IKEA to pay $46M in boy’s dresser tipover death, lawyers say
PHILADELPHIA — IKEA has agreed to pay $46 million to the parents of a 2-year-old boy who died of injuries suffered when a 70-pound recalled dresser tipped over onto him, the family’s lawyers said Monday. Jozef Dudek, of Buena Park, Calif., died in 2017 of his injuries, and his parents...
Tribes condemn federal plan to open up millions of Alaskan acres to mining interests
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — More than two dozen Alaska tribes are protesting a Trump administration land-use proposal that, if approved, could open millions of acres of wilderness to future mining in a large chunk of rural Alaska. For the first time in decades, the Bureau of Land Management is taking steps...
Ohio coroner: Columbus-area drug overdose deaths still rising
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The number of fatal overdoses in the county that includes Ohio’s capital city jumped during the first nine months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, the county coroner reported Monday. Franklin County recorded 421 drug deaths through September 2019, a 15% increase from the...
‘Honest mistake’ sets off alarm about U.S. troops in Iraq
WASHINGTON — For a few tense hours Monday, the United States appeared to have announced that American troops were pulling out of Baghdad after nearly 17 years. Turns out, it was just an “honest mistake.” “Here’s the bottom line, this was a mistake,” Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint...
Sheriff: Distracted trucker charged in crash that killed 3 in Indiana
LEBANON, Ind. — A Michigan trucker distracted by his coffee mug was charged in connection with an nine-vehicle crash in central Indiana that killed three people, including a toddler, and injured more than dozen others, authorities said Monday. Boone County sheriff’s officials said Matthew Small, 34, of Grandville, Mich., was...
Florida police respond to parrot screaming ‘Let me out!’Video
Police were called to a Florida home after a neighbor thought a woman was screaming for help. The officers instead found a chatty parrot. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s department on Dec. 29 responded when a concerned neighbor in Lake Worth Beach reported someone calling, “Let me out! Let me...
Push to oust U.S. troops from Iraq a risky undertaking
BAGHDAD — A push led by pro-Iran factions to oust U.S. troops from Iraq following the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general is gaining momentum, bolstered by a Parliament vote calling on the government to remove them. But the path forward is unclear, and in Iraq’s deeply divided...
Harvey Weinstein charged with sex crimes in Los Angeles on eve of N.Y. trial
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles prosecutors charged Harvey Weinstein on Monday with sexually assaulting two women on successive nights during Oscars week in 2013, bringing the new case against the disgraced Hollywood mogul on the eve of jury selection for his New York trial. The case, brought by a task...
Bolton willing to testify in impeachment trial if subpoenaed
WASHINGTON — Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that he is “prepared to testify” if he is subpoenaed by the Senate in its impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Bolton, who left the White House in September, said that he has weighed the issues of executive privilege...
Former Pa. congressman Mike Fitzpatrick dies at age 56
HARRISBURG — Michael Fitzpatrick, a former congressman from suburban Philadelphia who served four terms in the House before handing off the seat to his brother, died Monday morning after a long battle with melanoma, his family said. He was 56. “Michael Fitzpatrick passed away peacefully this morning, surrounded by family,...
For Israel, Iran strike could be back on the tableVideo
JERUSALEM — Iran’s dramatic announcement that it no longer intends to honor its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers could soon revive discussions in Israel over a possible military strike on Iranian targets. While Israel has kept a low profile since the United States killed top Iranian...
Julián Castro endorses Elizabeth Warren in presidential race
WASHINGTON — Former Obama administration housing chief Julián Castro is endorsing Elizabeth Warren’s presidential bid, saying the Massachusetts senator is “the most qualified, best-equipped candidate to win the nomination” and defeat President Donald Trump. In an online video posted Monday featuring the two former 2020 White House rivals, Castro tells...
