Getting rid of poison ivy is a serious matter — what you should and shouldn’t do
For all the time I spend digging, planting, pulling and weeding, one would think I’d have some poison ivy horror stories to tell, but I do not. I can’t say for sure whether I’m immune to the rash that tortures so many of my fellow gardeners or if I’ve just...
On heartland roads, and a riverboat, devout Catholics press on with 2-month nationwide pilgrimage
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — “Bye bye, Jesus!” a child called out as the riverboat chugged away from shore into the Ohio River, a solemn bell tolling amid the thrumming of an old-fashioned sternwheel. Two Catholic bishops on board, representing dioceses on each side of the river, took turns holding aloft the...
Missouri, Kansas judges temporarily halt much of President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan
TOPEKA, Kan. — Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday together blocked much of a Biden administration student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. The judges’ rulings prevent the U.S. Department of Education from helping many of...
Ukraine realizes a dream as it launches EU membership talks, but joining is likely to take years
BRUSSELS — The European Union launched membership talks with Ukraine on Tuesday, a decade after Russian troops seized the Crimean Peninsula to deter the country from moving closer to the West, part of a chain of events that set the two neighbors on the path to war. Ukraine’s accession negotiations...
More than 500 people have been charged with federal crimes under the gun safety law Biden signed
WASHINGTON — More than 500 people — some linked to transnational cartels and organized crime rings — have been charged with gun trafficking and other crimes under the landmark gun safety legislation President Joe Biden signed two years ago Tuesday. A White House report obtained by The Associated Press on...
Benefits are important, ‘meaningful work’ even more so for Gen Z workers
The growing numbers of Gen Z workers have mystified both employers and their older colleagues. Remote work, quiet quitting and other buzzwords have filled headlines as CEOs melt down over changing office cultures. But the youthful nuances show no signs of slowing down as the youngest generation continues to enter...
Kenya’s parliament burns as protesters object to new taxes; clashes spread, bodies counted
NAIROBI, Kenya — Part of Kenya’s parliament building was burned Tuesday as thousands of protesters against a new finance bill entered and legislators fled, in the most direct assault on the government in decades. Journalists saw at least three bodies outside the complex where police had opened fire, and medical...
With another setback for cease-fire talks, worries of full-scale war for Israel and Lebanon escalate
BEIRUT — The prospect of a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group terrifies people on both sides of the border, but some see it as an inevitable fallout from Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, particularly as cease-fire negotiations have faltered. Such a war could be...
Former Georgia officials say they’re teaming up to defend the legitimacy of elections
ATLANTA — Four prominent former officials in Georgia, which has been a major front in disinformation over the democratic process, are joining a group that says it will try to counteract efforts to make people distrust elections. Those joining the Democracy Defense Project, whose launch was announced Tuesday, include two...
U.S. surgeon general declares gun violence a public health emergency
WASHINGTON — The U.S. surgeon general on Tuesday declared gun violence a public health crisis, driven by the fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country. The advisory issued by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation’s top doctor, came as the U.S. grappled with another summer weekend marked...
Trump lawyers in classified docs case ask judge to suppress evidence seized during Mar-a-Lago searchVideo
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Lawyers for Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the judge presiding over his classified documents case to prevent prosecutors from using as evidence boxes of records seized during an FBI search of his Florida estate. The arguments marked the conclusion of a three-day hearing in which prosecutors...
TSA says it screened a record of nearly 3 million people Sunday, and bigger crowds are on the way
The number of air travelers moving through U.S. airports hit a record Sunday, and the new mark might not last through next weekend. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 3 million people at airports Sunday, breaking a record set on May 24, the Friday before Memorial Day. TSA...
Police ask Texas prosecutors to treat attempted drowning of 3-year-old child as a hate crime
DALLAS — A Texas woman allegedly tried to drown a 3-year-old at an apartment complex pool in suburban Dallas after making racist remarks toward the child’s mother in a case investigators are asking to be treated as a hate crime, a police spokeswoman said Monday. Elizabeth Wolf, 42, has been...
House ethics panel reviews 2 GOP lawmakers’ campaign payments to private social clubs
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee said Monday it was reviewing separate accusations against two Republican congressmen from Texas that allege they violated ethics rules by using campaign funds to pay membership dues at private social clubs. The bipartisan panel released findings that Rep. Ronny Jackson’s campaign committee had paid...
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to plead guilty in deal with U.S.
WASHINGTON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will free him from prison and resolve a long-running legal saga that spanned multiple continents and centered on the publication of a trove of classified documents, according to...
Bill allows for stuffed toys made and/or sold in Pennsylvania to be more eco-friendly
Teddy bears and other stuffed animals sold in Pennsylvania may soon go green. The state House of Representatives on Monday voted 154-48 to send a bill to Gov. Josh Shapiro for enactment that would end a 63-year-old prohibition on the distribution and sale of stuffed toys made with recycled materials...
Judge sets $10 million bond for Venezuelan man accused of killing a 12-year-old Houston girl
HOUSTON — A judge in Texas set bond of $10 million Monday for an undocumented Venezuelan man accused of killing a 12-year-old Houston girl whose body was found in a creek after she disappeared during a walk to a convenience store. Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, is one of two...
Bankruptcy trustee discloses plan to shut down Alex Jones’ Infowars and liquidate assets
A U.S. bankruptcy court trustee is planning to shut down conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars media platform and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5 billion in lawsuit judgments Jones owes for repeatedly calling the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a hoax. In an “emergency” motion filed Sunday...
What is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group that could wage war on Israel?
BEIRUT — After more than eight months of low-scale conflict, Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are threatening all-out war. The United States and the international community are lobbying for calm and hopeful for a diplomatic solution. They have not been successful so far, and time for a political...
Hiker found safe after 10 days in Northern California mountainsVideo
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A hiker missing for 10 days was found safe in the mountains in Northern California, authorities said. Lukas McClish, 34, left the rural community of Boulder Creek for a hike on June 11 and was reported missing June 16, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s...
Midwestern flooding collapses a bridge, forces evacuations and kills at least 1Video
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Flooding in the Midwestern U.S. collapsed a railroad bridge and tested a dam Monday after days of heavy rains that have forced hundreds of people to evacuate or be rescued from rising waters. The flooding brought additional misery to parts of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and...
After a ‘rough’ start, Sen. John Fetterman opens up about his mental health journey
ASPEN, Colo. — It wasn’t the 2022 election that nearly killed Sen. John Fetterman. By his own account, it was the aftermath. The Pennsylvania Democrat has been candid about his personal experience with depression and self-harm, shining a spotlight on what can still be a taboo subject for many Americans....
Lawsuit challenges new Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments
BATON ROUGE — Civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit Monday to block Louisiana’s new law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom, a measure they contend is unconstitutional. Opponents of the legislation signed into law by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry last week had long...
Prosecutors in classified files case to urge judge to bar Trump from inflammatory comments about FBI
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A federal prosecutor in the classified documents case of Donald Trump clashed with the judge Monday as he faced skeptical questioning over a request to bar the former president from making threatening comments about law enforcement agents involved in the investigation. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team...
Dali cargo ship leaves Baltimore for Virginia, nearly 3 months after bridge collapse
The cargo ship Dali headed out of Baltimore for Virginia on Monday, nearly three months after it lost power and crashed into one of the Francis Scott Key bridge’s supporting columns and caused the bridge to collapse. The 984-foot Dali started moving shortly before 8:30 a.m. with four tugboats. The...
