Gov. Tom Wolf mixed state work with personal time in Israel trip
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf returned Thursday to the United States after a previously undisclosed trip to Israel that his office said mixed personal travel with state business. Wolf’s spokesman said the governor and his wife, first lady Frances Wolf, spent three days at the end of their trip...
Vladimir Putin fast-tracks effort to extend his rule in Russia
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday fast-tracked work on constitutional changes that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024 while lawmakers quickly sealed his choice for new prime minister. Speaking to a working group created to draft constitutional changes, Putin cast his...
DA stops short of saying investigation into Penn State football hazing allegations is closed
While insisting criminal charges aren’t warranted at this point, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna didn’t completely close the door Thursday on his investigation into allegations of brutal hazing on Penn State’s football team. Cantorna gave that sign in a statement he released in response to a federal civil rights...
Ukraine opens probe of possible surveillance of ambassador
KYIV, Ukraine — Police in Ukraine are investigating whether the U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before the Trump administration recalled her from Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. The announcement came two days after Democratic lawmakers in the United States released documents and text messages that...
Trump boosts school prayer, helps faith groups
President Donald Trump took steps Thursday to give religious organizations easier access to federal programs and reaffirmed students’ rights to pray in public schools. Under orders from Trump, nine Cabinet departments proposed rules intended to remove “regulatory burdens” on religious organizations participating in federal programs by eliminating a requirement that...
Alabama man charged with abusing missing woman’s corpse
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A convicted sex offender has been charged in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama woman whose body was found in a shallow grave weeks after she texted a friend she was “in trouble.” The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office charged Fredrick Hampton, 50, on Thursday with abuse...
37 charged in Puerto Rico to Wisconsin drug smuggling case
MILWAUKEE — Federal prosecutors have charged 37 people accused of sending cocaine and other drugs from Puerto Rico to Wisconsin and elsewhere in the country using the U.S. Postal Service, authorities said Thursday. The United States Attorney’s Office in Eastern Wisconsin said the drugs were sold in the state, as...
AP sources: FBI to keep states in loop on election breaches
WASHINGTON — The FBI, in a change of policy, is committing to inform state officials if local election systems have been breached, federal officials told The Associated Press. In the past, the FBI would alert local governments about attacks on their electoral systems without automatically sharing that information with the...
FBI arrests 3 white supremacists ahead of pro-gun rally in Virginia
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — FBI agents on Thursday arrested a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist and two other men who are linked to a violent white supremacist group and were believed to be heading to a pro-gun rally next week in Virginia’s capital. The three men are members of The...
Group finds aircraft approval process safe, despite Boeing crashes
A government committee asked to review U.S. approval of new passenger planes after two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max has found that the system is safe and effective but could be improved. The committee differed sharply with legislators who are investigating Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, which...
Russia’s new PM a career bureaucrat with no political aims
MOSCOW — Mikhail Mishustin never had any political ambitions as a career bureaucrat and his name didn’t come up as a top candidate to become Russia’s next prime minister. But the 53-year-old Mishustin, the longtime chief of Russia’s tax service, was tapped for the post by President Vladimir Putin. The...
Nations of Iran crash victims seek compensation for families
LONDON — The governments of five countries that lost citizens when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner demanded Thursday that Tehran accept “full responsibility” and pay compensation to the victims’ families — though they had little to offer besides moral pressure to get Iran to comply. After a meeting in...
Police: Suspended student stabs 2 classmates at Texas school
ABILENE, Texas — A recently suspended Texas high school student stabbed two of his classmates Thursday morning before fleeing campus, officials said. Police arrested the student about 30 minutes after the 8 a.m. attack at Abilene High School, police spokesman Rick Tomlin told KTXS-TV. Medics took both victims to a...
Muslim millennial’s site dispels stereotypes for millions
Today she travels the world, attends a red-carpet movie premiere and sits on panels with astronauts, former presidents and feminist icons. But in the years after 9/11, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh was just a New Jersey teenager, writing a blog from her bedroom. She used the blog to connect with other young...
7 killed, 14 tortured in Panama exorcism terror rituals
PANAMA CITY — Prosecutors in Panama said Thursday they have found the corpses of six children and one adult in a clandestine burial pit where a religious sect was found torturing indigenous people in exorcism rituals. Prosecutors said the dead minors found in the pit ranged in age from one...
Prince Harry takes on 1st duties since royal crisis talksVideo
LONDON — Prince Harry went back to work Thursday, mixing with children playing rugby and offering no hint of the days of turmoil that followed his recent announcement that he wished to step back from royal duties and become financially independent. It was a fairly standard event for Harry, who...
Chief justice, senators sworn in for Trump impeachmentVideo
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in Thursday to preside over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, then immediately administered the oath to the full Senate to ensure “impartial justice” as jurors for only the third such proceeding in American. history. Roberts made the short trip across the street...
Watchdog: White House violated law in freezing Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment, a federal watchdog agency said Thursday. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget violated the law in holding...
Rare video shows 5 mountain lions together in CaliforniaVideo
JACKSON, Calif. — Five California mountain lions were seen together on home surveillance video in a rare gathering of the notoriously solitary big cats. The footage was recorded at a rural residence at the edge of the El Dorado National Forest east of Sacramento, KTXL-TV reported Wednesday. “We shared the...
Senate expected to give Trump back-to-back trade victories
WASHINGTON — One day after signing a new trade deal with China, President Donald Trump is expected to get more good news on his trade agenda as the Senate considers a new North American pact. The House has already overwhelmingly approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The Senate is expected to...
Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas says Trump had knowledge of Ukraine pressureVideo
WASHINGTON — A close associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer says he delivered an ultimatum in May to the incoming president of Ukraine that no senior U.S. officials would attend his inauguration and all American aid to the war-torn country would be withheld if an investigation into Joe Biden...
Dave Chappelle endorses Andrew Yang, will perform 2 shows to benefit campaign
Comedian Dave Chappelle announced Tuesday his endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. According to CNN, Yang expressed excitement for Chappelle’s endorsement and explained that they share similar views. “Dave is one of the most important voices in our country today and I’m thrilled he has thrown his support behind...
House leaders march Trump impeachment articles to the SenateVideo
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic procession across the U.S. Capitol, Democratic House leaders marched the formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate late Wednesday, setting the stage for only the third trial to remove a president in American history. Trump complained anew it was all a...
Astronaut completes spacewalk without helmet camera, lights
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts had to make do with fewer lights and camera views from one helmet Wednesday while performing critical battery work outside the International Space Station. It was the second pairing of NASA’s Jessica Meir and Christina Koch outside the orbiting lab. In October, they teamed...
Pennsylvania House votes to stop drivers’ use of hand-held phones
HARRISBURG — A divided Pennsylvania House voted Wednesday to ban the use of hand-held phones for all drivers to make calls, although police would not be allowed to stop motorists for that reason alone. Representatives voted 120-74 for the proposal that would expand current law, which bans any texting and...
