U.S./World category, Page 895
Judge rejects moving trial of ex-officers in George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge on Thursday rejected defense requests to move the trial of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death, and also ordered that all four will be tried together instead of separately. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled after defense attorneys had argued that pretrial...
Voters in Jersey Shore town of Margate reject a boardwalk
Not everyone at the Jersey Shore loves boardwalks. Voters in Margate, a well-to-do seaside community near Atlantic City, overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to build a boardwalk along its beachfront. In incomplete tallies released by the Atlantic County Clerk’s office, a non-binding referendum on whether Margate should study the feasibility of...
Fed signals readiness to do more for economy as virus rages
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low near zero Thursday and signaled its readiness to do more if needed to support an economy under threat from a worsening coronavirus pandemic. The Fed announced no new actions after its latest policy meeting but left...
American imprisoned in Russia complains of sleep deprivation
MOSCOW — The brother of an American convicted of espionage in Russia said Thursday that his imprisoned sibling is suffering sleep deprivation at a prison colony where he is serving a 16-year sentence. David Whelan said his brother, Paul, complained that he was being woken up at approximately 2-hour intervals...
Officials name new road in Florida after Trayvon Martin
MIAMI — A section of road that leads to the South Florida high school that Trayvon Martin attended now bears the name of the Black teenager whose 2012 death sparked a movement for social justice. The road became Trayvon Martin Avenue during a brief ceremony on Thursday morning near Dr....
Danish farmers lament decision to cull all Denmark’s minks
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish fur farmers say they’ve been dealt a major blow after the world’s largest mink fur exporter decided to cull all 15 million minks in Denmark’s farms, to minimize the risk of them re-transmitting the coronavirus to humans — a decision that has also raised eyebrows among...
Officials clarify military role in coronavirus vaccination amid wariness
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has often touted the role of the military in distributing a covid-19 vaccine, but health officials close to the process who are concerned about public distrust are taking pains to say the federal government won’t actually be handling vaccines. The president said at the final...
California’s Prop. 22 passed — big win for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash. What’s next?
Facing mounting legal pressure for classifying their vast workforces as contractors rather than employees, gig economy companies put forth what they argued was a better solution — one that would provide some benefits to workers without forcing them to alter their business model. On Tuesday, gig economy companies got their...
France reinforcing its border controls following attacks
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France is reinforcing its border controls after a series of attacks that hit the country in recent weeks. Macron said the number of police and troops in charge of border controls will double from 2,400 now to 4,800. They will...
Alaska search for 7 missing boaters indefinitely postponed
BETHEL, Alaska — Searchers in western Alaska have indefinitely postponed their effort to find seven missing seal hunters. Quinhagak Tribal Police Chief John Peter said he put the search on hold last Saturday for the missing and the boat they were traveling on, KYUK-AM reported Wednesday. “Due to the cold,...
UK extends wage support scheme until March amid new lockdown
LONDON — The British government and the Bank of England joined forces Thursday to provide further support to an economy that is set for a difficult winter following the imposition of new coronavirus lockdown measures. Hours after the central bank increased its monetary stimulus by a bigger than anticipated $195...
Tanzania’s leader sworn in for 2nd term after troubled vote
DODOMA, Tanzania — Tanzania’s populist President John Magufuli took the oath of office for a second five-year term amid tight security Thursday after the opposition called for a fresh election, the disbandment of the electoral commission and an “endless peaceful demonstration” over the Oct. 28 vote. Magufuli over the weekend...
Trump backers converge on vote centers in Michigan, Arizona
Dozens of angry supporters of President Donald Trump converged on vote-counting centers in Detroit and Phoenix as the returns went against him Wednesday in the two key states, while thousands of anti-Trump protesters demanding a complete tally of the ballots in the still-undecided election took to the streets in cities...
Ivory Coast’s Soro calls on military to disobey president
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Prominent dissident Guillaume Soro, a former prime minister who was blocked from running in Ivory Coast’s presidential election, called Wednesday on the country’s military to disobey President Alassane Ouattara after he was allowed to win a controversial third term. Soro’s comments via his Facebook account put...
Democrats win big in Arizona, now a former GOP stronghold
PHOENIX — Democrats have been asking the question for a long time: Is this the year Arizona turns blue? In 2020, the answer was “yes.” Joe Biden won Arizona’s 11 electoral votes for president and Mark Kelly won a seat in the U.S. Senate, ushering in an era of Democratic...
Claim that Sharpie pens ruin Arizona ballots misses the mark
As states across the U.S. release vote totals for the presidential election, some social media users are falsely claiming that ballots are being invalidated in Arizona. The supposed culprit: Sharpie markers. In what’s come to be known as #Sharpiegate, social media posts suggest that election officials in Maricopa County provided...
England readies for new lockdown with retail therapy, final pints
LONDON — Last-minute shoppers in England came out in force Wednesday and thirsty drinkers planned their final freshly poured pints in a pub for the next month as Britain prepared to join large swaths of Europe in a coronavirus lockdown designed to save its health care system from being overwhelmed....
‘You killed my son!’ Philly releases bodycam footage and 911 calls in police killing of Walter Wallace Jr.
PHILADELPHIA — In the moments before two Philadelphia police officers fatally shot Walter Wallace Jr. outside his family’s West Philadelphia home last week, the officers repeatedly told Wallace to put down a knife he was holding, while people on the street yelled that Wallace was “mental” and screamed “no” as...
San Francisco voters approve taxes on CEOs, big businesses
SAN FRANCISCO — Addressing economic disparity laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved several tax measures targeting landlords and big businesses whose CEOs earn far higher than their average workers. Under the new law, any company that pays its top executive 100 times more than their...
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine’s kidnapper is sentenced to 24 years
NEW YORK — A man convicted in the kidnapping of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced to 24 years in prison Wednesday by a judge who cited his leadership role in a gang active nationwide. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer announced the sentence for Anthony Ellison, 33, who has been...
AG: North Dakota governor can’t fill dead candidate’s seat
BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has no authority to appoint a coal company executive to fill a state House seat won by a Republican candidate who died before the election, the attorney general said Wednesday. Burgum announced Wednesday that he was appointing BNI Energy President Wade Boeshans...
In blue and red states, milestone wins for LGBTQ candidates
NEW YORK — Across the nation, LGBTQ candidates achieved milestone victories in Tuesday’s election, including the first transgender person elected to a state Senate, and the first openly gay Black men to win seats in Congress. The landmark wins came not in only blue but also red states such as...
Jittery public turns to liquor, news as presidential race’s fate hangsVideo
PHILADELPHIA — They clung to their cocktails and proclaimed themselves sick with dread. They relentlessly checked the news and went outdoors for fresh air. They bemoaned a wipeout wave that never came and held out hope their favored candidate would still eke out a win. With the fate of the...
World waits nervously, impatiently for U.S. vote count
From Ford Model T cars that popped off the assembly line in just 90 minutes to 60-second service for burgers, the United States has long had a major hand in making the world a frenetic and impatient place, primed and hungry for instant gratification. So waking up to the news...
Flash of luck: Astronomers find cosmic radio burst source
A flash of luck helped astronomers solve a cosmic mystery: What causes powerful but fleeting radio bursts that zip and zigzag through the universe? Scientists have known about these energetic pulses — called fast radio bursts — for about 13 years and have seen them coming from outside our galaxy,...
