U.S. long watched Soleimani, but feared risks of a strike
WASHINGTON — In 2007, U.S. commandos watched as a convoy carrying a powerful Iranian military leader made its way to northern Iraq. It was a prime opportunity to take out Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who had been accused of aiding Shiite forces that killed thousands of American troops in Iraq. But...
California skeleton ID’d as Japanese internee
LOS ANGELES — A skeleton found by hikers this fall near California’s second-highest peak was identified Friday as a Japanese American artist who had left the Manzanar internment camp to paint in the mountains in the waning days of World War II. The Inyo County sheriff used DNA to identify...
Soleimani’s death ratchets up tensions and raises questions about U.S. long game
Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s powerful Quds Force, wasn’t a name known to most Americans before a U.S. drone strike early Friday near Baghdad killed him. But he’s been front and center among serious considerations for Iran watchers for years, said Julia Santucci, a senior lecturer in intelligence studies...
‘Millions of sparks’: Weather raises Australia’s fire danger
SYDNEY — Wildfires raging across Australia have prompted one of the largest evacuations in the country’s history as what is already the worst season on record is likely to become even more devastating due to hot weather and strong winds. More than 200 fires were burning, and warnings of extreme...
Judge: Indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas may give records to House
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Friday allowed a Rudy Giuliani associate indicted on campaign finance charges to turn over documents to Congress as part of the impeachment proceeding against President Donald Trump. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Oetken granted Lev Parnas’ request to turn over to the House...
Teen charged with murder in death of pregnant woman, fetus
BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee teenager was arrested in connection to a shooting that killed a pregnant woman and her fetus, paralyzed her 8-year-old daughter and wounded another adult family member, authorities said. A 17-year-old boy was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts...
U.S. sending 3,000 more troops to Mideast as reinforcements
WASHINGTON — The United States said Friday it is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump. Defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not...
Trump says Iranian should have been ‘taken out’ years ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that he ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani because he was “plotting to kill” many Americans. In his first comments since the strike against the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force early Friday, Trump said Soleimani was also responsible for killing...
Police shoot man dead after fatal stabbings in Paris park
PARIS — A man armed with a knife rampaged through a Paris park attacking passersby seemingly at random Friday, killing one person and injuring two others before police shot him dead, officials said. The afternoon attack took place in Villejuif in the southern suburbs of Paris. The man’s motives weren’t...
Ex-teacher in Bucks County charged with taking up-skirt photos of students
OTTSVILLE — A former high school teacher has been charged with secretly taking indecent photos of three students and posting them online. Francis Reppert, 26, of Quakertown in Bucks County, outside of Philadelhia, was arraigned Thursday on charges of indecent exposure and invasion of privacy. He was released on $500,000...
5th inmate killed in more violence in Mississippi prisons
A fifth inmate has died violently in a Mississippi prison, raising further questions about security as clashes between prisoners continue. Sunflower County Coroner Heather Burton told local news outlets that 36-year-old Dennoris Howell was stabbed to death before dawn Friday at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Howell is the...
State Rep. Valerie Gaydos introduces bill to shrink state legislature
After being in office for about a year, state Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny, thinks there might be a few too many seats in the chamber. Gaydos, 53, of Aleppo, recently introduced legislation which would cut legislative districts in Pennsylvania from 203 to 151, a move that would require amending the...
1 dead, 3 hurt in stabbing in downtown Austin
AUSTIN, Texas — One person was killed and three others hurt in a reported “stabbing incident” Friday morning in downtown Austin and a suspect was in custody, police and emergency officials said. Austin-Travis County EMS said a man in his 20s was pronounced dead and a man in his 50s...
2 workers die, 17 hurt in Cambodian building collapse
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A building under construction in southern Cambodia collapsed Friday, killing at least two workers and trapping others inside, police said. The seven-story building in the coastal province of Kep collapsed while about 20 workers were inside. By nightfall, 17 injured workers had been rescued, said Nguon...
Fallout, reactions mixed to U.S. killing of Iranian generalVideo
Global powers are warning that the world has become a more dangerous place after President Donald Trump ordered the targeted killing of Iran’s top general and are urging restraint on all sides. China, Russia and France, all permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, took a dim view of the...
Soleimani: A general who became Iran icon by targeting U.S.Video
TEHRAN, Iran — For Iranians whose icons since the Islamic Revolution have been stern-faced clergy, Gen. Qassem Soleimani widely represented a figure of national resilience in the face of four decades of U.S. pressure. For the U.S. and Israel, he was a shadowy figure in command of Iran’s proxy forces,...
Iran vows ‘harsh’ response to U.S. killing of top generalVideo
BAGHDAD — Iran vowed “harsh retaliation” for a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s airport that killed a top Iranian general who had been the architect of its interventions across the Middle East, and the United States announced Friday it was sending more troops to the region as tensions soared in the...
Indonesia capital floods leave 43 dead, 397,000 displaced
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The death toll from floods in Indonesia’s capital rose to 43 on Friday as rescuers found more bodies amid receding floodwaters, disaster officials said. Monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 182 neighborhoods in greater Jakarta and caused landslides in the Bogor and Depok districts on...
Ex-Trump aide Manafort told FBI he had ‘no chance at trial’
WASHINGTON — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort said he knew he “had no chance at trial” when he pleaded guilty in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, according to a summary of an interview with investigators that was made public Thursday. “When he saw the jury pool questionnaire for...
Sewickley Twp. man strong in his faith
Lloyd Miller was a man of strong faith as a member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Irwin and a former active member of Lutheran Church of Our Savior, North Huntingdon. “In every aspect of his life, he lived his faith — 100%,” said his daughter, Paula DeLuise of...
Pentagon: U.S. airstrike killed powerful Iranian generalVideo
BAGHDAD — The United States killed Iran’s top general and the architect of Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport early on Friday, an attack that threatens to dramatically ratchet up tensions in the region. The targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the...
‘Affluenza teen’ jailed in Texas for probation violation
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas man who used “affluenza” as a defense at his trial for killing four people while driving drunk was arrested Thursday when authorities say he violated the terms of his probation. Ethan Couch, 22, was booked into a jail in Fort Worth after he tested...
West Virginia bar closed after 7 shot during New Year’s Day meleeVideo
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia bar where seven people were shot on New Year’s Day was shut down Thursday as authorities work to identify who carried out the shooting. Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said officials have issued a cease and desist order to close Kulture Hookah Bar, citing licencing...
3 mountain lions killed after feeding on human remains
TUCSON, Ariz. — Three mountain lions found feeding on human remains near a popular Tucson hiking trail have been killed, Arizona authorities said Wednesday. They were not suspected of killing the person, but were determined to be a danger to the public because they showed no fear of officers trying...
Video edited to suggest Joe Biden made racist remark
A video of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden that was selectively edited to falsely suggest he made racist remarks during a recent speech made the rounds Thursday on social media, raking in more than a million views on one tweet alone. Experts have been warning about the dangers of selectively...