U.S./World category, Page 944
For racial justice protests, U.S. taps tactical border squads
WASHINGTON — They are the most highly trained members of the Border Patrol, agents who confront drug traffickers along the U.S.-Mexico border and track down dangerous fugitives in rugged terrain. One day this past week, they were in a far difference setting — a city park in Portland, Oregon, looking...
In-store dancing leads to Hawaii visitor quarantine arrest
HONOLULU — Investigators with the Hawaii attorney general’s office arrested a 20-year-old woman after seeing videos of her dancing in a store and dining out when she was supposed to be obeying a traveler quarantine the state mandated to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Anne Salamanca arrived in...
Pro-Trump women’s group seeks to paint message on NYC streets, citing Black Lives Matter murals
NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio can’t allow “Black Lives Matter” to be painted on the street and then reject the message, “Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering Women to Make a Difference!” a new lawsuit argues. A Virginia-based group called “Women for America First” says the city wrongly rejected its...
Police: Fire at Arizona Democratic headquarters was arson
PHOENIX — A fire that destroyed part of the Arizona and Maricopa County Democratic Party headquarters was an act of arson, authorities said Friday. Investigators were gathering surveillance video from nearby buildings after combing the wreckage and concluding the fire was human-caused, authorities said. Nobody was hurt. Police Sgt. Mercedes...
South Texas prepares for Tropical Storm Hanna amid pandemic
HOUSTON — Officials in South Texas, hit by the coronavirus pandemic in recent weeks, said Friday they’re also prepared to handle any challenges from Tropical Storm Hanna, which was headed their way and expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall this weekend. “And don’t feel like since we’ve...
Colorado school gunman gets life with possibility of parole
A teenager who told authorities that he launched a fatal shooting attack on his suburban Denver school last year with a classmate because he wanted them to experience trauma like that he had experienced was sentenced on Friday to life in prison plus 38 years with the possibility of parole...
Choctaw chief chosen to help design new Mississippi flag
JACKSON, Miss. — The chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will help design a new Mississippi state flag that does not include the Confederate battle emblem. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that he is appointing Chief Cyrus Ben and two other people to a nine-member flag commission....
Judge denies Oregon push to limit U.S. agents during arrests
PORTLAND, Ore. — A U.S. judge on Friday denied an order sought by Oregon’s top law enforcement officer to restrict federal agents’ actions when they arrest people during nightly protests that have roiled Portland and pitted local officials against the Trump administration. Demonstrators in the progressive city have taken to...
Trump mocks Portland mayor who was gassed by federal troops
President Donald Trump called Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler “pathetic” after the Oregon politician was gassed by federal troops while standing among protesters outside a courthouse. “He made a fool out of himself. He wanted to be among the people, so he went into the crowd and they knocked the hell...
Body of missing photographer found in western Colorado
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A search and rescue crew on Friday discovered the body of a missing photographer along a hiking trail in western Colorado, authorities said. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the body of Conrad Earnest, 62, was found near Glade Park, south of...
U.S. prison populations down 8% amid coronavirus outbreak
RICHMOND, Va. — Stephanie Parris was finishing a two-year prison sentence for a probation violation when she heard she’d be going home three weeks early because of COVID-19. It made her feel bad to leave when she had so few days left at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. She...
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen released from prison again
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer was released Friday after a judge ruled that he had been sent back to prison from home confinement as retaliation for his plan to release a book critical of Trump before November’s election. Michael Cohen walked out of a federal prison...
Mandatory masks becoming the rule amid Europe’s virus uptick
ROME — New rules on wearing masks in England came into effect Friday, with people entering shops, banks and supermarkets now required to wear face coverings, while Romania reported a record for daily infections and new cases nearly doubled in France. People in England can be fined as much as...
New poll shows optimism fading that jobs lost to virus will returnVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced a layoff during the coronavirus pandemic now believe those jobs are lost forever, a new poll shows, as temporary cutbacks give way to shuttered businesses, bankruptcies and lasting payroll cuts. It’s a sharp change after initial optimism the jobs would return....
China tells U.S. to close consulate in Chengdu in growing spat
BEIJING — China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. The move was a response to the Trump administration’s order this week for...
Christopher Columbus statues taken down at 2 Chicago parks
CHICAGO — A statue of Christopher Columbus in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park was taken down early Friday, a week after protesters trying to topple the monument to the Italian explorer clashed with police. Crews used a large crane to remove the statue from its pedestal as a small crowd gathered...
Vietnam bans wildlife imports, markets amid new health fears
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam announced Friday that it was banning wildlife imports and would close wildlife markets in response to renewed concerns about the threat from diseases that can jump from animals to humans, such as the virus that causes covid-19. An order signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc...
German curator kidnapped in Iraq freed in security operation
BAGHDAD — A German arts curator who was kidnapped earlier this week was freed Friday by Iraqi security forces, security and government officials said. Hella Mewis was freed at 6:25 a.m. local time (11:25 p.m. Thursday) in an operation southeast of the capital Baghdad in which security forces raided a...
Florida Walmart shopper charged with pulling gun during mask dispute
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— A Florida man is facing felony charges for pointing a gun at another Walmart shopper who had told him to wear a mask, officials said Thursday. Vincent Scavetta, 28, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and improper exhibition of a firearm after surrendering Wednesday to...
John Lewis to lie in state at the Capitol next week
WASHINGTON — Rep. John Lewis will lie in state at the Capitol next week, with the public viewing extended over two days and moved outdoors to allow for social distancing and public health precautions because of covid-19, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday. The Georgia...
Judge orders release of Jeffrey Epstein records in Ghislaine Maxwell case
A federal judge in New York on Thursday ordered the unsealing of key documents from a settled civil lawsuit involving Ghislaine Maxwell and victims alleging sex abuse and trafficking by the late Jeffrey Epstein. Senior District Judge Loretta Preska ruled from the bench in a telephonic hearing that the public...
Dearth of blockbusters amid outbreak again delays AMC theater reopenings
With Major League Baseball and the NBA resuming play — albeit with coronavirus testing and safety protocols and without fans in the stands — Americans are getting back a small slice of normalcy and something to occupy their minds other than daily covid-19 case counts. But cases are again spiking...
Lawsuit alleges former Cardinal McCarrick, others abused youth at beach house
A new lawsuit alleges former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and several other clerics sexually abused a teenage boy at a New Jersey beach house in the 1980s. The suit filed this week in state Superior Court in New Jersey claims the youth, who is not named, was first abused...
Watchdog to review conduct of federal agents in Portland, D.C.Video
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department inspector general said Thursday that it will conduct a review of the conduct of federal agents who responded to unrest in Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C., following concerns from members of Congress and the public. The watchdog investigation will examine use-of-force allegations in Portland, where...
WHO chief upbraids Pompeo over ‘unacceptable’ allegations
GENEVA — The director-general of the World Health Organization has upbraided U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making “untrue and unacceptable” allegations, responding to media reports saying Pompeo had claimed the health agency chief was “bought” by China. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted WHO was focusing on “saving lives”...
