Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill Palestinian as violence ebbs
JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed a 58-year-old man and wounded five others on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials said, even as the latest spasm of violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the enclave appeared to ebb. Israeli fighter jets struck targets in Gaza in response to...
History, civics scores of U.S. students dipped amid pandemic
Test scores in history and civics have declined slightly for eighth grade students in the U.S., according to results that show an increasing number of children lack a basic understanding of either subject. The scores were released Wednesday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The same assessment reported in...
Russia claims Ukraine tried to hit Kremlin; Kyiv denies it
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia claimed it foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. Ukraine denied any involvement, saying Moscow could use it for further escalation of the...
Partner of suspected Texas gunman accused of foiling arrest
CLEVELAND, Texas — The partner of a Texas man suspected of killing five of his neighbors after they asked him to stop shooting his gun near their house was arrested Wednesday for helping him to elude capture. At least one other person is likely to face similar charges, authorities said....
In coronation, King Charles carries on a medieval tradition
LONDON — Great Britain’s royal family turns the page on a new chapter Saturday with the coronation of King Charles III. The pomp, pageantry and symbolism dates back more than 1,000 years, but the crowning of this king will feature new twists on the tradition and changes from the coronation...
UK readies pomp for King Charles III’s coronation
LONDON — The crown has been resized. The troops are prepared for the biggest military procession in 70 years. The Gold State Coach is ready to roll. Now it’s time for the show. King Charles III will be crowned Saturday at Westminster Abbey in an event full of all the...
Bear gives West Virginia principal a roaring wake-up callVideo
A black bear gave a West Virginia principal quite the wake-up call when it emerged — growling and roaring — from a dumpster outside an elementary school. Zela Elementary School principal James Marsh was surprised to discover the bear had somehow managed to get inside the dumpster over the weekend...
Close call at high speed: video shows officer evade crashVideo
FAIRFAX, Va. — A police officer remarkably escaped injury Monday when a car careened across a highway at 120 mph while he conducted a traffic stop. Dashcam video of the crash released Tuesday by Fairfax County Police shows a black BMW sedan driven by a teenager coming within inches of...
Police: Serbia school shooter had list of students to target
BELGRADE, Serbia — A teenager who opened fire Wednesday at a school in Serbia’s capital drew sketches of classrooms and wrote a list of people he intended to target in a meticulously planned attack, police said. He killed eight fellow students and a school guard before being arrested. The shooter...
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee votes against resolution honoring U.S.-Israel relationship
The U.S. House passed a resolution last week honoring America’s relationship with Israel on the 75th anniversary of its independence, but U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, was part of a small group of representatives to vote against the bill. House Resolution 311 passed with bipartisan support on a 401-19 vote....
Family of bride killed in wreck warns about drunken drivingVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The mother of the bride had just unwound with a change of clothes and a glass of wine on her short-term rental’s balcony when the sound of sirens gave the first impression that her daughter’s wedding night had gone awry. Within minutes, Lisa Miller was riding with...
Suspected gunman caught after 5 dead in Texas mass shooting
CLEVELAND, Texas — Authorities near Houston say they have caught a man suspected of killing five of his neighbors, including a 9-year-old boy, with an AR-style rifle after the family confronted him late at night about firing rounds in his yard. Francisco Oropeza, 38, was arrested Tuesday, four days after...
2nd accuser testifies she too was sexually attacked by TrumpVideo
NEW YORK — A woman testified Tuesday that Donald Trump molested her with what seemed like “40 zillion hands” on an airline flight in the late 1970s — years before writer E. Jean Carroll says the former president sexually assaulted her at a Manhattan department store. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyer said...
Judge rejects Zooey Zephyr bid to return to Montana House
HELENA, Mont. — Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Montana lawmaker silenced after telling Republicans they would have blood on their hands for opposing gender-affirming health care for kids, cannot return to the statehouse House floor and participate in debate, a judge ruled Tuesday. District Court Judge Mike Menahan said it...
Nearly 300 nabbed in global crackdown on dark web drug marketplaceVideo
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Authorities in the U.S. and Europe arrested nearly 300 people, confiscated over $53 million, and seized a dark web marketplace as part of an international crack down on drug trafficking that officials say was the largest operation of its kind. The worldwide operation targeting the “Monopoly...
Bill to broaden LGBTQ+ protections passes Pennsylvania House
HARRISBURG — A bill to broaden protections for LGBTQ+ people passed the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives on Tuesday — the first to advance this far after yearslong efforts by Democrats — though it faces strong headwinds in the Republican-controlled Senate. The bill passed 102-98 in the House where Democrats...
Officials: U.S. to send Ukraine $300 million in military aid
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is sending Ukraine about $300 million in additional military aid, including an enormous amount of artillery rounds, howitzers, air-to-ground rockets and ammunition as the launch of a spring offensive against Russian forces approaches, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The new package includes Hydra-70 rockets, which are unguided...
Shot fired at Memphis TV station; suspect in custody
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A shot was fired Tuesday at a Memphis television station, but no one was wounded, the station said. The suspect then hid in a nearby business before he was arrested about two hours later, police said. WHBQ, the Fox affiliate in Tennessee’s second-largest city, reported that the...
Underwater cemetery found off Dry Tortugas National Park
DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK, Fla. — Archeologists have found the remains of a 19th century quarantine hospital and cemetery on a submerged island in Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park in the Gulf of Mexico. While only one grave has been identified, historical records indicate dozens of people — mostly U.S....
Workers: ‘Rotten egg’ smell before Pa. chocolate factory blast
Workers at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory smelled “rotten eggs” before a powerful natural gas explosion that leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people, federal safety officials said Monday in a preliminary report. The National Transportation Safety Board’s five-paragraph account of the fatal explosion confirmed earlier reporting by...
Debt deadline: White House meeting set, but no solution yet
WASHINGTON — Facing the risk of a an unprecedented U.S. government default by month’s end, President Joe Biden has invited the top four congressional leaders to face-to-face talks at the White House next week. It’s the first concrete step toward negotiations on averting a potential economic catastrophe, but there’s a...
The balloon that flew over Hawaii? U.S. says it’s not China’s
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department and the Federal Aviation Administration have been tracking a balloon that was flying off the coast of Hawaii last week, but a defense official said Tuesday there’s no indication it is connected to China or any other adversary, and it presents no threats to aviation...
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee votes against resolution honoring U.S.-Israel relationship
The U.S. House passed a resolution last week honoring America’s relationship with Israel on the 75th anniversary of its independence, but U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, was part of a small group of representatives to vote against the bill. House Resolution 311 passed with bipartisan support on a 401-19 vote....
Apple, Google partner to combat creepy tracking tactics
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple and Google are teaming up to thwart unwanted tracking through Bluetooth devices that were created to help people find lost keys, keep tabs on luggage or to locate other things that have a tendency to be misplaced or lost. The two companies behind the iPhone and...
Oklahoma woman: Sex offender controlled daughter’s familyVideo
HENRYETTA, Okla. — A registered sex offender found dead on a rural Oklahoma property with his wife, her teenage children and two visiting teens kept the family “under lock and key” and always had to know where they were, the wife’s mother said Tuesday. Janette Mayo, 59, of Westville, said...
