U.S./World category, Page 860
Governors complain over pace of covid-19 vaccine shipments
Governors bitterly accused the Trump administration Friday of deceiving the states about the amount of covid-19 vaccine they can expect to receive as they ramp up vaccinations for senior citizens and others. But the government attributed the anger to confusion and misguided expectations on the part of the states. Meanwhile,...
N.Y. prosecutors interview Michael Cohen about Trump finances
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors conducted an hourslong interview Thursday of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, asking a range of questions about Trump’s business dealings, according to three people familiar with the meeting. The interview focused in part on Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank, his biggest...
Biden picks geneticist as science adviser, puts in Cabinet
President-elect Joe Biden announced Friday that he has chosen a pioneer in mapping the human genome — the so-called “book of life” — to be his chief science adviser and is elevating the top science job to a Cabinet position. Biden nominated Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute...
Vaccines to stimulus checks: Here’s what’s in Biden plan
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden is proposing a $1.9 trillion plan to expand coronavirus vaccinations, help individuals and jump-start the economy. The plan, which would require congressional approval, is packed with proposals on health care, education, labor and cybersecurity. On Friday, he outlined a five-step approach to getting the...
Mormon leaders condemn ‘lawless behavior’ at U.S. Capitol
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints condemned “lawless behavior” and the violence of rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol in a statement Friday that marked the faith’s first public comments since the Jan. 6 attack by pro-Trump loyalists. Top leaders from the Utah-based...
NRA declares bankruptcy, plans to incorporate in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — The National Rifle Association announced Friday it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will to incorporate the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group in Texas instead of New York, where a state lawsuit is trying to put the organization out of business. The announcement came months after...
Official: No ‘direct evidence’ of plot to kill at Capitol
PHOENIX — Federal prosecutors said there was “strong evidence” the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials,” but the head of the investigation cautioned Friday that the probe is still in its early stages and there was no “direct evidence” of...
MTA: New York City bus driver refuses drug test after careening off bridge
NEW YORK — A bus dramatically plunged off a bridge in New York City late Thursday, leaving its front half hanging over a highway ramp, its fall broken only by the road below. The 55-year-old driver broke his jaw in the crash and refused to submit to a drug and...
$500K in Bitcoin sent from France to U.S. far-right groups
PARIS — A French computer programmer transferred more than $500,000 in Bitcoin to far-right activists just before his death last month, including some involved in last week’s riot in Washington, researchers said Friday. Chainalysis, a firm that investigates Bitcoin transactions, found that the majority of the 22 transactions on Dec....
Defense Department calling governors for more Guard troops for D.C.
WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials are scrambling to call governors and asking whether they have any more National Guard troops they can send to Washington to help protect the Capitol and the city. A defense official familiar with the discussions said law enforcement leaders and other authorities have now determined...
Federal watchdogs open probe of response to Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — Federal watchdogs launched a sweeping review of how the FBI, the Pentagon and other law enforcement agencies responded to the riot at the U.S. Capitol, including whether there were failures in information sharing and other preparations that left the historic symbol of democracy vulnerable to assault by a...
Russia follows U.S. in withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty
MOSCOW — Russia said on Friday that it will withdraw from an international treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities after the U.S. exit from the pact, compounding the challenges faced by the incoming administration of president-elect Joe Biden. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. withdrawal...
Pentagon says U.S. has dropped to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has met its goal of reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan to about 2,500 by Friday, a drawdown that may have violated a last-minute congressional prohibition. The reduction could complicate matters for the incoming Biden administration, which must determine how to handle a Trump...
Woman fatally shot as she pursues man who stole cellphone
CLEVELAND — A man who stole a woman’s cellphone after she set it on the counter at a Cleveland convenience store fatally shot her when she chased after him, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday in the Glenville neighborhood. Andrea Randle, 32, was shopping in the store...
At least 34 dead as Indonesia quake topples homes, buildings
MAMUJU, Indonesia — A strong, shallow earthquake shook Indonesia’s Sulawesi island just after midnight Friday, toppling homes and buildings, triggering landslides and killing at least 34 people. More than 600 people were injured during the magnitude 6.2 quake, which sent people fleeing their homes in the darkness. Authorities were still...
Former Italian leader Berlusconi released from hospital
MILAN — Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was released Friday from a hospital in the French Riviera city-state of Monaco where he underwent medical tests for heart problems, his press office said. The 84-year-old three-time premier said in a message to supporters that his health was good and that he...
Arkansas man accused of beating officer with U.S. flagpole at Capitol
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man was accused Thursday of beating a police officer with a pole flying a U.S. flag during the riot last week at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents. In an arrest affidavit filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, an FBI agent said...
Prosecutor: Capitol rioter aimed ‘to take hostages’
FORT WORTH, Texas — A retired Air Force officer who was part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week carried plastic zip-tie handcuffs because he intended “to take hostages,” a prosecutor said Thursday in a Texas court. “He means to take hostages. He means to kidnap, restrain,...
North Korea holds huge military parade as Kim vows nuclear might
North Korea rolled out developmental ballistic missiles designed to be launched from submarines and other military hardware in a parade that punctuated leader Kim Jong Un’s defiant calls to expand his nuclear weapons program. State media said Kim took center stage in a parade Thursday night celebrating a major ruling...
Cleveland school therapist charged in Capitol Hill riots
CLEVELAND — A Cleveland school occupational therapist who resigned after the riots at the U.S. Capitol was charged Thursday with taking part in the breach. Christine Priola, 49, was arrested at her home and charged with entering a restricted building, violent entry and unlawful activities on Capitol grounds, said FBI...
FBI tracking ‘extensive’ online chatter about armed protestsVideo
WASHINGTON — The FBI is tracking an “extensive amount of concerning online chatter,” including calls for armed protests leading up to next week’s presidential inauguration, Director Chris Wray said Thursday. Wray, in his first public appearance since the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, said in a security briefing...
Most major U.S. airlines ban guns in luggage for D.C. flightsVideo
Airlines and airports say they are stepping up security before next week’s presidential inauguration, with Delta and other major airlines saying they will prohibit passengers flying to the Washington area from putting guns in checked bags. The moves follow the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of...
Delaware man photographed with Confederate flag during Capitol siege arrestedVideo
A Delaware man photographed carrying a Confederate battle flag during a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol was arrested Thursday after authorities used the image to help identify him, federal prosecutors said. A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said that Kevin Seefried, who...
Australia to kill pigeon that crossed Pacific from Oregon
A racing pigeon has survived an extraordinary 8,000-mile Pacific Ocean crossing from the United States to find a new home in Australia. Now authorities consider the bird a quarantine risk and plan to kill it. Kevin Celli-Bird said Thursday he discovered the exhausted bird that arrived in his Melbourne backyard...
Heartbeat abortion ban may finally pass in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers are again considering a bill that would ban most abortions in the state and it seems much more likely to pass this time thanks to conservative gains in the General Assembly and at the U.S. Supreme Court. The ban on abortions once a fetal...
