Chicago officer investigated for body-slamming man to ground
CHICAGO — Chicago police say an officer is being investigated for body-slamming a man who spat in his face. Police say the 29-year-old man was hospitalized following the incident Thursday afternoon. The 32-year-old officer also went to a hospital for evaluation. Police say the officer approached the man for drinking...
10 animals killed in barn fire at Ohio wildlife parkVideo
PORT CLINTON, Ohio — At least 10 animals were killed in a barn fire that erupted at an Ohio wildlife park, officials said. The blaze began about 6:15 p.m. Thursday at the African Safari Wildlife Park in Port Clinton. Three bongos, three giraffes, three red river hogs and a springbok...
Police: Woman arrested for firing gun into KFC drive-thru
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Police say a Georgia woman fired a gun into a KFC after learning her order lacked napkins and a fork. News outlets report 33-year-old Jonelle Jade Dare was arrested Tuesday in Sandy Springs, Georgia, on an outstanding warrant from Shelbyville, Kent., where’s she’s accused of shooting...
Global climate protests ahead of Madrid meeting
BERLIN — Protesters in cities across the world staged rallies Friday demanding leaders take tougher action against climate change, days before the latest global conference, which this year takes place in Madrid. The rallies kicked off in Australia, where people affected by recent devastating wildfires joined young environmentalists protesting against...
Hong Kong protesters seek British support; campus siege endsVideo
HONG KONG — Hundreds of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists rallied Friday outside the British Consulate, urging the city’s former colonial ruler to emulate the United States and take concrete actions to support their cause, as police ended a blockade of a university campus after 12 days. Waving British flags, the...
2 killed in London stabbings; police fatally shoot suspect
LONDON — A man wearing a fake explosive vest stabbed several people Friday in London, killing two in what police are treating as a terrorist attack before being tackled by members of the public and then fatally shot by officers on London Bridge, officials said. Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick...
Iraq’s PM announces he’ll resign amid worsening crisisVideo
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister said Friday he would submit his resignation to parliament, a day after more than 40 people were killed by security forces and following calls by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric for lawmakers to withdraw support. The move by Adel Abdul-Mahdi 13 months after he took over...
Liberal group’s ads assail Federalist Society over Trump’s court picks
WASHINGTON — A liberal activist group is launching a digital ad campaign targeting the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization that has championed judges appointed by President Trump, such as Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. The ads, to appear on LinkedIn and Facebook, assail major law firms...
Trump in Afghanistan for surprise Thanksgiving visit
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — President Donald Trump paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan, where he announced the United States and Taliban have been engaged in ongoing peace talks and said he believes the Taliban wants a ceasefire. In his first trip to the site of America’s longest war,...
New Mexico utility stands by plan to close coal-fired plant
FARMINGTON, N.M. — New Mexico’s largest electric provider says continued operation of a coal-fired power plant using carbon-capture technology wouldn’t be in the best interest of utility customers. Public Service Co. of New Mexico made the declaration in testimony filed with state regulators who are weighing the pending closure of...
Dutch prosecutors charge isolated farm father with sex abuse
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch father accused of holding six of his children against their will on an isolated farm for nine years is now also suspected of sexually abusing two of his other children, prosecutors said Thursday. The abuse allegations add a grim new element to a case...
27 Iraqi protesters shot dead in 24 hours, violence spiralsVideo
BAGHDAD — Security forces in Iraq shot dead 27 anti-government protesters in a 24-hour period, amid spiraling violence in the capital and the country’s south, as Iran condemned the burning of its consulate. Security forces Thursday fired live ammunition, killing four protesters and wounding 22 on the strategic Ahrar Bridge...
Fired Navy Secretary Spencer criticizes Trump in SEAL caseVideo
WASHINGTON — Richard Spencer, who was fired as Navy secretary for his handling of a SEAL war crimes case championed by President Donald Trump, wrote that the commander in chief “has very little understanding” of how the American military works. The extraordinary accusation came in an opinion piece published on...
Man pleads guilty to scam that cost victims more than $550K
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A northwest Iowa man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, admitting that his scheme caused about 30 people to lose more than $550,000. Authorities say 61-year-old Lon Friedrichsen entered the plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. His sentencing has not been scheduled. Court...
U.S. to pay less into NATO budget as Macron urges deep talks
PARIS — NATO leaders must stop bickering over defense spending and have a deep discussion about the future of the military alliance and how ties with Russia can be improved at a summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday. Macron’s call for intensive talks on how to shore up security...
Facebook, Instagram go down on Thanksgiving morning
Facebook and Instagram went down for several hours Thursday morning. Service to both appeared to have been restored just before noon. As of noon, there was no word on the company’s Twitter feed as to what the issue might have been. According to Down Detector, the social media platforms’ blackout...
Balloons fly as a breezy Macy’s Thanksgiving parade startsVideo
NEW YORK — The beloved balloons were flying, if lower than usual, as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began after an anxious weather watch Thursday morning. Astronaut Snoopy, a new version of a longtime parade favorite, was among the giant inflated characters leading the lineup. Parade officials and the New...
Winter storm threatens to scramble Thanksgiving travel plansVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — A day after bringing havoc to the Rocky Mountains, a powerful winter storm rolled across the Midwest on Wednesday, threatening to scramble Thanksgiving plans for millions of people during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm, which was blamed for one death and hundreds...
Evacuation orders ended as rain douses California wildfire
GOLETA, Calif. — A strong storm moved into Southern California on Wednesday, almost completely dousing a wildfire that had threatened thousands of homes but briefly raising the threat of debris flows from barren slopes. Residents in and below the fire area on the south Santa Barbara County coast were issued...
Utah hearing for Hawaii suspect in extreme cyberstalking
HONOLULU — A man arrested in Hawaii will be sent to Utah, where he’s accused of tormenting a family for more than year by sending more than 500 people to their house for unwanted services including food deliveries, repairs, tow trucks, locksmiths, plumbers and prostitutes. Loren Okamura was in Honolulu’s...
Wind could ground big balloons at NYC’s Thanksgiving parade
NEW YORK — Smokey Bear might feel like he’s battling Santa Ana winds — if he even gets a chance to fly. New York City’s big Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will take place Thursday amid strong winds that could potentially ground the giant character balloons, which have caused mishaps and...
MRIs of dense breasts find more cancer but also false alarms
Giving women with very dense breasts an MRI scan in addition to a mammogram led to fewer missed cancers but also to a lot of false alarms and treatments that might not have been needed, a large study found. The results give a clearer picture of the tradeoffs involved in...
Apache man moving ‘home’ to protest copper mine in Arizona
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Wendsler Nosie Sr. is drawn to a mountainous area in central Arizona where he and other Apaches have harvested medicinal plants, held coming-of-age ceremonies and gathered acorns for generations. On Thursday, he’ll start a three-day journey to make a permanent home in the area known as Chi’chil...
Utah banning ‘conversion therapy’ with Mormon church backing
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is on its way to becoming the 19th state to ban the discredited practice of conversion therapy in January after state officials formed a proposal that has the support of the influential Church of a Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Republican Gov. Gary Herbert announced...
Navy cancels review for SEALs after firing of Navy secretary
SAN DIEGO — The Navy on Wednesday cancelled a peer-review process that would have determined if three Navy SEAL officers who supervised an enlisted SEAL convicted of posing with a dead teenage captive in Iraq should remain on the elite force. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said the case was...
