Puerto Ricans settle in quake shelters, refuse to go home
GUAYANILLA, Puerto Rico — A new community has popped up in this earthquake-damaged town in southwest Puerto Rico: it houses 300 people, a dozen police officers and one macaw. Cries of “Uno!” filled the air early Friday morning as children on cots played card games while men with a pillow...
Ex-Mrs. Florida headed to prison for stealing mom’s checks
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida ordered Mrs. Florida 2016 to spend a month in jail for stealing her mother’s Social Security checks rather than using the money to pay for nursing home care. U.S. Magistrate Bruce Reinhart also sentenced Karyn Turk on Thursday to five...
Boeing papers show employees slid 737 Max problems past FAA
Boeing employees raised doubts among themselves about the safety of the 737 Max, apparently tried to hide problems from federal regulators and ridiculed those responsible for designing and overseeing the jetliner, according to a batch of emails and texts released nearly a year after the aircraft was grounded over two...
Vermont bill proposes to ban cellphones for anyone under 21
MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Vermont lawmaker has proposed a bill that would bar anyone under 21 from using or owning a cellphone — a move meant to draw attention to restrictions on guns. The bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. John Rodgers, states that the Legislature has concluded those under 21...
Pelosi to send impeachment articles for Senate trial ‘soon’Video
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will “soon” transmit the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, signaling a potential thaw in the standoff with Senate Republicans as she warned against rushing to an acquittal without a fair trial. Pelosi, D-Calif., faces mounting pressure from Republicans and some...
South Korea conveys Trump’s birthday message to Kim Jong Un
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Friday it conveyed a message by President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wishing him a happy birthday, which is believed to be Jan. 8. Returning from a visit to Washington on Friday, Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s presidential national security...
Iran denies downing plane, says West should share evidenceVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Friday denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran, and called on the United States and Canada to share any information they have on the crash, which killed all 176 people on board. Western leaders said...
Mother of 5 found beaten to death in Philadelphia home
PHILADELPHIA — Police on Friday were searching for a suspect who killed a mother of five inside her Philadelphia home. The 25-year-old’s mother called police after finding the back door kicked in on Thursday night and officers discovered the woman dead in an upstairs bedroom, police said. There were signs...
Stakes high as U.S. Supreme Court weighs New Jersey ‘Bridgegate’ case
NEWARK, N.J. — “This is not going to end well.” Those words spoken by a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official in the summer of 2013 could hardly have been more prophetic. The plot to create gridlock near the busy George Washington Bridge that September to punish...
Iraqi PM tells U.S. to decide mechanism for troop withdrawal
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq, according to a statement released Friday. The statement, from the office of the Iraqi caretaker prime minister,...
Florida teacher arrested after video shows him throwing student from class, deputies sayVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Flagler County teacher was arrested Wednesday after picking a 14-year-old student up and throwing him out of the classroom, deputies said. Jeffrey Paffumi, 47, of Palm Coast, was taken to Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and faces a charge of battery, according to Flagler County...
Trump proposes sweeping rollback of environmental oversight
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic rollback of environmental oversight, President Trump took action Thursday to clear the way and speed up development of a wide range of commercial projects by cutting back federal review of their impact on the environment. “The United States can’t compete and prosper if a bureaucratic...
U.S. courts rule for border walls both public and privateVideo
WASHINGTON — Crews could start building a private border wall in South Texas within the coming days following a federal judge’s ruling Thursday that lifted a restraining order against the project. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane’s order was the second federal ruling in two days in favor of border barriers....
House approves measure to restrain Trump’s actions on IranVideo
WASHINGTON — Reigniting a debate over who has the power to declare war, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday approved a resolution asserting that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and...
Video in apparent Jeffrey Epstein suicide attempt ‘no longer exists,’ feds say
NEW YORK — Video footage of the area around Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell on a day he apparently tried to kill himself “no longer exists,” federal prosecutors told a judge Thursday. Officials at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York believed they had preserved footage of guards finding Jeffrey Epstein...
Feds realize a jailed man’s 3,000 pounds of ‘marijuana’ isn’t pot, Texas lawyer says
It was trumpeted as a huge drug bust. Texas Department of Public Safety posted a picture on Facebook of dozens of boxes — presumably filled with over 3,000 pounds of marijuana — piled in front of a U-Haul truck stopped by troopers in early December. During the traffic stop east...
Anti-establishment views unite, divide Hong Kong protesters
HONG KONG — Trump signs, Pepe the Frog graffiti and British and American flags have become a common sight at Hong Kong’s anti-government protests — and an unsettling one to longtime democracy activists on the left. Beijing has seized on the images to portray the movement as a coddled, westernized...
Trump proposes sweeping rollback of environmental oversight
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday proposed rolling back enforcement of a landmark environmental law, reducing federal oversight of many major projects, from pipelines to commercial development, to speed the approval process. He said the United States cannot compete “if a bureaucratic system holds us back from building what...
Bill Cosby asks Pennsylvania high court to review conviction
Comedian Bill Cosby filed an appeal Thursday of a court decision last month that upheld his conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home. The latest appeal — filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which does not have to take the case — focuses on four key...
Puerto Rico earthquake aftermath deepens as government seeks help
SAN JUAN — More than 2,000 people in shelters. Nearly one million without power. Hundreds of thousands without water. The aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that killed one person, injured nine others and severely damaged infrastructure in Puerto Rico’s southwest coast is deepening as the island’s government says it is...
Report: 2019 natural gas prices lowest in 3 years
A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) notes that natural gas prices in 2019 were the lowest in the last three years. That won’t come as a surprise to Marcellus shale gas drillers, who spent much of 2019 adjusting to a low-price market. Analysts believe low prices...
Lawmakers approve Brexit bill, U.K. on course for Jan. 31 exit
LONDON — Britain passed a major milestone on the road to Brexit when the House of Commons on Thursday approved a bill authorizing the country’s departure from the European Union at the end of the month. Lawmakers voted by 330-231 to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which sets the terms...
Ex-Pa. mayor on prison life: Spin class, teaching and law books
The former mayor of a Pennsylvania city who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for public corruption told a newspaper his life behind bars is “kind of like being mayor but for a lot less money.” Former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski has spent more than a year at a low-security...
U.S. officials: ‘Highly likely’ Iran shot down Ukrainian jetliner
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. officials said Thursday it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid...
Timeline: A look at tensions between U.S., Iran since 2018
Iran is sending mixed signals as tensions with the U.S. appear to ease. President Hassan Rouhani has warned of a “very dangerous response” if the U.S. makes “another mistake,” and a senior commander has vowed “harsher revenge” for the killing of a top Iranian general. Both sides appeared to step...
