Aspiring Chicago rapper gets 99 years in mom’s murder-for-hire killing
CHICAGO — An aspiring Chicago rapper who posted a video on YouTube of himself throwing thousands of dollars that he inherited from his mother to his “fans” has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for her 2012 murder-for-hire killing. Qaw’mane Wilson, 30, was sentenced Friday by a Cook County...
Dems kick off Iowa caucuses amid worry over beating TrumpVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — A Democratic campaign that has cost more than $1 billion, dashed the ambitions of veteran politicians, forced conversations about race, gender and identity and prompted fierce debate over health care and taxes crests Monday in the Iowa caucuses. By day’s end, tens of thousands of Democrats...
Annual White House Easter Egg Roll scheduled for April 13
WASHINGTON — The annual White House Easter Egg Roll is set for April 13. First lady Melania Trump announced the date for the time-honored tradition Monday. Tickets are free and are available through an online lottery scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Feb. 18 and close at 10 a.m. Feb....
1 dead, 5 wounded in shooting on California Greyhound bus
LEBEC, Calif. — A gunman killed one passenger and wounded five others on a Greyhound bus traveling from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday morning, the California Highway Patrol said. The shooting happened at about 1:20 a.m. as the bus was on the Grapevine section of...
Bernie Ebbers, ex-CEO convicted in WorldCom scandal, dies
The former chief of WorldCom, convicted in one of the largest corporate accounting scandals in U.S. history, died just over a month after his early release from prison. Bernard Ebbers was 78. The Canadian-born former telecommunications executive died Sunday in Brookhaven, Mississippi, surrounded by his family, according to a family...
Italian-American emerges as new star of Italy’s left-wing
BOLOGNA, Italy — A dual U.S.-Italian citizen who cut her political organizing teeth on two Barack Obama campaigns is emerging as the latest rising star in Italian politics. Inside a week, 34-year-old Elly Schlein, a former European lawmaker who grew up in Switzerland, has gone from relative obscurity as a...
Pregnant woman killed, baby survives in Milwaukee shooting
MILWAUKEE — A gunman in a passing car fired five or six shots outside of a Milwaukee supper club, killing a pregnant mother of five who was on board a party bus that was parked in front of the venue, authorities said. The bus rushed Annie Sandifer to to Ascension...
Al-Qaida in Yemen claims deadly Florida naval base shooting
CAIRO — Al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen claimed responsibility Sunday for last year’s deadly shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola by an aviation student from Saudi Arabia. The shooter, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, was a member of the Saudi air force in training at the base. He opened fire...
China reports 361 dead from new virus, total of 17,205 cases
BEIJING — China on Monday reported 361 have died on the mainland from the new virus, with an additional 2,829 new cases over the last 24 hours bringing the Chinese total to 17,205. The latest figures Monday come a day after the first death from the illness was recorded outside...
In Iowa, anxiety and unpredictability cloud caucus finishVideo
DES MOINES — On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Democratic presidential candidates hustled across the state on Sunday trying to fire up voters and make one last appeal to those struggling to make a final decision about their choice in the crowded field. Campaigns and voters acknowledged a palpable...
State patrol: Church bus crashes in Ohio; bus driver dies
LEBANON, Ohio — A church bus and an SUV crashed Sunday in Ohio, and the bus driver died, the State Highway Patrol said. The patrol’s Lebanon post reported the crash occurred around 9:30 a.m. on Dixie Highway in Warren County’s Franklin Township. The SUV driver was treated for minor injuries,...
2 men arrested after gas station gunfire exchange kills 2 in ChesterVideo
CHESTER — Police have arrested two suspects after a gas station convenience store robbery and gun battle that left two people dead near Philadelphia. Officers in Chester were called to the Sunoco A-Plus Mini Market shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday and found 29-year-old Tahriq Doward in front of the store...
Privacy law may make students harder to count for census
ORLANDO, Fla. — A student privacy law will complicate the Census Bureau’s ability to get complete information about students living in college-run housing for the nation’s once-a-decade head count, according to a warning the U.S. Department of Education memo has sent to universities. Because of the decades-old federal privacy law,...
Japanese warship heads to Middle East to protect tankers
TOKYO — A Japanese warship departed Sunday for the Middle East to ensure the safety of the country’s oil tankers in waters where tensions between the U.S. and Iran are high. The destroyer Takanami with some 200 sailors left Japan’s main naval base in Yokosuka, near Tokyo. Its main task...
Uneasy quiet in Mideast, month after Iran strike against U.S.
ABOARD THE USS HARRY S TRUMAN — Nearly a month after Iran launched a rare direct military attack against United States forces in Iraq, an uneasy quiet has settled across the Mideast. Watching fighter jets roar off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, the top...
Joe Biden could be impeached by GOP over Ukraine if he wins, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst saysVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst warned Sunday that Republicans would immediately push to impeach Joe Biden over his work in Ukraine as vice president if he win the White House. “I think this door of impeachable whatever has been opened,” Ernst said in an interview with Bloomberg...
Emails show the fallout from Trump’s claims about Hurricane DorianVideo
WASHINGTON — A flurry of newly released emails from scientists and top officials at the federal agency responsible for weather forecasting clearly illustrates the consternation and outright alarm caused by President Donald Trump’s false claim that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama. A top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official even...
Trump bashes Democratic rivals during pre-Super Bowl show
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump used a Super Bowl pregame interview to rail against Democrats, accusing them of hatred and offering schoolyard insults about his potential 2020 rivals. “I see the hatred. … They don’t care about fairness, they don’t care about lying,” Trump said in a taped...
Philippines reports 1st virus death outside of China
BEIJING — The Philippines on Sunday reported the first death from a new virus outside of China, where authorities delayed the opening of schools in the worst-hit province and tightened quarantine measures in a city that allow only one family member to venture out to buy supplies. The Philippine Department...
Man wearing fake bomb stabs 2 in London and is shot to deathVideo
LONDON — A man with a fake bomb strapped to his body stabbed two people in a “terrorism-related” attack on a London street well removed from the city’s world-famous landmarks Sunday before he was shot to death by police, authorities said. One stabbing victim was hospitalized with life-threatening wounds and...
Britain to seek Canada-style free trade deal with EU
LONDON — Two days after Brexit, British officials pushed the European Union on Sunday for a Canada-style free trade arrangement as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson geared up for a key speech to spell out his government’s negotiating stance. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News that Britain will seek...
High-profile Iowa poll won’t be released
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Des Moines Register, CNN and its polling partner have decided not to release the final installment of its presidential preference poll, fearing its results may have been compromised. Carol Hunter, the executive editor of the Iowa newspaper, posted the announcement Saturday night at the same...
Sweeping changes to Pennsylvania election law could make early voting a norm
The heat is on — and it’s getting hotter for election officials across Pennsylvania as the April 28 presidential primary approaches. A new state election law that allows, among other things, no-excuse mail-in balloting 50 days before an election, coupled with the introduction of new voting machines in 22 counties,...
FDA approves first treatment for kids with peanut allergy
WASHINGTON — The first treatment for peanut allergies is about to hit the market, a big step toward better care for all kinds of food allergies — but still a long way from a cure. Friday’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration promises to bring some relief to families...
Descendants of extinct tortoise species found in Galapagos
QUITO, Ecuador — Conservationists working around the largest volcano on the Galapagos Islands say they have found 30 giant tortoises partially descended from two extinct species, including that of the famed Lonesome George. The Galapagos National Park and Galapagos Conservancy said Friday that a young female has a direct line...
