U.S./World category, Page 778
Icebergs as tall as Eiffel Tower once flowed past Outer Banks to Florida, study finds
A series of mysterious lines carved on the seafloor off North Carolina’s Outer Banks have been identified as “highly unexpected” proof that icebergs once filled the horizon along the East Coast. It is believed the massive chunks of ice drifted up to 5,000 miles from Canada, and could be seen...
Despite warning, town deemed condo building in ‘good shape’
Despite an engineer’s warning of major structural problems, a town building official told board members their Florida high-rise condominium was in “very good shape” almost three years before it collapsed, according to minutes of that meeting released Monday. The Surfside official, Rosendo “Ross” Prieto, was quoted as making those comments...
Plea agreement hearing set for West Virginia woman in Capitol riot
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A plea agreement hearing is set next month for a West Virginia woman accused of taking a “Members Only” sign near the Senate chambers as she accompanied supporters of former President Donald Trump in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The hearing for Gracyn Dawn Courtright...
Yabba dabba dispute resolved: Flintstones house can stay
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. — Fred Flintstone fought the law — and he won. Technically, the owner of the fanciful Flintstones house in a posh San Francisco suburb settled a lawsuit with the town of Hillsborough. But the agreement will allow Fred and his friends to remain. In a yabba dabba dispute...
Moscow court rejects appeal from imprisoned American
MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Monday rejected an imprisoned American’s appeal against his nine-year sentence for assaulting police officers. The Moscow City Court upheld the sentence issued last year by a lower court, which convicted Trevor Reed for an altercation in August 2019 in Moscow, where he was studying...
Juul to pay $40 million in North Carolina teen vaping suit settlement
DURHAM N.C. — Electronic cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc. will pay $40 million to North Carolina and take more action to prevent underage use and sales, according to a landmark legal settlement announced on Monday after years of accusations that the company had fueled an explosion in teen vaping. A...
Study nixes life in clouds of Venus, but maybe in Jupiter’s?
A new study is throwing cold water on the possibility of life in the clouds of Venus. Scientists from Europe and the U.S. reported Monday there isn’t nearly enough water vapor in the scorching planet’s clouds to support life as we know it. The team looked into the matter following...
Police rescue spooked nude sunbathers from Australian forest
Police have fined two men who had to be rescued from an Australian forest after they were startled by a deer while nude sunbathing on a beach and became lost. The men called for help about 6 p.m. Sunday after they became lost in the Royal National Park south of...
Religion and free speech among cases justices could add
WASHINGTON — A closely watched voting rights dispute from Arizona is among five cases standing between the Supreme Court and its summer break. But even before the justices wrap up their work, likely later this week, they could say whether they’ll add more high-profile issues to what already promises to...
Polish church reports recent clergy abuse of 368 children
WARSAW, Poland — In its latest report on the sexual abuse of minors, Poland’s Catholic Church says 292 clergymen allegedly abused 368 boys and girls from 2018 though 2020. The report released Monday comes at a time when the Vatican is investigating reports of abuse and of a lack of...
Man wounded by stray bullet during gunfire in Times Square
NEW YORK — A man who was reportedly visiting New York City with his family was shot and wounded in Times Square by a stray bullet during gunfire from a possible dispute between vendors, authorities said. The 21-year-old victim was shot in the back about 5:15 p.m. Sunday, police said....
Crews spend 5th day atop shaky pile of collapsed concreteVideo
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Rescuers searching for a fifth day for survivors of a Florida condo building collapse used bucket brigades and heavy machinery Monday as they worked atop a precarious mound of pulverized concrete, twisted steel and the remnants of dozens of households. Authorities said their efforts were still a...
Nations chart future steps against Islamic State extremists
ROME — As the U.S. works on its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, members of the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group met Monday to plot future steps against the extremist group. The meeting came just a day after the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border....
U.S. airstrikes target Iran-backed militias in Syria, Iraq
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military, under the direction of President Joe Biden, carried out airstrikes against what it said were “facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups” near the border between Iraq and Syria, drawing condemnation from Iraq’s military and calls for revenge by the militias. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby...
Racial motivation being probed in shooting of 2 Black people in MassachusettsVideo
WINTHROP, Mass. — Authorities are investigating whether a man who killed two people in the Boston suburb of Winthrop targeted the victims because they were Black after officials found “troubling white supremacist rhetoric” in the gunman’s handwriting, a prosecutor said Sunday. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who identified the...
Unprecedented: Northwest heat wave builds, records fallVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Intense. Prolonged. Record-breaking. Unprecedented. Abnormal. Dangerous. That’s how the National Weather Service described the historic heat wave that is hitting the Pacific Northwest, pushing daytime temperatures into the triple digits and breaking all-time high temperature records in places where many residents don’t have air conditioning. Sunday’s forecasted...
Bipartisan infrastructure deal back on track after walk-backVideo
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan deal to invest nearly $1 trillion in the nation’s infrastructure appeared to be back on track Sunday after a stark walk-back by President Joe Biden to his earlier insistence that the bill be coupled with an even larger Democrat-backed measure in order to earn his signature....
Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator for Alaska, dies at 91
SEASIDE, Calif. — Mike Gravel, a former U.S. senator from Alaska who read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record and confronted Barack Obama about nuclear weapons during a later presidential run, has died. He was 91. Gravel, who represented Alaska as a Democrat in the Senate from 1969 to...
Alzheimer’s drug stirs hope for patients, worry for doctors
In the weeks since a new Alzheimer’s drug was approved, hopeful patients have bombarded Dr. Alireza Atri with calls and emails about a treatment that has sparked both excitement and skepticism. They want to know if the drug might be right for them. Like many physicians, Atri has no easy...
Before building collapse, $9 million in repairs needed
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nearly three years before an oceanfront building collapsed near Miami, an engineering firm estimated that major repairs the building needed would cost more than $9 million, according to newly released emails. The email from the firm of Morabito Consultants was among a series of documents released...
Families of the missing visit site of Florida condo collapse
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Families of the missing visited the scene of the Florida condo building collapse Sunday as rescuers kept digging through the mound of rubble and clinging to hope that someone could yet be alive somewhere under the broken concrete and twisted metal. The death toll rose by just...
Experts: Impact of Chauvin case on policing yet to be seen
Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin ‘s conviction and lengthy prison sentence in George Floyd’s murder could lead to better police hiring and training, law enforcement experts say. It could spur more effort to build trust among officers and communities. And it might have made the public — and future...
5 die in hot air balloon crash in New Mexico’s largest city
Five people died after a hot air balloon they were riding in hit power lines in New Mexico’s largest city and the gondola crashed to the ground, police said Saturday. The crash happened around 7 a.m. on Albuquerque’s west side, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. No identities have been released,...
Report showed ‘major’ damage before Florida condo collapse
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The ground-floor pool deck of the oceanfront condominium building that collapsed near Miami was resting on a concrete structural slab that had “major structural damage” and needed to be extensively repaired, according to a 2018 engineering report that also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete...
All aboard! 1st post-pandemic cruise ship readies to sail
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The first cruise ship to leave a U.S. port since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a 15-month standstill is preparing to set sail with nearly all vaccinated passengers on board. Celebrity Edge will depart Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 6 p.m. Saturday with the number...
