U.S./World category, Page 891
Chicago Mayor Lightfoot defends joining crowd celebrating Biden-Harris win as virus cases surge
CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday defended her appearance last weekend when she joined a crowd celebrating the presumptive win of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. During a morning interview on MSNBC, the mayor was asked about joining revelers Saturday amid a spike in covid-19 cases in Chicago and...
SpaceX crew flight delayed; Musk gets mixed COVID-19 results
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX delayed its second astronaut flight by a day because of high wind and weather conditions that could jeopardize the recovery and recycling of the rocket booster, pushing the launch to Sunday. Friday’s postponement news came after SpaceX chief Elon Musk disclosed he had gotten mixed...
Iowa justices toss murder conviction over jury instructions
The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday tossed out a murder conviction and ordered a new trial for a man accused of the gruesome 2017 stabbing death of his girlfriend. In a split decision, the state’s high court ordered a new trial for Gregory Michael Davis, 30, after finding his trial...
Masked workers start presidential hand tally in Georgia
ATLANTA — Masked election workers in teams of two began counting ballots Friday in counties across Georgia, a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by a new state law. The law requires that one race be audited to check that new election machines counted...
U.S. citizenship test adds more questions, draws criticism
PHOENIX — An updated U.S. citizenship test will require applicants to answer more questions than before and could slow down the number of tests held each day, experts said. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency on Friday announced the updated test now has 128 civics items to study and...
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak tests positive for covid-19
CARSON CITY, Nev.— Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday said he has tested positive for covid-19 as the virus surges to record levels in the state and across the U.S. The 66-year-old Democrat is the fifth governor to report testing positive for the coronavirus this year. Three governors, two Republicans...
Oregon, New Mexico order lockdowns as other states resist
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The governors of Oregon and New Mexico ordered near-lockdowns Friday in the most aggressive response yet to the latest wave of coronavirus infections shattering records across the U.S., even as many of their counterparts in other states show little appetite for reimposing the hard-line restrictions of last...
Michigan governor seeks shutdown of Great Lakes oil pipeline
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. Whitmer’s office notified Canadian company Enbridge Inc. that it was revoking an easement granted 67 years ago to extend a roughly...
Tropical Storm Iota forms, could follow Eta’s deadly path
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Just as the remnants of Eta finally blew out to sea on Friday, another storm formed that could follow its path of death and destruction into Central America this weekend, and Tropical Storm Theta was moving closer to Europe. Hurricane experts were closely watching the Caribbean,...
West Virginia tightens mask mandate, delays winter sports
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday that facial coverings will be required at all times in businesses and other indoor spaces starting at midnight. The Republican governor said businesses will need to post signs notifying entrants of the mask requirement under his executive order. “It’s just...
2 workers dead, 1 person missing in Connecticut veterans hospital blast
WEST HAVEN, Conn. — An apparent steam pipe explosion Friday in a maintenance building at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Connecticut killed a VA employee and a contractor and left a third person missing, officials said. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said patient care was not affected by the blast on...
Texas AG whistleblowers sue for wrongful firing, retaliation
DALLAS — Four former deputies to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are suing him for wrongful firing and retaliating against them for reporting him to the FBI for alleged bribery and abuse of office. Their lawsuit adds to the deepening legal and political peril for the high-profile Republican, who is...
Dutch govt bans New Year’s Eve fireworks to help hospitals
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A year overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic will not go out with the usual bang in the Netherlands after the Dutch government announced Friday it is banning the sale and use of most fireworks. New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands is traditionally celebrated with fireworks, with...
Vatican calling: Pope congratulates Joe Biden on election
It’s not exactly divine intervention, but even the pope considers the U.S. presidential race over. President-elect Joe Biden, a lifelong Roman Catholic, spoke to Pope Francis on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump refusing to concede. Trump claims — without evidence — that the election was stolen from him through massive...
Polish bishops defend John Paul II after McCarrick report
WARSAW, Poland — Polish bishops defended St. John Paul II on Friday against evidence that he rejected reports that ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick slept with his seminarians, seeking to salvage a papal legacy that has been badly tarnished by his inaction on clergy sexual abuse. The head of the Polish bishops...
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake hits remote corner of Nevada
MINA, Nev. — A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck a remote corner of Nevada early Friday, shaking the desert and a nearby town, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake struck at 1:13 a.m. and was centered about 21 miles southeast of Mina, a town of about 155, at a...
11 killed as India, Pakistan trade fire in disputed Kashmir
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani and Indian troops clashed in disputed Kashmir, leaving 11 people dead, including three Indian soldiers, and wounding more than 30 others on both sides, officials said Friday. The fighting came amid increasing tension between the South Asian neighbors. In a statement, Pakistani military and government officials...
Germany criticizes new Russian sanctions over Navalny case
BERLIN — The German government on Friday criticized an announcement by Russia’s foreign minister that Moscow is imposing sanctions against German and French officials in response to EU measures taken over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Navalny, a corruption investigator and longtime foe of Russian President Vladimir...
Justice Department: ‘Poor judgment’ used in Jeffrey Epstein plea deal, but finds no misconduct
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department report has found former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta exercised “poor judgment” in handling an investigation into wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was a top federal prosecutor in Florida. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, is a culmination of an investigation by the Justice...
Belarus rights group counts 900 cases against opposition
KYIV, Ukraine — A human rights group said Thursday that authorities in Belarus have brought more than 900 criminal cases carrying potential yearslong prison sentences against opposition figures and protesters in connection with the country’s challenged presidential election and the anti-government demonstrations that followed. The tally released by the Viasna...
Sculpture restoration work draws laughs, memories in Spain
MADRID — Restoration work on a sculpture in northern Spain has resurrected memories of a restored Christ fresco in another Spanish city eight years ago that drew ridicule as well as tourists. The latest incident concerns a relief sculpture on the exterior of an ornate office building in the city...
Tunnel plan near Stonehenge gets U.K. government consentVideo
LONDON — The British government went against the recommendations of planning officials Thursday when it approved controversial plans for a road tunnel to be built near the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge in southern England. The project, which is aimed at trying to ease traffic along a stretch of road widely...
Support for marijuana grows: see the latest states to legalize
As voters in more U.S. states this month legalized recreational marijuana use, longtime pot-friendly Oregon became the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of other drugs — including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said he thinks Pennsylvania should be a leader in drug reform,...
Peacekeeping force: 6 Americans, 2 others killed in Egypt helicopter crash
JERUSALEM — The international force that monitors the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement said Thursday that eight peacekeepers, including six Americans, were killed when one of its helicopters crashed during a routine mission in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. A ninth peacekeeper was badly injured. The Multinational Force and Observers said a French peacekeeper...
Appeals court clears Harvard of racial bias in admissions
BOSTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling clearing Harvard University of discrimination against Asian American applicants. Two judges on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected claims from an anti-affirmative action group that accuses the Ivy League University of imposing a “racial penalty”...
