Ohio police say woman lost $2,400 in ‘grandparent scam’
MANSFIELD, Ohio — A woman lost $2,400 in a so-called “grandparent scam” after receiving a call that her grandson was in jail, police in Ohio said. The 76-year-old woman in Mansfield in north-central Ohio received the call Wednesday from a man claiming to be her grandson’s lawyer, according to Mansfield...
Palestinians deny U.S. charges of incitement, blame Trump planVideo
JERUSALEM — The Palestinians on Friday rejected U.S. allegations of incitement after a day of clashes and attacks left three Palestinians dead, including a member of the security forces, and wounded more than a dozen Israeli soldiers. They instead linked the violence to President Donald Trump’s Mideast initiative, which heavily...
Weinstein trial: Here are the prosecution’s 6 women’s accounts
NEW YORK — Some were aspiring actresses. One was a star on the rise. Another was looking to get more involved in behind-the-scenes aspects of the film and TV business. Six women out of the many who have accused Harvey Weinstein of vile sexual behavior have testified over the last...
Woman who left U.K. to join Islamic State group loses challenge to restore citizenship
LONDON — A U.K. woman who as a teenager ran away to join the Islamic State group lost a legal challenge Friday aimed at restoring her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds. Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015, resurfaced at...
Egypt frees pro-democracy activist imprisoned for four years
CAIRO — Egypt on Friday freed a pro-democracy activist who spent over four years in prison and rose to local prominence as one of the faces of the country’s 2011 uprising, his lawyer said. Ramy Sayed, 31, had coordinated protests for the April 6 youth movement, a group that helped...
Putin hosts Belarus leader for tough economic talks
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the leader of Belarus Friday for another round of difficult talks on closer integration amid mounting Russian economic pressure on its ex-Soviet ally. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused the Kremlin of flouting its obligations on energy supplies while trying to strong-arm him...
India to continue rebel peace accord push in troubled areasVideo
GAUHATI, India — India’s prime minister said on Friday that his government will continue its peace push in the insurgency-wracked northeastern region bordering China and Myanmar where accords with key rebel groups have led to the surrender of thousands of fighters in recent weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said decades...
Russia repatriates 26 children from Syrian refugee camp
MOSCOW — Russia has repatriated 26 Russian children from Syria and plans to take dozens more home in the future, a Kremlin official said Friday. Presidential children’s rights ombudswoman Anna Kuznetsova visited Syria to organize the effort and met with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s wife, Asma, in Damascus. Kuznetsova said...
Bad weather moves into Eastern states; 5 dead in SouthVideo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Extreme wind gusts, blowing snow and widespread flooding made traveling treacherous on Friday as a storm system moved into the northeastern United States, leaving rising water and at least five deaths in its wake across the South. More than 400,000 homes and businesses were without power Friday...
Doctor’s death unleashes mourning, fury at Chinese officialsVideo
BEIJING — The death of a doctor who was reprimanded for warning about China’s new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety. In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Party’s...
Flooding inundates Pacific Northwest, major highway closed
PORTLAND, Ore. — Severe flooding in eastern Oregon closed a major freeway on Friday, forced evacuations and stranded at least one family on their roof as other parts of the Pacific Northwest also braced for more flooding and landslides from relentless rain and rapid snowmelt. Images showed massive big rigs...
Rules on what can be brought into Kentucky statehouse under reviewVideo
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s Capitol are being evaluated, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday. But the Democratic governor said any changes by his administration won’t restrict the ability to bring guns into the statehouse, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. “We believe that the rules right now, if followed, are appropriate, at least...
Beyond burnout: Doctors decry ‘moral injury’ from financial pressures of health care
Dr. Keith Corl was working in a Las Vegas emergency room when a patient arrived with chest pain. The patient, wearing his street clothes, had a two-minute exam in the triage area with a doctor, who ordered an X-ray and several other tests. But later, in the treatment area, when...
Mitt Romney returns to Utah to explain his impeachment decisionVideo
SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney was back in Utah on Thursday explaining his vote to convict President Donald Trump amid pushes by some angry GOP state legislators to censure Romney or create a way to recall the senator. Romney did not speak publicly in the state and...
Disney apologizes to school charged for showing ‘Lion King’
BERKELEY, Calif. — The Walt Disney Co. has apologized to a California school that was charged a $250 licensing fee after showing the company’s 2019 remake of “The Lion King” during a fundraiser. Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley was billed by Movie Licensing USA on behalf of Disney for “illegally...
El Paso shooter faces 90 federal counts, including hate crime charges that could bring death penalty
EL PASO, Texas — The confessed shooter who in August targeted Mexicans at an El Paso Walmart, killing 22 and injuring dozens more, will face federal hate crime charges that carry a potential penalty of death. A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed Thursday against Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen....
Milwaukee teacher placed on leave for tweet about Rush Limbaugh’s cancer
MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee Public Schools teacher has been placed on leave after tweeting that it was “awesome” that conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has cancer. The district said English teacher Travis Sarandos was placed on leave Wednesday pending an investigation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Sarandos tweeted “limbaugh...
FDA crackdown on vaping flavors has blind spot: disposables
WASHINGTON — The federal government Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules. Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isn’t...
Neighbor uses crossbow to try to save man from dog attack, but kills him
ADAMS, Mass. — A man was shot and killed in his apartment by a crossbow bolt that a neighbor had fired at dogs who were attacking the man, authorities in Massachusetts said. The death Wednesday afternoon in Adams appears to be accidental, according to Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. The...
Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm about coronavirus diesVideo
BEIJING — A Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak died after coming down with the illness Friday, a hospital reported. The Wuhan Central Hospital said on its social media account that Dr. Li Wenliang, a...
Senators urge rapid implementation of measures to combat tick-borne illness
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is urging the nation’s Department of Health & Human Services to quickly implement measures in the Kay Hagan Tick Act, aimed at improving research, prevention, diagnostics and treatment of tick-borne illnesses. The legislation is named in honor of former Sen. Kay Hagan, who died...
Democratic Party chairman Tom Perez calls for Iowa recountVideo
The chairman of the Democratic National Committee called Thursday for a full recount in the party’s botched Iowa caucuses as new questions emerged about the integrity of the vote tally in the first contest of the 2020 presidential race. “Enough is enough,” party Chairman Tom Perez said on Twitter. “In...
Nancy Pelosi defends speech-ripping as protesting ‘falsehoods’
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday defended her speech-ripping performance after President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address and took fresh aim at his fitness for office even as he celebrated his impeachment acquittal. “That was not a State of the Union,” Pelosi said. “That was his...
Scotland’s finance chief quits over messages to teenager
LONDON — Scotland’s finance minister resigned Thursday after revelations he had reportedly sent hundreds of messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media. Derek Mackay, who was due to deliver his annual budget on Thursday, said he had “behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry.” “I apologize unreservedly to the...
Passengers screamed, panicked as Istanbul plane crash-landedVideo
ISTANBUL — Passengers on the Turkish airliner that crash-landed and crumpled into pieces in Istanbul, killing three people, say the plane’s descent felt unusually fast and left those on board screaming and panicking. Engin Demir, who was among the 180 people injured in the crash, told NTV television that he...
