200-foot radio tower stolen in Alabama, silencing small town’s voice
JASPER, Ala. — The theft of a giant radio tower has silenced what used to be the voice of a small Alabama town and the surrounding county, the radio station’s general manager said. A thief or thieves made off with the 200-foot tower, shutting down WJLX radio in Jasper, Ala....
Las Vegas police: Damage to Sphere from climber is around 6 figures
LAS VEGAS — An anti-abortion advocate caused about $100,000 in damage to the Las Vegas Sphere when he climbed the structure as part of a publicity stunt, police said. Maison Des Champs, 24, faces charges of destruction of property, conspiracy to destroy property and disregarding the safety of persons or...
Israel’s next target in Gaza war is likely Rafah. Terrified people say there’s nowhere left to go
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s southernmost town, Rafah, is bursting at the seams. Nearly the last place spared an Israeli offensive so far, Rafah’s population has more than quintupled with Palestinians streaming in to escape fighting. They pack by the dozens into apartments. Sidewalks and once-empty lots are clogged with...
FAFSA angst sweeps across Western Pa. for prospective college students
Many prospective college students and their parents are feeling angst over delays associated with the federal financial aid application, known as FAFSA, that millions rely on. An update to the application system last year has resulted in delays this year. As a result, it could be mid-March before colleges receive...
Chemical attack suspect likely vanished in the Thames, U.K. police say
LONDON — The suspect in a London chemical attack that left a woman hospitalized with life-changing injuries and injured her two young daughters likely has vanished in the River Thames, police said Friday. Metropolitan Police Commander Jon Savell said closed-circuit television images showed Abdul Ezedi walking on a bridge over...
Prince Harry settles tabloid phone hacking claim, says his mission to tame the media continues
LONDON — Prince Harry said Friday that his “mission” to rein in the British media continues, after he accepted costs and damages from a tabloid publisher that invaded his privacy with phone hacking and other illegal snooping. Harry’s attorney, David Sherborne, said at a court hearing that Mirror Group Newspapers...
Oklahoma judge who sent more than 500 texts during a murder trial resigns
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma judge who sent more than 500 texts to her bailiff during a murder trial will resign, according to a court filing. In a proposed settlement agreement filed Thursday with the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary, District Judge Traci Soderstrom agreed to resign on Friday and...
Pope blasts ‘radical individualism’ as he meets with Argentines ahead of big canonization
ROME — Pope Francis on Friday blasted the “radical individualism” that he said was infecting society today, as he greeted Argentine pilgrims who are in town for this weekend’s canonization of the first female saint from his home country. Instead, Francis held up as a model the 18th century Argentine...
Netanyahu orders population of Gaza’s crowded Rafah evacuated ahead of an expected ground invasion
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has ordered the military to prepare a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza town. Netanyahu made the announcement Friday following international criticism of Israel’s plan to invade the...
Wisconsin has been hit with its 1st-ever February tornado
MADISON, Wis. — The first-ever February tornado for the state of Wisconsin was spotted Thursday just south of Madison, the National Weather Service confirmed. It was the first time a tornado was confirmed during the second month of the year in the state since records have been kept, the Milwaukee...
Thousands of doctors in England to strike again as health likely to become a key U.K. election issue
LONDON — Thousands of doctors in the early years of their careers in England are to go on strike later this month for another five-day stretch as their long-standing pay dispute with the British government remains in stasis. The British Medical Association, the union that represents the so-called junior doctors,...
Putin uses Tucker Carlson interview to press his Ukraine narrative, hints at swapping WSJ reporter
Russian President Vladimir Putin used an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to urge Washington to recognize Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks. Putin also said that Russia stands ready to negotiate a potential prisoner exchange that would free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan...
Pitt trustees discuss ways to raise national profile
University of Pittsburgh trustees Thursday heard an update on the university’s five-year strategic initiative dubbed “Plan for Pitt” and elected a new board chairman. Their meeting was punctuated by a noisy but peaceful pro-Palestinan protest outside the Assembly Room in the William Pitt Union. The demonstrators numbering a few dozen...
