1 killed in Omaha mall shooting that sends shoppers running
OMAHA, Neb. — A shooting at a Nebraska mall left one person dead and another wounded as terrified shoppers ran for cover. Authorities believe the shooting at Westroads Mall in Omaha was an isolated incident, and not a random attack. Police determined the suspects had fled the scene after searching...
U.S. deports woman who lied about role in Rwandan genocide
CONCORD, N.H. — A woman who served a 10-year sentence in U.S. prison for lying about her role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide to obtain American citizenship, and then lost her bid for a new trial, has been deported to the East African nation and is likely to face prosecution...
Russia arrests two alleged Belarus coup plotters
MOSCOW — Russia’s main security agency says it has arrested two Belarusians who it said were preparing a plot to overthrow Belarus’ government and kill authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. One of the men arrested, Aleksandr Feduta, was Lukahsenko’s spokesman when he was first elected in 1994, but later joined the...
Czechs expel 18 Russians over huge depot explosion in 2014
PRAGUE — The Czech Republic announced Saturday that it was expelling 18 Russian diplomats who it has identified as spies in a case related to a huge ammunition depot explosion in 2014. Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the move is based on “unequivocal evidence” provided by the Czech intelligence and...
4 Sikhs among victims of Indianapolis mass shooting
INDIANAPOLIS — Amarjit Sekhon, a 48-year-old mother of two sons, was the breadwinner of her family and one of many members of Indianapolis’ tight knit Sikh community employed at a FedEx warehouse on the city’s southwest side. Her death Thursday night in a mass shooting that claimed the lives of...
Prosecutor who implied boy was armed when shot put on leave
CHICAGO — A prosecutor who implied in court that 13-year-old Adam Toledo was holding a gun the instant he was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer was placed on leave a day after a video showing the boy’s hands were empty was released to the public. “In court last...
Harry, William seen chatting together after royal funeral
LONDON — A year after they last saw one another, Prince William and his brother Prince Harry put their fraught relationship aside as they said farewell to their grandfather at his funeral on Saturday. The brothers were somber and silent as they walked together in a procession behind Prince Philip’s...
Covid cases continue slow increase as over 40% of Pa. has at least 1 vaccine dose
For the fifth straight day, Pennsylvania has posted a new daily covid case number above 5,000 — something it has not done since mid-January. The state’s seven-day case average rose to 4,949, with a total of 34,642 cases during that seven-day span. The last time the state’s seven-day case average...
Riot declared in Portland protests after police kill man
PORTLAND, Ore. — Police in Portland, Ore., said Saturday they arrested four people after declaring a riot Friday night when protesters smashed windows, burglarized businesses and set multiple fires during demonstrations that started after police fatally shot a man while responding to reports of a person with a gun. Police...
New restrictions ire many in Canada’s most populous province
TORONTO — New pandemic restrictions imposed by Canada’s most populous province immediately ran into opposition on Saturday as police departments insisted they wouldn’t use new powers to randomly stop motorists and health experts complained the rules focus on outdoor activities rather than more dangerous indoor settings. Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s...
Vermont city bans use of loud, gas powered leaf blowers
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Burlington is banning the use of loud, gas-powered leaf blowers in the city. The City Council passed a phased-in ban this week, the Burlington Free Press reported. It mandates moving to quieter electric-powered leaf blowers, which will be required for all municipal departments in August. All businesses...
Prince Philip is laid to rest as somber queen sits alone
WINDSOR, England — As military bands played and a procession of royals escorted his coffin to the church, Prince Philip was laid to rest Saturday in a funeral ceremony that honored his lifetime of service to the U.K., the crown and his wife of 73 years, Queen Elizabeth II. The...
Black leaders in Harrisburg fear consequences of a Derek Chauvin acquittal: ‘This is an important verdict’
For many, the Derek Chauvin murder trial is about bad policing and police overreach. For legions of Black men, however, the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer is fraught with the hard-earned battles over racial justice and civil rights that have defined their experience and that of countless of...
The Hartford agrees to pay $650M in Boy Scouts bankruptcy
DOVER, Del. — Insurance company The Hartford has agree to pay $650 million into a proposed trust fund for victims of child sexual abuse as part of the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case. In exchange for the payment, the Boy Scouts and its local councils would release The Hartford...
Raul Castro resigns as Communist chief, ending era in Cuba
HAVANA — Raul Castro said Friday he is resigning as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, ending an era of formal leadership that began with his brother Fidel and the country’s 1959 revolution. The 89-year-old Castro made the announcement in a speech at the opening of the eighth congress of the...
Federal officials reverse limits on fetal tissue research
Federal officials on Friday reversed Trump administration restrictions on using human fetal tissue for medical research. The changes clear the way for using government money on work that in the past has led to treatments for a variety of diseases, including covid-19. Government scientists now will be able to resume...
Japan’s leader urges strong alliance in visit to White House
WASHINGTON — Calling democracy the foundation for global prosperity, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday in a bid to underscore the two countries’ alliance as a counter to an autocratic and increasingly assertive China. The visit was Biden’s first face-to-face...
2 men killed, officer wounded in San Antonio shootout
SAN ANTONIO — Two men were killed and a woman and a San Antonio police officer were wounded in a shootout Friday following a routine traffic stop. Around 11:30 a.m., an officer stopped a pickup truck containing three occupants for an undetermined reason on a street on the city’s West...
Kansas governor vetoes Republicans’ proposed income tax cuts
TOPEKA, Kan. — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday vetoed proposed income tax cuts in Kansas, the third time in two years that she has rejected a Republican plan and accused GOP lawmakers of trying to revive a nationally notorious fiscal experiment. The bill would have saved individuals and businesses...
Portland, Ore., police fatally shoot man at city park
PORTLAND, Ore. — An angry crowd gathered in a park in Portland, Ore., on Friday after police fatally shot a man while responding to reports of a person with a gun, the deputy police chief said. Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said at a news conference that a white man...
Michigan extends mask order, capacity limits amid surge
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan on Friday extended by five weeks a pandemic order that limits business capacity and requires masks in public, even for young children in day care, as the state battles the country’s highest daily coronavirus infection rate. The measure, which was expected and replaces one that had...
House GOP Minority Leader takes cash from casino mogul accused of misconduct
WASHINGTON — A major House Republican fundraising committee overseen by GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy received over $770,000 from Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas casino mogul who stepped down from his company in 2018 after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. The donation, which Wynn made in late March,...
Georgia governor gets GOP primary challenge from former Dem
ATLANTA — Former Democrat Vernon Jones crowd-surfed across adoring Trump supporters in October after speaking at one of the former president’s campaign rallies. Now the scandal-plagued politician hopes to surf their discontent to a Republican primary victory over Gov. Brian Kemp. Jones announced Friday that he would challenge the incumbent...
Retired Ohio sheriff and tiny K-9 partner die the same day
CLEVELAND — The Ohio county sheriff and his tiny police dog were inseparable, their lives unwaveringly intertwined. It thus seems fitting that retired Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland, 67, and his crime-fighting partner Midge, 16, would both die on Wednesday — McClelland, at a hospital after a lengthy battle with...
SpaceX’s next crew arrives in Florida for Earth Day launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s most international crew of astronauts yet arrived at their launch site Friday. By coincidence, their flight to the International Space Station is set for next Thursday — Earth Day. It’s a reminder of NASA’s core mission of studying the home planet, the space agency’s acting...
