U.S./World category, Page 884
Government investigating massive counterfeit N95 mask scam
Federal authorities are investigating a massive counterfeit N95 mask operation in which fake 3M masks were sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The foreign-made knockoffs are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and could put health care workers at grave risk for the coronavirus....
Report: TikTok sale pushed by Trump is shelved
The Biden administration has “indefinitely” shelved a proposed U.S. takeover of the popular video app TikTok, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Last year, the Trump administration brokered a deal that would have had U.S. corporations Oracle and Walmart take a large stake in the Chinese-owned app on national-security...
Biden orders sanctions against Myanmar after military coup
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered new sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar, taking action after the military this month staged a coup in the Southeast Asian country and arrested de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians. Biden said he was issuing an...
Russian Jehovah’s Witness sentenced to 7½ years in prison
MOSCOW — The Jehovah’s Witnesses say a member of the religious denomination that is banned in Russia has been sentenced to 7½ years in prison, the harshest punishment in scores of cases. The denomination’s European office said 63-year-old Alexander Ivashin was sentenced on Wednesday in the Krasnodar region of southern...
Chinese spacecraft enters Mars’ orbit, joining Arab ship
A Chinese spacecraft went into orbit around Mars on Wednesday on an expedition to land a rover on the surface and scout for signs of ancient life, authorities announced in a landmark step in the country’s most ambitious deep-space mission yet. The arrival of Tianwen-1 after a journey of seven...
Police report: Gunman had made prior threats against Minnesota clinic
BUFFALO, Minn. — A man who opened fire at a Minnesota health clinic, killing one staff member and wounding four others, previously threatened to carry out a mass shooting at the facility, according to a police report. Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67, was arrested in Tuesday’s attack at an Allina clinic...
Finns in snowshoes create temporary artwork on golf course
An ephemeral artwork made with thousands of footsteps in the snow has captured attention near Finland’s capital of Helsinki. Under the guidance of local resident and amateur artist Janne Pyykko, 11 snowshoe-clad volunteers stamped a series of complex geometric patterns on a golf course. Together, the designs resemble a huge...
Russia wants Navalny ally arrested abroad; Lithuania refuses
MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of an exiled ally of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but Lithuania, where the associate lives, bluntly rejected the demand to take him into custody. The action against Leonid Volkov by the Basmanny District Court was seen as part of...
Wisconsin Supreme Court asked to block statewide mask order
MADISON, Wis. — A new legal challenge to Gov. Tony Evers’ latest mask mandate is before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, filed less than a week after the Legislature struck down a previous order and the governor quickly issued a new one. Prominent Republican donor Jere Fabick asked the court late...
Attorney-at-paw? Filter makes lawyer look like cat in courtVideo
ALPINE, Texas — A West Texas judge has a word of caution to those attending court hearings via Zoom: Always check for filters before logging on. Judge Roy Ferguson’s warning comes after an attorney accidentally joined a Tuesday video conference of a civil forfeiture court hearing while using a Zoom...
Colorado cops fired over photos tied to Elijah McClain not reinstated
DENVER — Three suburban Denver officers fired over photos reenacting a neckhold like the one police used on Elijah McClain before the Black man died in 2019 won’t get their jobs back, officials said Tuesday. The Aurora Civil Service Commission issued a decision Tuesday upholding the firings of Officers Erica...
Ohio officer charged in Andre Hill’s death posts bail, is freedVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The fired Ohio police officer charged with fatally shooting Andre Hill posted bail and was released from jail Tuesday hours to an audience of protesters after a judge reduced his bond from $3 million to a third of that. Former Columbus police Officer Adam Coy was freed...
Jill Biden promises free access to community college
WASHINGTON — Jill Biden is promising free access to community college and training programs, saying the schools will be an important part of Biden administration efforts to rebuild the economy. A longtime community college professor and advocate, the first lady said people struggling to get by during the coronavirus-induced economic...
Skier survived avalanche by clinging to tree before saving 2
SALT LAKE CITY — A skier caught in an avalanche that killed four people in Utah survived by clinging to a tree through the onslaught of rushing snow and later helped save two people, a forecaster investigating the slide said Tuesday. The avalanche on Saturday initially buried six skiers from...
WHO team: Coronavirus unlikely to have leaked from China lab
WUHAN, China — The coronavirus most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal, a team of international and Chinese scientists looking for the origins of covid-19 said Tuesday, saying an alternate theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab was unlikely. A closely watched visit by...
1 dead, 4 wounded in shooting at Minnesota health clinic; 67-year-old suspect jailed
BUFFALO, Minn. — A 67-year-old man unhappy with the health care he’d received opened fire at a clinic Tuesday, killing one person and wounding four others, and bomb technicians were investigating a suspicious device left there and others at a motel where he was staying, authorities said. All five victims...
Watch live: Trump’s 2nd impeachment trial opens in SenateVideo
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial opened Tuesday in the Senate with graphic video of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on Congress and the defeated former president whipping up a rally crowd — “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol!” — as he encouraged a...
Pickup driver survives 70-foot plunge off highway in MilwaukeeVideo
A pickup truck, that was traveling east on the Interstate 94 Zoo Interchange outside of Milwaukee, Wisc., hit a pile of snow on the right side of the ramp, forcing it over the barrier wall to fall 70 feet onto the highway below, reported WISN 12 ABC. The incident was...
Biden to visit Wisconsin next week in 1st official trip
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will visit Wisconsin next week for his first official trip as president beyond his home state of Delaware. Biden is set to visit Milwaukee next Tuesday, according to the White House, and will participate in a CNN town hall there. While the Biden administration did...
Former Nazi guard, age 100, charged as accessory to murder
BERLIN — German prosecutors have charged a 100-year-old man with 3,518 counts of being an accessory to murder on allegations he served during World War II as a Nazi SS guard at a concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin, authorities said Tuesday. The man is alleged to have worked...
Arab spacecraft enters orbit around Mars in historic flightVideo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates swung into orbit around Mars on Tuesday in a triumph for the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. Ground controllers at the UAE’s space center in Dubai rose to their feet and broke into applause when word came that...
U.S. hiring plunged in December even as job openings ticked up
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers cut back sharply on hiring in December, particularly industries slammed by the pandemic such as restaurants and hotels, as virus infections soared and governments responded with tighter restrictions. The number of available jobs rose slightly and layoffs fell, according to the Labor Department’s Tuesday report, known...
Safety officials: Kobe Bryant crash pilot got disoriented flying in clouds
LOS ANGELES — The pilot of the helicopter that crashed last year in South California, killing Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers, made a key error by flying through thick clouds that ended up disorienting him, U.S. safety officials said Tuesday during a hearing aimed at pinpointing probable causes of...
Democrats propose $1,400 payments as part of Biden virus relief
WASHINGTON — House Democrats proposed an additional $1,400 in direct payments to individuals as Congress began piecing together a $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief package that tracks President Joe Biden’s plan for battling the pandemic and reviving a still staggering economy. Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee would expand tax...
Iran may pursue nuclear weapon, intel minister warns West
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s intelligence minister has warned the West that his country could push for a nuclear weapon if crippling international sanctions on Tehran remain in place, state television reported Tuesday. The remarks by Mahmoud Alavi mark a rare occasion that a government official says Iran could reverse its...
