U.S./World category, Page 985
U.S. on track to pull troops from Afghanistan despite turmoil
WASHINGTON — The United States is on track to meet its commitment to the Taliban to withdraw several thousand troops from Afghanistan by summer, even as violence flares, the peace process is stalled, and Kabul struggles in political deadlock. U.S. officials say they will reduce to 8,600 troops by July...
‘We are desperate’: French hospital staff confront Macron
PARIS — French nurses and doctors faced off with President Emmanuel Macron at a leading Paris hospital Friday, demanding better pay and a rethink of a once-renowned public health system that found itself quickly overwhelmed by tens of thousands of virus patients. “We are desperate. We no longer believe in...
U.S. blames brutal attack on Afghan maternity hospital on IS
KABUL, Afghanistan — A U.S. official said Friday he is convinced the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan carried out this week’s horrific attack on a maternity hospital in a majority Shiite Muslim neighborhood in Kabul, killing 24 people, including newborn babies and mothers. Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said the U.S....
Vegas-Reno highway cracked, closed after 6.5 quake in Nevada
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The main highway between Las Vegas and Reno was damaged and closed early Friday following a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in a remote area of Nevada. Nevada Highway Patrol photos showed cracks on U.S. 95 that Trooper Hannah DeGoey said were caused by the temblor a little...
Mayor: NYPD won’t break up small groups, police masks
NEW YORK — The New York Police Department, criticized over instances of harsh social distancing enforcement, will step back from ticketing people for gathering in small clusters or for failing to wear a mask, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday. The police will continue to disperse large gatherings that are...
Infections soar as Mexico moves toward restarting economy
MEXICO CITY — As Mexico moves toward a gradual reactivation of its economy Monday, the number of new coronavirus infections grows higher every day, raising fears of a new wave of infections that other countries have seen after loosening restrictions. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is straddling the issue, telling...
For Paul Manafort, home confinement won’t be same as shelter-in-placeVideo
Paul Manafort’s release from federal prison to serve his sentence at home amid the coronavirus pandemic probably won’t be a walk in the park. Unlike millions of other people who are allowed to get outdoor exercise and walk their dogs even while they’re under virus shelter-in-place orders, convicts serving home...
FDA: Trucks used to store bodies during pandemic can return to food use
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said refrigerated trucks that preserved the bodies of coronavirus victims during the pandemic may be used for food transport after a thorough cleaning. The FDA has released a handbook on converting the trailers back to their original purpose of hauling food. New...
Hundreds protest stay-at-home order outside Michigan CapitolVideo
LANSING — Hundreds of people angry or frustrated over Michigan’s coronavirus stay-at-home order protested again outside the state Capitol on Thursday, braving heavy rain to call for a loosening of restrictions and for business owners to reopen in defiance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The demonstration was smaller than previous rallies....
Invasive lizards that eat ‘anything they want’ invade GeorgiaVideo
Tegu lizards could eat “murder hornets” for breakfast. Tegus, the latest creature scare that appears in the form of a four-foot lizard and known to have a voracious appetite, have been sighted for the third straight year in Georgia. Biologists say the tegus, which established themselves in Tattnall and Toombs...
Public officials cite virus while limiting access to records
Many state and local governments across the country have suspended public records requirements amid the coronavirus pandemic, denying or delaying access to information that could shed light on key government decisions. Public officials have said employees either don’t have the time or ability to compile the requested documents or data...
Richard Burr steps aside as Senate intelligence chair amid FBI probe
WASHINGTON — A Republican senator with access to some of the nation’s top secrets became further entangled in a deepening FBI investigation as agents examining a well-timed sale of stocks during the coronavirus outbreak showed up at his home with a warrant to search his cellphone. Hours later, Sen. Richard...
Wisconsin bars reopen after court ruling praised by Trump
MADISON, Wis. — A court ruling tossing out Wisconsin’s stay-at-home order threw communities into chaos Thursday, after some bars opened immediately and were packed with customers while other local leaders moved to keep strict restrictions in place amid the coronavirus pandemic. The conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court late...
Cassandra Callender, forced to undergo chemo, dies at 22
HARTFORD, Conn. — Cassandra Callender, who was forced by Connecticut courts as a teenager to undergo chemotherapy for cancer, has died after a five-year battle with the disease, her mother said Thursday. She was 22. Callender, of Windsor Locks, died Tuesday at home, where she had been in hospice care...
Whistleblower: U.S. still lacks coronavirus plan, Americans at risk
WASHINGTON — Despite White House claims, the U.S. still lacks a comprehensive battle plan against the coronavirus in critical areas including masks, testing, treatments and vaccines, whistleblower Rick Bright warned Thursday in testimony before a House committee. “Our window of opportunity is closing,” he declared. The nation could face “the...
Trump faces emoluments lawsuit after court tosses his win
President Donald Trump must face a lawsuit accusing him of illegally profiting from his Washington hotel, a federal appeals court ruled, reviving a case that was dismissed last year. The decision on Thursday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, sets up a fresh fight over the president’s...
36 million have sought U.S. unemployment aid since coronavirus hitVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak forced more companies to slash jobs even though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen. Roughly 36 million people have now sought jobless aid in just the two months since...
Russia calls on New York Times, Financial Times to retract stories about virus toll
MOSCOW — Russia’s Foreign Ministry has accused the Financial Times and The New York Times of spreading “disinformation” after the two newspapers alleged that Russia’s coronavirus death toll could be much higher than officials are reporting. The Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said late Wednesday that letters demanding a retraction...
911 call, text hint at confrontation days before Ahmaud Arbery shot
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Days before Ahmaud Arbery was pursued by two white men and fatally shot after being spotted inside a home under construction, neighbors — including one of the suspects — reported an earlier encounter with a person wandering through the open-framed structure. Owner Larry English found nothing stolen...
Ex-judge asked to evaluate whether to hold Michael Flynn in contempt
WASHINGTON — The judge presiding over Michael Flynn’s criminal case appointed a retired jurist on Wednesday to evaluate whether the former Trump administration national security adviser should be held in criminal contempt. The judge’s order is the second signal in as many days registering his resistance to swiftly accepting the...
Milwaukee officer charged with homicide in off-duty fight
MILWAUKEE — Prosecutors charged a Milwaukee police officer Wednesday with first-degree reckless homicide, accusing him of fatally choking a man during a fight at the off-duty officer’s home. Michael Mattioli, 32, was charged Wednesday, more than two weeks after 25-year-old Joel Acevedo died of asphyxiation. Police were called April 19...
Wisconsin high court tosses out governor’s stay-home order
MADISON — The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ coronavirus stay-at-home order Wednesday, ruling that his administration overstepped its authority when it extended the mandate for another month without consulting legislators. The 4-3 ruling essentially reopens the state, lifting caps on the size of gatherings, allowing people to...
Native American tribe says sovereignty allows checkpoints in South DakotaVideo
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The head of a Native American tribe said Wednesday it won’t comply with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s demand to remove coronavirus checkpoints it set up on federal and state highways that run through its reservation. Harold Frazier, the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe,...
Louisville mayor calls for thorough probe of police shooting of Breonna TaylorVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Calls for an outside investigation into the fatal police shooting of a Kentucky emergency medical technician are growing, two months after the 26-year-old black woman was killed in her home. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday evening that the state’s attorney general and U.S. attorney should review...
Trump ramps up expulsions of migrant youth, citing coronavirus
HOUSTON — The young migrants and asylum seekers swim across the Rio Grande and clamber into the dense brush of Texas. Many are teens who left Central America on their own; others were sent along by parents from refugee camps in Mexico. They are as young as 10. Under U.S....
