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...
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...
