Alabama unveils statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A new statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks was dedicated in Alabama’s capital city on Sunday, the 64th anniversary of her historic refusal to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey pulled...
Substitute teacher lectures Utah child over his 2 dads
SALT LAKE CITY — A substitute teacher berated a Utah fifth grader after he said during a pre-Thanksgiving lesson that he was thankful he’s finally going to be adopted by his two dads, the parents said. The boy’s classmates said the teacher told him, “that’s nothing to be thankful for”...
Tennessee police: 4 teens escape juvenile detention center
NASHVILLE — Police in Tennessee were searching Sunday for four teenagers who escaped from a juvenile detention center in Nashville. One of the escapees is a suspect in the February slaying of a rock band’s frontman. The teens broke out of the downtown facility Saturday night and are believed to...
Supreme Court to take up gun case though disputed law has changed
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is turning to gun rights for the first time in nearly a decade, even though those who brought the case, New York City gun owners, already have won changes to the regulation they challenged. The justices’ persistence in hearing arguments Monday despite the city’s action...
New ‘three amigos’ riding into Trump impeachment inquiry
WASHINGTON — The “three amigos” used to stand for one thing in Washington — the pack of globe-trotting senators led by John McCain who brought American idealism to the world’s trouble spots. Now it refers to another trio, the Trump envoys who pushed Ukraine to pursue investigations of Democrats and...
Sanders: Scripture calls for renewed focus on justice in U.S.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — As he vies for the chance to replace President Trump, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday that he is running a campaign that, like Scripture, calls for a renewed focus on justice in the way all people should be treated. It’s a broad-based approach that the Vermont...
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...
