Ex-pharmaceutical exec John Kapoor gets more than 5 years for pushing opioid
BOSTON — The founder of an Arizona pharmaceutical company was ordered to spend 5 1/2 years in prison Thursday for orchestrating a bribery and kickback scheme prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis. John Kapoor, 76, the former chairman of Insys Therapeutics, was sentenced in Boston’s federal court after a...
3 U.S. firefighters who died in Australia crash identified
SYDNEY — The three American firefighters who were killed when the aerial water tanker they were in crashed while battling wildfires in Australia have been identified by their employer. The men who died Thursday in the crash of the C-130 Hercules were Capt. Ian H. McBeth, 44, of Great Falls,...
Snakes could be source of deadly coronavirus outbreak, new study saysVideo
A closer look into the deadly virus that has sickened hundreds in China and around the world suggests the pneumonia-like infection may have come from snakes, a new study has found. The newly discovered coronavirus is linked to a large seafood and animal market in Wuhan, which sells birds, bats,...
Prosecutor: DNA match leads to Florida ‘pillowcase rapist’
MIAMI — A DNA match has led to a Florida man prosecutors suspect is the “pillowcase rapist” responsible for numerous sexual assaults of women in the Miami area during the 1980s. Robert Koehler, 60, was arrested over the weekend in Brevard County and was being held without bond Thursday after...
Trump administration ends some protections for waterways, aiding developersVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday ended federal protection for many of the nation’s millions of miles of streams, arroyos and wetlands, a sweeping environmental rollback that could leave the waterways more vulnerable to pollution from development, industry and farms. The policy change, signed by heads of the Environmental...
Veteran accuses bank of discrimination for not taking checks
LIVONIA, Mich. — A black Air Force veteran who tried to deposit settlement checks from a discrimination lawsuit was rejected by his suburban Detroit bank, which suspected fraud and called police. After settling a lawsuit with his former employer, Sauntore Thomas now is suing TCF Bank, alleging racial discrimination. “They...
Former North Huntingdon Marine ‘happiest when his pockets were empty’
Don Kattic loved his fellow veterans so much that, whenever he presented an American flag to a veteran’s widow, he made sure to include taps. “He didn’t know how to play a musical instrument, so he would have a pretend trumpet and play taps on an old tape recorder,” said...
Greek police find 1.25 tons of cannabis hidden in date paste
ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities say they found more than a ton of processed cannabis camouflaged among a shipment of date paste headed by sea from Lebanon to Libya, police said Thursday. A police statement said the drugs were discovered on Jan. 16 in a ship’s container on a freighter...
Pence: Israel PM, election rival invited to U.S. to talk peace
JERUSALEM — Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz would visit the White House to discuss the “prospect of peace” with the Palestinians. The dramatic announcement, made after a meeting with Netanyahu, raised speculation that the White...
Michigan veteran accuses bank of discrimination for not cashing checksVideo
LIVONIA, Mich. — A black Air Force veteran who tried to deposit settlement checks from a discrimination lawsuit was rejected by his suburban Detroit bank, which suspected fraud and called police. After settling a lawsuit with his former employer, Sauntore Thomas now is suing TCF Bank, alleging racial discrimination. “They...
Police: Man kills firefighter who was leaving wife’s home
GRANITE QUARRY, N.C. — A North Carolina man shot and killed a firefighter who stepped outside his estranged wife’s house, then walked inside the home and fatally shot himself after confronting the woman, officials said. The man parked a pickup truck in the driveway and was “lying in wait” Wednesday,...
National survey shows contradictory attitudes toward flu vaccine
Pennsylvania has nearly 40,000 confirmed flu cases so far this season, yet 43% of respondents to a nationwide survey said they won’t get a flu shot. In the survey of 1,226 Americans, conducted by Qualtrics, 74% of those who were not planning to receive a flu vaccination said it was...
Deputy uses stun gun to settle a beef between K9 and cow
GEORGETOWN, S.C. — A sheriff’s deputy responding to a burglary call in South Carolina was forced to settle a beef between his K9 and a spooked cow by using a stun gun. Georgetown County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Pleasant Hill community on Wednesday when a K9 that was...
9 parents separated from families return to children in U.S.
LOS ANGELES — As his long-lost son walked toward him in an airport terminal, a sobbing David Xol stretched out his arms, fell to one knee and embraced the boy for about three minutes, crying into his shoulder. He had not held the child since May 2018, when border agents...
Doomsday Clock reset to 100 seconds to midnight
The Doomsday Clock has been moved to 100 seconds to midnight, the closest to destructive than at any point since the clock was created in 1947. It was set at 2 minutes to midnight last year and the year before, but this is the first time the clock has be...
Pa. GOP House speaker Mike Turzai to retire after 3 terms
Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai will not run for reelection, the Republican announced Thursday, ending the career of a conservative force in state government in a critical year when Democrats are aiming to take control of the chamber. Turzai, 60, made the announcement at a news conference at his office...
Trump to attend anti-abortion rally in WashingtonVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Donald Trump will become the first president to attend the annual anti-abortion gathering in Washington called the March for Life. Trump has made it a priority to embrace social conservatives, particularly on the issue of abortion. In past years, he has sent members...
Annabella Sciorra: Harvey Weinstein held me down, raped meVideo
NEW YORK — Actress Annabella Sciorra confronted Harvey Weinstein from a witness stand Thursday, her voice quivering as she recounted a rape accusation she kept largely private for decades. “I was punching him. I was kicking him. I was just trying to get him off of me” after he pushed...
Dems’ challenge: Making impeachment case with evidence recap
WASHINGTON — The challenge is becoming increasingly clear for House Democrats prosecuting President Donald Trump’s impeachment case as the Senate convenes for a second day of arguments in the landmark trial. The evidence confronting Trump becomes less compelling when presented again and again, day after day, as Democrats try to...
Cleveland bishop named Philadelphia’s next archbishop
The bishop of Cleveland will become the new leader of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Vatican announced Thursday, making him the first Hispanic archbishop to lead the region’s 1.3 million-member flock. Nelson Perez, who spent most of his early pastoral career in the Philadelphia area, was introduced Thursday in a...
Michelle Carter, convicted in texting suicide case, freed from jail
BOSTON — A woman convicted of manslaughter for urging her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself in text messages that included, “Just do it, babe,” was released from jail Thursday. Michelle Carter was released more than three months early from a county jail in Massachusetts, where she had been serving a...
China shuts down more cities in bid to contain deadly virus
BEIJING — China decided Thursday to lock down three cities that are home to more than 18 million people in an unprecedented effort to try to contain a deadly new viral illness that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries in the Lunar New Year travel rush....
Man registers beer as emotional support animal
Perhaps it’s one man’s definition of comfort food. A Brooklyn, N.Y., resident registered his beer as an emotional support animal on the USA Service Dog Registration website. Ale Street News was the first to report that Floyd Hayes was initially successful in obtaining a registration letter with a code —...
Police: 8 people shot, 1 dead in downtown SeattleVideo
SEATTLE — A gunman opened fire in downtown Seattle on Wednesday night, killing one person and wounding seven others, authorities said. Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said authorities began receiving calls at about 5 p.m. Wednesday of multiple gunshot victims. One person was found dead in a heavily trafficked area...
Democrats appeal for GOP help to convict ‘corrupt’ TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — House Democrats launched into marathon arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial Wednesday, appealing to skeptical Republican senators to join them in voting to oust Trump from office to “protect our democracy.” Trump’s lawyers sat by, waiting their turn, as the president blasted the proceedings from afar, threatening...
