Fire at Texas Exxon Mobil refinery injures dozensVideo
HOUSTON — An explosion and fire at an Exxon Mobil oil refinery in Texas on Wednesday left 37 people with minor injuries, in the latest of a series of petrochemical industry blazes this year in the Houston area. The fire began after an explosion at approximately 11:07 a.m. at an...
Judge sets tentative date for Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking trial
NEW YORK — A subdued Jeffrey Epstein listened passively in court Wednesday as a judge said he won’t face trial on sex trafficking charges before June 2020, and more likely a few months afterward. There was no mention at the Manhattan federal court appearance or any visible sign of injuries...
Organizers finally cancel troubled Woodstock 50 festival
NEW YORK — Woodstock 50 is officially canceled. Organizers announced Wednesday that the troubled festival that hit a series of setbacks in the last four months won’t take place next month. The three-day festival was originally scheduled for Aug. 16-18, but holdups included permit denials and the loss of a...
U.S. to set up plan allowing prescription meds from Canada
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it will create a way for Americans to legally and safely import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada for the first time, reversing years of refusals by health authorities amid a public outcry over high prices for life-sustaining medications. The move is a step...
Unopened 1987 Nintendo video game could sell for $10,000
RENO, Nev. — An unopened copy of a 1987 cult-classic video game that a Nevada man found in the attic of his childhood home is expected to sell for up to $10,000 at an online auction. The boxed game cartridge of Nintendo’s “Kid Icarus” was still in the bag with...
Fed cuts key rate in its first reduction in more than decade
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time in a decade to try to counter threats ranging from uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump’s trade wars to chronically low inflation and a dim global outlook. The Fed also repeated a pledge to “act...
Iowa man on Florida honeymoon drowns during first ocean swim
CRESCENT BEACH, Fla. — An Iowa seminary student honeymooning in Florida drowned when he was swept out to sea on his first time in the ocean, officials said. A St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office incident report says Dalton Cottrell, 22, of Malcom, Iowa, drowned while swimming Tuesday at Crescent Beach,...
Camper: Alleged Bigfoot sighting prompts gunfire at Mammoth Cave National Park
CAVE CITY, Ky. — Federal officials are investigating a report that a man fired a gunshot while camping at Mammoth Cave National Park, an incident that another camper says was prompted by an alleged sighting of Bigfoot. Mammoth Cave said law enforcement rangers responded early Sunday to a report of...
Frenchman to retry ‘flyboard’ trip across English Channel
PARIS — A French inventor will try again to traverse the English Channel on a flying board after his first attempt failed halfway. Franky Zapata’s wife, Christele, said Wednesday that he will retry the 22.4-mile journey Sunday from the French town of Sangatte to the area near Dover. Last week,...
Man named ‘Murder’ with ‘murder’ tattooed on his neck pleads guilty to murder
A Florida man has apparently lived up to his “Murder” nickname. Courtney Lawrence, 30, with the moniker “Murder” tattooed across his neck, pleaded guilty to murder charges in connection to a 2016 home invasion and shootout that left a fellow suspect dead, reports the Miami Herald. Lawrence was one of...
White supremacist gang leader, 1 other escape Arkansas jail
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The head of a white supremacist gang in Arkansas and another inmate have escaped a local jail and are being sought by authorities who say they consider the men armed and dangerous. The U.S. Marshals service said Wednesday authorities were searching for Wesley Gullett and Christopher...
Court to hear Boston Marathon bomber’s death penalty appeal
BOSTON — A federal court will hear arguments in the Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence appeal. A federal judge said Tuesday that oral arguments will take place Dec. 12. Each side will be given an hour to make its case. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted and sentenced to death in 2015...
Fire breaks out at Houston-area Exxon Mobil refinery
BAYTOWN, Texas — A fire burning at an Exxon Mobil refinery in Texas is sending a large plume of smoke into the air, the latest in a series of fires in Houston area involving the petrochemical industry. The fire broke out Wednesday at an Exxon Mobil facility in Baytown, about...
Office Depot selling bulletproof backpacks for back-to-school
Well, looks like back-to-school gear just got ramped up another notch. Office Depot is now selling bulletproof backpacks for students. The Guard Dog Security ProShield backpack is made of “nylon fabric and soft tactical armor” and has been independently tested by a third-party laboratory “to be impervious to certain gunfire.”...
PennDOT to roll out gender-neutral driver’s license option
Pennsylvanians who prefer not to be identified as male or female will soon have a gender-neutral option on their state-issued driver’s licenses. The Daily Item of Sunbury reported PennDOT expects to have the new procedure in place by the middle of next year. It will let motorists use “X” as...
Israel approves Palestinian construction in West Bank
JERUSALEM — The Israeli Cabinet unanimously approved a proposal to build over 700 housing units for Palestinians in addition to 6,000 Israeli settlement housing units in the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government advanced the proposal late on Tuesday, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of...
Networks sue Locast, a service that streams TV for free
NEW YORK — The country’s biggest TV networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX — are suing Locast, a streaming service that transmits their broadcasts for free. The companies say that Locast is violating their copyrights. Locast has held that under the law, it is allowed to stream the networks...
Iceland cuts teen drinking with curfews, youth centers
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The clock strikes 10 p.m. on a Friday night when the “Parent Patrol” enters a popular playground in suburban Reykjavik. The teens turn down the music and reach for their phones to check the time: It’s ticking into curfew. Every weekend, parents all over the Icelandic capital...
Survey: Businesses added 156,000 jobs in July
WASHINGTON — U.S. companies added a healthy 156,000 jobs in July with larger firms accounted for much of the gains, a private survey found. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that there was solid hiring in the construction, transportation, health care and leisure and hospitality sectors. But smaller companies are struggling...
Supply ship blasts off for International Space Station
MOSCOW — An unmanned Russian spaceship carrying supplies for the International Space Station has launched from Russia’s space complex in Kazakhstan. The Progress 73 cargo ship blasted off atop a Soyuz rocket at 8:10 a.m. EST Wednesday. It is to dock with the ISS about 3½ hours later after two...
Ex-Attorney General Kathleen Kane released from jail
EAGLEVILLE — A former Pennsylvania attorney general who served about eight months in jail for leaking grand jury material and lying about it was released Wednesday. Kathleen Kane left the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in the Philadelphia suburbs about 8:20 a.m. When asked by a reporter how she felt, Kane...
Sanders, Warren clash with moderates over ‘Medicare for All’
DETROIT — Liberal firebrands Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren slapped back against moderate rivals who ridiculed “Medicare for All” during a fierce Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night in which lesser-known pragmatists warned that “wish-list economics” would jeopardize the presidency. The tug-of-war over the future of the party early in the...
Seoul: North Korea launched 2 short-range ballistic missiles
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast Wednesday in defiance of U.N. resolutions, South Korea’s military said, less than a week after Pyongyang’s first weapons tests in more than two months. Observers say the launches were aimed at ramping up pressure on...
Kentucky miners block train tracks to protest bankrupt coal companyVideo
HARLAN, Ky. — Former Kentucky miners who say they haven’t been paid by bankrupt coal operator Blackjewel LLC were blocking train tracks Tuesday as part of a protest against the company. More than 20 miners and their families camped on tracks near Cumberland on Monday night to try to block...
Trump’s spy chief pick, John Ratcliffe, accused of fudging role in ‘Holy Land’ terrorism caseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Republican congressman picked by President Trump to be America’s next intelligence chief is grappling with reports that he embellished his role in a high-profile anti-terrorism case he’s cited as proof of his national security bona fides. At issue is the extent of Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe’s involvement...
