U.S./World category, Page 960
Arizona politician condemned for using George Floyd’s last words
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A city council member in suburban Phoenix is drawing criticism from the governor and others after invoking George Floyd’s dying words of “I can’t breathe” during a protest over an order to wear masks to stop the spread of coronavirus. Scottsdale Councilman Guy Phillips uttered the remark...
Texas putting reopening on ‘pause’ as virus cases soar
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday halted elective surgeries in Texas’ biggest counties and said the state would “pause” its aggressive re-opening as it deals with a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations that has made it one of the nation’s virus hotspots. The suspension of elective surgeries...
‘Coming back and biting us’: U.S. sees virus resurgence
HOUSTON — A coronavirus resurgence is wiping out two months of progress in the U.S. and sending infections to dire new levels across the South and West, with hospital administrators and health experts warning Wednesday that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a...
Mississippi gov might not block change to rebel-themed flag
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday, for the first time, that he probably would not stand in the way if legislators muster a large enough majority to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag. Amid the backdrop of national protests over racial injustice, Mississippi...
Malls, movies, gyms in New York still not cleared to reopen
ALBANY, N.Y. — Malls, movie theaters and gyms will not be cleared to open again when areas of New York state progress to the fourth phase of the state’s reopening plan Friday. The businesses had been hoping Gov. Andrew Cuomo would allow them to open their doors after an over...
South Carolina prosecutor decides not to charge officer who shot Black teen
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina prosecutor said Wednesday that he will not file charges against the white police officer who fatally shot a Black teenager who pointed a gun at the officer as he ran away. Josh Ruffin, 17, was an immediate threat to the safety of the officers...
California voters will be asked whether to restore affirmative action in November
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California could allow college admissions and government contracting decisions with a focus on race and gender diversity under a measure placed on the November ballot Wednesday, a decision that would reverse strict limits imposed by voters in 1996. The ballot measure, which won final approval from the...
Wisconsin governor activates National Guard after violence
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s governor activated the National Guard on Wednesday to protect state properties after a night of violence that included the toppling of two statues outside the state Capitol, one of which commemorated an abolitionist Civil War hero. Protesters also attacked a state senator, threw a Molotov cocktail...
Virus cases surging among the young, endangering the elderly
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states where bars, stores and restaurants have reopened — a disturbing generational shift that not only puts them in greater peril than many realize but poses an even bigger danger to older people who...
3 men indicted on murder charges in killing of Ahmaud Arbery
ATLANTA — A prosecutor on Wednesday announced that three men have been indicted on murder charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in coastal Georgia. Prosecutor Joyette Holmes said a Glynn County grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. on charges including malice and...
Icons of 1960s civil rights movement voice cautious optimism
CINCINNATI — Bob Moses says America is at “a lurching moment” for racial change, potentially as transforming as the Civil War era and as the 1960s civil rights movement that he helped lead. “What we are experiencing now as a nation has only happened a couple times in our history,”...
Slavery advocate’s statue being removed in South Carolina
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The historic South Carolina city of Charleston was removing a symbol of its legacy on Wednesday, sending crews to take away a statue honoring John C. Calhoun, an early U.S. vice president whose zealous defense of slavery led the nation toward civil war. After a nightlong struggle...
Final section of Confederate monument removed from Raleigh
RALEIGH, N.C. — Crews in North Carolina have finished removing the final pieces of a 75-foot-tall Confederate monument that sat near the grounds of the state Capitol for 125 years. The granite pillar that had supported a statue of a Confederate soldier was pulled from its base in Raleigh to...
Floyd’s death was a ‘murder,’ not about lack of training, Minneapolis police chief says
MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao — two of the officers involved in killing George Floyd May 25 — both took department training on preventing suffocation in people being restrained face down, the Minneapolis Police Department confirmed. In one of his most forceful comments yet on Floyd’s killing, Minneapolis...
Rayshard Brooks laid to rest after emotional Atlanta funeral service
ATLANTA — Standing in the spiritual spot that her father, grandfather and great-grandfather preached, Bernice King ticked off a list of names that have recently and tragically become all too familiar. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. And finally, the name of the man of whose casket she preached over...
Police: Woman deliberately coughs on baby in San Jose yogurt shop line
San Jose police are reportedly looking for a woman who they say intentionally coughed on a baby several times while standing in line at a frozen yogurt shop. Police are seeking the woman on suspicion of assault in the Friday afternoon incident. Video shows the woman pulled down her face...
Charleston votes to remove statue of slavery advocate
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Officials in the historic South Carolina city of Charleston voted unanimously Tuesday to remove a statue of former vice president and slavery advocate John C. Calhoun from a downtown square, the latest in a wave of actions arising from protests against racism and police brutality against African...
Powerful earthquake shakes southern, central Mexico
MEXICO CITY — A powerful earthquake centered near the resort of Huatulco in southern Mexico swayed buildings Tuesday in Mexico City and sent thousands into the streets. Seismic alarms sounded midmorning with enough warning for residents to exit buildings. Power was knocked out to some areas, but there were no...
AP-NORC poll: Nearly all in U.S. back criminal justice reform
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly want clear standards on when police officers may use force and consequences for officers who do so excessively, according to a new poll that finds nearly all Americans favor at least some level of change to the nation’s criminal justice system. The new poll from...
Fauci hopeful for a vaccine by late 2020, early 2021
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday he is cautiously optimistic there will be a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year or early 2021, but warned that the next few weeks will be critical to tamping down coronavirus hot spots around the country. Fauci and other top health...
Recreational pot laws may boost traffic deaths, studies find
Laws legalizing recreational marijuana may lead to more traffic deaths, two new studies suggest, although questions remain about how they might influence driving habits. Previous research has had mixed results and the new studies, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, can’t prove that the traffic death increases they found were...
Army soldier charged in plot to ambush his unit overseas
NEW YORK — The new top federal prosecutor in Manhattan on Monday announced her first case since the weekend’s upheaval: the arrest of a U.S. Army soldier charged with plotting a deadly ambush of his unit in Turkey by extremists. In a release, Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss called Private...
Saudi Arabia to hold ‘very limited’ hajj because of coronavirus
Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that because of coronavirus only “very limited numbers” of people will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage that traditionally draws around 2 million Muslims from around the world. The decision comes after weeks of speculation over whether Saudi Arabia would cancel the pilgrimage altogether...
Ohio police investigating claim man with disabilities macedVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police in Ohio’s capital city are investigating claims that officers maced a man with disabilities during a rally this weekend, the mayor said Monday. A viral video shows a man with prosthetic legs curled on the sidewalk as passers-by care for him and call for medical help....
Sources: Venezuela wooed Texas Republican to ease sanctions
MIAMI — Venezuela’s socialist government tried to recruit then-Congressman Pete Sessions to broker a meeting with the CEO of Exxon Mobil at the same time it was secretly paying a close former House colleague $50 million to keep U.S. sanctions at bay, The Associated Press has learned. An official at...
