecutors’...
How many parents would get young children vaccinated against covid? What a poll found
A new poll found a slim majority of parents would get their young children vaccinated against covid-19. The Gallup poll released Tuesday found 55% of parents with children under 12 plan to get them a coronavirus vaccine when one is authorized for use in younger kids while 45% said they...
Maryland newspaper gunman gets more than 5 life prison terms
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A man who killed five people at a newspaper in Maryland was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five life sentences without the possibility of parole. Anne Arundel County Judge Michael Wachs ordered the sentence for Jarrod Ramos, whom a jury previously found criminally responsible for killing...
Atlanta spa-shooting suspect pleads not guilty in 4 killings
ATLANTA — A man already sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting four people at a massage business outside Atlanta pleaded not guilty to shooting four others on the same day at two spas inside the city. Robert Aaron Long, 22, appeared briefly Tuesday in Fulton...
Gen. Milley defends calls to Chinese at end of Trump presidency
WASHINGTON — The top U.S. military officer told Congress on Tuesday that he knew former President Donald Trump wasn’t planning to attack China and that it was his job to reassure the Chinese of that fact in the phone calls that have triggered outrage from some lawmakers. Army Gen. Mark...
In R. Kelly verdict, Black women see long-overdue justice
NEW YORK — For years, decades even, allegations swirled that R&B superstar R. Kelly was abusing young women and girls, with seeming impunity. They were mostly young Black women. And Black girls. And that, say accusers and others who have called for him to face accountability, is part of what...
FBI: 2020 homicides up nearly 30%, largest 1-year jump ever
WASHINGTON — Homicides in the U.S. in 2020 increased nearly 30% over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records, according to figures released Monday by the agency. Homicides and non-negligent manslaughters climbed an estimated 29.4% to 21,570, an increase of 4,901 over 2019, FBI...
U.S. aims to relax testing of contaminants at New Mexico nuke weapon lab
SANTA FE, N.M. — The Energy Department wants to switch to less stringent testing for detecting cancer-causing chemicals at and around one of its premier nuclear weapons laboratories despite concerns from environmentalists and New Mexico regulators. The federal agency is using New Mexico’s three-year review of surface water rules to...
Hospitals fear staffing shortages as vaccine deadlines loom
Hospitals and nursing homes around the country are bracing for worsening staff shortages as state deadlines arrive for health care workers to get vaccinated against covid-19. With ultimatums taking effect this week in states such as New York, California, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the fear is that some employees will...
Former Idaho lawmaker charged with rape is arrested in Georgia
BOISE, Idaho — A former Idaho state lawmaker charged with rape earlier this month has been arrested in Georgia. Aaron von Ehlinger is being held without bond in the Clayton County, Ga., jail on a “fugitive from justice” charge, according to court records. He was arrested Saturday in connection with...
New York City to hire forecaster, beef up warnings after Ida flooding
NEW YORK — New York City is planning to hire a private weather forecaster, design more systems to catch and drain water and issue earlier and more aggressive warnings to residents under a new plan to respond to heavy rainfall like the deadly deluge Hurricane Ida dropped on the city...
R&B superstar R. Kelly convicted in sex trafficking trial
R. Kelly, the R&B superstar known for his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly,” was convicted Monday in a sex trafficking trial after decades of avoiding criminal responsibility for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children. A jury of seven men and five women found Kelly guilty of...
Biden gets covid-19 booster shot after authorization
President Joe Biden received his covid-19 booster shot on Monday, days after federal regulators recommended a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for Americans age 65 or older and approved them for others with preexisting medical conditions and high-risk work environments. “The most important thing we need to do is...
Illinois man wins marathon after 2 leaders take wrong route
MOLINE, Ill. — An Illinois man unexpectedly won the Quad Cities Marathon this weekend when the two Kenyan runners who had far outpaced him were disqualified after being diverted off the course by a race volunteer bicyclist. Tyler Pence crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 6 seconds...
Biden administration unveils new plan for young immigrants
The Biden administration on Monday renewed efforts to shield hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States as young children from deportation, the latest maneuver in a long-running drama over the policy’s legality. The proposed regulation attempts to satisfy concerns of a federal judge in Houston who...
Vaccination deadline arrives for NY healthcare workersVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — As the deadline closed in for hospital and nursing home workers in New York state to be vaccinated against covid-19, Gov. Kathy Hochul made an 11th-hour plea to holdout health care workers to get inoculated. “To those who have not yet made that decision, please do the...
