Author: Reporter

Supervisors in San Francisco voted on November 29 to give city police the ability to use, in emergency situations, remote-controlled robots capable of potentially lethal force. By December 6, the Supervisors held another vote in the aftermath of public backlash to halt the policy. The original resolution followed an emotionally charged debate that reflected divisions on the politically liberal board over support for law enforcement. The vote was 8-3, with the majority agreeing to grant police the option despite strong objections from civil liberties and other police oversight groups. Opponents said the authority would lead to the further militarization...

Law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 were honored on December 6 with Congressional Gold Medals, praised as “heroes” for securing democracy nearly two years after they fought off a brutal and bloody attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened an emotional ceremony, tensions still raw in the stately Capitol Rotunda, which was overrun that day when Trump supporters roamed the halls trying to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election. “January 6 was a day of horror and heartbreak; it is also a moment of extraordinary heroism —staring...

USS Arizona sailor Lou Conter lived through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor even though his battleship exploded and sank after being pierced by aerial bombs. That makes the now 101-year-old somewhat of a celebrity, especially on the anniversary of the December 7, 1941 assault. Many call him and others in the nation’s dwindling pool of Pearl Harbor survivors heroes. Conter rejects the characterization. “The 2,403 men that died are the heroes. And we’ve got to honor them ahead of everybody else. And I’ve said that every time, and I think it should be stressed,” Conter said in a...

NASA’s Orion capsule and its test dummies swooped one last time around the moon Monday, flying over a couple Apollo landing sites before heading home. Orion will aim for a Pacific splashdown on December 11 off San Diego, setting the stage for astronauts on the next flight in a couple years. The capsule passed within 80 miles of the far side of the moon, using the lunar gravity as a slingshot for the 237,000-mile ride back to Earth. It spent a week in a wide, sweeping lunar orbit. Once emerging from behind the moon and regaining communication with flight...