U.S./World category, Page 859
School choice lawsuit surge pushes possible high court fight
Vermont is facing at least its second lawsuit in four months over a voucher program that allows students in communities that don’t have schools or are not part of supervisory unions to attend schools of their choice, including approved private institutions. The Vermont system in which certain towns pay tuition...
‘Dark weeks ahead’: Incoming CDC director expects 500,000 covid deaths by mid-February
The first month of Joe Biden’s administration could be the deadliest period in the nation’s covid-19 pandemic, one of his top officials warned Sunday. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who is nominated to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expects the country’s coronavirus death toll to reach 500,000 by...
Russia ready for quick extension of last arms pact with U.S.
MOSCOW — Moscow is ready for a quick deal with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to extend the last remaining arms control pact, which expires in just over two weeks, Russia’s top diplomat said Monday. Months of talks between Russia and President Donald Trump’s administration on the...
Navalny’s arrest adds to tension between Russia and the West
MOSCOW — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s arrest as he arrived in Moscow after recovering from his poisoning with a nerve agent drew criticism from Western nations and calls for his release, with Germany’s foreign minister on Monday calling it “incomprehensible.” Navalny was detained at passport control at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo...
Winter weather hits parts of Europe, from Poland to Turkey
WARSAW, Poland — Extreme cold has hit large parts of Europe, with freezing temperatures cracking railroad tracks in Poland, snow blanketing the Turkish city of Istanbul and smog spiking as coal was being burned to generate heat. Temperatures dropped to minus minus 18 Fahrenheit in some Polish areas overnight, the...
Dog and goat serving as mayor raise money for a playground
FAIR HAVEN, Vt. — A goat and a dog who were each elected mayor have helped raise money to renovate a Vermont community playground. The oddball idea of pet mayor elections to raise money to rehabilitate the playground and to help get local kids civically involved came from a local...
FBI vetting Guard troops in D.C. amid fears of insider attack
WASHINGTON — U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary...
Cowboys for Trump leader arrested over U.S. Capitol riotVideo
SANTA FE, N.M. — A New Mexico county official and founder of the group Cowboys for Trump who had vowed to return to Washington after last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol to place a flag on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk has been arrested Sunday by the FBI. Otero...
Another Tennessee man charged with breaching U.S. Capitol
NASHVILLE — A Tennessee man was charged Sunday with participating in the raid at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, federal authorities said. Blake Austin Reed, 35, of Nashville, was arrested by FBI agents in Nashville, said David W. Boling, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle...
Protests start small at newly fortified U.S. statehousesVideo
Small groups of right-wing protesters — some of them carrying rifles — gathered outside newly fortified statehouses around the country Sunday as National Guard troops and police kept watch to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol. There were no immediate reports of any clashes....
Records: Trump allies behind rally that ignited Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — Members of President Donald Trump’s failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president’s grassroots supporters. A pro-Trump nonprofit...
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny detained after landing in Moscow
MOSCOW — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested Sunday at a Moscow airport as he tried to enter the country from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Navalny’s detention at passport control in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport was...
Protests start small, peacefully at fortified U.S. statehouses
Police and National Guard troops stood sentry at newly fortified statehouses Sunday ahead of demonstrations planned for the leadup to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, as authorities worked to deter a repeat of the recent riot that overran the U.S. Capitol. A few protesters were starting to gather in some cities,...
Powerball jackpot grows to $730M; Mega Millions to be $850M
DES MOINES, Iowa — Lottery players have another chance to win big next week since there were no winners of the top prize for both the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots in their most recent drawings. The Powerball jackpot grew to an estimated $730 million after no one matched all...
Man arrested with handgun, ammo at Washington checkpoint
Police have arrested a man with a handgun and 500 rounds of ammunition at a checkpoint in Washington set up ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wesley Allen Beeler of Front Royal, Virginia, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license after being stopped at the checkpoint near the...
National Guard troops pour into Washington as states answer the call
WASHINGTON — By the busload and planeload, National Guard troops were pouring into the nation’s capital on Saturday, as governors answered the urgent pleas of U.S. defense officials for more troops to help safeguard Washington even as they keep anxious eyes on possible violent protests in their own states. Military...
No winner of Mega Millions $750M; Powerball drawing Saturday
DES MOINES, Iowa — One of the largest jackpots in U.S. history will grow even larger since there was no winner for Friday’s drawing of the Mega Millions’ $750 million top prize. The numbers were 3, 11, 12, 38, 43, with a Mega Ball of 15 and would have marked...
Diary shows how quest for love landed Navy vet in Iran jail
WASHINGTON — Michael White’s long-anticipated trip to Iran was already a disappointment. The love interest he’d gone to visit had stopped seeing him and he’d idled away hours in his hotel room by himself. Then it got much worse. On his final day, the car he and his tour guide...
Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden — an opponent of the federal death penalty. Dustin Higgs, convicted in the killings of three women in...
AP explainer: Why expansion of vaccine to smokers caused a stir
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey this week made millions of people eligible to get the covid-19 vaccine, including smokers, a move that prompted gripes about them skipping to the front of the inoculation line. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy made people 65 and older and those 16 and older with medical...
Woman arrested in Capitol attack: ‘I listen to my president’
DALLAS — A Dallas-area real estate agent who is facing charges for allegedly being part of the pro-President Donald Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week said she’s a “normal person” who listened to her president. Jenna Ryan, 50, is accused of “knowingly” entering or remaining in the...
Biden: We’ll ‘manage the hell’ out of feds’ covid response
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden pledged Friday to boost supplies of coronavirus vaccine and set up new vaccination sites to meet his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. It’s part of a broader covid strategy that also seeks to straighten out snags in testing and ensure minority...
Flint water charges escalate debate over officials’ failures
FLINT, Mich. — When a former Michigan public health director was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Flint water crisis, the man who previously held the job says a chilling thought crossed his mind: It could have been me. “I spent 14 years in that chair,” said Jim Haveman, who...
California bill would ban intersex surgery for young kids
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California lawmaker is trying again to ban some medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children until they are at least 6-years-old, hoping a narrower focus combined with new legislative leadership will be enough to get the first-of-its-kind legislation signed into law. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat...
House speaker’s office invader to be put under house arrest
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol last week was put under house arrest Friday as he awaits trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Wiedemann set a $5,000 bond for Richard Barnett, and...
