Category: U.S.

The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Jennifer Homendy by voice vote to chair the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the independent federal agency charged with investigating all civil aviation and other transportation accidents. Homendy, 49, has served on the board since August 2018 and previously was a senior legislative staffer working on transportation issues. She was the on-scene board member during the investigation into the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed Los Angeles basketball great Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others, as well as a September 2019 dive ship fire that killed 34 people off the California coast.

Aug. 9—TUPELO — Citizens of Lee County asked a legislative committee last week to respect the voice of Black voters when developing a plan to redraw the district lines of Mississippi’s four U.S. House seats and 174 state legislative seats. Activists, party leaders and elected officials urged the Joint Legislative Reapportionment Committee at a Friday evening public hearing at Itawamba …

“I’m a dead man,” the pastor told his wife in a phone call from jail, police say.

This year’s water shortage could mean a “drought of record” in some parts of Idaho. Will it continue?

Gov. Gavin Newsom has allowed the release of a killer who served four decades in prison for the murder of a developmentally disabled California man who was buried alive, officials said Monday. Newsom took no action last Friday on the state parole board’s latest decision granting parole to David Weidert, his office said Monday, meaning that Weidert, 58, is now eligible for release. Weidert received a life sentence for killing Morganti in 1980 to cover up a $500 burglary.

The New York Assembly’s judiciary committee planned to meet Monday in the investigation into whether there are grounds to impeach Cuomo.

A U.S. judge on Monday questioned lawyers for the Biden administration and landlords challenging a new eviction moratorium put in place last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich asked lawyers about the spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. “What about the trajectory of the pandemic given the rising numbers?” Friedrich asked Brett Schumate, a lawyer for the landlord groups.

Aug. 9—The city’s first federal deadline to disclose its plans for the $386 million it was awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act is approaching at the end of the month. So far, only about $28 million of those funds has been specifically allocated. The federal government awarded states and municipalities millions of dollars of relief funds meant to combat the public health and economic …

Aug. 9—Preservation of several historic war birds is tantalizingly close for the former Naval Air Museum Barbers Point. The museum at Kalaeloa Airport closed in late 2019, making way for construction of Million Air Honolulu, a $12 million private jet terminal. The closure put the museum’s collection of aircraft and artifacts in limbo. Officials at Castle Air Museum in Atwater, Calif., about …

Children’s hospitals are starting to fill up as schools get ready to allow students back into the classroom this fall. Latest COVID-19 news.

Aug. 9—Niagara and Orleans counties are preparing to expand access to the internet, particularly in unserved and underserved rural communities, with the help of funding from the American Rescue Plan. The Niagara County Legislature has approved spending $4.28 million on the project, awarding contracts for the work at its most recent meeting. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D) hailed the action. …

For some, the17th century “pilgrim fathers” are also real-life ancestors. But for how many?

Canada on Monday is lifting its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit, but the United States is keeping similar restrictions in place for Canadians, part of a bumpy return to normalcy from COVID-19 travel bans. U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents must be both fully vaccinated and test negative for COVID-19 within three days to get across one of the world’s longest and busiest land borders. “CBSA will not compromise the health and safety of Canadians for the sake of border wait times,” agency spokeswoman Rebecca Purdy said in a statement.

The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded the largest amount of illegal narcotics in its history— worth more than $1.4 billion — at Port Everglades last week.

The Dixie Fire has burned through more than 463,000 acres and could take weeks to extinguish.

One Chicago police officer was dead and another was fighting for his life Sunday after a shootout during a traffic stop.

Aug. 8—A meeting of the Navarro County Commissioners Court will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 9 in the Commissioners Courtroom of the Navarro County Courthouse, 300 W. Third Ave. Items on Monday’s Commissioners Court agenda include: —Consideration of burn ban —Consideration of approving Chatfield Water Supply to cross NE CR 0260, Pct. 1 —Consideration of approving Chatfield Water Supply to …

Officers were called to a “family disturbance” at a condominium in the island city around 10 p.m. Saturday and arrived to find the women shot dead, police said in a statement. Police said the suspect fled the scene of the shooting but later turned himself in and was arrested in the neighboring community of Port Isabel. Police did not identify the man, who they said is being held on South Padre Island pending formal charges.

It was among the highest of any county in the state, but some neighboring counties had higher relative transmission rates.

Brittany Commisso is one of 11 women Cuomo is accused of sexually harassing, according to an investigative report released by the state attorney general’s office last week. Cuomo has thus far resisted widespread calls for his resignation, including from fellow Democrats such as President Joe Biden, but he could soon face impeachment and removal from office by state lawmakers. Commisso, identified only as “executive assistant #1” in the report, told state investigators that Cuomo fondled her breast on one occasion, the most serious allegation the governor faces.

Aug. 8—Hokulani Holt has dedicated most of her life—nearly 50 years—to teaching hula. And during that time, the revered kumu said she and many other hula practitioners have seen things that are just not right : YouTube videos of people copying traditional dances and inappropriate chants that aren’t in Hawaiian, commercials advertising hula but actually showing Tahitian or other dances, …

Florida parents, including those of students with disabilities, have filed legal challenges to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) executive order barring mask mandates in schools.Why it matters: The lawsuits, filed in state and federal court, come as Florida is experiencing a surge of new COVID cases, largely driven by the Delta variant.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Florida has reported over 2.7 million COVID-19 cases so far and currently has an averag

Aug. 8—Parents in Clark and Champaign school districts have mixed feelings about sending their children back to school in the fall as cases of the coronavirus rise. All districts will be in person with no alternating days for attendance as they did last year to maximize social distancing. Masks were also required, but will be optional this year in most districts. Two districts — Springfield …

The Schramskis were fans of Peyton Manning. Then the team at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital gave their son a chance at life.

The officers stood by as Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the government building, an inquiry says.

Aug. 7—I do not believe in ghouls and ghosts, but I have always been intrigued by cemeteries, especially old cemeteries. Walking through a cemetery lets one’s imagination flow as you imagine the stories that those buried there could tell. As a teen, one of my best friends lived near a cemetery in Bisbee, Arizona. I frequently visited his home, and we would walk through the cemetery to get to …

The incident took place as James was on vacation with three friends, when one passed out and he put her in wheelbarrow, according to local authorities.

Last year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally went on as the pandemic raged, despite criticism from heath experts. This year’s promises to be even bigger.

Charlie Debnam was volunteering at Helping Hand Mission in Raleigh when he became the unintended victim of a fatal shooting.

Barry the beloved owl was hit by a maintenance vehicle in the park while searching for food.