Officials identify remains found in burnt-out Hawaii home
HONOLULU — The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the remains of two people found in a burnt-out home where a man allegedly shot and killed two Honolulu police officers and attacked a neighbor before setting the house ablaze last weekend. Officials on Friday released a statement identifying the homeowner,...
Too soon to tell if new virus as dangerous as SARS cousin
The new virus from China has the world on edge because it’s a close cousin to viruses that killed hundreds in separate outbreaks. While it’s too early to tell if this latest threat will prove as deadly, health authorities are drawing on lessons from that grim past. WHAT’S THE LINK...
It didn’t take long for someone to pilfer weed from an airport bin where travelers ditch their stash
CHICAGO — One person’s trash is another person’s stash. Chicago police say someone apparently stole marijuana this week from one of the blue boxes placed at Midway Airport for travelers who need to dispose of their weed before they get on a plane. The “marijuana amnesty boxes” were placed there...
85,000 museum artifacts feared lost in NYC Chinatown fire
NEW YORK — Some 85,000 artifacts that tell the story of the Chinese migration to the United States may have been lost in a fire that struck a building in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown, a museum official said Friday. The president of the Museum of Chinese in America told...
Trump’s lawyers prepare a blistering defense
WASHINGTON — Over the last three days, House Democrats have presented compelling evidence in the form of snappy video clips, punchy PowerPoint slides and impassioned oratory, building a case that removing President Donald Trump from office is imperative to protect the Constitution and the country. Starting Saturday, Trump’s lawyers will...
Trial highlights: Dems cry cover-up, Trump hails activists
WASHINGTON — From the floor of the Senate, Democratic impeachment prosecutors said Friday that President Donald Trump tried to cover up his actions with Ukraine, another reason to remove him from office. A few blocks away, Trump told anti-abortion activists on the National Mall that he proudly stands with them....
Outbreak casts pall over China new year as deaths surpass 40
BEIJING — China’s most festive holiday began in the shadow of a worrying new virus Saturday as the death toll surpassed 40, an unprecedented lockdown kept 36 million people from traveling and authorities canceled a host of Lunar New Year events. The National Health Commission reported a jump in the...
Recalled ground beef may contain plastic
Amity Packing Company has recalled 2,020 pounds of raw ground beef that may be contaminated with plastic. Labeled for Pre Brands, the 1-pound, vacuum-packed packages of 95% lean ground beef were produced on Jan. 6 by the Chicago-based company and were distributed to retailers in nine states including Pennsylvania, Ohio,...
Report: Recording links Trump to Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s ousterVideo
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump can be heard in a taped 2018 conversation saying he wants to get rid of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, whose removal a year later emerged as an issue in Trump’s impeachment. The president was talking with a small group that included Lev Parnas,...
On impeachment, McConnell ‘plays to win’
WASHINGTON — In 1999, a rank-and-file Republican senator named Mitch McConnell was, in his words, the “go-to guy” for explaining how arcane Senate rules could influence the outcome of Democratic President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. “The reason Clinton was not removed from office,” McConnell mused in his 2016 memoir, “was...
Trump, a late convert to cause, attends anti-abortion rally
WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed to stand with anti-abortion activists Friday as he became the first sitting president to speak at the March for Life, an annual gathering that is one of the movement’s highest profile and most symbolic events. “Today as President of the United States, I am truly...
State House scales back proposed emissions inspection overhaul
The state House scaled back a proposal that would have exempted many Pennsylvania drivers from vehicle emissions inspections — now calling for a study instead of an immediate overhaul. “They essentially gutted and replaced it,” said state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and the driving...
Too soon to tell if new virus as dangerous as SARS cousin
The new virus from China has the world on edge because it’s a close cousin to viruses that killed hundreds in separate outbreaks. While it’s too early to tell if this latest threat will prove as deadly, health authorities are drawing on lessons from that grim past. What’s the link...
At least 14 dead, hundreds hurt as quake hits eastern Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 rocked eastern Turkey on Friday killing at least 14 people, injuring more than 300 and leaving several trapped in the wreckage of toppled buildings, Turkish officials said. Rescue teams from neighboring provinces were dispatched to the affected areas, and...
U.S. vows greater effort to fight flood of counterfeit goods
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration pledged Friday to step up efforts against the vast amounts of counterfeit clothing, medicine and other goods that have flooded into the U.S. in increasing waves with the rise in e-commerce. Customs and Border Patrol would subject online retailers, including the growing number of third-party...
California threatened with funds loss over abortion coverage
WASHINGTON — Saying that California is violating a federal law, the Trump administration on Friday threatened the state with a potential loss of federal health care funds over its requirement that insurance plans cover abortions. The announcement was timed to coincide with the anti-abortion March for Life in the nation’s...
Snow plow kills 2 near Kansas State University campus
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A snow plow struck and killed two pedestrians in Kansas before sunrise Friday after a winter storm coated parts of the Midwest with snow. The collision involving a Riley County plow truck happened shortly after 5 a.m., after the National Weather Service issued winter weather advisories...
Lawsuit: 2 cheated man of $4 million in lottery winnings
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A Massachusetts says two women cheated him out of $4 million in lottery winnings by taking advantage of his inability to read or speak English. Joao Luis DaPonte filed a lawsuit this month against Maria Oliveira and Susana Gaspar in Bristol Superior Court over the ownership...
Pompeo heads to Ukraine next week as impeachment winds down
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Ukraine next week, making his first trip to the country at the heart of President Donald Trump’s impeachment. As Trump’s Senate trial on impeachment charges continues, the State Department announced Friday that Pompeo would travel to Kiev as part of a...
Pentagon: 34 U.S. troops had brain injuries from Iran’s strike
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Friday that 34 U.S. troops were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries suffered in this month’s Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi air base, and that half of the troops have returned to their military duties. Seventeen of the 34 are still under medical observation, according...
China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
BEIJING — China expanded its lockdown against the deadly new virus to an unprecedented 36 million people and rushed to build a prefabricated, 1,000-bed hospital for victims Friday as the outbreak cast a pall over Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest and most festive holiday. The number of confirmed cases...
Iraqis rally against U.S. troops, demanding they leave
BAGHDAD — Waving national flags and banners denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump, tens of thousands of Iraqis marched peacefully through Baghdad on Friday to demand the ouster of U.S. troops from their country in a protest organized by a populist Shiite cleric. The show of force by followers of Muqtada...
Trump administration picks a new leader for U.S. Border Patrol
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has named a new head of the U.S. Border Patrol. Rodney Scott will take over for Carla Provost, who is retiring, according to an announcement obtained Friday by The Associated Press from Mark Morgan, acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott has been...
Gov. Wolf to seek school construction aid amid health issues
HARRISBURG — With budget season approaching, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is developing a plan to help deal with aging school buildings plagued by environmental problems, including lead paint and asbestos insulation, his office said. Wolf must deliver a budget proposal to the Legislature on Feb. 4, and lawmakers who are...
Chicago woman becomes 2nd U.S. case of new virus from ChinaVideo
WASHINGTON — A Chicago woman has become the second U.S. patient diagnosed with the new pneumonia-like virus from China, health officials announced Friday. The woman in her 60s returned from China on Jan. 13 without showing any signs of illness, but a few days later she called her doctor to...
