Donald Trump Jr. points father’s followers to new villain, new rallying cry
At President Donald Trump’s first rally since the end of the 22-month Russia investigation, his supporters shouted about a woman who is guaranteed not to feature opposite him on the ballot in 2020. She’s a Democrat, elected to Congress from New York. It wasn’t only Hillary Clinton - Trump’s adversary...
Libyan official: Migrants used metal tools to threaten crew
VALLETTA, Malta — A Libyan official says the migrants who commandeered an oil tanker that had rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea used metal tools to threaten the crew, forcing them to direct the ship toward Europe. Maltese armed forces stormed the vessel Thursday and detained five men suspected of...
Why were Garfield telephones washing ashore in France?
For more than 30 years, pieces of Garfield telephones kept washing ashore on the beaches of northwestern France, and no one quite knew why. Where was the lasagna-loving cartoon cat coming from? The mystery would puzzle the locals for years. His plastic body parts, first appearing in a crevice of...
Man charged with killing toddler in stroller dead in jail
CINCINNATI — Authorities say a man charged with driving over a curb, killing a toddler in a stroller and fleeing the scene has died of an apparent drug overdose at a county jail in Cincinnati. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office says 31-year-old Satwinder Singh was found unresponsive in his cell...
Doctor: Florida man believed he was ‘half-man, half-dog’
STUART, Fla. — A forensic psychologist says a former college student believed he was “half-dog, half-man” when he fatally attacked a man and woman at their home and was found biting one of their faces. The Palm Beach Post reports Dr. Phillip Resnick made the conclusion in a 38-page mental-health...
U.S. consumer spending edges up weak 0.1 percent in January
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending edged up a tiny 0.1 percent in January, while incomes advanced a modest 0.2 percent in February, further evidence that economic activity may have decelerated after strong growth for most of last year. The Commerce Department said Friday that the weak gain in consumer spending...
Reputed ‘Ripper Crew’ member, killer released from prison
CANTON, Ill. — Authorities say a man convicted of murder as a suspected member of the notorious “Ripper Crew” that killed as many as 20 Chicago-area women in the 1980s has been released from prison. An alert from Illinois’ victim notification system was issued Friday saying 58-year-old Thomas Kokoraleis had...
‘Filthadelphia’ tries to shed nickname
PHILADELPHIA — The City of Brotherly Love was once revolutionary when it came to clean streets, gutters and sidewalks. Benjamin Franklin launched one of America’s first street sweeping programs here in the late 1750s. In 1952, the city tied with Memphis, Tennessee, as the nation’s cleanest. Those distinctions are long...
City leaders: Jussie Smollett owes Chicago $130K for investigation
CHICAGO — City officials have ordered Jussie Smollett to pay $130,000 to cover the cost of the investigation into his report of a street attack that Chicago police say was staged to promote his career. A letter from the city’s legal department sent Thursday to Smollett and his attorneys said...
Pope mandates reporting of sex abuse claims in Vatican City
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Friday issued sweeping new sex abuse legislation for Vatican personnel and Holy See diplomats that requires the immediate reporting of abuse allegations to Vatican prosecutors, a policy shift aimed at being a model for the Catholic Church worldwide. The mandatory reporting provision of the...
Report: ‘Serial’ slaying DNA evidence doesn’t match Adnan Syed
BALTIMORE — Prosecutors in the murder case chronicled on the podcast “Serial” tested evidence from the 1999 crime last summer and found that none matched DNA from the convicted killer. Defense attorney C. Justin Brown tweeted Thursday that no forensic evidence links his client Adnan Syed to the killing of...
U.S. Methodist leaders lay plans to resist vote against same-sex marriage
When the United Methodist Church voted to uphold its ban on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy last month, Methodist pastors and churchgoers across America were devastated. A majority of American delegates had voted against the plan, though they were outvoted by more conservative delegates from Africa and other continents. In...
Rangers free 6 trapped baby elephants in Thailand
BANGKOK — Rangers at a national park in northeastern Thailand have rescued six baby elephants that were trapped in a mud pit. Park officials say the elephants were unable to climb up the pit’s slippery banks. Rescuers took five hours on Thursday to dig a path for them to clamber...
Trump’s small-business health insurance plan struck down
WASHINGTON — A federal judge is striking down the Trump administration’s highly touted small-business health insurance plan, calling it an “end run” around consumer protections. The ruling Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C., is the second setback in a week for the administration’s health care initiatives....
Pet zebra escapes Florida home, is fatally shot by its owner
CALLAHAN, Fla. — Authorities say a pet zebra escaped from a Florida home and was shot and killed by its owner, who wasn’t licensed to own the animal. News outlets report the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office says the zebra, named Shadow, injured itself somehow while escaping Wednesday in the town...
Tax credit proposed to help young Pennsylvania farmers acquire land
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization, is backing legislation that would provide a tax credit as an incentive for selling or leasing land to a beginning farmer. While in Harrisburg for its state legislative conference this week, the bureau urged support of the incentive as set forth...
FBI could review the many suspicions around Smollett case
CHICAGO — The FBI was already investigating Jussie Smollett before President Donald Trump tweeted that the agency and the Department of Justice would review the case, which the president called “an embarrassment” to the nation. Trump’s tweet on Thursday came two days after a surprise decision by Cook County prosecutors...
Harry Reid testifies exercise device injury cost him Senate
LAS VEGAS — Former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid told a Nevada jury Thursday that his career was cut short by injuries he suffered when a TheraBand exercise device slipped from his hand and he fell in his home bathroom in 2015. From a wheelchair on the witness stand in a...
‘Texas 7’ prison-break gang member gets execution reprieve
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A member of the “Texas 7” gang of escaped prisoners won a reprieve Thursday night from execution for the fatal shooting of a suburban Dallas police officer after claiming his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser wasn’t allowed to be in the death...
Trump turns Mueller probe’s findings into political weapon
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Presenting himself as both vindicated and vindictive, a fired-up President Trump on Thursday turned the findings of the special counsel’s Russia investigation into a political weapon at a boisterous Michigan rally that was part victory lap, part 2020 campaign push. With Robert Mueller’s investigation largely over,...
Tourist taking photos dies in fall at Grand Canyon
GRAND CANYON WEST, Ariz. — Two people have died at the Grand Canyon in separate incidents this week that included one man stumbling over the edge of the rim while trying to take pictures, officials said. A helicopter lifted the body of the Hong Kong man from 1,000 feet below...
U.K. leader Theresa May rolling the dice again on Brexit deal
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May rolled the dice Thursday on another Brexit vote in Parliament, sending a tweaked and trimmed version of her EU divorce deal back to lawmakers who had rejected it twice before. But the agreement faced substantial opposition, even after May sacrificed her job for...
McConnell moves to change Senate rules to speed up confirmation of Trump nominees
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is setting up a major fight in the Senate next week over the chamber’s rules, as Republicans plan to deploy a controversial procedural maneuver to speed up consideration of hundreds of lower-level Trump administration nominees. Agitated by Democrats slowing down consideration of...
Trump ditches proposal to slash Special Olympics funding
WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Thursday that he was backing off a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, reversing course after his administration weathered days of criticism for the proposed cut. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Michigan, Trump said...
Clash between Republicans and Rep. Adam Schiff overshadows Russia intelligence hearing
WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday demanded that Chairman Adam B. Schiff step down from his post in light of his repeated allegations that President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russians in the 2016 election, the latest in growing GOP attacks against the California Democrat. The heated,...
