‘Pink hat lady’ charged in Capitol riot could have bond revoked over mesh face maskVideo
The woman known from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as the “Pink hat lady” has 10 days to explain to a federal judge why she shouldn’t have her bond revoked or be held in contempt for actively flouting one of her conditions of release — wearing a mask in public....
Biden speeds refugee admissions but doesn’t lift Trump cap
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday signed an emergency determination to speed refugee admissions to the U.S., but kept his predecessor’s historically low cap of 15,000 refugees for this year, triggering an outcry from advocates for refugees and even Biden allies. Many were surprised Biden has not replaced the...
Human composting legislation considered in Delaware
DOVER, Del. — Democratic lawmakers in Delaware have introduced a measure that would allow composting of human bodies as an alternative to burial or cremation. The bill introduced Thursday would permit a practice that is called “natural organic reduction” but also referred to as “human composting.” The process involves putting...
Russia to expel 10 U.S. diplomats in response to Washington
MOSCOW — Russia on Friday responded to a barrage of new U.S. sanctions by saying it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will add eight U.S. officials to its sanctions list and move...
Heavy metal guitarist is 1st suspect to plead guilty in Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — A heavy metal guitarist on Friday became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jon Ryan Schaffer, the frontman of the band Iced Earth, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence,...
Liberty sues Jerry Falwell Jr., seeking millions in damages
RICHMOND, Va. — Liberty University has filed a civil lawsuit against its former leader, Jerry Falwell Jr., seeking millions in damages after the two parted ways acrimoniously last year. The complaint, filed Thursday in Lynchburg Circuit Court, alleges Falwell crafted a “well-resourced exit strategy” from his role as president and...
As America embraces voting early, GOP moves to restrict it
Nearly seven of every 10 voters cast their ballots before Election Day in 2020. Republicans are moving to make it harder for that to happen again, potentially affecting the voting preferences of millions of Americans. The GOP’s campaign to place new restrictions on mail-in and early voting in certain states...
Pennsylvania sounds alarm on vaccine hesitancy
A growing number of unfilled appointments and low uptake among nursing home workers are early signs that vaccine hesitancy is becoming an issue in Pennsylvania, prompting state officials to sound the alarm Friday and urge residents to get their covid-19 shots as quickly as possible. After months of demand outstripping...
Coast Guard: 2 more capsize victims recovered off Louisiana
PORT FOURCHON, La. — Divers searching the site of a capsized lift boat off Louisiana recovered two more unresponsive crewmembers late Friday, the Coast Guard said after another day of frantic waiting by family members worried for the fate of those who went missing earlier this week. Petty Officer Jonathan...
U.S. has been wracked with several mass shootings in 2021
a significant drop in mass shootings in the United States during a pandemic-hit 2020, this year has already seen several deadly cases. Police in Indianapolis say eight people were shot and killed in a shooting late Thursday at a FedEx facility. The shooter also killed himself. It follows a lull...
Daunte Wright family demands more severe charges for Minn. ex-cop
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Daunte Wright’s family joined community leaders in demanding more severe charges against the white former police officer who fatally shot the young Black man in a Minneapolis suburb, where hundreds of protesters again filled the streets in front of the police station. The protesters — shouting...
California woman says she drowned 3 children to protect them
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A woman suspected of killing her three children in the midst of a bitter custody battle said Thursday that she drowned them to keep them away from their father, a California television station reported. In a jailhouse interview, Liliana Carrillo, 30, told KGET-TV that she wanted to...
FBI says it interviewed FedEx mass shooter last year
INDIANAPOLIS — The FBI says that last year it questioned the man who fatally shot eight people at a FedEx plant in Indianapolis. Paul Keenan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis field office, said Friday that agents questioned 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole after his mother called police...
New Hampshire’s governor will lift mask mandate on Friday
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire will lift its mask mandate Friday, though individual communities and businesses will be allowed to continue the requirement, Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday. New Hampshire was the last state in New England to adopt a statewide mask mandate in November and with Friday’s change, will...
Colorado man to remain jailed after attack on U.S. Capitol
DENVER — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has denied bail for a Colorado geophysicist accused of dragging a police officer down steps to be beaten by an American flag outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Wednesday that Jeffrey Sabol, 51, is a flight risk...
House GOP leader: Won’t punish Rep. Matt Gaetz unless charges filedVideo
WASHINGTON — Rep. Matt Gaetz, under federal investigation for sex trafficking allegations, is “innocent until proven guilty” and Republicans don’t plan to punish him unless charges are filed, the House GOP leader said Thursday. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., also told reporters that in a private conversation, the Florida...
New York school principal charged with sexually abusing 9 studentsVideo
HILTON, N.Y. — A Rochester, N.Y.-area elementary school principal was charged with sexually abusing nine students during school in a case that prosecutors say goes back at least four years. Kirk Ashton, the longtime principal of Northwood Elementary School in Hilton, was arraigned Wednesday night on multiple counts of first-degree...
Weather delays divers from searching for Louisiana shipwreck survivorsVideo
PORT FOURCHON, La. — Families anxiously awaited news of the 12 people missing from a capsized oil industry vessel Thursday while stormy weather delayed divers from reaching the ship to search for survivors. Rescuers don’t know whether any of the missing might be caught inside the lift boat that flipped...
Capitol Police watchdog says force needs a ‘culture change’Video
WASHINGTON — The top watchdog for the U.S. Capitol Police told a House committee Thursday that there is a need for a culture change within the force after broad failures in its response to the Jan. 6 insurrection, including missed intelligence predicting a “war” and weapons that were so old...
Trump allies work to craft a platform going beyond fealty to himVideo
WASHINGTON — Former Cabinet members and top officials in Donald Trump’s administration, including economic adviser Larry Kudlow, have launched a new think tank in an effort to create a policy platform out of the former president’s chaotic approach to governing. The 40-person America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit with a...
Democrats begin long-shot push to expand the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — A group of congressional Democrats introduced legislation Thursday to add four seats to the Supreme Court, a long-shot bid designed to counter the court’s rightward tilt during the Trump administration and criticized by Republicans as a potential power grab that would reduce the public’s trust in the judiciary....
Video: Chicago boy wasn’t holding gun when shot by officerVideo
CHICAGO — Disturbing bodycam video released after public outcry over the Chicago police shooting of a 13-year-old boy shows the youth appearing to drop a handgun and begin raising his hands less than a second before an officer fires his gun and kills him. A still frame taken from Officer...
Pfizer CEO says 3rd covid-19 booster shot ‘likely’ needed within a year of getting vaccinatedVideo
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted Thursday that people who have received the company’s covid-19 vaccine will “likely” need a third booster shot within a year to maintain protection against the virus. “It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla told...
In a year of reckoning, slavery reparations bill moves forward in the House
WASHINGTON — A House committee late Wednesday advanced legislation, first introduced in 1989, that would study the issue of awarding reparations to the descendants of American slaves. The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to send a bill to the House floor for the first time to create a...
France hits unwanted milestone: Over 100,000 virus deaths
PARIS — France on Thursday became the third country in Europe after the U.K. and Italy to reach the unwanted milestone of 100,000 covid-19-related deaths as new infections and deaths surged due to virus variants. The country of 67 million is the eighth nation in the world to reach the...
