U.S./World category, Page 821
Leak at wastewater pond prompts evacuations in Florida
BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a storage pond of wastewater threatened to cause flooding and collapse a system with radioactive material. Officials in Florida were evacuating homes and a highway Saturday near the large reservoir in the...
Pressure mounts on corporations to denounce GOP voting bills
ATLANTA — Liberal activists are stepping up calls for corporate America to denounce Republican efforts to tighten state voting laws, and businesses accustomed to cozy political relationships now find themselves in the middle of a growing partisan fight over voting rights. Pressure is mounting on leading companies in Texas, Arizona...
Unique 4/3/21 date draws lines for Vegas wedding licenses
LAS VEGAS — Soon-to-be newlyweds lined up out the door of the marriage license office in Las Vegas on Friday, ahead of a unique date to tie the knot: 4/3/21. Nearly 700 couples obtained licenses for the Saturday date, said Jeff Klein, a spokesman for the Clark County Marriage Bureau,...
Taiwan prosecutors probe train crash that killed 51
HUALIEN COUNTY, Taiwan — Prosecutors in Taiwan said Saturday they questioned the owner of an unmanned truck that rolled onto a rail track and caused the country’s worst train disaster in decades that killed 51 people and injured 146, though no charges have been filed. The train was carrying 494...
Officer killed in attack outside Capitol an 18-year veteran
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Capitol Police officer who died Friday after a man rammed his car into him and another officer at a barricade was identified as an 18-year veteran of the force. William “Billy” Evans joined the department in 2003 and was a member of its first responders unit....
Video shows Oklahoma jailer being brutalized by inmates
The Oklahoma City Police Department released a video Friday showing inmates drag, beat and stab a jailer before police shot and killed one who was holding a homemade knife to the jailer’s neck. The graphic video also shows police and sheriff’s deputies enter the pod at the Oklahoma County Detention...
April, the giraffe that became an online star, dies
HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. — April, the giraffe that became a sensation when a rural New York zoo livestreamed her 2017 pregnancy and delivery, was euthanized Friday because of advancing arthritis, the zoo said. “She is a precious member of our family, and while we knew this day would eventually come, our...
Russia fines Twitter for not taking down calls to protest
A court in Moscow on Friday fined Twitter for not taking down calls encouraging minors to take part in unauthorized rallies, the latest in a series of moves against the social media giant that has been used to amplify dissent in Russia. The court found Twitter guilty on three counts...
Florida Gov. DeSantis issues order banning ‘vaccine passports’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Friday banning businesses from requiring customers to show proof they have been vaccinated against covid-19 in order to get service. The Republican governor had previously announced his intent to issue an order banning so-called “vaccine passports.” His action also...
Man rams car into 2 Capitol police; 1 officer, driver killed
WASHINGTON — A Capitol Police officer was killed Friday after a man rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol and then emerged wielding a knife. It was the second line-of-duty death this year for a department still struggling to heal from the Jan. 6...
Lieutenant: Kneeling on Floyd’s neck ‘totally unnecessary’
MINNEAPOLIS — Kneeling on George Floyd ‘s neck while he was handcuffed and in the prone position was “top-tier, deadly force” and “totally unnecessary,” the head of the Minneapolis Police Department’s homicide division testified Friday. “If your knee is on a person’s neck, that can kill him,” said Lt. Richard...
In ghostly border video, dangers for migrant kids revealed
PHOENIX — A border wall. Smugglers. Small children being dropped into America in the darkness. A grainy video released Wednesday by authorities — its figures visible only in ghostly white outline, its stark storyline dramatic and obvious — captures, in mere seconds, the dangers for migrant children at the southern...
Officials: Elementary teacher solicited sex with 2-year-old
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida elementary school teacher is facing charges alleging he solicited online to have sex with a 2-year-old and traveled to meet the child. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Xavier Donte Alexander, 28, was arrested Thursday on felony...
Myanmar cuts wireless internet service amid coup protests
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s wireless broadband internet services were shut down on Friday by order of the military, local providers said, as protesters continued to defy the threat of lethal violence to oppose the junta’s takeover. A directive from the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Thursday instructed that “all...
AP-NORC poll: Majority in U.S. back easier voter registration
WASHINGTON — Democrats’ proposals to overhaul voting in the U.S. won solid — although not overwhelming — support from Americans in a new survey measuring the popularity of major pieces of the sweeping legislation in Congress. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found about half of Americans...
U.S., Iran say they’ll begin indirect talks on nuclear program
The United States and Iran said Friday that they would begin negotiations through intermediaries next week to try to get both countries back into an accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program, nearly three years after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal. The announcement marked the first major...
Train hits truck that slid onto track in Taiwan, killing 51
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A train barreled into an unmanned truck that had rolled onto the track Friday in Taiwan, leaving at least 51 people dead and dozens injured in the island’s deadliest rail disaster. Many passengers were crushed, while some survivors were forced to climb out of windows and walk...
Colorado latest to weigh ban on Native American mascots
DENVER — Colorado lawmakers are considering a proposal that would ban Native American mascots in public schools and colleges amid a nationwide push for racial justice that gained new momentum last year following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and the NFL team in Washington changing its name. The measure, which...
Eastern Caribbean dollar goes digital, a help for unbanked
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Eastern Caribbean has created its own form of digital currency meant to help speed transactions and serve people without bank accounts. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank said its “DCash” is the first such blockchain-based currency introduced by any of the world’s currency unions, though...
Ohio to begin vaccinating students on college campuses
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In an effort to outrun the coronavirus, Ohio will begin to ramp up vaccination numbers by meeting people where they are: college campuses, workplaces and churches. But requiring vaccinations remains off the table, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday. Beginning next week, the state will work with...
Explainer: Witnesses relive trauma, guilt over Floyd’s death
The first days of testimony at the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death have been dominated by witnesses to his arrest and countless videos that forced them to relive the trauma of it all over again. One man who shouted “You can’t win!” at...
Rider injured when ejected from Tennessee mountain coaster
GATLINBURG, Tenn. — A rider was ejected from a mountain coaster in Tennessee and hospitalized with head, wrist and ankle injuries, according to state officials. A report submitted by the owner to the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development says the incident occurred Monday on the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster...
Pressley, Warren push Biden to nix $50,000 in student debt
BOSTON — President Joe Biden should help those struggling under crushing student loan debt by immediately canceling up to $50,000 of debt for federal student loan borrowers, Democratic elected officials said Thursday. Biden can make the move by using existing authority granted to him under the Higher Education Act, said...
Mitch McConnell urges fellow Republicans to get covid-19 vaccines
LOUISVILLE, Ky — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his fellow Republicans to be vaccinated against covid-19 during a visit to a western Kentucky hospital Thursday. “As a Republican man, I wasn’t reluctant to get it when I was eligible and I would encourage everybody to do that,” he said....
Egypt expects $1 billion in damages over stuck ship in Suez
CAIRO — Egypt is expecting more than $1 billion in compensation after a cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, according to the top canal official. He also warned the ship and its cargo will not be allowed leave Egypt if the issue of damages goes to...
