U.S./World category, Page 1240
Cancer-causing chemical taints water after California blaze
PARADISE, Calif. — The drinking water in Paradise, California, where 85 people died last year in the nation’s worst wildfire in a century, is contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical benzene, officials said. Officials said they believe the contamination happened after the November firestorm created a toxic combination of gases in...
Minister at secretive N Carolina church sentenced for fraud
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A minister at a secretive church in North Carolina has been sentenced to 34 months in prison and ordered to pay $466,960 in restitution for his role in an unemployment fraud scheme involving businesses owned by members of the congregation. Kent Covington, a minister at the Word...
Officer says partner fired before he could analyze threat
MINNEAPOLIS — The partner of a Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman testified Thursday that he didn’t fire his own weapon because he hadn’t fully analyzed the possible threat, agreeing with a prosecutor’s characterization that it would have been “premature” to use deadly force. Officer Matthew Harrity...
Oregon sheriff known for standoff to resign over funds
PORTLAND, Ore. — A small-town sheriff who gained national attention for his leadership during a 41-day standoff with armed occupiers at a wildlife refuge in Oregon is resigning, citing chronic underfunding for his department and concerns about liability caused by an outdated and understaffed jail. Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward...
Chem professor on leave after Nazi gas chamber exam question
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — A chemistry professor whose exam question asked students to calculate the lethal dose of a poisonous gas used in Nazi gas chambers during the Holocaust has taken a leave of absence, Middlebury College said. The Vermont liberal arts college said that it’s investigating under the terms of...
Police official: Short-circuit likely caused Notre Dame fire
PARIS — Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said Thursday as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark. A French judicial police official told The Associated Press that investigators made an...
‘A good day’: Trump claims victory with Mueller report out
WASHINGTON — Before the world glimpsed the redacted version of the special counsel’s report, President Donald Trump tried once more to frame the moment as a political victory. The 448-page report does include an account of how the president attempted to seize control of the investigation into Russian interference in...
With redacted Mueller report imminent, Trump celebrates with ‘Game of Thrones’ tweet
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is celebrating the upcoming release of a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia’s 2016 election interference. The report is due to be released on Thursday. In the hours before its publication, Attorney General William Barr outlined the findings of the report...
America about to see Mueller report; Barr gets in first word
WASHINGTON (AP) — After nearly two years of waiting, America is getting some Trump-Russia answers straight from Robert Mueller. Eager to get in a first word ahead of the public release of the special counsel’s report, Attorney General William Barr on Thursday laid out in advance what he said was...
‘We don’t get over it’: Pain of mass shootings stretches on
PARKLAND, Fla. — Alex Rozenblat can still hear the cries of a wounded boy calling for help as she hid from the gunfire that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year. Talking to therapists at the school in Parkland, Florida, didn’t help. Each session had a...
Wild bee species critical to pollination on the decline
CONCORD, N.H. — More than a dozen wild bee species critical to pollinizing everything from blueberries to apples in New England are on the decline, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of New Hampshire wanted to understand if the documented declines hitting honeybees and bumblebees were also...
Poll: Church membership in U.S. plummets over past 20 years
NEW YORK — The percentage of U.S. adults who belong to a church or other religious institution has plunged by 20 percentage points over the past two decades, hitting a low of 50% last year, according to a new Gallup poll. Among major demographic groups, the biggest drops were recorded...
NYPD: Man with gas cans arrested at St. Patrick’s church
NEW YORK — Just days after flames ravaged the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, a New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday night after entering St. Patrick’s Cathedral carrying two cans of gasoline, lighter fluid and butane lighters, according to the New York Police Department. The unidentified 37-year-old man had pulled...
Central Florida cities among fastest growing in US
ORLANDO, Fla. — When it came to population growth last year, cities in central Florida grew by stadiums. Metro Orlando grew by 60,000 residents last year, almost as large as the number of people who can fit into the city’s Camping World Stadium, where college football bowl teams face off...
Legionnaires’ disease found in adjacent California prisons
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Legionnaires’ disease bacteria that killed one inmate and sickened another is more widespread than expected in a California state prison, officials said Wednesday, citing new test results. Preliminary results found the bacteria in the water supply at a prison medical facility in Stockton and at two neighboring...
Florida House OKs bill requiring parental abortion consent
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Legislation that would require consent from a parent or guardian before a girl under 18 could obtain an abortion passed the Florida House on Wednesday night after a lengthy debate and amid questions about its constitutionality. The Republican-led House voted 69-44 largely along party lines for the...
Parole granted for driver in deadly 1981 Brink’s heist
ALBANY, N.Y. — Former left-wing revolutionary Judith Clark was granted parole Wednesday after serving more than 37 years behind bars for her role as getaway driver in a 1981 Brink’s armored truck robbery that left two police officers and a security guard dead. “You were wrong. Your behavior was criminal....
Couple accused of forcing day laborer into sex at gunpoint
PHOENIX — A Phoenix couple are accused of forcing a Mexican day laborer into sex at gunpoint and filming another encounter to blackmail him. Jorge Murrieta, 45, and Brenda Acuna-Aguero, 39, were arrested last week on suspicion of sexual assault, aggravated assault and unlawful recording of a person, according to...
After Notre Dame, support for torched black churches swells
NEW ORLEANS — The crowdfunding campaign to raise money for three African American churches gutted by arson in Louisiana began a week ago, but donations surged after flames engulfed the roof of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and the outcry provoked a conversation about the disparate reactions to the tragedies....
Despite recusal, prosecutor told deputy Smollett overcharged
CHICAGO — Despite recusing herself from the case, Chicago’s top prosecutor weighed in on the allegations against Jussie Smollett last month, telling a deputy that she believed her office had overcharged the “Empire” actor, according to newly released texts and emails. The text message exchange unfolded more than two weeks...
Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin appear on course for summit
TOKYO — Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un may finally be ready to meet for the first time, as Russia seeks to extend its influence and North Korea tries to hedge its bets after the failed summit with President Trump. The potential of closer ties between Putin and Kim carries...
U.S. recession looks less likely in 2020, boosting Trump’s chances of re-election
WASHINGTON — A noticeable shift has taken place on Wall Street and among many economists and business leaders in recent weeks: Fears of an imminent recession have faded and been replaced with cautious optimism, especially about 2020, a trend that bodes well for President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election....
NTSB investigates American Airlines flight tipped by wind
NEW YORK — Federal safety officials are investigating an American Airlines flight in which the plane tipped in strong wind and a wingtip hit a runway marker during takeoff from New York’s Kennedy Airport. The pilots cut short the flight to Los Angeles and landed back at JFK about 30...
Young woman ‘infatuated’ with Columbine is found dead
LITTLETON, Colo. — A young Florida woman who traveled to Colorado and bought a shotgun for what authorities feared would be a Columbine-inspired attack just days ahead of the 20th anniversary was found dead Wednesday in an apparent suicide after a nearly 24-hour manhunt. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader said...
Scientists spur some activity in brains of slaughtered pigs
NEW YORK — Scientists restored some activity within the brains of pigs that had been slaughtered hours before, raising hopes for some medical advances and questions about the definition of death. The brains could not think or sense anything, researchers stressed. By medical standards “this is not a living brain,”...
