China accuses Washington of abusing export controls
BEIJING — China’s government on Monday criticized U.S. controls on technology exports as a trade violation, after Japan and the Netherlands agreed to join Washington in limiting Beijing’s access to materials to make advanced processor chips they say can be used in weapons. The Foreign Ministry didn’t mention the latest...
Victims identified as mystery surrounds Los Angeles shooting that left 3 dead
LOS ANGELES — When Rachel David arrived at her Benedict Canyon home early Saturday morning after a night out, she thought the rows of flashing police cars were part of a film shoot, which is fairly common in the area. She soon found out it wasn’t a movie set. Police...
Suspect in attack on Paul Pelosi calls California TV station from jail
Hours after a San Francisco court released body-camera video of a man attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer, QAnon extremist David DePape, the suspect in the attack, made a surprise call from jail to a Bay Area news station expressing regret that he didn’t go further. “I’m so sorry I...
Man who tossed Molotov cocktail at New Jersey synagogue door sought
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — Authorities say they are looking for a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of a synagogue in New Jersey. Police in Bloomfield in Essex County said officers responded at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday to a report of property damage at Temple Ner Tamid....
George Santos scandal consumes Congress, chafes lawmakers on both sides of aisle
Trailed constantly by shouting reporters, Rep. George Santos has become one of the most watched first-term congressmen in history. The New York Republican’s every word is parsed. His preppy sartorial selections are analyzed. Even the treats his staff leaves for journalists outside his office have carried news cycles. Three weeks...
Biden, McCarthy to discuss debt limit in talks on Wednesday
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday he is looking forward to discussing with President Joe Biden a “reasonable and responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling ” when the two meet Wednesday for their first sit-down at the White House since McCarthy was elected to the...
‘Don’t be numb to this’: Battling despair over gun deaths
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Increasingly it feels like America is at war with itself. In New Orleans, just days into the new year, a 14-year-old girl was shot to death, along with her father and uncle. A few days after, in a Virginia classroom, a six-year-old boy pulled out a gun...
Tyre Nichols case revives calls for change in police culture
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An unarmed Black man dies after a videotaped beating by police. The officers involved are fired. After a thorough review of the evidence, criminal charges are swiftly filed against the offending officers. Investigation, accountability and charges. This is often the most Black citizens can hope for as...
Should federal grants favor highway repair over expansion?
Arizona officials refer to a notoriously congested stretch of desert highway through tribal land as the Wild Horse Pass Corridor, a label that’s less about horses than the bustling casino by the same name located just north of where the interstate constricts to four lanes. With the Gila River Indian...
Concerns over prayer breakfast lead Congress to take it over
WASHINGTON — The National Prayer Breakfast, one of the most visible and long-standing events that brings religion and politics together in Washington, is splitting from the private religious group that had overseen it for decades, due to concerns the gathering had become too divisive. The organizer and host for this...
Emhoff says somber Auschwitz visit key to antisemitism work
KRAKOW, Poland — Doug Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, said he was deeply moved by a “solemn and sad” visit to the former site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, describing it Saturday as an important part of his work combating antisemitism for the Biden administration. Emhoff...
Trump opens 2024 run, says he’s ‘more committed’ than ever
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid with a stop Saturday in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina, appearances in early-voting states marking the first campaign events since announcing his latest run more than two months ago. “We’re starting. We’re starting right...
Ukraine: ‘Fast-track’ talks underway for missiles, planes
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in “fast-track” talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine’s supporters in the West “understand...
Taliban warn women can’t take entry exams at universities
ISLAMABAD — The Taliban on Saturday doubled down on their ban on women’s education, reinforcing in a message to private universities that Afghan women are barred from taking university entry exams, according to a spokesman. The note comes despite weeks of condemnation and lobbying by the international community for a...
Palestinian teen wounds 2, day after 7 killed in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — A 13-year-old Palestinian opened fire in east Jerusalem on Saturday, wounding two Israelis, officials said, a day after another attacker killed seven outside a synagogue in the deadliest attack in the city since 2008. The shooting in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem, near the historic...
Police say 3 dead, 4 hurt in latest California shooting
LOS ANGELES — At least three people were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting in California area early Saturday morning. Sgt. Frank Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the shooting happened just after 2:30 a.m. in Beverly Crest, an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood. Of the...
Amazon axes free grocery delivery on Prime orders under $150
NEW YORK — Amazon is axing free grocery delivery for Prime members on orders less than $150. Customers who get their groceries delivered from Amazon Fresh — and pay less than $150 — will be charged between $3.95 and $9.95, depending on the order size, the company said in an...
FDA moves to ease rules for blood donations from gay men
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is moving to further ease restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men and other groups that typically face higher risks of HIV. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced draft guidelines that would do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations...
Musk, top Biden aides meet in Washington, talk electric cars
WASHINGTON — Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a pair of top aides to President Joe Biden met in Washington on Friday to discuss the electric vehicle industry and the broader goal of electrification. Musk and Biden did not meet, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The two haven’t had...
Pitt law dean Amy Wildermuth departs her post
The University of Pittsburgh will be looking for a new dean in the months ahead with the announced departure of Amy Wildermuth, who held the position for 4 1/2 years until this week. Provost Ann Cudd delivered word of the transition Monday in a two-paragraph message to law school colleagues...
A timeline of events in Tyre Nichols’ arrest, death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A timeline of events in the Tyre Nichols case, which sparked state and federal investigations into police brutality and led to murder and other charges against the five officers involved in his arrest this month: — Jan. 7: Tyre Nichols is pulled over by police for an...
Pence: ‘Mistakes were made’ in classified records handling
MIAMI — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he takes “full responsibility” after classified documents were found at his Indiana home. “Let me be clear about something: Those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence,” Pence said at an appearance at Florida International University in...
GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel defeats rival in leadership vote
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel won her bid Friday to lead the GOP for two more years, prevailing in an election that highlighted fierce internal divisions that threaten to plague the party into the next presidential season. McDaniel, whom Donald Trump tapped as RNC chair in 2016, won the...
House GOP seeks new restrictions on use of U.S. oil stockpile
WASHINGTON — For the second time this month, House Republicans have advanced a measure to restrict presidential use of the nation’s emergency oil stockpile — a proposal that has already drawn a White House veto threat. A GOP bill approved Friday would require the government to offset any non-emergency withdrawals...
Video shows struggle for hammer during Pelosi attack
Video released publicly Friday shows the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fighting with his assailant for control of a hammer moments before he was struck during a brutal attack in the couple’s San Francisco home last year. The body-camera footage shows suspect David DePape wrest the tool...