U.S./World category, Page 972
West Virginia governor removes fire commissioner over social media posts
A West Virginia fire commissioner has been removed over “inappropriate and inflammatory” social media posts, Gov. Jim Justice said. Martin Hess was removed Thursday from the West Virginia State Fire Commission after Justice was made aware of various recent posts, the governor said in a statement. The brief statement did...
DC paints huge Black Lives Matter mural near White House
WASHINGTON — City workers and activists painted the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the the street leading to the White House, a highly visible sign of the District of Columbia’s embrace of a protest movement that has put it at odds with President Donald Trump....
Officers suspended after man, 75, is shoved on video, bleeds
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Prosecutors investigated Friday after a television crew captured a police officer in Buffalo shoving a 75-year-old man who then falls and cracks his head, a confrontation that resulted in the suspension of two officers. The video from WFBO of Thursday night’s encounter, which happened near the conclusion...
Virginia city removes 176-year-old slave auction block
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — A 176-year-old slave auction block has been removed from a Virginia city’s downtown. The 800-pound stone was pulled from the ground at a Fredericksburg street corner early Friday after the removal was delayed for months by lawsuits and the coronavirus pandemic, The Free Lance-Star reported. The weathered...
Putin chastises Russian tycoon over massive Arctic oil spillVideo
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday chastised the billionaire owner of a nickel giant for negligence over a massive fuel oil spill that has inflicted huge damage on a fragile Arctic region. An estimated 20,000 tons of diesel oil spilled into the Ambarnaya River last Friday from a...
Authorities: Man, 13-year-old girl slain in Akron shooting
AKRON, Ohio — A shooting in a northern Ohio city has left a man and a 13-year-old girl dead. Akron police said the victims were found shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday when officers responded to reports of shots fired. The 24-year-old man and the girl were both pronounced dead at...
Unemployment rate falls to 13.3%, with 2.5 million jobs addedVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in May to 13.3% — still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression — as states loosened their coronavirus lockdowns and businesses began recalling workers. The government said Friday that the economy added 2.5 million jobs last month,...
7 people found dead inside burning house in Alabama
VALHERMOSO SPRINGS, Ala. — Deputies responding to a call about a shooting in Alabama early Friday found seven people dead inside a home and the house on fire, WHNT-TV reported. Morgan County deputies were able to put out the fire before firefighters got to the scene, and that’s when they...
Deputies investigate cross burning on bridge in Alabama
TUSKEGEE, Ala. — Deputies in Alabama are investigating a cross burning after a wooden cross lit ablaze was found by drivers passing alongside a bridge. The burning cross was first seen stationed on top of a bridge over Interstate 85 in Macon County Thursday night, Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson...
2 Buffalo officers suspended after video shows man apparently shovedVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Prosecutors investigated Friday after a television crew captured a police officer in Buffalo shoving a 75-year-old man who then falls and cracks his head, a confrontation that resulted in the suspension of two officers. The video from WFBO of Thursday night’s encounter, which happened near the conclusion...
CNN, Sesame Street to team up for town hall Saturday discussing racism
CNN and “Sesame Street” are joining forces to present a family-oriented town hall program that aims to address racism in America. According to CNN, the 60-minute special “Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism. A CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Families” will air Saturday at 10 a.m.. Big Bird...
Utah man accused of pointing bow and arrow at protesters chargedVideo
A man captured on video aiming a bow and arrow at protesters in Salt Lake City over the weekend was charged Thursday with assault and weapon possession. Brandon McCormick, 57, of Taylorsville, was reportedly pushed to the ground on Saturday after shouting “All lives matter!” and pointing the weapon at...
Racist comments trigger another firing for Rochester, N.Y., radio duoVideo
Disclaimer: People in this story are quoted in their attempt to use an abbreviated version of a racial slur; they did not use the slur, itself. A Rochester, N.Y., radio duo with a history of bigoted on-air comments were fired Wednesday over an exchange in which they advocated for the...
ACLU sues Trump administration over police force on protesters near White House
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration Thursday, alleging officials violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents before President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo. The...
Texas GOP official urged to resign over George Floyd social media post
SAN ANTONIO — The GOP chairwoman of one of Texas’ largest counties faced widespread pressure from her party to resign Thursday for floating a conspiracy theory on social media suggesting that George Floyd’s death was staged. Cynthia Brehm is head of the Bexar County Republican Party in San Antonio. She...
White House tightens security with extra fencing as protests continue in D.C.Video
Extra metal fencing has been installed around the White House on Thursday for protection against recent protests in response of the death of George Floyd. The added fortification is “standard anti-riot fencing and ranges from seven feet to more than nine feet high,” a source from the Secret Service told...
New York Times writers condemn decision to run Sen. Tom Cotton’s op-ed calling for military mobilization
Demonstrations for the civil rights of black Americans that have gripped the country in recent days have spilled into the corridors of the New York Times, as writers protested the publication of an opinion piece calling for the military to be brought in to quell the unrest. Writers from across...
Judge rejects Ponzi king Bernie Madoff’s bid for early release
NEW YORK — Dying Ponzi king Bernard Madoff lost his bid for early release from prison Thursday when the judge who sentenced him to 150 years behind bars said he intended for him to die there and nothing has happened in the last 11 years to change his mind. Judge...
Russia urges U.S. to respect right to protest
MOSCOW — The Russian Foreign Ministry urged the U.S. authorities to respect Americans’ right for peaceful protest amid the wave of demonstrations sparked by George Floyd’s death. The ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, says Moscow has taken note of the use of tear gas to disperse rallies and massive arrests of...
Judge: $750K bail for 3 ex-officers accused in George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece Thursday for three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the killing of George Floyd, as a memorial service took place just blocks away. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng made their first appearances in Hennepin...
Federal inmate dies after being pepper sprayed by guards
NEW YORK — A federal jail inmate in New York City died Wednesday after correctional officers sprayed him with pepper spray, the Bureau of Prisons said. Officers sprayed Jamel Floyd, a 35-year-old black man, after he barricaded himself in his cell at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center and broke a cell...
After protests, Va. Gov. Northam orders removal of iconic Lee statueVideo
RICHMOND, Va. — A towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee will be removed as soon as possible from Richmond’s Monument Avenue, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday, pledging the state will no longer “preach a false version of history.” The bronze equestrian statue, which sits on an enormous...
`Get your knee off our necks!’: Floyd mourned in MinneapolisVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Hollywood celebrities, musicians and political leaders gathered in front of the golden casket of George Floyd at a fiery memorial Thursday for the man whose death at the hands of police sparked global protests, with a civil rights leader declaring it is time for black people to demand,...
Testimony: Shooter used racist slur as Ahmaud Arbery lay dying
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A state investigator alleged Thursday that a white man was heard saying a racist slur as he stood over Ahmaud Arbery’s body, moments after fatally shooting the black man with a pump-action shotgun. The inflammatory revelation came amid a week of angry nationwide protests over law enforcement...
Police think Madeleine McCann is dead; parents still hope
PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal — German police said Thursday they presume a British girl who went missing in southern Portugal 13 years ago is dead, but Madeleine McCann’s parents still nurture hope their daughter will be found alive. McCann was 3-years-old at the time of her disappearance from an apartment...
