Skull found on Pa. riverbank in 1986 ID’d as missing NJ man
MORRISVILLE, Pa. — Authorities say a skull found on banks of the Delaware River in Pennsylvania more than 3 1/2 decades ago has been identified as that of a man long believed slain in New Jersey along with his girlfriend, whose body had been found in the river on the...
‘Father of Peeps’ marshmallow candies Bob Born dies at 98
Ira “Bob” Born, a candy company executive known as the “Father of Peeps” for mechanizing the process to make marshmallow chicks, has died. He was 98. Just Born Quality Confections, the 100-year-old family-owned company Born led for much of his life, said Monday that he had died peacefully on Sunday....
‘Hands off Africa!’: Pope blasts foreign plundering of Congo
KINSHASA, Congo — Pope Francis demanded Tuesday that foreign powers stop plundering Africa’s natural resources for the “poison of their own greed” as he arrived in Congo to a raucous welcome by Congolese grateful he was focusing the world’s attention on their forgotten plight. Tens of thousands of people lined...
Ex-Indiana Gov. Daniels won’t seek state’s open Senate seat
INDIANAPOLIS — Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Tuesday that he wouldn’t seek that state’s open U.S. Senate seat next year, ending weeks of speculation about whether the longtime Republican figure would enter a possibly vicious GOP primary fight with a combative defender of former President Donald Trump. The decision...
Tyre Nichols case shows officers still fail to intervene
As five Memphis police officers attacked Tyre Nichols with their feet, fists and a baton, others milled around at the scene, even as the 29-year-old cried out in pain and then slumped limply against the side of a car. Just like the attack on George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly three...
Shooters in central California killings of 6 still at large
VISALIA, Calif. — Two weeks after shooters brazenly killed a teen mother, her 10-month-old baby and four other members of her household, the suspects remain at large. Authorities on Monday provided no motive for the attack in a central California farming community. Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux has yet to...
Feds expect to collect $4.7B in insurance fraud penalties
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration estimated Monday that it could collect as much as $4.7 billion from insurance companies with newer and tougher penalties for submitting improper charges on the taxpayers’ tab for Medicare Advantage care. Federal watchdogs have been sounding the alarm for years about questionable charges on the...
Reports: New grand jury in New York examining Trump hush money
NEW YORK — Manhattan prosecutors investigating Donald Trump have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in a years-old probe into payments made to keep the porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president, according to multiple news reports. The news outlets, citing...
Police: 10 wounded in drive-by shooting in FloridaVideo
LAKELAND, Fla. — Ten people were injured Monday afternoon during a drive-by shooting in a central Florida neighborhood, police said. Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said during a news conference that two of the victims were critically injured, while the wounds of the other eight victims weren’t considered life-threatening. Lakeland...
GOP leaders in Florida want to get rid of gun permits
TALLAHASSEE — Saying gun owners don’t need a government permission slip to protect their God-given rights, Florida’s House speaker proposed legislation Monday to eliminate concealed weapons permits, a move Democrats argue would make a state with a history of horrific mass shootings less safe. Republican leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis,...
Brazil’s Bolsonaro applies for 6-month U.S. visitor visa
RIO DE JANEIRO — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has filed a request for a six-month visitor visa to stay in the United States, indicating he may have no immediate intention of returning home, where legal issues await. The application was first reported by The Financial Times, citing Bolsonaro’s immigration...
President Biden to end covid-19 emergencies on May 11
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing covid-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. The move to end the national emergency and public...
West Virginia advances school mandate on ‘In God We Trust’
CHARLESTON — Public schools in West Virginia may soon be required to display the phrase “In God We Trust” in every building if a bill passed by the state Senate on Monday becomes law. The bill was introduced by Republican Sen. Mike Azinger, who said he wants to give kids...
Trump used records requests to get look behind scenes of talks over his taxes
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump demanded reams of information from the Internal Revenue Service as it was preparing to turn over his personal tax returns to a congressional committee, papering the agency with a deluge of Freedom of Information Act requests in search of a behind-the-scenes look at its deliberations, new...
Explainer: What’s behind the Pakistani Taliban’s insurgency?
ISLAMABAD — When a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, suspicion immediately fell on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. In a post on Twitter, a commander for the group, Sarbakaf Mohmand, claimed responsibility for...
Ex-Twitter execs to testify on block of Hunter Biden story
WASHINGTON — Former Twitter employees are expected to testify next week before the House Oversight Committee about the social media platform’s handling of reporting on President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. The scheduled testimony, confirmed by the committee Monday, will be the first time the three former executives will appear...
Florida sheriff sued for ‘Wheel of Fugitive’ defamation
TITUSVILLE, Fla. — A man has filed a defamation lawsuit against a Florida sheriff who posts weekly “Wheel of Fugitive” videos on social media, saying that he wasn’t a fugitive when his name and image appeared several times in 2021 in the sheriff’s posts inspired by the long-running TV game...
7th Memphis officer disciplined, EMTs fired in Tyre Nichols death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders fired in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, officials said Monday, widening the circle of punishment for the shocking display of police brutality after video showed many more people failed to help him beyond...
Croatia’s president criticizes tank deliveries to Ukraine
ZAGREB, Croatia — NATO-member Croatia’s president on Monday criticized Western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons in its campaign against invading Russian forces, saying those arms deliveries will only prolong the war. Zoran Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital that it’s “mad” to believe that...
Virginia school where boy shot teacher reopens with added security
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher reopened Monday with stepped-up security and a new administrator, as nervous parents and students expressed optimism about a return to the classroom. Richneck Elementary School in Newport News opened its doors more than three weeks...
For ‘Amtrak Joe’ Biden, Baltimore rail tunnel visit personal
BALTIMORE (AP) — Ulysses S. Grant was still president when travelers sped through the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, connecting Philadelphia and Washington by rail for the first time. A century and a half later, the tunnel that runs under Baltimore residential neighborhoods is more of a chokepoint than a lifeline....
Tropical storm leaves 30 dead, 20 missing in Madagascar
ANTANARIVO, Madagascar — Flooding and landslides caused by the passage of tropical storm Cheneso across Madagascar caused 30 deaths, left 20 people missing and affected tens of thousands across the Indian Ocean island nation, according to a provisional assessment Monday. The storm made landfall in the northeast of the island...
Russian shelling kills 5 in tough eastern Ukraine combat
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian shelling killed at least five people and wounded 13 others during the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian authorities said Monday, as the Kremlin’s and Kyiv’s forces remained locked in combat in eastern Ukraine ahead of renewed military pushes that are expected when the weather improves. The casualties...
Death toll from Pakistan mosque suicide bombing rises to 74
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The death toll from previous day’s suicide bombing at a mosque in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday jumped to 74 after rescuers retrieved 15 more bodies from the rubble, police and rescue official said. Bilal Faizi, the chief rescue official, said they were still removing the rubble after...
Austrian police find family illegally living in wine cellar
BERLIN — Austrian police said Monday they arrested a 54-year-old man after he attacked two social workers with pepper spray when they found him living illegally in a private wine cellar in northeastern Austria with a woman and six young children. Police in the Austrian province of Lower Austria were...