With DUI-related ejection from Army, Illinois deputy who killed Sonya Massey should have raised flags, experts say
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged in the shooting death of Sonya Massey was kicked out of the Army for the first of two drunken driving convictions in which he had a weapon in his car, authorities said, but that didn’t stop multiple law enforcement agencies from giving...
National GOP to spend $1 million toward Ryan Mackenzie in race vs. Susan Wild
State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who is running to unseat U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in the Lehigh Valley’s hotly contested 7th District congressional race, is one of a handful of Republican candidates selected to a National Republican Congressional Committee program, which will spend upward of $1 million to elect him. Mackenzie,...
Term limits for Supreme Court are popular, but would require a constitutional amendment, experts say
WASHINGTON — Term limits for Supreme Court justices are a popular idea, but would require amending the Constitution and would be unlikely to affect the current justices, legal scholars say. On Monday, President Biden endorsed term limits as one of “three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability” in the...
Pennsylvania congressman chosen to lead House task force investigating Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania congressman who witnessed the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump firsthand will lead the House task force charged with investigating what went wrong and recommending solutions to help ensure such an attack doesn’t happen again. Republican Rep. Mike Kelly represents Butler County, where the July...
Opening ceremony tableau sparks Olympic flame of controversy
The opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games included many elements of French culture, from musical performances to sports stars. But one particular moment has elicited a firestorm of controversy. Among the performances was a scene set on the Debilly Bridge over the River Seine that included drag queens,...
American flags should be born in the USA now too, Congress says
Soon, Old Glory will have to be born in the land of the free and not merely flying over it. Congress has passed a proposal to require the federal government to purchase only American flags that have been completely manufactured in the U.S. The U.S. imports millions of American flags...
7 people shot, 2 fatally, at a park in Rochester, N.Y.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Two women were killed and five other people were injured when gunfire erupted during a Sunday afternoon barbecue at a park in upstate New York, authorities said Monday. Hundreds of people were at a gathering in Maplewood Park in Rochester when someone opened fire around 6:20 p.m.,...
2 children dead, 11 people injured in stabbing rampage at a dance class in England, police say
LONDON — A teenage boy with a knife attacked a children’s dance and yoga class in northwest England on Monday, killing two children and wounding 11 other people in a “ferocious” rampage that sent bloodied children running into a street to escape the horror, police and witnesses said. A 17-year-old...
Wildfire smoke may be worse for your brain than other air pollution, study says
Wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other types of air pollution, according to new research linking it to an increased risk of dementia. The findings, reported Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, come as millions spent the weekend under air quality warnings from wildfires...
Blood test for colon cancer screening is approved by U.S. regulators
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Monday approved a first-of-its-kind blood test for colon cancer, offering a new way of screening for a leading cause of cancer deaths. Test manufacturer Guardant said the Food and Drug Administration approved its Shield test for screening in adults 45 and older who have...
Netanyahu vows retaliation against Hezbollah after weekend strike as U.S. warns against escalation
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed heavy retaliation against Hezbollah amid furious diplomatic efforts to prevent a spiral into regional war following a weekend rocket strike that killed 12 children in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Israel has blamed Hezbollah for Saturday evening’s rocket...
Trump agrees to be interviewed as part of an investigation into his assassination attempt, FBI says
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation into his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania earlier this month, a special agent said on Monday in disclosing how the gunman prior to the shooting had researched mass attacks and explosive devices....
Netanyahu vows retaliation against Hezbollah after weekend strike as U.S. warns against escalation
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed heavy retaliation against Hezbollah amid furious diplomatic efforts to prevent a spiral into regional war following a weekend rocket strike that killed 12 children in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Israel has blamed Hezbollah for Saturday evening’s rocket...
Iowa now bans most abortions after about 6 weeks, before many women know they’re pregnant
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa’s strict abortion law went into effect Monday, immediately prohibiting most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. Iowa’s Republican leaders have been seeking the law for years and gained momentum after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v....
At these locations around the world, cats are the star
It’s a tail as old as time. You’re in the right place at the right moment and the next thing you know, you’re living in the White House. That’s what happened to a stray, gray, green-eyed cat named Willow, who turned up at a Joe Biden rally in Pennsylvania in...
Infants’ tongue-tie may be overdiagnosed and needlessly treated, American Academy of Pediatrics says
NEW YORK — Tongue-tie —a condition in infants that can affect breastfeeding — may be overdiagnosed in the U.S. and too often treated with unnecessary surgery, a prominent doctors’ group said Monday. The American Academy of Pediatrics is the latest, and largest, medical society to sound an alarm about the...
Midwest sees surge in calls to poison control centers amid bumper crop of wild mushrooms
MINNEAPOLIS — The warm, soggy summer across much of the Midwest has produced a bumper crop of wild mushrooms — and a surge in calls to poison control centers. At the Minnesota Regional Poison Center, calls from April through July were up 150% over the same period last year, said...
Harris raised $200 million in 1st week of White House campaign and signed up 170,000 volunteers
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has raised $200 million since she emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee last week, an eyepopping haul in her race against former President Donald Trump. The campaign, which announced its latest fundraising total Sunday, said the bulk of the donations — 66%...
Trump and Harris enter 99-day sprint to decide an election that has suddenly transformed
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Barely a week ago, a sense of inevitability hung over the U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump’s allies gleefully predicted a landslide victory during a Republican National Convention that felt more like a coronation for a nominee who had just survived an assassination attempt and was promising...
Biden decries ‘extremism’ on Supreme Court, details plan for term limits, ethics code for justicesVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — President Joe Biden said Monday that “extremism” on the U.S. Supreme Court is undermining public confidence in the institution and called on Congress to quickly establish term limits and an enforceable ethics code for the court’s nine justices. He also called on lawmakers to ratify a constitutional...
Entrenched incumbent Maduro is declared winner of Venezuela’s disputed presidential election
CARACAS — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was formally declared the winner of his country’s disputed presidential election Monday, a day after the political opposition and the entrenched incumbent both claimed victory in the contest. The National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro’s ruling party, announced his victory, handing him...
A manipulated video shared by Musk mimics Harris’ voice, raising concerns about AI in politics
NEW YORK — A manipulated video that mimics the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence to mislead with Election Day about three months away. The video gained attention after tech billionaire Elon Musk shared it...
Israel weighs response to Hezbollah after a rocket from Lebanon kills 12 youths on a soccer field
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Middle East braced for a potential flare-up in violence on Sunday after Israeli authorities said a rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing 12 children and teens in what the military called the deadliest attack on civilians since Oct....
Thousands in Ukraine honor soldiers killed in blast and urge government to get prisoners freed
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainians urged their government to do more to get Russia to release prisoners of war, voicing their anger on Sunday at a ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50. Several thousand soldiers and civilians gathered at Kyiv’s Independence Square Sunday to...
Minnesota prepares for influx of patients from Iowa as abortion ban takes effect
BLOOMINGTON, Minn — Minnesota medical providers and public officials are preparing to welcome patients traveling from Iowa, where a ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy goes into effect Monday. On Thursday, Minnesota’s Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan toured the Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota, a nonprofit...
