U.S./World category, Page 952
Supreme Court rulings keep Trump’s financial records private for now
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court issued a mixed verdict Thursday on demands for President Donald Trump’s financial records that will keep his tax returns, banking and other documents out of the public eye for the time being. The court rejected broad arguments by Trump’s lawyers and the Justice Department that...
Layoffs stuck at high level as 1.3 million seek jobless aid
WASHINGTON — More than 1.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a historically high pace that shows that many employers are still laying people off in the face of a resurgent coronavirus. The persistently elevated level of layoffs are occurring as a spike in virus cases has forced...
Authorities: 1 dead after tornadoes hit western Minnesota
DALTON, Minn. — Two powerful tornadoes damaged farms, left one person dead and at least one other injured in western Minnesota as severe storms moved across parts of the Midwest, authorities said. The National Weather Service told the Otter Tail County sheriff’s office that two tornadoes touched down near Dalton...
Schools or bars? Opening classrooms may mean hard choices
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — President Donald Trump insists that schools reopen this fall. Many parents, educators, doctors and economists want the same thing. But getting children back to school safely could mean keeping high-risk spots like bars and gyms closed. A growing chorus of public health experts is urging federal, state...
Justice Department plows ahead with execution plan next week
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is plowing ahead with its plan to resume federal executions next week for the first time in more than 15 years, despite the coronavirus pandemic raging both inside and outside prisons and stagnating national support for the death penalty. Three people are scheduled to die...
Harvard, MIT sue to block ICE rule on international studentsVideo
BOSTON — Colleges and universities pushed back Wednesday against the Trump administration’s decision to make international students leave the country if they plan on taking classes entirely online this fall, with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filing a lawsuit to try to block it, and others promising...
Minneapolis officer to George Floyd: ‘It takes … a lot of oxygen to talk’
MINNEAPOLIS — As George Floyd told Minneapolis police officers that he couldn’t breathe more than 20 times in the moments before he died, the officer who pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck dismissed his pleas, saying “it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk,” according to transcripts...
Alexander Vindman retiring from Army, lawyer blames TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide who played a central role in President Trump’s impeachment case, announced his retirement from the Army on Wednesday in a scathing statement that accused the president of running a “campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation.” The statement from attorney David...
Germany laments U.S. exit from WHO, says EU seeks to reform it
GENEVA — Germany’s health minister on Wednesday lamented the formal U.S. notification of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization as a “setback for international cooperation” and said Europe would work to reform the U.N. health agency. The comments from German Health Minister Jens Spahn epitomized concerns in Europe over...
Supreme Court: Some employers can refuse to offer free birth control
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Trump administration rules allowing some employers to decline to provide contraceptive coverage on religious or moral grounds, which could leave more than 70,000 women without cost-free birth control. The high court ruled 7-2 for the administration, which made a policy change to...
Mary Kay Letourneau, teacher jailed for raping student, dies
SEATTLE — Mary Kay Letourneau, a teacher who married her former sixth-grade student after she was convicted of raping him in a case that drew international headlines, has died. She was 58. Her lawyer David Gehrke told multiple news outlets Letourneau died Tuesday of cancer. He did not immediately return...
U.S. general sees smaller but enduring troop presence in Iraq
WASHINGTON — Six months after a deadly American airstrike in Baghdad enraged Iraqis and fueled demands to send all U.S. troops home, the top U.S. general for the Middle East is talking optimistically about keeping a smaller but enduring military presence there. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S....
Trump pushes state, local leaders to reopen schools in fall
President Donald Trump launched an all-out effort pressing state and local officials to reopen schools this fall, arguing that some are keeping schools closed not because of the risks from the coronavirus pandemic but for political reasons. “They think it’s going to be good for them politically, so they keep...
Chief Justice Roberts was hospitalized overnight after head injury in June
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts was hospitalized overnight last month for an injury he suffered to his forehead after falling while walking for exercise, a U.S. Supreme Court spokeswoman said. Roberts’ doctors believe the fall was because of lightheadedness caused by dehydration and have ruled out a seizure, spokeswoman...
Breonna Taylor’s family argues police had no cause for raidVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville police called off a warrant search of Breonna Taylor’s apartment after a drug suspect was located elsewhere, but then went ahead with the deadly raid to look for other suspects with no connection to Taylor, her family says in a new court filing. Taylor, a emergency...
New rules: Foreign students must leave U.S. if classes go online
International students will be forced to leave the United States or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued by federal immigration authorities. The guidelines, issued Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even...
U.S. notifies UN of withdrawal from World Health OrganizationVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, although the pullout won’t take effect until next year, meaning it could be rescinded under a new administration or if circumstances change. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential...
Usain Bolt shares name, 1st photos of newborn daughter
Sprinting icon and former Olympian Usain Bolt has shared with the world the first photos of his baby girl and her unique, yet fitting name. Olympia Lightning Bolt was born May 17. Bolt shared the photos Tuesday as part of an Instagram birthday shoutout complete with maternity pics of his...
U.S. general skeptical that bounties led to troops’ deaths
WASHINGTON — The top U.S. general for the Middle East said Tuesday that the intelligence suggesting that Russia may have paid Taliban militants to kill American troops in Afghanistan was worrisome, but he is not convinced that any bounties resulted in U.S. military deaths. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of...
Pompeo: U.S. ‘looking at’ banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTokVideo
The United States government is “looking at” banning Chinese social media apps such as TikTok, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Pompeo made the comment Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” “With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cellphones, I can assure you the United States...
Heat will stay stuck on extra high for July in most of U.S.
The heat is on. And for most of America it’ll stay on through the rest of the month and maybe longer, meteorologists say. Widespread and prolonged extreme heat is baking the contiguous United States and meteorologists see no relief in sight, except for a brief time in a corner of...
New York requires visitors from 3 more states to quarantine
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is now requiring people from three additional states to quarantine for 14 days as more individuals are testing positive for COVID-19 nationwide. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Tuesday press release that Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma now join a total of 19 states that qualify...
Brazil’s President Bolsonaro tests positive for covid-19Video
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday he has tested positive for the new coronavirus after months of downplaying its severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country. The 65-year-old right-wing populist who has been known to mingle in crowds without covering his face confirmed the results...
In reversal, Georgia universities to now mandate masks
ATLANTA — Georgia’s 26 public universities and colleges will mandate campus-wide mask wearing after the state university system reversed itself Monday. The University System of Georgia had previously told schools they should “strongly encourage” students and others to wear masks, but said that the system’s 26 universities couldn’t mandate face...
North Korea rejects talks as U.S. envoy arrives in Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Tuesday said it has no immediate intent to resume a dialogue with the United States as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun arrived in South Korea for discussions on stalled nuclear diplomacy. In a statement released through the North’s official Korean Central...
