U.S./World category, Page 693
Ukrainian mayor and lawmakers attend Vatican Easter vigil
Pope Francis on Saturday invoked “gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war” in an Easter vigil homily in St. Peter’s Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three Ukrainian lawmakers. The pontiff noted that while “many writers have evoked...
Arizona court won’t halt sex suits naming Boy Scouts, others
PHOENIX — Arizona victims of long-ago child sex abuse can proceed with lawsuits against groups like the Boy Scouts of America following a decision by the state Supreme Court that rejected claims that a 2019 state law extending victims’ right to sue was unconstitutional. Arizona is among many states that...
Pamela Smart’s lawyer asks court to order sentence hearing
CONCORD, N.H. — A lawyer for Pamela Smart, a former high school employee convicted of recruiting her teenage lover to kill her husband, is asking New Hampshire’s highest court to order a state council to hold a hearing on her request to reduce her life-without-parole sentence. Smart, 54, has been...
Bidens paid 24.6% taxes on $610,702 earnings, returns show
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, earned $610,702 during their first year in the White House and paid $150,439 in federal income taxes. That was a rate of 24.6% for 2021, well over the average of around 14%. The totals were similar to the Bidens’ 2020 returns,...
‘Detest me with moderation,’ Paris attacks defendant pleads
PARIS — The only surviving member of the Islamic State attack team that terrorized Paris in 2015 asked Friday for forgiveness and expressed condolences for the victims, wiping away tears during court testimony as he pleaded with survivors to “detest me with moderation.” For years, Salah Abdeslam stayed silent about...
South Carolina inmate picks firing squad over electric chair
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina prisoner scheduled to be the first man executed in the state in more than a decade has decided to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair later this month, according to court documents filed Friday. Richard Bernard Moore, 57, is the...
Russia loses warship, says attacks on Kyiv will increase
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s Defense Ministry promised Friday to ramp up missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital in response to Ukraine’s alleged aggression on Russian territory, an ominous warning that followed Moscow’s stinging symbolic loss of its navy’s flagship in the Black Sea. The threat of intensified attacks on Kyiv...
Prince Harry, Meghan make surprise visit to queen at Windsor
LONDON — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have visited Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, on their first joint visit to the U.K. since they gave up formal royal roles and moved to the U.S. more than two years ago. The couple’s office says they visited the 95-year-old queen,...
Palestinians clash with Israeli police at major holy site
JERUSALEM — Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday as thousands gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Medics said more than 150 Palestinians were wounded in the most serious violence at the site in nearly a year. The holy site,...
French presidential campaign spotlights Muslim headscarves
PERTUIS, France — Muslim headscarves took center stage in France’s presidential campaign Friday amid far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s push to ban them in the country with western Europe’s largest Muslim population. Both she and rival Emmanuel Macron, facing a tightly contested April 24 runoff, were confronted by women in...
Man found guilty of killing wife, 3 kids, pet dog in Florida
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A physical therapist from Connecticut was convicted Thursday evening of killing his wife, three young children and the family’s dog two years ago in central Florida. A 12-member jury found Anthony Todt guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty. He was...
Crews work to save WWII destroyer taking on water in BuffaloVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A decommissioned World War II-era destroyer docked near downtown Buffalo in New York was taking on water and listing perilously on Thursday. Crews were working to keep the USS The Sullivans from sinking at its berth at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, where...
Signs of progress as Mexico officials work with Texas Gov. Abbott to ease border trade snarlsVideo
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — The governors of Mexican border states are lining up to pledge that they’ll increase security measures at commercial crossings as they seek a resumption of normal trade between Texas and Mexico. Governors and senior officials in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas said Thursday that...
New Jersey to start recreational marijuana sales April 21
TRENTON, N.J. — Recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey for those 21 and older will begin April 21, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday. Murphy’s announcement on Twitter comes just three days after state regulators green lighted permits for seven facilities that already sell medical cannabis to begin retailing recreational...
Los Angeles political donor gets 30 years in prison for fetish deaths
LOS ANGELES — Even after two men were found dead in his California apartment, Ed Buck did not stop injecting gay men with walloping doses of methamphetamine. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced him to 30 years in prison in the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean. Another man,...
Ohio man blaming Trump’s ‘orders’ for riot actions found guiltyVideo
WASHINGTON — An Ohio man who testified he was “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump when he stormed the U.S. Capitol was convicted Thursday of obstructing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. A federal jury also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of stealing a coat rack from...
Snake bite killed Maryland man who had over 100 snakes at home
POMFRET, Md. — A man found dead in his home with more than 100 snakes, including cobras and black mambas, died of a snake bite, officials in Maryland said. A medical examiner’s office told local news outlets Wednesday the victim died of “snake envenomation” and the death was accidental. The...
A safe bet: If you want a casino job, odds are on your side
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — As a casino dealer, Shamikah Townsend knows when the odds are in her favor. And they definitely are right now. While working at one Atlantic City casino last year, she went to a job fair held by a different one, and was surprised at how instantly...
Brooklyn subway attack suspect ordered held without bail
NEW YORK — The man accused of opening fire on a crowded subway train in Brooklyn was ordered held without bail as prosecutors told a judge Thursday he terrified all of New York City. Frank James, 62, spoke only to answer “yes” to standard questions during the brief proceeding in...
Floods in South Africa’s Durban area kill more than 340
JOHANNESBURG — Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 341 people in South Africa’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, including the city of Durban, and more rainstorms are forecast in the coming days. The death toll is expected to rise as scores of people, including whole families, are missing, officials said...
Russian warship Moskva sinks after Ukrainians claim strike
KYIV, Ukraine — The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, a guided-missile cruiser that became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war, sank Thursday after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel...
California food plant fire prompts evacuations for thousands
SALINAS, Calif. — A massive fire at a Northern California food processing plant plume prompted authorities to tell thousands of nearby residents to evacuate Thursday and to order tens of thousands more to stay inside their homes. The fire at the Taylor Farms packaged salad plant in Salinas, about 110...
Abortions stop in Kentucky as groups seek to block new law
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Abortion-rights groups went to court Thursday seeking to restore abortion services in Kentucky, where the last two abortion clinics signaled they couldn’t immediately comply with sweeping new restrictions imposed by the Republican legislature. Two lawsuits filed in federal court in Louisville asked that a judge intervene to...
Brit convicted in Islamic State beheadings trial
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury convicted a British national Thursday for his role in an Islamic State group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded. The jury deliberated for four hours before finding...
Pope visits Italian prison for Holy Week foot-washing ritual
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis traveled to a prison near Rome to wash the feet of a dozen inmates, a Holy Thursday ritual that symbolizes humility and highlights his papacy’s attention to those on society’s margins. He arrived Thursday afternoon in a motorcade that included Italian police cars, which entered...
