Man demands money from bank teller — then gives it back, North Carolina cops say
RALEIGH, N.C. — A 66-year-old man who demanded money from a North Carolina bank isn’t being charged with a crime, officials say. The man was at a Wells Fargo in Wilmington on Thursday when he handed a teller a note with his request, according to police spokeswoman Linda Thompson. But...
Wawa facing lawsuits over data breach at all of its storesVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The Wawa convenience store chain is facing a wave of lawsuits over a data breach that affected its 850 locations along the East Coast. Wawa Inc. discovered malware on its payment processing servers this month before stopping the breach Dec. 12, the company has said. Officials with the...
12 killed, dozens hurt after jetliner crashes in Kazakhstan
ALMATY, Kazakhstan — A jetliner with 98 people aboard struggled to get airborne and crashed shortly after takeoff Friday in Kazakhstan, killing at least 12 people, authorities said. The Bek Air jet, identified as a 23-year-old Fokker 100, hit a concrete wall and a two-story building soon after departing from...
Disney characters say tourists inappropriately touched them
ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney World employees who portray Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck each filed police reports this month claiming they were inappropriately touched by tourists. The woman inside the Mickey Mouse costume went to the hospital with neck injuries caused by a grandmother patting the character’s...
Remains of 6 people found after Hawaii helicopter crashVideo
HONOLULU — The remains of six people have been found after a helicopter heading to one of the most rugged and remote coastlines in Hawaii crashed at the top of a mountain on the island of Kauai, authorities said. Officials said Friday that there are no indications of survivors and...
EU chief warns that new Brexit delay might be necessary
BRUSSELS — The European Union and Britain will struggle to seal an agreement on trade and other aspects of their future ties after Brexit next year and should consider extending the negotiations beyond 2020, a top EU official said in an interview published Friday. The U.K. is scheduled to leave...
Another executive departs as Boeing tries to correct course
A close adviser to Boeing’s ousted CEO will also leave the company. Mike Luttig was Boeing’s general counsel from 2006 until this spring. Shortly after the crash of a second Boeing 737 Max, the companies premiere aircraft, he was assigned to head the company’s legal strategy and to advise the...
India clamps down on marches, internet after deadly protests
NEW DELHI — A group of protesters in New Delhi was beaten and shoved into buses by police on Friday as they attempted to demonstrate against a new citizenship law that has triggered nationwide protests in recent weeks. About two dozen people gathered near an Uttar Pradesh state government building...
Russia commissions intercontinental hypersonic weapon
MOSCOW — Russia’s defense minister reported to President Vladimir Putin that a new hypersonic weapon of intercontinental range became operational Friday following years of tests. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Putin that the first missile unit equipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle entered combat duty, the Defense Ministry said....
California Supreme Court allows therapists to challenge law on child porn reporting
SAN FRANCISCO — Psychotherapists have spent years fighting a 2014 California law requiring them to report patients who confided having looked at child pornography, complaining that it deters people with sexual compulsions from seeking treatment and forces therapists to call the police on patients they do not believe pose a...
Daycare owner arrested after 26 kids found behind false wall
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado woman accused of hiding 26 children behind a false wall at her daycare center was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor child abuse, police said Thursday. Carla Faith, 58, was arrested Monday in Colorado Springs on suspicion of two counts of reckless child abuse without...
Photo of gorilla with ‘cool birthmark’ shows hand that looks remarkably human
Since elementary school, we’ve learned that gorillas are one of humankind’s closest relatives. A photo released in August of a western lowland gorilla at Zoo Atlanta is going viral this week. Captured in photo is the hand of 6-year-old Anaka, which reminds one of how close the resemblance between humans...
Powerful storm pounds Southern California with rain, snowVideo
LOS ANGELES — A cold and blustery winter storm unleashed downpours and extensive snowfall on Southern California, triggering tornado warnings and snarling post-Christmas travel on major routes Thursday. Snow shut down vital Interstate 5 in Tejon Pass through the mountains north of Los Angeles and stopped traffic on Interstate 15...
3 Alabama high school students killed in Christmas night crash
Three Alabama high school students were killed, and two others injured in a horrific crash on Christmas night. The dead were all cheerleaders at Geneva High School, said Geneva County Coroner Donny Adkinson. The crash happened when their car ran off into a wooded area. The tragedy was first reported...
Ohio dad faces felony charges in 2-year-old girl’s shooting death
NEWARK, Ohio — An Ohio man has been indicted on involuntary manslaughter and other charges after his 2-year-old daughter was fatally shot at home. In a 911 call about the Dec. 14 shooting, the girl’s mother said Noelle Massuros was accidentally shot by her 6-year-old brother, who had found a...
Police release teen suspect in Barnard student’s killing
NEW YORK — A 14-year-old boy suspected of fatally stabbing a Barnard College freshman was released from police custody on Thursday, mere hours after New York City police said he had been located and taken into custody following a two-week manhunt. Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison tweeted that finding the...
Health officials warn of possible measles exposure at 3 airports after infected traveler’s holiday flights
A person who traveled through multiple U.S. airports during the holidays was infected with measles, officials said. Health officials have warned travelers that an unidentified flier, who contracted measles in Europe in late November or early December, had flown on United Airlines from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas,...
Police locate teen suspected in killing of Barnard freshman
NEW YORK — A 14-year-old boy suspected of fatally stabbing a Barnard College freshman in a park near the school’s New York City campus has been found following a two-week manhunt, police said Thursday. Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison tweeted that police “have located this individual” but gave no other...
Redwood tree falls, kills hiker in California park
MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT PARK, Calif. — A huge redwood tree fell and killed a man visiting Muir Woods National Monument Park in California on Christmas Eve, authorities said Thursday. Subhradeep Dutta, 28, of Edina, Minn., died while walking on a marked dirt trail with two other people in the...
Prosecutor: Boston-area mom found dead with kids may have killed herself
BOSTON — Authorities believe a mother killed herself after her two young children fell from the roof of a Boston parking garage on Christmas Day and died. Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said Thursday the woman, whom she did not identify, was 40 years old, and her children were 15...
Florida waitress receives $2,000 tip on Christmas Eve
A Florida waitress who had just depleted her bank account to make a car repair received a $2,000 tip on Christmas Eve from regulars with whom she had shared her financial woes. Lynette Baio said the couple left her a check with the eye-popping amount Tuesday. Baio has worked at...
Colorado daycare owner arrested after 26 kids found behind false wall
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado woman accused of hiding 26 children behind a false wall at her daycare center was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor child abuse, police said Thursday. Carla Faith, 58, was arrested Monday in Colorado Springs on suspicion of two counts of reckless child abuse without...
Western Pa. received plenty of rain in 2019, but a record is unlikely
This year may have been one of the wettest in Pennsylvania history, but it’s got a few more inches to go if it wants to top the list. As of Friday , the Pittsburgh area recorded 51.64 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Normal average annual precipitation...
Tenn. bill would force students to compete as their biological sex at birth
A state legislator has introduced a bill in Tennessee that would require state-funded elementary and secondary school student-athletes to compete as the gender stated on their original birth certificate. HB 1572 states that any school found violating the law would be “immediately ineligible to continue to receive public funds of...
Pennsylvania dioceses offer $84M to 564 clergy abuse victims
Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse, a tally that’s sure to grow substantially in the new year as compensation fund administrators work through a backlog of claims, according to an Associated Press review. Seven of the state’s eight dioceses launched victim...