Lincoln Chafee files to run for president as Libertarian
Former Democratic presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee has filed to run for president as a Libertarian. The former governor of Rhode Island on Sunday registered the “Lincoln Chafee For President” campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission, online records showed. A fundraising website linked to the FEC filing states, “Lincoln Leads...
5.8-magnitude quake strikes Puerto Rico, damage reported
GUÁNICA, Puerto Rico — A 5.8-magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking some homes. It was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the U.S. territory that has been shaking for the past week. There were no immediate reports...
Congress demands answers from Trump about Soleimani killing
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump insists that Iranian cultural sites are fair game for the U.S. military, dismissing concerns within his own administration that doing so could constitute a war crime under international law. He also warned Iraq that he would levy punishing sanctions if it expelled American troops in...
Election year to feature bitter fights, deepening divides
NEW YORK — Four years after President Donald Trump drove the rules of politics over a cliff to win the Republican presidential nomination and ultimately the White House, Democrats will go through their own version of the same test. In less than a month, Democratic voters will begin the formal...
Yough principal joins alma mater’s inaugural ‘Under 40’ classVideo
Amy Larcinese remembers playing “school” as a child, writing on her chalkboards and instructing a classroom of stuffed animals, baby dolls and cousins. “I just knew that I always wanted to work with kids and try to make a difference,” she says. She also recalls riding along with her firefighter...
Police probe release of bed bugs in Edinboro Walmart
EDINBORO — Pennsylvania State Police and store management apparently are itching to get their hands on who released live bed bugs Thursday in the changing room of the men’s department inside the Walmart at Edinboro. As of Saturday afternoon, investigators still were scratching their heads trying to find the suspect...
Drunken driver in Italy plows into German tourists, kills 6Video
ROME — A drunken driver speeding on a mountain road plowed into a group of young German tourists in northern Italy early Sunday, killing six people and injuring 11 others, Italian authorities said. The deadly crash occurred in a village of Valle Aurina, northeast of Bolzano in the Alto Adige...
Conor Lamb, 2 other Democrats in competitive House districts endorse Joe Biden
Three House Democrats who flipped Republican-held districts in 2018 announced Sunday that they are endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden in the crowded presidential primary. All three served in the military. Pennsylvania’s Conor Lamb, a Marine veteran, and Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran, along with Elaine Luria of Virginia...
Charges: Minnesota man killed woman who honked at him to hurry up
ROSEAU, Minn. — Prosecutors in northern Minnesota accused a man of fatally shooting a woman who yelled at him to hurry up and honked her horn while waiting for him outside his home. Angelo Borreson, 56, was charged Friday with second-degree murder and second-degree assault in the death of 51-year-old...
Solidarity march against anti-Semitism, acts of hateVideo
NEW YORK — Throngs of demonstrators joined by elected officials walked solemnly across the Brooklyn Bridge in a solidarity march Sunday against anti-Semitism and all acts of hate. The “No Hate, No Fear” march was organized by New York’s Jewish community in the wake of recent anti-Semitic attacks, including a...
Al-Shabab terrorists attack Kenya military base, 3 Americans killedVideo
NAIROBI, Kenya — Al-Shabab extremists overran a key military base used by U.S. counterterror forces in Kenya before dawn Sunday, killing three American Department of Defense personnel and destroying several U.S. aircraft and vehicles before they were repelled, U.S. and Kenyan authorities said. The attack on the Manda Bay Airfield...
Iraq’s Parliament calls for expulsion of U.S. troops
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Parliament called for the expulsion of U.S. forces from the country in reaction to the American drone attack that killed a top Iranian general, raising the prospect of a troop withdrawal that could cripple the battle against the Islamic State group and allow a resurgence of the...
Pompeo: U.S. may hit more Iranian Ieaders if Iran retaliatesVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military may strike more Iranian leaders if the Islamic Republic retaliates for the Trump administration’s killing of Tehran’s most powerful general last week by attacking Americans or American interests, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. As Pompeo conducted a round of TV interviews to explain...
