The toxic legacy of old oil wells: California’s multibillion-dollar problem
ARVIN, Calif. — Across much of California, fossil fuel companies are leaving thousands of oil and gas wells unplugged and idle, potentially threatening the health of people living nearby and handing taxpayers a multibillion-dollar bill for the environmental cleanup. From Kern County to Los Angeles, companies haven’t set aside anywhere...
South Korea becomes newest front in shifting virus outbreak
SEOUL, South Korea — Cases of a new virus swelled Friday in South Korea, making the country the newest front in a widening global outbreak centered in China and now reverberating elsewhere. South Korea said two people have died and 204 have been infected with the virus, quadruple the number...
AP-NORC Poll: Democrats feel mixed about nomination process
WASHINGTON — Democratic voters feel generally positive about all of their top candidates running for president, but they have only moderate confidence that their party’s nomination process is fair, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. U.S. voters from across the political spectrum...
Pa. approves marijuana suppliers for research institutions
Four new companies have been approved to grow marijuana for research purposes, teaming up with medical schools to learn more about cannabis. State law allows for eight clinical registrants — entities which grow, process and dispense marijuana for research institutions. “This research is essential to providing physicians with more evidence-based...
Bankruptcy judge wades in to Harrisburg diocese’s finances
HARRISBURG — A federal judge on Friday began the process of figuring out how the Harrisburg Roman Catholic Diocese will remain functioning and able to pay its bills while its 2-day-old bankruptcy filing inches ahead. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Henry Van Eck heard from lawyers for the diocese and the bankruptcy...
U.S., Taliban truce takes effect, setting stage for peace deal
ISLAMABAD — A temporary truce between the United States and the Taliban took effect on Friday, setting the stage for the two sides to sign a peace deal next week aimed at ending 18 years of war in Afghanistan and bringing U.S. troops home. If successfully implemented, the weeklong “reduction...
Weinstein jury indicates it is split on most serious counts
NEW YORK — Jurors deliberating in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial indicated Friday that they are deadlocked on the most serious charges, but the judge told them to keep trying. In a note sent to the judge during their lunch break, jurors asked if it were permissible for them to be...
Experience factor, top-notch materials lift J P Roofing to a different level
When it comes to repairing or replacing your roof, you want to hire a professional roofing contractor. J P Roofing is not a “Chuck and a Truck” or “Two Guys and a Ladder” outfit. We are professionally trained and offer the highest quality materials available from Owens-Corning, a world leader...
Ohio woman accused of calling 911 after parents cut off cellphone
CANTON, Ohio — An Ohio woman was arrested for calling 911 when her parents cut off her cellphone service, authorities said. Seloni Khetarpal was arrested Feb. 13 by Massillon police and charged with disrupting police services, a fourth-degree felony, The Canton Repository reported. Jail records show that Khetarpal, 36, repeatedly...
Arizona governor, GOP lawmakers end sanctuary city ban push
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Republican lawmakers have pulled a contentious proposal to enshrine an existing ban on so-called “sanctuary cities” in the state constitution. The decision announced late Thursday night came on the eve of a now-canceled House hearing on the proposal the Republican governor asked lawmakers...
Trump tries new approach for $1 trillion infrastructure plan
JEFFERSON CITY — As a presidential candidate in 2016, Donald Trump promised a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that would use tax incentives to spur private investment in public works projects. He has so far failed to persuade Congress to pass anything like that. In another election year, Trump has outlined...
Firm wants to recover the Titanic’s iconic telegraph machine
NORFOLK, Va. — The salvage firm that has plucked silverware, china and gold coins from the wreckage of the Titanic now wants to recover the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Machine that transmitted the doomed ship’s increasingly frantic distress calls. Lawyers for the company, R.M.S. Titanic, Inc., called witnesses before a federal...
