Prosecutor: ‘Overwhelming’ evidence Smollett faked attack
CHICAGO — A prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that there is “overwhelming evidence” that former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist, anti-gay attack against himself in downtown Chicago for publicity, then lied to police about it. Special prosecutor Dan Webb said during his closing argument that what Smollett did in...
Giant Christmas tree outside Fox News headquarters set afireVideo
NEW YORK — A man was charged with arson and other crimes Wednesday for setting fire to a 50-foot Christmas tree in front of Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan, police said. The artificial tree outside of the News Corp. building that houses Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and...
Judge declares mistrial after Florida juror denies verdict
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida judge declared a mistrial in a murder case on Wednesday after the jury delivered a verdict of manslaughter, only to have its decision collapse when a juror told the court she didn’t agree. The jurors were told to keep trying for a fifth...
1 wounded when man opens fire inside Texas shopping mall
KILLEEN, Texas — Police in Texas searched Wednesday for a man who opened fire inside a shopping mall, wounding one person, authorities said. Officers responded to the Killeen Mall at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday after shots were fired, Killeen Police Chief Charles Kimble said. One person was shot multiple times...
India’s military chief, 12 others killed in helicopter crash
NEW DELHI — India’s military chief, Gen. Bipin Rawat, and 12 others were killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash in southern Tamil Nadu state, the air force said. It said in a tweet that the helicopter “met with a tragic accident.” The dead included Rawat’s wife. The air force said...
USSR’s death blow was struck 30 years ago in a hunting lodge
MOSCOW — When the leaders of the Soviet Union’s three Slavic republics met at a secluded hunting lodge on Dec. 8, 1991, the fate of the vast country hung in the balance. With a stroke of their pens, they delivered a death blow to the USSR, triggering shockwaves that are...
Court to decide if Pennsylvania schools’ mask order is legal
HARRISBURG — A lawyer for Pennsylvania’s acting health secretary on Wednesday defended the validity of the secretary’s order requiring masks inside K-12 schools to fight covid-19, asking state Supreme Court justices to focus on a single regulation. “If this court finds that the masking order falls outside of that, then...
Joining drag queens on TV show costs Indiana pastor his job
NEW YORK — The Rev. Craig Duke has been a Methodist minister for three decades, building a reputation as a staunch advocate of LGBTQ inclusion. His pastoral duties have now been terminated — the result of a bitter rift surfacing in his Indiana church after he sought to demonstrate solidarity...
Pfizer says covid booster offers protection against omicron
Pfizer said Wednesday that a booster dose of its covid-19 vaccine may offer important protection against the new omicron variant even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said that while two doses may not be protective enough to prevent infection, lab tests...
‘Amazing feeling’: 1st Somali mayor in U.S. shares her vision
PORTLAND, Maine — Deqa Dhalac is the first Somali immigrant to become the mayor of a U.S. city, but she describes her rise in local politics as very old fashioned. Dhalac, 53, became mayor of South Portland, the fourth largest city in Maine, on Monday. She fled Somalia in the...
Michigan attorney general will review events leading up to Oxford school shooting
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s attorney general said Tuesday her office will review events that occurred before the mass shooting that left four students dead at Oxford High School, despite the district’s rejection of her offer to be its third-party investigator. “What we can’t do is nothing. It’s not appropriate,” Dana...
Congressional leaders reach deal to hike debt limit
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders reached an elaborate deal Tuesday that will allow Democrats to lift the nation’s debt limit without any votes from Republicans, likely averting another last-minute rush to avoid a federal default. Hours later, the House passed legislation overwhelmingly along party lines that kicked off a multi-step process....
With snow predicted this week, will PennDOT be able to clear the roads with limited staff?
As snow looms in the forecast this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been trying to fill hundreds of snow plow driver positions across the state to prepare for the upcoming winter weather. And it hasn’t been easy. Currently, PennDOT has filled 40 percent of the 695 temporary operator...
Omicron could overtake delta within weeks, experts say
Some experts are warning that although evidence is still emerging, the highly concerning omicron variant is expected to overtake delta within weeks. “I do expect omicron to displace delta in the coming weeks,” said Stephen Kissler, a disease modeler at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in a...
Pearl Harbor survivors gather on 80th anniversary of attack
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor and other veterans gathered Tuesday at the site of the bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack by Japan that launched the U.S. into World War II. The USS Chung-Hoon, a guided missile destroyer, passed...
Study can’t confirm lab results for many cancer experiments
Eight years ago, a team of researchers launched a project to carefully repeat early but influential lab experiments in cancer research. They recreated 50 experiments, the type of preliminary research with mice and test tubes that sets the stage for new cancer drugs. The results reported Tuesday: About half the...
Major outage hits Amazon Web Services; many sites affected
Amazon Web Services suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, limiting service at many key and popular sites. The company provides cloud computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including the Associated Press. Amazon said in a post an hour after the outage began that it had identified...
German convicted of castrating men on his kitchen table
BERLIN — A German court has convicted a 67-year-old electrician of aggravated, dangerous and simple assault for removing the testicles of several men at their request, causing one person to die, the dpa news agency reported Tuesday. A Munich regional court sentenced the man to eight years and six months...
Biden-Putin square off as tension grows on Ukraine border
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin squared off Tuesday over the massive buildup of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border, the U.S. president eager to use his video call with Putin to serve notice that Moscow will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine. Just hours...
Israel announces completion of security barrier around Gaza
JERUSALEM — Israel on Tuesday announced the completion of an enhanced security barrier around the Gaza Strip designed to prevent militants from sneaking into the country. The 40-mile barrier includes radar systems, maritime sensors and a network of underground sensors to detect militant tunnels. Existing fencing was replaced with a...
Justices take up Pennsylvania’s deadly force rules for cops
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s high court may soon decide whether state law on police use of deadly force during arrests gives officers too much leeway to take the life of a fleeing suspect. The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday on the question, which arose during the criminal...
Attorney says Meadows won’t cooperate with Jan. 6 panel
WASHINGTON — In an abrupt reversal, an attorney for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said his client will not cooperate with a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, citing a breakdown in negotiations with the panel. Attorney George Terwilliger said in a letter Tuesday that...
Bidens honor Pearl Harbor’s fallen in visit to WWII Memorial
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Tuesday marked the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with a somber visit to the World War II Memorial in the nation’s capital. The Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor and other locations in Hawaii...
Gunman opens fire in Moscow service center, kills 2 people
MOSCOW — A gunman opened fire in a Moscow city customer services facility, killing two people Tuesday and wounding three others, city authorities said. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Twitter that a suspect was detained. Sobyanin didn’t offer any details about the assailant or his possible motive, saying only...
Don’t get duped when donating to charity, Pa. officials warn
It’s the season of giving, and criminals often want to take advantage of donors’ generosity, according to Pennsylvania state government officials. The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities and Pennsylvania Department of State are offering tips to help consumers make sure their contributions go to legitimate charitable organizations. Consumers can...