Criminal background checks waived for some student employees at Pa. state universities
Some student employees who work jobs at the 10 state universities would be exempted from the Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s criminal background check policy. The system’s governing board on Thursday approved the policy change that carves out student employees who have no direct contact and/or routine contact with...
Body-camera footage shows chaotic lead-up to Times Square brawl between police and migrantsVideo
NEW YORK — The confrontation begins with police officers ordering a group of migrants to leave a bustling Times Square block. It escalates when one of those men, slowly walking away, lobs an insult in Spanish: “They look like Ugly Betty.” Second later, he is pushed up against a wall...
Judge denies Peter Navarro’s bid to remain out of prison while appealing contempt of Congress case
A federal judge on Thursday denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro’s bid to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro was sentenced last month to four...
2 JetBlue planes make contact at Logan Airport, wingtip touches tail
BOSTON — Two JetBlue planes made contact Thursday morning at Boston Logan International Airport, with one wingtip touching another plane’s tail. No one was hurt and both flights were canceled, Jennifer Mehigan of the Massachusetts Port Authority said in an email. The left winglet of JetBlue Flight 777 struck the...
Former Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann wins defamation suit over comparison to molester, jury decides
WASHINGTON — A jury on Thursday awarded $1 million to climate scientist Michael Mann who sued a pair of conservative writers 12 years ago after they compared his depictions of global warming to a convicted child molester. Mann, a professor of climate science at the University of Pennsylvania, rose to...
Near-total abortion ban rejected by Virginia House panel
RICHMOND, Va. — Lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates — controlled by Democrats who flipped the chamber in November after campaigning on abortion rights — decisively voted down a bill that would have instituted a near-total abortion ban. On a bipartisan 8-0 vote Wednesday night, a House subcommittee rejected...
CIA terminates whistleblower who prompted flood of sexual misconduct complaints
The CIA this week terminated a woman whose whistleblower account of being assaulted in a stairwell at the spy agency’s headquarters prompted a flood of colleagues to come forward with their own complaints of sexual misconduct. The woman’s attorney called the action a brazen retaliation. While the CIA said that...
6 members of Philadelphia area family feared dead in house fire and shooting, prosecutor says
EAST LANSDOWNE — Six members of a family — including three children — are feared dead, an official said Thursday, from a fire at a house in suburban Philadelphia that went up in flames as two police officers who responded to the scene were shot and injured. Delaware County District...
Former Olympian set to plead guilty to multiple charges of molesting boys in 1970s
BOSTON — A former Olympian and longtime track coach is expected to plead guilty Thursday to charges of sexually molesting young boys while working at a sports camp in western Massachusetts in the 1970s. Conrad Mainwaring, who was a hurdler for Antigua and Barbuda in the 1976 Summer Olympics in...
Shapiro’s college plan could be ‘transformational,’ Pa. higher education board chair says
Minutes into Thursday’s State System of Higher Education board meeting, chair Cynthia Shapira summed up in her own view the enormous stakes for public higher education in Pennsylvania: “If we do this right, the new system represents an opportunity to be transformational.” She was referring to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal...
Special counsel alleged Biden couldn’t recall personal milestones. His response: ‘My memory is fine’Video
WASHINGTON — The longstanding concerns about President Joe Biden’s age and memory intensified on Thursday after the release of a special counsel’s report investigating his possession of classified documents. The report described the 81-year-old Democrat’s memory as “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” “poor” and having “significant limitations.” It noted that Biden could...
Russian election officials reject antiwar politician’s bid to oppose Putin in next month’s vote
TALLINN, Estonia — Antiwar politician Boris Nadezhdin was rejected Thursday as a candidate in next month’s presidential balloting by Russian election authorities, a strong signal from the Kremlin that it won’t tolerate any public opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. The move by the Central Election Commission provides an even...
