U.S./World category, Page 956
Family: Human remains found in Texas are missing soldier Vanessa GuillenVideo
KILLEEN, Texas — The family of a soldier who has been missing since April believes partial remains that were found in Central Texas are her remains, the lawyer for her family said Wednesday, and the Army said it has identified two suspects in her disappearance. Pfc. Vanessa Guillen was last...
Richmond orders removal of Confederate statues on city landVideo
RICHMOND — The mayor of Richmond, Va., on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate statues on city land, saying he was using his emergency powers to speed up the healing process for the former capital of the Confederacy amid weeks of protests over police brutality and racial injustice....
New York City will paint Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower
NEW YORK — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that the city will paint a Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue soon — and the president hit back at what he called a wasteful “symbol of hate.” “(Trump) will get a message...
Seattle cops dismantle ‘occupied’ zone, arrest more than 30Video
SEATTLE — Seattle police turned out in force early Wednesday at the city’s “occupied” protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ encampments and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks. Television images showed police, many in riot...
Retired pope’s elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, dies at 96
BERLIN — The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at 96. The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Ratzinger lived, said in a statement on his website that...
Pilot killed in fighter jet crash at South Carolina Air Force base
SUMTER, S.C. — A military pilot has died in the crash of a fighter jet during a training mission at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. 20th Fighter Wing Commander Larry Sullivan confirmed the pilot’s death early Wednesday morning. The crash happened on the military base around 11:30 p.m....
Astronauts perform 2nd spacewalk to swap station batteries
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts performed their second spacewalk in under a week Wednesday to replace old batteries outside the International Space Station. Commander Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken ventured out to tackle the big, boxy batteries.. For every two outdated batteries coming out, a new and improved one goes...
UN says Afghan army mistakenly fired mortars that killed 23
KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said its findings indicate the Afghan military had mistakenly fired the mortars this week at a busy market in southern Helmand province that inflicted heavy civilian casualties. According to a statement from the office of the Helmand provincial governor, Gen. Mohammad Yasin,...
Police say Lori Vallow, missing kids’ mom, helped keep their bodies hidden
BOISE, Idaho — Prosecutors say the mother of two children who were found dead in rural Idaho months after they vanished in a bizarre case that captured worldwide attention had conspired with her new husband to hide or destroy the kids’ bodies. The new felony charges against Lori Vallow Daybell...
Trump’s deference to Putin back under harsh scrutiny after Russian bounty reportsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s deference to Vladimir Putin is back under the microscope amid accusations that he ignored intelligence that Russia offered to pay Taliban militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Democrats returning from a classified briefing at the White House on Tuesday pledged to get to the...
California prison’s 1,080 positive covid-19 cases blamed on corrections officialsVideo
A California prison that had zero covid-19 cases at the end of May has racked up more than 1,000 during June, prompting officials to set up triage tents outside the facility to keep contagious inmates away from the general population. As of Tuesday, 1,080 prisoners at San Quentin State Prison...
With a pen stroke, Mississippi drops Confederate-themed flag
JACKSON, Miss. — With a stroke of the governor’s pen, Mississippi is retiring the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem — a symbol that’s widely condemned as racist. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the historic bill on Tuesday afternoon that takes the 126-year-old state flag...
Inside the body, coronavirus is even more sinister than scientists had realized
The new coronavirus’s reputation for messing with scientists’ assumptions has taken a truly creepy turn. Researchers exploring the interaction between the coronavirus and its hosts have discovered that when the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects a human cell, it sets off a ghoulish transformation. Obeying instructions from the virus, the newly infected...
Buffalo protester Martin Gugino released from hospital after being shoved by policeVideo
A Buffalo, N.Y., protester who was injured in an incident with police officers during a demonstration against police violence has been released from the hospital on Tuesday, the Buffalo News reports. Martin Gugino, 75, suffered injuries in the June 4 incident and had been hospitalized with a skull fracture, according...
Garrett Rolfe, ex-Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks, granted bond
ATLANTA — A judge on Tuesday ruled that the former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks can be free on bond while his case is pending. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick set a bond of $500,000 for Garrett Rolfe, who faces charges including felony murder in...
Unidentified remains found in same area as body of Fort Hood soldier
AUSTIN, Texas — Investigators are working to determine whether unidentified remains discovered near a field in Killeen, where a Fort Hood soldier was found dead earlier this month, are human. Participants in a vigil for Pvt. Gregory Morales on Saturday found the remains in the same area where his body...
Judge temporarily blocks tell-all book by Trump’s niece
A tell-all book by President Donald Trump’s niece cannot be published until a judge decides the merits of claims by the president’s brother that its publication would violate a pact among family members, a judge said Tuesday. New York state Supreme Court Judge Hal B. Greenwald in Poughkeepsie, New York,...
Fauci: U.S. ‘going in wrong direction’ in coronavirus outbreakVideo
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top infectious disease specialist warned Tuesday that the United States could see up to 100,000 new cases per day of the virus that causes covid-19 if the nation does not take steps to control the pandemic. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy...
N.Y. adds states to quarantine list, sends monitors to New York CityVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is urging travelers from eight additional states to self-quarantine for 14 days as it awaits a decision on the reopening of indoor dining in New York City. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Tuesday television interview that he plans to send state police and health...
Supreme Court lifts ban on state aid to religious schooling
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it easier for religious schools to obtain public funds, upholding a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling. The court’s 5-4 ruling, with conservatives in the majority, came in a dispute over a Montana scholarship program for private...
EU reopens its borders to 14 nations but not to U.S. tourists
BRUSSELS — The European Union announced Tuesday that it will reopen its borders to travelers from 14 countries, but most Americans have been refused entry for at least another two weeks due to soaring coronavirus infections in the U.S. Travelers from other big countries like Russia, Brazil and India will...
Confederate flag losing prominence 155 years after Civil War
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Long a symbol of pride to some and hatred to others, the Confederate battle flag is losing its place of official prominence 155 years after rebellious Southern states lost a war to perpetuate slavery. Mississippi’s Republican-controlled Legislature voted Sunday to remove the Civil War emblem from the...
Vatican prosecutors seize data from St. Peter’s Basilica
ROME — Vatican prosecutors have ordered the seizure of documents and computers from the administrative offices of St. Peter’s Basilica in an apparently new investigation into financial irregularities in the Holy See. The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Francis also named a special commissioner to run the basilica, reorganize its...
India bans TikTok, other Chinese apps amid border standoff
NEW DELHI — Indian TikTok users awoke Tuesday to a notice from the popular short-video app saying their data would be transferred to an Irish subsidiary, a response to India’s ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military standoff between the two countries. The quick workaround showed the ban...
Changes in military recruiting may endure after pandemicVideo
WASHINGTON — With his Army recruiting office shuttered because of the coronavirus, Staff Sgt. Anthony Holt has had to be creative to meet his enlistment goals. Using social media is one way. Signing up the grocery delivery guy is another. Holt asked the man how he ended up with the...
