In the news

Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old activist, set sail from England for New York City on a 60-foot yacht outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate electricity, allowing Thunberg to make a zero-carbon trans-Atlantic journey to attend U.N.-sponsored climate meetings.

Warner Portillo, 34, a Virginia man who pleaded guilty to taking cash from people in the U.S. illegally to help them obtain fraudulent Maryland driver's licenses, faces up to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Derek Vandenham, a sheriff's deputy in Richland County, S.C., was fired after he was arrested in a child-sex sting operation run by his own department and 12 other agencies that resulted in the arrests of more than a dozen people who solicited sex from officers pretending to be 13- to 15-year-old girls.

Tong Xiaohua, a police chief in Chongqing, China, was fired after his wife, Li Yue, tore into the driver of a low-cost SUV, slapping him and mocking him for driving a "beggar's car" that was blocking her red Porsche from making an illegal U-turn at a pedestrian crossing.

Iain Carberry, 39, accused of smashing glass doors and painting graffiti, including a Bible verse, on the walls of a Planned Parenthood office in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was arrested on burglary, criminal mischief and other charges, police said.

Larry Adams, 61, of Daytona Beach, Fla., who accidentally cut himself while swinging nunchucks at his neighbors and sprayed four of them with roach spray in a dispute over their loud music, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, police said.

Tatiana-Mosio Bongoga inched along a high-wire strung 115 feet above Prague's downtown and over the Vltava River, doing tricks such as splits and dancing, during a 1,148-foot walk without a safety cord to kick off an international circus festival.

Aaron Spaulding, 39, of Las Cruces, N.M., facing several charges related to the mistreatment of his girlfriend and his pet dog and cat, now faces an additional felony animal abuse charge after the cat tested positive for methamphetamines, police said.

Curtis Pardee, 63, of New Haven, Conn., is facing criminal mischief and trespassing charges after he told police that he cut down a 200-year-old white oak known as the Door Tree because of its "doorway-like arch," saying he hates his brother and his brother loved that tree.

A Section on 08/15/2019

Upcoming Events