Minneapolis police: 2 boys killed, hostage situation likely
MINNEAPOLIS — Authorities say two boys have been shot to death outside a house in Minneapolis and a male suspect could be holding someone hostage inside the property. Police spokesman John Elder describes the two boys as “not yet teenagers.” He says it appears they had been playing in the...
Toll at least 21 after Mexico cartel attack near U.S. border
MEXICO CITY — Mexican security forces on Sunday killed seven more members of a presumed cartel assault force that rolled into a town near the Texas border and staged an hour-long attack, officials said, bringing the death toll to at least 21. The Coahuila state government said in a statement...
New Orleans police: 11 shot on edge of French Quarter
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police say 11 people were wounded in a shooting early Sunday on the edge of the city’s famed French Quarter. A police news release said two people were in critical condition. No arrests were announced by midday Sunday. Police Supt. Shaun Ferguson told The New...
Pope hails Nativity scenes as ‘admirable’ signs of faith
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has hailed Nativity scenes as ”simple and admirable” signs of Christian faith, commenting on a traditional Christmas practice that has triggered court battles in the United States. Francis told faithful in St. Peter’s Square that later Sunday he will visit the Italian hill town of...
House panel to vote on Ukraine report as Trump mulls defense
WASHINGTON — The House impeachment inquiry enters a pivotal stage this week, with investigators planning a vote Tuesday to approve their report making the case for President Donald Trump’s removal from office as he decides whether to mount a defense before a likely Senate trial. A draft report will be...
Authorities: 9 killed, 3 injured in South Dakota plane crash
CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. — Nine people died and three more were injured when a single-engine plane bound for Idaho crashed shortly after takeoff in South Dakota. Peter Knudson with the National Transportation Safety Board told The Associated Press 12 people were aboard the Pilatus PC-12 when it crashed about 12:30 p.m....
Mexico’s president raises hopes, ruffles feathers
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office one year ago, vowing to transform Mexico. He has focused on austerity and fighting corruption because corrupt, high-living politicians have angered Mexicans perhaps more than anything else. He pledged a presidency close to the people, without privileges for officials,...
Pennsylvania’s sexual abuse laws leave survivors conflicted
HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania overhauled its child sexual abuse laws this week after a years-long battle, absent from the bill-signing ceremony were some of the people who had worked hardest for the changes. Some sexual-abuse survivors and victim advocates felt conflicted by the compromise package: Missing was a cornerstone of...
Mississippi fire department roiled by noose in locker
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — There’s little disagreement that the object found in a white Mississippi firefighter’s locker was a hangman’s noose. But as with many things in America these days, there’s deep disagreement about what it meant. To some it was a reminder of lynchings that took hundreds of black lives...
Rosa Parks statue to be unveiled Sunday
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A new statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will stand in downtown Montgomery. The city said the statue will be unveiled Sunday at 1 p.m. at Montgomery Plaza at the Court Street Fountain. The unveiling coincides with the anniversary of Parks’ historic Dec. 1, 1955 arrest...
Michigan, Illinois set to usher in recreational pot sales
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — James Daly is eager to make marijuana history on Sunday, when he plans to open the doors to Arbors Wellness, beckon the lengthy line outside and legally start selling recreational pot for the first time in the Midwest. “We’ve worked very hard to be prepared,” said...
Relic thought to be from Jesus’ manger arrives in Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — A tiny wooden relic that some Christians believe to be part of Jesus’ manger arrived Saturday in its permanent home in the biblical city of Bethlehem 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope. Sheathed in an ornate case, cheerful...
NY team helping immigrant runners realize American dream
NEW YORK — A no-name entrant at this month’s New York City Marathon — literally, he didn’t even qualify to have his name printed on his bib — Girma Bekele Gebre crashed the elite field and finished third in the largest 26.2-mile race in the world. A week later, the...
In ride-hail boom, livery cabs feel squeezed and forgotten
NEW YORK — As a livery cab driver in the Bronx for more than a decade, Orlando Lantigua knows some of his customers well. If they don’t have money to pay today, they can pay him later. He often gets dispatched by his base station to pick up children and...
Belated bill to help solve indigenous cold cases gains steam
FARGO, N.D. — A bill originally meant to help law enforcement investigate cold cases of murdered and missing indigenous women that has floundered in Congress for two years may have the missing ingredients to become law — money and muscle. The money comes from an appropriations subcommittee chaired by Alaska...
Powerful storm interrupts nation’s busiest travel weekend
A powerful storm making its way east from California is causing major disruptions during the year’s busiest travel weekend, as forecasters warned that intensifying snow and ice could thwart millions of people across the country hoping to get home after Thanksgiving. The storm caused the death of at least one...
UK police: Bridge attacker had been jailed for terror crimes
LONDON — A man imprisoned six years for terrorism offenses before his release last year stabbed several people in London on Friday, two fatally, before being tackled by members of the public and then fatally shot by officers on London Bridge. Neil Basu, London’s police counterterrorism head, said 28-year-old Usman...
‘Strangest thing’: Police say man tried to rob West Manchester bank, then did this …
YORK, Pa. — A man attempted to rob a Wells Fargo bank branch in West Manchester Wednesday morning, then waited for authorities to arrive, West Manchester Township Police said. About 11:30 a.m. Nov. 27, the suspect allegedly jumped over the counter and grabbed money out of the register before throwing...
Agency cited sprinkler need months before high-rise fire
MINNEAPOLIS — The agency that manages public housing in Minneapolis noted a need for sprinklers in older high-rise apartments months before a massive fire broke out in a 50-year-old building, leaving five people dead from smoke inhalation. Although the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority didn’t specifically budget for high-rise sprinklers in...
Pennsylvania creates criminal offense of sexual extortion
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is creating the criminal offense of sexual extortion to help combat what authorities say is a growing crime targeting children, enabled by the internet. The legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Tom Wolf takes effect in two months and had the backing of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape...
Worker who survived New Orleans hotel collapse deported
NEW ORLEANS — A construction worker hurt in last month’s collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel construction site in New Orleans has been deported to his native Honduras. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Bryan Cox said Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma, 38, was flown to Honduras from Alexandria International...
Dutch police: 3 people wounded in Hague stabbing
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — An assailant stabbed three people Friday night in a busy shopping district in the Netherlands, and police were searching for the suspect, authorities said. The attack came just hours after a man wearing a fake explosive vest stabbed several people in London, killing two, before he...
Powerful storm threatens to disrupt busiest travel weekend
A powerful storm stretching from California to New England is threatening major disruptions during the year’s busiest travel weekend. Forecasters have warned that snow and ice could thwart millions of people hoping to get home after Thanksgiving. The storm has already shut down highways, stranding drivers in California and prompting...
Patients sue Indiana hospital over possible disease exposure
GOSHEN, Ind. — More than 1,000 surgical patients are suing a northern Indiana hospital after being notified that a sterilization failure could have exposed them to deadly infections. The Elkhart Truth reports the class-action suit was filed last week in Elkhart County Court against Goshen Hospital on behalf of patient...
Evacuation order lifted as huge Texas plant fire ‘contained’
AUSTIN, Texas — Officials lifted evacuation orders Friday for around 50,000 people on the Texas Gulf Coast, determining a massive fire was finally under control at a chemical plant rocked by two major explosions three days earlier. “We are in a position to say it’s contained. We feel comfortable with...
