U.S. charges 3 in plot to kill Iranian-American author
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has charged three men as part of an Iran-backed plot to kill an Iranian American author and activist who has spoken out against human rights abuses, officials said Friday. The men, Rafat Amirov, 43, of Iran, Polad Omarov, 38, of the Czech Republic and Slovenia...
18 neglected animals, guns, drugs seized from Pa. family’s home: DA
Investigators searching a Lancaster County family’s home last week discovered 18 pets without proper medical care or shelter, as well as thousands of grams of marijuana and 13 guns. Austin, Jordan, Scott and Heide Breland are facing animal neglect, drug and gun charges after the Jan. 13 search of their...
North Korea slams U.S. over decision to send tanks to Ukraine
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea condemned on Friday the decision by the United States to supply Ukraine with advanced battle tanks to help fight off Russia’s invasion, saying Washington is escalating a sinister “proxy war” aimed at destroying Moscow. The comments by the influential sister of North Korean leader...
Auschwitz anniversary marked as peace again shattered by war
OSWIECIM, Poland — Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors and other mourners commemorated the 78th anniversary Friday of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp, some expressing horror that war has again shattered peace in Europe and the lesson of Never Again is being forgotten. The former concentration and extermination camp is located...
Memphis authorities release video in Tyre Nichols’ death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis authorities released video footage Friday showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the Black motorist down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as he screamed for his mother and pleaded, “I just want to go home.” The video is...
Green comet zooming our way, last visited 50,000 years agoVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A comet is streaking back our way after 50,000 years. The dirty snowball last visited during Neanderthal times, according to NASA. It will come within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth Wednesday before speeding away again, unlikely to return for millions of years. So...
Biden taps Zients as White House chief of staff
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Jeff Zients on Friday as his next White House chief of staff, tapping an experienced technocrat who headed his administration’s response to the covid-19 pandemic as Biden prepares for a reelection bid while facing an onslaught of investigations from a newly empowered House Republican...
Israeli medics say gunman kills 5 near Jerusalem synagogue
JERUSALEM — A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing five people and wounding five others in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years, medical officials said. The attack was halted when the gunman was shot by police. The killings took place a...
Norway’s last Arctic miners struggle with coal mine’s end
ADVENTDALEN, Norway — Kneeling by his crew as they drilled steel bolts into the low roof of a tunnel miles-deep into an Arctic mountain, Geir Strand reflected on the impact of their coal mine’s impending closure. “It’s true coal is polluting, but … they should have solution before they close...
Murrysville company FlexScreen begins licensing its technology with automated manufacturing line, wins ‘BIG’ awardVideo
Eight years ago, Joe Altieri was in his Plum garage trying to perfect a new, flexible, easy-to-install window screen. Today, he is the owner of FlexScreen, a multimillion-dollar Murrysville company that earned an investment from “Shark Tank” host Lori Greiner. It opened its seventh manufacturing facility last June in New...
Lawmakers appeal ruling on legality of impeaching Philly DA
HARRISBURG — Republican state lawmakers on Thursday filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, hoping to preserve elements of their impeachment case against an elected progressive Philadelphia prosecutor. The appeal asks the state’s highest court to review last month’s decision regarding the legality of the Legislature’s impeachment and trial...
Trump adviser John Eastman faces California disciplinary charges
LOS ANGELES — Conservative attorney John Eastman, a lead architect of some of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election, was slapped Thursday with a series of disciplinary charges in California that could lead to his disbarment. The State Bar of California’s chief trial...
FDA’s advisers back plan to simplify covid-19 vaccinations
The United States is poised to make covid-19 vaccinations more like a yearly flu shot, a major shift in strategy despite a long list of questions about how to best protect against a still rapidly mutating virus. The Food and Drug Administration asked its scientific advisers Thursday to help lay...
Farmworker tells TV station he killed 7 on California farmsVideo
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A farmworker charged in the killings of seven current and former co-workers at two Northern California mushroom farms admitted during a jailhouse interview Thursday that he committed the fatal shootings. Chunli Zhao, 66, told KNTV-TV that he wasn’t in his right mind when he entered a...
Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake
DENVER — The Colorado baker who won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight, involving his rejection of a request for a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition....
U.S. infiltrates big ransomware gang: ‘We hacked the hackers’Video
WASHINGTON — The FBI and international partners have at least temporarily disrupted the network of a prolific ransomware gang they infiltrated last year, saving victims including hospitals and school districts a potential $130 million in ransom payments, Attorney General Merrick Garland and other U.S. officials announced Thursday. “Simply put, using...
New York City bike path killer convicted, could face the death penaltyVideo
NEW YORK — An Islamic extremist who killed eight people with a speeding truck in a 2017 rampage on a popular New York City bike path was convicted Thursday of 28 federal crimes and could face the death penalty. Sayfullo Saipov bowed his head as he heard the verdict in...
Israel hits Gaza with airstrikes after rockets intercepted
JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — Israeli forces on Thursday killed nine Palestinians — including at least seven militants and a 61-year-old woman — in the deadliest single incident in the occupied West Bank in two decades, Palestinian officials said. Two rockets were fired from Gaza early Friday and Israel...
New barrage of Russian strikes in Ukraine kills at least 11Video
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces fired another rash of missiles and self-exploding drones in nearly a dozen provinces of Ukraine early Thursday, causing the first attack-related death of the year in Kyiv and killing at least 11 people in all, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attacks adhered to Russia’s recent...
Past U.S. presidents, VPs asked to recheck for classified docs
WASHINGTON — The National Archives has asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents to recheck their personal records for any classified documents following the news that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence had such documents in their possession, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The...
NASA marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia disaster
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies and remembrances during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts on Thursday. More than 100 people gathered under a gray sky at Kennedy Space Center to remember not only Columbia’s crew of seven,...
Sheetz reviewing ‘smile policy’ that says employees can’t have visible dental issues
If you need to have a little dental work done, and want to take a job to help save some cash for that, Sheetz would not be the place to apply. At least not right now. According to a recent report, the popular convenience store and gas station has a...
How classified documents became a Franklin Park schoolgirl’s show-and-tell
WASHINGTON — On a winter’s day in 1984, a briefcase stuffed with classified government documents showed up in a building in Pittsburgh, borne by someone who most certainly wasn’t supposed to have them. That someone was 13-year-old Kristin Preble. She took the papers to school as a show-and-tell project for...
DA: 5 Memphis cops ‘all responsible’ for Tyre Nichols’ deathVideo
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Five fired Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes in the killing of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a confrontation with the officers during a traffic stop. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told a news conference that...
Asteroid coming exceedingly close to Earth, but will miss
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An asteroid the size of a delivery truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest such encounters ever recorded. NASA insists it will be a near miss with no chance of the asteroid hitting Earth. NASA said Wednesday that this newly discovered...