2 charged in fatal shooting near Philadelphia Catholic school
PHILADELPHIA — Two people have been arrested in connection with a street shooting near a Catholic school in Philadelphia that left a woman dead and three men wounded, authorities said. The suspects — identified only as an adult and a juvenile — were charged late Thursday with murder, six counts...
North Carolina police charge mother in 1999 slaying of baby
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say they solved a 20-year-old cold case Thursday when they tracked down a woman accused of killing her newborn son and dumping his body along a road in 1999. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office charged Deborah Riddle O’Conner, 54, with first-degree murder, the...
Mother of 2 missing Idaho children arrested in HawaiiVideo
HONOLULU — The mother of two Idaho children missing since September was arrested Thursday in Hawaii. Lori Vallow, also known as Lori Daybell, 47, was arrested on a warrant issued in Madison County, Idaho, and was being held on $5 million bail, Kauai police said. Seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and...
Fracking debate causes tremors in battleground Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — The notion of banning fracking is dividing the Democrats running for president and increasingly dividing Democrats in the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania, where fracking has vaulted it to the No. 2 natural gas producer behind Texas. The divide was clear, again, on the debate stage Wednesday night...
Report: Intel officials say Russia boosting Trump candidacy
WASHINGTON — Intelligence officials have warned lawmakers that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election campaign to help President Donald Trump get reelected, two officials said Thursday. The disclosure, in a closed-door briefing last week, raises questions about the integrity of the presidential campaign and whether Trump’s administration is taking...
Snow falls across coastal North Carolina, Virginia; more than 12 million under winter alertVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — Snow was falling Thursday across North Carolina and Virginia, including in coastal areas that rarely see snow. More than 12 million people were under some form of winter weather alert, including the Charlotte and Raleigh metro areas. Gov. Roy Cooper said parts of northeastern North Carolina will...
Coroner finds evidence Hollywood therapist Amie Harwick was strangledVideo
LOS ANGELES — A prominent family therapist and former fiancee of comedian Drew Carey appears to have been strangled before she was thrown off the third-floor balcony of her Hollywood Hills apartment, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Thursday. An ex-boyfriend is facing charges. Dr. Amie Harwick, 38, died...
Amid ‘Anonymous’ fallout, NSC adviser Victoria Coates reassigned
WASHINGTON — Victoria Coates, a top official on the National Security Council, is being reassigned amid fallout over the identity of the author of the inside-the-White House tell-all book by “Anonymous.” Coates, who serves as national security adviser for the Middle East and North Africa,will be joining the Department of...
New enforcement operation focuses on meth trafficking hubsVideo
ATLANTA — Federal authorities are targeting methamphetamine “transportation hubs” around the country in an effort to block the distribution of the highly addictive drug, officials announced Thursday. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon visited Atlanta to announce the launch of Operation Crystal Shield. Atlanta is one of eight...
College student dies of flu before 911 rescuers can find him
TROY, N.Y. — A college student was found dead in his home of the flu after a garbled 911 call left rescuers with no means of locating him, authorities said. Police and firefighters in Troy, N.Y., spent 45 minutes on Feb. 10 searching the City Station apartment complex where Rensselaer...
Fired Chicago Police superintendent getting $190K pension
CHICAGO — Chicago’s former police chief has been receiving a pension of more than $15,800 a month since the mayor fired him for allegedly lying about a night he was found asleep in his city-issued SUV, according to a newspaper report. Eddie Johnson was awarded the pension by the Policemen’s...
Woman struck and killed by Mardi Gras float during paradeVideo
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans is mourning the death of a woman who was run over by a parade float as the city celebrates the season leading up to Mardi Gras. Police are still investigating the accident, spokesman Juan Barnes said Thursday. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office identified her Thursday...
Israel leader vows thousands of new homes in east Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday he was pushing ahead with the construction of 5,000 new Jewish homes in key areas of east Jerusalem, where critics say additional building could cut Palestinian residents off from the rest of the West Bank. On a visit to the Har...
