Suspect in mass shooting at Colorado gay nightclub expected to take plea deal
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub is expected to strike a plea deal to state murder and hate charges that would ensure at least a life sentence for the attack that killed five people and wounded 17, several survivors told...
Report: Boris Johnson deliberately misled U.K. Parliament over ‘partygate’
LONDON — A committee of U.K. lawmakers harshly rebuked former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, saying he lied to Parliament about lockdown-flouting parties and was complicit in a campaign to intimidate those investigating his conduct during the coronavirus pandemic. The House of Commons Privileges Committee found Johnson’s actions...
Supreme Court rejects challenge to Native American child welfare law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved the system that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children, rejecting a broad attack from Republican-led states and white families who argued it is based on race. The court left in place the 1978...
Confidence in science fell in 2022 while political divides persisted, poll shows
NEW YORK — Confidence in the scientific community declined among U.S. adults in 2022, a major survey shows, driven by a partisan divide in views of both science and medicine that emerged during the covid-19 pandemic. Overall, 39% of U.S. adults said they had “a great deal of confidence” in...
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announces GOP presidential bid days after Trump’s indictment
MIAMI — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, jumping into the crowded race just days after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city. The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race, declared his candidacy...
Retail sales rose 0.3% in May despite pressure from higher inflation, interest rates
NEW YORK — Americans increased their spending at retailers last month despite pressure from still-high inflation and rising borrowing costs. Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that retail sales rose 0.3% from April to May, boosted by stronger sales of auto and parts dealers. Economists had been expecting a...
Man accused of sexual acts with dog in state park was Penn State professor
A State College man charged with indecent acts involving his dog in a state park was a professor at Penn State University, according to news sources. Themis Matsoukas, 64, faces charges of open lewdness, indecent exposure, sexual intercourse with an animal and animal cruelty after law enforcement officials said he...
North Korea launches 2 ballistic missiles toward sea in protest of U.S.-South Korea military drills
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Thursday, the South Korean military said, in a resumption of its weapons testing activities to protest just-ended South Korean-U.S. live-fire drills, which it views as an invasion rehearsal. The North Korean launch is its...
Suicides and homicides among young Americans jumped early in pandemic, study says
NEW YORK — The homicide rate for older U.S. teenagers rose to its highest point in nearly 25 years during the covid-19 pandemic, and the suicide rate for adults in their early 20s was the worst in more than 50 years, government researchers said Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control...
Bill Cosby sued by 9 more women in Nevada for alleged decades-old sexual assaults
LAS VEGAS — Nine more women are accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault in a lawsuit that alleges he used his “enormous power, fame and prestige” to victimize them. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Nevada alleges that the women were individually drugged and assaulted between approximately 1979...
‘Stand with Trump’ becomes rallying cry as Republicans amplify attacks on U.S. justice system
WASHINGTON — Moments after Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and then conspired to obstruct an investigation about it, the Republicans in Congress had his back. Speaker Kevin McCarthy dashed off a fundraising email decrying the “witch hunt” against the former president and...
Hempfield Area School Board may vote on book-challenge, acquisition policies at next meeting
After nearly 18 months of meetings, debates and changes, Hempfield Area School Board members sent two controversial policies back to their policy committee for additional tweaks. The policies are centered around the purchase of resource materials, with a particular focus on books available in the district’s libraries, and the procedure...
House rejects effort to censure and fine Democrat Adam Schiff over Trump-Russia investigationsVideo
WASHINGTON — The House has rejected an effort to censure California Rep. Adam Schiff, turning aside a Republican attempt to fine the Democrat over his comments about former President Donald Trump and investigations into his ties to Russia. Schiff, the former Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and the...
Punishing wind, possible tornadoes inflict damage as storms cross the SouthVideo
ALBANY, Ga. — Damaging winds and possible tornadoes toppled trees, damaged buildings and blew cars off a highway Wednesday as powerful storms crossed the South from Texas to Georgia. The National Weather Service issued numerous tornado warnings, mainly in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia, and cautioned that gusts of hurricane-force...
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez enters crowded GOP presidential race days after Trump’s indictment
MIAMI — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez filed paperwork Wednesday to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, jumping into the crowded race just a day after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city. The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race,...
Grand jury indicts Daniel Penny in chokehold death of New York City subway rider Jordan Neely
NEW YORK — A man charged with manslaughter for putting an agitated New York City subway rider in a fatal chokehold has been indicted by a grand jury, an expected procedural step that will allow the criminal case to continue. Daniel Penny was charged by Manhattan prosecutors last month in...
Detroit-area city bans LGBTQ+ Pride flags on public property
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — A Detroit-area community has banned LGBTQ+ flags from publicly owned poles after a tense hourslong meeting that raised questions about discrimination, religion and the city’s reputation for welcoming newcomers. In protest, a woman speaking during the public comment portion of the Hamtramck City Council meeting kissed a...
Southern Baptists refuse to take back megachurch because it has women pastorsVideo
NEW ORLEANS — The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the California megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors. Southern Baptist church representatives at their annual meeting here also rejected a similar appeal by a smaller church,...
Harvard Medical School morgue manager, 4 others indicted in theft, sale of human remains
SCRANTON — A manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue, his wife and three other people have been indicted in connection with the theft and sale of human body parts, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday. Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, N.H., stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated...
Fox onscreen message calls Biden a ‘wannabe dictator’ following Trump arraignment
NEW YORK — Fox News said Wednesday that an onscreen message that called President Biden a “wannabe dictator” was taken off TV immediately after it aired and “addressed.” The headline appeared Tuesday night under onscreen video of former President Donald Trump speaking to supporters live following his arrest, next to...
Elizabeth Holmes objects to $250 monthly restitution payments
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors want Elizabeth Holmes to pay $250 each month to victims of her failed blood testing startup after she leaves prison, but her attorneys are pushing back citing “limited financial resources” available to the disgraced founder of Theranos. The U.S. filed a motion last week asking the...
Pennsylvania using tons of recycled glass nuggets to rebuild collapsed Interstate 95Video
Pennsylvania will truck in 2,000 tons of lightweight glass nuggets to help quickly rebuild a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia and crews will work 24 hours a day until they can reopen the critical commercial artery, officials said Wednesday. Instead of rebuilding the overpass right away, crews will...
Stove wars: Republican-controlled House takes up bills to protect gas stoves
WASHINGTON — Venturing back into the nation’s culture wars, the Republican-controlled House is taking up legislation that GOP lawmakers say would protect gas stoves from overzealous government regulators. A bill approved Tuesday would prohibit use of federal funds to regulate gas stoves as a hazardous product, while a separate bill...
U.S. beefs up campaign to ensure accurate animal welfare claims on meat, poultry packaging
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it hopes to weed out false or misleading animal-welfare claims on meat and poultry packaging with new guidance and testing. The claims — such as “pasture-raised,” “humanely raised,” and “raised without antibiotics” — are increasingly popular with consumers and allow producers to charge...
What to know about Trump’s appearance in federal court in Miami to face felony charges
Donald Trump made a first appearance Tuesday in federal court in Miami facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to...
