U.S./World category, Page 958
U.S. ambassador to China to step down next month
BEIJING — The U.S. ambassador to China will step down early next month, ending a three-year tenure marked by a trade war and increasingly bitter relations between the world’s two largest economies. Terry Branstad, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, confirmed his decision in a phone call with Trump...
Tropical Storm Teddy becomes 4th active named storm in Atlantic basinVideo
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Teddy formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday morning and is the fourth active named storm in the Atlantic basin, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Forecasters said Teddy was located more than 1,400 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. The storm has maximum sustained...
Report: German soldier raided over plans to carry out attack
BERLIN — The German public broadcaster ARD reports that authorities in the northeast of the country have searched premises linked to a soldier suspected of planning an extremist attack. ARD reported Monday the 40-year-old German, stationed at a barracks in the town of Neubrandenburg, has close ties to right-wing extremists....
Lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair sells for more than $81,000
BOSTON — A lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair along with a blood-stained telegram about his 1865 assassination have been sold at auction for more than $81,000. The items were sold during an auction that ended Saturday, according to RR Auction of Boston. No information about the buyer was disclosed. The...
2 dead, 6 injured in overnight shooting near RutgersVideo
Two people were killed and six injured early Sunday morning when gunfire broke out near Rutgers University in New Jersey. The victims have not been identified, but officials said Sunday that the two fatalities were both male. New Brunswick police responded to calls just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday and found...
Sally set to become hurricane and threaten Gulf CoastVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tropical Storm Sally slowed down Sunday as it churned northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, increasing the risk of heavy rain and dangerous storm surge before an expected strike as a Category 2 hurricane in southern Louisiana. “I know for a lot of people this storm...
Sheriff: Deputy on video punching Black man in Georgia fired
A sheriff’s deputy in Georgia has been fired after being captured on video repeatedly punching a Black man during a traffic stop, authorities said Sunday. The deputy was being let go for “excessive use of force,” the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. It did not identify the...
Death toll from wildfires reaches 33 on the West Coast
SALEM, Ore. — Nearly all of the dozens of people reported missing after a devastating blaze in southern Oregon have been accounted for, authorities said, as crews continued to battle wildfires that have killed at least 33 victims from California to Washington state. The flames have destroyed neighborhoods, leaving a...
Honoring ‘The 40’: Plans underway for 20th anniversary of 9/11 at Flight 93 memorial
Stephen Clark began laying the groundwork for the 20th anniversary service for 9/11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial five months ago. Clark is the National Park Service superintendent at the Somerset County memorial that pays tribute to 40 men and women who died when United Flight 93 crashed near...
2 California deputies shot in apparent ambush in patrol carVideo
LOS ANGELES — Authorities searched Sunday for a gunman who shot and critically wounded two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who were sitting in their squad car — an apparent ambush that drew an angry response from the president. The 31-year-old female deputy and 24-year-old male deputy underwent surgery Saturday...
Smoke chokes West Coast as wildfire deaths keep climbing
SALEM, Ore. — Wildfire smoke that posed a health hazard to millions choked the West Coast on Saturday as firefighters battled deadly blazes that obliterated some towns and displaced tens of thousands of people, the latest in a series of calamities this year. For people already enduring the coronavirus pandemic,...
Depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Sally off Florida
MIAMI — A tropical depression moving across the Gulf of Mexico has strengthened into Tropical Storm Sally and is threatening Florida with heavy rain, weather forecasters said Saturday. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm would bring heavy rain to the Florida Keys as well as southern and...
Charlottesville removes Confederate statue near rally site
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A crowd cheered Saturday as workers in Charlottesville removed a Confederate statue near the site of a violent white nationalist rally three years ago. The removal of a bronze figure of a Confederate soldier known as “At Ready” is seen in Charlottesville as a milestone in eliminating...
AstraZeneca, Oxford University to resume trials of virus vaccine
LONDON — Oxford University says trials of a coronavirus vaccine its developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will resume, days after pausing due to a reported side effect in a patient in Britain. The university says in large trials “it is expected that some participants will become unwell and every case...
Dakotas lead U.S. in virus growth as both reject mask rules
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation, fueling impassioned debates over masks and personal freedom after months in which the two states avoided the worst of the pandemic. The argument over masks raged this week in Brookings, South Dakota,...
Better weather aids battle against deadly Western U.S. wildfires
SALEM, Ore. — Diminishing winds and rising humidity helped firefighters battling deadly blazes in Oregon and California, but with dozens of people still missing, authorities in both states feared that the receding flames could reveal many more dead across the blackened landscape. Oregon’s emergency management director said officials were preparing...
Prosecutors: Chauvin used neck restraints in past arrests
MINNEAPOLIS — A white police officer accused in the death of George Floyd had used neck or head and upper body restraints seven times before, including four incidents in which prosecutors say he went too far, according to prosecution documents released Friday in the case against four former Minneapolis officers...
‘There was no fighting this fire,’ California survivor says
BERRY CREEK, Calif. — John Sykes built his life around his cabin in the dense woods of Northern California. He raised his two children there, expanded it and improved it over time and made it resilient to all kinds of disaster except fire. So when the winds started howling Tuesday...
Lawyer: Utah boy ‘lucky to be alive’ after police shooting
SALT LAKE CITY — A 13-year-old autistic boy who was shot by police in Salt Lake City last week is “lucky to be alive” and will likely experience lifelong injuries, the family’s lawyer said Friday. Linden, whom the family wants referred to only by his first name, remains hospitalized with...
Challenger to QAnon supporter bows out of race in Georgia
ATLANTA — The Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat in Georgia dropped out of the race Friday, clearing a near-certain path to victory for a QAnon-supporting Republican contender who has been criticized for her incendiary comments. Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal bowed out of the race for “personal and family...
Judges: Florida felons can’t vote until they pay fines, fees
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida felons must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote, a federal appellate court ruled Friday in a case that could have broad implications for the November elections. Reversing a lower court judge’s decision that gave Florida felons...
Attorneys deny racial motive in Ahmaud Arbery slaying
ATLANTA — Attorneys for a white father and son charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery say their clients weren’t motivated by race when they armed themselves, chased after the young Black man and shot him in the street after a confrontation, according to interviews published Friday. Gregory and Travis McMichael have...
Bahrain becomes latest Arab nation to recognize Israel
WASHINGTON — Bahrain has become the latest Arab nation to agree to normalize ties with Israel as part of a broader diplomatic push by President Donald Trump and his administration to fully integrate the Jewish state into the Middle East. Trump announced the agreement on Friday, following a three-way phone...
Parking deck collapse in Atlanta leaves 5 workers injured
A parking deck under construction in Atlanta partially collapsed on Friday, officials said, injuring five workers. Video from news helicopters showed an injured worker lowered by crane from the collapsed section of the deck. Four construction workers were injured but managed to walk away from the collapse site. One was...
Florida man gets death penalty for raping, killing girl
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man was sentenced to death on Friday for raping and killing a 9-year-old girl. Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Michelle Sisco affirmed a jury’s unanimous death penalty recommendation for Granville Ritchie, the Tampa Bay Times reported. He was found guilty last year of first-degree murder,...
