U.S./World category, Page 969
Confederate monument in Virginia covered with trash bagsVideo
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Protesters in Portsmouth, Va., covered a Confederate monument in the city with trash bags and sheets Wednesday, several hours after the city’s council members had a meeting to figure out ways to relocate it. A white sheet that read “BLM” covered the fence in front of the...
Russia detains managers of plant that spilled fuel in ArcticVideo
MOSCOW — Russian authorities have detained three top managers of an Arctic power plant that leaked 20,000 tons of diesel fuel into the ecologically fragile region. Plant director Pavel Smirnov, chief engineer Alexei Stepanov and his deputy, Yuri Kuznetsov, have been detained on suspicion of violating environmental regulations, the spokeswoman...
‘He is going to change the world’: Funeral held for George Floyd
HOUSTON — George Floyd was fondly remembered Tuesday as “Big Floyd” — a father and brother, athlete and neighborhood mentor, and now a catalyst for change — at a funeral for the black man whose death has sparked a global reckoning over police brutality and racial prejudice. More than 500...
Video shows prison guard mocking George Floyd killing
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A corrections officer who participated in a counterprotest to a Black Lives Matter demonstration in New Jersey in which people reenacted the death of George Floyd was suspended after the video was widely shared on social media. In the video, protesters march along a street Monday...
Body camera: Dying man pleads ‘save me’ during Taser arrest
AUSTIN, Texas — A black man died in custody last year after sheriff’s deputies in Texas repeatedly used stun guns on him, despite his pleas that he was sick and couldn’t breathe, according to recently released police video and documents. Williamson County deputies attempted to pull 40-year-old Javier Ambler over...
Lawyer spits on teen Wisconsin protest organizer, assaults officer, police sayVideo
What began as an argument with protesters has spiraled for a Wisconsin lawyer, who faces charges of battery, disorderly conduct, battery to a law enforcement officer and resisting/obstructing an officer, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The attorney, Stephanie Rapkin, 64, was arrested Saturday because police say she spit on...
Trump administration opposes extending enhanced unemployment benefit
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration opposes a Democratic proposal to extend a $600 per week federal unemployment benefit approved in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said Tuesday. The $600 payment, which is in addition to normal unemployment benefits, “was the right thing to do,” Scalia said,...
VA says it lacks adequate medical gear for 2nd virus wave
WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday defended itself against criticism of past shortages of masks and other medical gear to protect employees from the coronavirus but acknowledged its current supplies may not be enough to handle a second wave. Dr. Richard Stone, the top health official at VA,...
BabyNames.com alters homepage to honor black Americans killed by police, fellow citizens
Emmett Till. Walter Scott. Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Antwon Rose II. The website BabyNames.com bucked its normal homepage on Tuesday, replacing trending and popular baby names with 107 names of black men and women who have been killed by police or, in some instances, fellow Americans:...
‘Zoombombers’ disrupt Pennsylvania synagogue’s online services with racist, anti-Semitic slurs
“Zoombombers” hurled racist and anti-Semitic slurs during a digital attack on online services held Friday by Congregation Keneseth Israel in Allentown, according to The Morning Call. Video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom have found a home amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has kept people at home and canceled everything from holidays...
Voting delays, long lines bring chaos to Georgia primariesVideo
ATLANTA — Long lines snaked around polling places Tuesday, and some voters faced waits of an hour or longer as Georgia held twice-delayed primary elections with a shortage of poll workers and social-distancing precautions caused by the coronavirus. Widespread problems included trouble with Georgia’s new voting system that combines touchscreens...
Trump pushes conspiracy theory about Buffalo protester
President Donald Trump on Tuesday advanced an unfounded conspiracy theory about a 75-year-old protester in Buffalo, New York, who was pushed down by police officers, tweeting without evidence that the confrontation may have been a “set up.” Trump, who has called himself “your president of law and order,” was once...
Police: Florida man lets 12-year-old drive Jeep 85 mph
JUPITER, Fla. — A Florida man is facing felony charges after police said he let a 12-year-old girl drive his SUV and told her to speed because he wanted to be a “cool father” — even though he is not her dad. Shaun Michaelsen, 41, told the arresting officer Monday...
Amid US tension, Iran builds fake aircraft carrier to attack
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — As tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S., the Islamic Republic appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills. The faux foe, seen in satellite photographs obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, resembles...
U.S. challenges planned expedition to retrieve Titanic’s radio
NORFOLK, Va. — The U.S. government will try to stop a company’s planned salvage mission to retrieve the Titanic’s wireless telegraph machine, arguing the expedition would break federal law and a pact with Britain to leave the iconic shipwreck undisturbed. U.S. attorneys filed a legal challenge before a federal judge...
Tropical Storm Cristobal to merge with new storm system after lashing SouthVideo
Tropical Storm Cristobal could soon renew its strength by uniting with another storm system coming from the west to form one giant cyclone, forecasters say. After drenching much of the South, forecasters now expect the remnants of Cristobal to bring fierce winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms to much of the...
KKK leader attacks Virginia protest, hate charge weighedVideo
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia prosecutor said Monday she is investigating whether hate crimes charges are appropriate against an “admitted” Ku Klux Klan leader who authorities say revved his vehicle’s engine and drove through peaceful protesters occupying a Richmond-area roadway. There were no reports of serious injuries from the incident...
Seattle council members protest after tear gas used on crowdVideo
SEATTLE — Just days after Seattle’s mayor and police chief promised a month-long moratorium on using a type of tear gas to disperse protesters, the department used it again during an overnight protest — bringing severe criticism Monday from City Council members, vows to overhaul the department and an additional...
Treasure chest hidden in Rocky Mountains finally found
SANTA FE, N.M. — A bronze chest filled with gold, jewels, and other valuables worth more than $1 million and hidden a decade ago somewhere in the Rocky Mountain wilderness has been found, according to a famed art and antiquities collector who created the treasure hunt. Forrest Fenn, 89, told...
Lawyers: US not investigating Prince Andrew in Epstein probe
Attorneys representing Britain’s Prince Andrew say they’ve been assured by the U.S. Department of Justice that he is not a target in the investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The firm, Blackfords LLP, said U.S. authorities requested the help of the son of Queen Elizabeth II for the...
Can tear gas and pepper spray increase coronavirus spread?
Police departments have used tear gas and pepper spray on protesters in recent weeks, raising concern that the chemical agents could increase the spread of the coronavirus. The chemicals are designed to irritate the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and throat. They make people cough, sneeze and pull off...
Court orders dismissal of Trump Muslim travel ban challenges
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal appeals court on Monday ordered a lower court to toss out legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s 3-year-old ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim countries, finding that a judge misinterpreted a Supreme Court ruling that found the ban has a “legitimate grounding in national security...
Democrats unveil police overhaul, kneel at CapitolVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats proposed a sweeping overhaul of police oversight and procedures Monday, a potentially far-reaching legislative response to the mass protests denouncing the deaths of black Americans at the hands of law enforcement. Before unveiling the package, House and Senate Democrats held a moment of silence at the Capitol’s...
Officer charged in George Floyd’s death held on $1 million bailVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge on Monday kept bail at $1 million for a former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in George Floyd’s death. Derek Chauvin, 44, said little during an 11-minute hearing in which he appeared before Hennepin County Judge Jeannice M. Reding on closed-circuit television from the...
In Minneapolis, rage over George Floyd extends beyond cops
MINNEAPOLIS — To truly understand the rage people in this city felt as they watched a video of George Floyd begging, gasping and slowly succumbing beneath the weight of a police officer’s knee, it’s necessary to step back in time. Seven years before Floyd’s cheek was smashed against the pavement,...
