Fort Lauderdale, surrounding cities will run out of water within hours
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tens of thousands of residents in Fort Lauderdale and surrounding cities were warned early Thursday to brace for a prolonged water outage, after a private contractor hit a water main during construction. City officials said customers could be without water — and thus, without working toilets...
Deemed dangerous, Jeffrey Epstein denied bail in sex abuse case
NEW YORK — A judge denied bail for jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges Thursday, saying the danger to the community that would result if the jet-setting defendant was free formed the “heart of this decision.” Epstein, with his hands folded before him, showed no reaction to the...
House approves $15 minimum wage, Senate prospects are dim
WASHINGTON — House Democrats approved legislation Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade, to $15 an hour, but the bill has almost no chance in the Republican-controlled Senate. Passage was assured after centrists won concessions for a slower phase-in, over six years instead...
Assange drops appeal of 50-week sentence for jumping bail
LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has dropped an appeal of his 50-week prison term for jumping bail in Britain. Court officials said Thursday that a hearing on the appeal set for next week had been cancelled. Assange is jailed in London’s Belmarsh Prison at the same time as he...
National Park Service reminds people not to pet bobcatsVideo
Just in case you’re tempted by that adorable wild creature … don’t pet the bobcat in the park. The National Park Service posted a public service announcement Wednesday telling people that bobcats are not pets. They advise that visitors to the parks should resist the urge to pet and hold...
India reschedules launch of its moon mission for Monday
CHENNAI, India — India’s space agency said it will launch a spacecraft to the south pole of the moon on Monday after stopping an attempt this week. The Indian Space Research Organization said the Chandrayaan-2 launch is now set at 2:43 p.m. on Monday. It said Thursday that the cause...
Man shouting ‘You die’ kills over 30 at Japan anime studio
TOKYO — A man screaming “You die!” burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing 33 people in a shocking attack. Thirty-six others were injured, some of them critically. The suspect was hurt and taken to a hospital....
Robbery suspect walks out of trial while jury deliberates
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — An armed-robbery defendant walked out of his trial just moments before a Florida jury found him guilty. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that 29-year-old Antonio Jama Gearing had been released on $75,000 bail so he was free to move about the Daytona Beach courtroom Tuesday. But...
How risky is it to use app that allows you to ‘see’ your older self?
You may have thought it was cute to allow a now-viral application to morph photos of you today into life-like images of you a generation from now. But did you read the fine print? According to Forbes Magazine, more than 100 million users of FaceApp have — maybe unknowingly —...
Trump slams congresswomen; crowd roars, ‘Send her back!’Video
GREENVILLE, N.C. — A combative President Trump rallied Republican supporters Wednesday in North Carolina, harshly criticizing four fiery, left-wing congresswoman of being un-American and claiming they are the face of the Democratic Party that will ruin the country. “I think in some cases they hate our country,” Trump said to...
Utah family mourns 6-year-old girl killed by father’s golf ball
OREM, Utah — Relatives of a 6-year-old Utah girl who died after her father accidentally struck her with a golf ball are remembering her as a loving, playful child. Aria Hill’s uncle David Smith described her as a happy child who greeted strangers and enjoyed spending time with her parents....
House rejects effort to force vote on impeaching President TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — The House easily killed a maverick Democrat’s effort Wednesday to impeach President Trump for his recent racial insults against lawmakers of color, a vote that provided an early snapshot of just how divided Democrats are over ousting him as the 2020 presidential and congressional campaigns rev up. Democrats...
House votes to hold William Barr, Wilbur Ross in contempt
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House voted Wednesday to hold two top Trump administration officials in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas related to a decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The House voted, 230-198, to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary...
Florida man says he tossed son in ocean to teach him to swimVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 37-year-old Florida man is accused of throwing his 5-year-old son into the Atlantic Ocean and then doing back flips off a city pier as the boy struggled in the water. An arrest report says that when Daytona Beach police arrested John Bloodsworth on child abuse...
Judge: Michael Cohen campaign finance investigation over
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors have told a judge in New York they have concluded their investigation into campaign finance crimes committed by President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen. The closure of the case is the strongest suggestion yet that federal prosecutors have decided not to bring criminal charges against...
Export man enjoyed traveling, fishing and family
One of Dawn Lingafelt’s strongest memories about her father Ronald revolves around his love of fishing. “I remember him dragging us out of bed at 6 a.m. to dig worms out of the yard and put them in a coffee can before we’d go fishing,” Lingafelt said. Fishing was Mr....
Prosecutors drop groping case against Kevin SpaceyVideo
BOSTON — Prosecutors dropped a case Wednesday accusing Kevin Spacey of groping a young man at a resort island bar in 2016, more than a week after the accuser refused to testify about a missing cellphone the defense says contains information that supports the actor’s claims of innocence. Spacey was...
Winners overlook rigged games’ lack of fairness, study finds
WASHINGTON — When it comes to fairness and privilege, a new study finds it really is not about how you play the game. It’s about whether you win or lose. A new experiment, played out as a card game, shows that even when the deck is literally stacked in people’s...
Rand Paul blocks Senate from funding 9/11 victims fund over budget concernsVideo
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan bill that would extend victims’ compensation for the Sept. 11 attacks. The Bethel Park-born Paul, a Republican, questioned the bill’s 70-year time frame and claimed that the federal government already faces a $22 trillion debt. He said any new spending...
Three Mile Island’s 60-year shutdown: ‘More akin to a marathon than a sprint’
The Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear reactor shutdown, which is set to begin no later than Sept. 30, will take nearly 60 years and $1.2 billion to complete. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is outlining Exelon Generation’s plans to decommission TMI Unit 1, whose closure was announced in May after...
Derry teacher in the running for $100,000 ‘Tools for Schools’ award from Harbor Freight
Two Pennsylvania teachers, including one from Derry, are in the running to receive up to $100,000 for their high schools’ skilled-trade programs. Roy Campbell, an agriculture mechanics teacher at Derry Area High School, along with Robert Brightbill, a construction teacher at Dauphin County Technical School in Harrisburg, are semifinalists in...
Plane makes emergency landing at Ocean City beachVideo
Swimmers were a little surprised when a plane splashed down at this Maryland beach. Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Va., reported that his single-engine Cessna 172RG was having engine problems before he landed it in the Atlantic Ocean, Maryland State Police told Fox News. Authorities praised the pilot for...
Driver suffers minor injuries when car slides under truck
UXBRIDGE, Mass. — Fire officials say they are amazed that a driver wasn’t seriously hurt when his vehicle slid under a tractor-trailer in Massachusetts. Authorities say the car was on Route 146 in Uxbridge on Tuesday when it hit something in the road and went airborne. The brakes didn’t work,...
Boy’s beer stand prompts calls to police
A boy selling beer on the street in Utah was unusual enough for passers-by to call police. Officers from the Brigham City Police Department on Tuesday found the boy hawking beer of the root variety. The department praised the youngster’s “Ice Cold Beer” sign as an effective marketing strategy. ”Yep,...
Facebook event to storm Area 51 gets deadpan response from Air Force
About 1.5 million people say they’re going, and another 1.1 million are interested, but how many, if any, will actually show up remains to be seen. A Facebook event called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” is organizing people to rush the fabled Nevada Air Force base...
