Governor on refugees: ‘The inn is not full in Minnesota’
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota state government will continue to consent to refugee resettlement, Gov. Tim Walz said Friday, in response to a recent presidential executive order that requires consent from states and counties. “The inn is not full in Minnesota,” the Democratic governor said in a letter to Secretary of State...
Documents: Mining company writing own environmental report
BOISE, Idaho — Documents show the U.S. Forest Service allowing a Canadian company to write a key environmental report on its proposed open-pit gold mines in central Idaho after the Trump administration became involved. The documents obtained by conservation group Earthworks show British Columbia-based Midas Gold’s lobbying efforts after initial...
Boy, 13, arrested in killing of Barnard College freshman
NEW YORK — A 13-year-old boy was arrested Friday in the stabbing death of a Barnard College freshman who was approached in a park by as many as three youths as she ventured from her New York City campus on the eve of final exams. The arrest of such a...
Sen. Mitch McConnell files for seventh term in Kentucky
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Touting his leadership role as an asset for Middle America, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed for reelection Friday as the Kentucky Republican seeks a seventh term next year. McConnell, the longest-serving U.S. senator in Kentucky history, has tied himself closely to President Donald Trump as he...
Bank mistakenly deposits $37M into Texas woman’s account
DALLAS — A clerical error by her bank made a North Texas woman a millionaire for a day. KTVT-TV reports that when Dallas resident Ruth Balloon checked her bank account earlier this week, it had some extra money in it: an extra $37 million to be exact. Balloon had wanted...
Mississippi 15-week abortion ban is blocked by appeals court
JACKSON, Miss. — A federal appeals court declared Friday that Mississippi’s ban on abortion at 15 weeks is unconstitutional, dealing a blow to those seeking to overturn the landmark Supreme Courtruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves ruled correctly...
Blackwater founder Prince visited Venezuela’s sanctioned VP
MIAMI — Erik Prince, a major Trump donor and the founder of controversial security firm formerly known as Blackwater, traveled to Caracas last month for a secret meeting with Venezuela’s vice president, according to several people familiar with the visit. It’s not clear whether Prince, who has been accused of...
In surprise decision, U.S. approves muscular dystrophy drug
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators approved a second drug for a debilitating form of muscular dystrophy, a surprise decision after the medication was rejected for safety concerns just four months ago. The ruling marks the second time the Food and Drug Administration has granted preliminary approval for the disease based...
Online child pornography accounts for more than 3 out of 4 Pa. cyber crime convictions
Computer hacking and election tampering dominate the conversation about cyber crimes, but a new study by the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts found an even more insidious offense tops the list of criminal convictions for cyber crime: child pornography. Online child pornography accounted for more than three out of...
3 of 4 men kidnapped from oil tanker off Africa released
ATHENS, Greece — Three of four crew members who were kidnapped by pirates from a Greek-flagged oil tanker off the coast of Togo last month have been released, while the fourth has died, the vessel’s managing company said Friday. European Products Carriers Ltd. said in a statement that the three...
Man found eaten by alligator actually died of meth overdose
FORT MEADE, Fla. — Florida officials say a man who was found partially eaten by an alligator in June actually died of a meth overdose. According to an autopsy report from a central Florida medical examiner, Michael Glenn Ford II had methamphetamine in his system when he died, and that...
Planned Parenthood shooting suspect insists he’s competent
DENVER — A man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015 appeared in court in Denver on Friday on new charges. Federal prosecutors have asked the judge to order a new mental evaluation for Robert Dear, who was previously ruled to be incompetent...
LAPD officer’s own body cam captured him allegedly touching dead woman’s breast
Since the Los Angeles Police Department started rolling out body cameras worn by officers, the videos have captured confrontations with suspects, pursuits and other high-profile interactions. But authorities allege a body camera worn by Officer David Rojas recently captured something highly disturbing: the lawman fondling a dead woman’s breasts. Rojas...
Trump says U.S., China have reached deal; Sunday tariffs offVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. has canceled plans to impose new tariffs on $160 billion worth of Chinese imports Sunday as part of a modest interim agreement that de-escalates a 17-month trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The United States is also reducing...
Man dresses as mom to take driver’s test for her
After seeing his mom fail her driver’s test three straight times, a Brazilian man decided to lend a hand. In a dress. Heitor Márcio Schiave showed up at the State Department of Traffic in Porto Velho, Brazil, in a long skirt, floral blouse, heavy make-up, a handbag, earrings and a...
Twitter brings back election labels for 2020 US candidates
Twitter is bringing back special labels to help users identify accounts and tweets from U.S. political candidates. The company, which first used such labels for the midterm elections last year, said it is trying to provide users with original sources of information and prevent spoofed and fake accounts from fooling...
New Zealand recovers 6 bodies from toxic volcanic island
WHAKATANE, New Zealand — As grieving families sang traditional Maori songs, New Zealand military specialists wearing protective gear landed on a small volcanic island on Friday and recovered six bodies of the 16 people who died in an eruption four days earlier. The specialists — six men and two women...
Outgoing Kentucky governor pardons man convicted of beheading a woman, stuffing her in a barrel
LEXINGTON, Ky. — It’s not clear if Betty Carnes was killed by asphyxiation or by the eight blows to her head that Delmar Partin delivered with a metal pipe. The coroner couldn’t tell which killed the mother of three first, but it was very clear that her head was then...
Police: Philadelphia father arrested after son fatally shoots twin
Philadelphia authorities arrested the father of a 18-year-old man who had been charged with fatally shooting his twin brother with a handgun that allegedly belonged to their father. Officer Miguel Torres confirmed the Thursday arrest of Aleem Gillard, 42, after the charges of murder and related offenses were dropped against...
Trump says US, China have reached deal; Sunday tariffs offVideo
President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. and China have reached a Phase 1 trade deal, de-escalating a 17-month dispute between the economic powers. The U.S. is dropping plans to impose tariffs Sunday on $160 billion in Chinese imports and is reducing some existing tariffs on Chinese goods. In...
Great Recession having effect on U.S. Christmas tree supplies this year
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Customers searching for the perfect Christmas tree typically glance at Sandy Parsons’ limited offerings, then keep walking. Parsons never got her order for 350 trees from a North Carolina farm. Supplies were short, she was told. Instead, she was shipped some smaller ones for her lot at...
House gets 2 Trump impeachment charges after Judiciary voteVideo
WASHINGTON — Impeachment charges against President Donald Trump went to the full House on Friday, following approval by the House Judiciary Committee. The House is expected to take up the two articles of impeachment next week. The abuse of power charge stems from Trump’s July phone call with the Ukraine...
Key takeaways from Boris Johnson’s sweeping British election victoryVideo
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has led his Conservative Party to a landslide victory in Britain’s election that was dominated by Brexit. Here are five takeaways from the British election: Brexit is happening Johnson’s campaign was built around his pledge to — finally — complete Brexit. With his whopping...
Obama says Paris climate deal is still the way forward
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Former U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday the Paris Agreement on climate change may fall short of expectations but is still the way forward to achieve progress and encourage businesses to invest in clean energy. Nearly 200 nations pledged to cut greenhouse emissions and help poor...
Russia probe report spurs calls for FBI surveillance changes
WASHINGTON — Revelations that the FBI committed serious errors in wiretapping a former Trump campaign aide have spurred bipartisan calls for change to the government’s surveillance powers, including from some Republicans who in the past have voted to renew or expand those authorities. Anger over the errors cited in this...
