Official: Woman, 3 children died of heat exposure in Texas
MISSION, Texas — Four people, including three children, found dead in South Texas near the border with Mexico most likely died of dehydration and heat exposure after crossing the Rio Grande into the United States, authorities said Monday. A law enforcement official close to the investigation told the Associated Press...
Truck driver charged with 7 homicides in motorcycle crash
CONCORD, N.H. — The driver of a pickup truck in a fiery collision on a rural New Hampshire highway that killed seven motorcyclists was charged Monday with seven counts of negligent homicide, and records show he was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving last month and in 2013. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy,...
Jackpot: More than 2,000 winners in North Carolina lottery
RALEIGH, N.C. — Turns out that zero can be a lucky number. North Carolina’s state lottery Saturday said it set a record payout after the winning numbers in a Pick 4 game came back “0-0-0-0.” The lottery said about 1,000 tickets at $1 were sold and will pay out at...
Former Pa. congressman Joe Sestak launches presidential campaign
PHILADELPHIA — Former Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak has become the latest Democrat to enter the presidential race. The retired Navy admiral who calls himself “Admiral Joe” on his campaign website joins a crowded Democratic field seeking the nomination to challenge President Donald Trump. He was launching his longshot candidacy Sunday...
New phase in 2020 presidential race tests Dems’ aggression
NEW YORK — The unwritten rules that have so far prevented the Democratic presidential contest from devolving into all-out conflict are about to be tested. The early front-runner , former Vice President Joe Biden, has so far fended off the relatively gentle wrath of his rivals. The shortcomings of his...
Air Canada reviewing how crew left passenger on parked plane
Air Canada said Sunday it’s looking into how crew members could have disembarked from a plane without noticing a sleeping passenger who was left behind. The airline was responding to an incident involving a woman who described waking up “all alone” on a “cold dark” aircraft after a flight to...
Romance novelist Judith Krantz dies at 91
LOS ANGELES — Writer Judith Krantz, whose million-selling novels such as “Scruples” and “Princess Daisy” engrossed readers worldwide with their steamy tales of the rich and beautiful, died Saturday at her Bel-Air home. She was 91. Krantz’s son Tony Krantz, a TV executive, confirmed her death by natural causes on...
Officials: Texas woman playing ‘chicken’ fatally strikes son
HOUSTON — Authorities say a 26-year-old Houston woman who was driving an SUV toward her children in an apparent game of “chicken” struck and killed her 3-year-old son. Harris County prosecutors said Friday that Lexus Stagg is charged with criminally negligent homicide in the June 11 death of her son....
Trump sets deadline for asylum changes, vows deportation raidsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Trump gave Democrats two weeks to work on immigration reform and stem the flow of migrants at the southern border, but cast doubt on getting action from Congress and vowed to go ahead with a roundup of people facing deportation. “I want to give the Democrats every...
In Mideast, Mike Pompeo seeks a global coalition against IranVideo
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday he wants to build a global coalition against Iran during urgent consultations in the Middle East, following a week of crisis that saw the United States pull back from the brink of a military strike on Iran. Pompeo spoke as he...
Tuskegee Airman Robert Friend, who flew 142 WWII combat missions, dies at 99
LONG BEACH, Calif. — World War II pilot Robert Friend, one of the last original members of the famed all-black Tuskegee Airmen, has died at the age of 99. Friend’s daughter, Karen Friend Crumlich, told The Desert Sun her father died Friday at a Southern California hospital. Born in South...
California golf course dispute sparks shooting, fire; 5 dead
SANTA MARIA, Calif. — A third body has been found in the rubble of a burned-out mobile home in California, bringing to five the number of dead in a shooting and fire that began during an argument at a pitch-and-putt golf course, authorities said. Santa Maria police identified Kurt Bracke,...
Baby formula sold at Walmart is recalled over metal contamination concerns
About 23,400 containers of baby formula sold exclusively at Walmart have been recalled because they could contain pieces of metal. Perrigo Company is issuing the recall of 35-ounce containers of Parent’s Choice Advantage Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron because of the “potential presence of metal foreign matter.” Consumers should...
Bikers gather for emotional ceremony following deadly crash
COLUMBIA, N.H. — A long-planned Blessing of the Bikes ceremony for motorcycle enthusiasts became a grief-filled memorial Sunday as hundreds converged to mourn seven bikers killed in a devastating crash with a pickup truck . About 400 motorcyclists gathered in Columbia, New Hampshire, for the ceremony — which is periodically...
Trump’s popularity could be tested if Sarah Sanders seeks office
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Press secretary Sarah Sanders seems to be in an enviable position as she leaves the White House for a possible run for governor in her home state of Arkansas. She has the tacit endorsement of a president popular in the state and political connections that go...
Trump postpones nationwide immigration enforcement sweep
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was postponing a nationwide immigration sweep to deport people living in the U.S. illegally, including families, saying he would give lawmakers time to work out border solutions. The move came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had called Trump on Friday asking...
Trump denies knowing NY woman accusing him of sexual assault
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says a New York-based advice columnist who claims he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s made a “totally false accusation” against him and he denied knowing the woman. “I have no idea who this woman is,” Trump said...
Public’s help sought after 7 bikers die in crash with pickup
LANCASTER, N.H. — Investigators issued a plea Saturday for the public to come forward with information as they try to determine what caused a pickup truck hauling a trailer to collide with a group of 10 motorcycles on a rural highway, killing seven bikers and leaving their community reeling. Authorities...
Skydiving plane crash in Hawaii kills 9, no survivors
HONOLULU — A small plane used for skydiving crashed and burst into flames near the perimeter of a small seaside oceanside airport on the island of Oahu, killing all nine people aboard, officials said Saturday. Preliminary information gathered by the Federal Aviation Administration indicated that the crash of the twin-engine...
North Huntingdon woman was avid golfer, beloved teacher
Carol Weiss was at a restaurant when she overheard a man bragging about having shot a hole-in-one at the golf course that day. Her name was Carol Lenhart then, and an avid golfer herself, she struck up a conversation. The man was David Weiss, and it was his lucky day...
Reporter once jailed for refusing to disclose source dies
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Jim Taricani, an award-winning TV reporter who exposed corruption and served a federal sentence for refusing to disclose a source, has died. He was 69. His friend, Dyana Koelsch, said on Saturday that Taricani died at his home in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on Friday. The cause...
Trump picks Uniontown native, Army vet Mark Esper to lead Pentagon
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s pick for new Defense secretary is an Army veteran who served in the first Iraq war and also has experience as a national security adviser on Capitol Hill as well as a defense industry lobbyist. Trump announced Friday that he would nominate Mark Esper to lead...
Prosecutor could decide on seventh trial in Mississippi case
JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi prosecutor has tried and failed six times to send Curtis Flowers to the death chamber, with the latest trial conviction and death sentence overturned on Friday because of racial bias in jury selection. Now, that same prosecutor must decide whether to try Flowers a seventh...
Jury finds man guilty of break-ins at Wayne Newton home
LAS VEGAS — A Nevada prison inmate was found guilty Friday of burglarizing the mansion of “Mr. Las Vegas” entertainer Wayne Newton twice a year ago and trying to break into a neighboring home. Weslie Hosea Martin, 22, didn’t testify during the trial and didn’t visibly react to the jury...
Judge continues $50M bail for Mexican megachurch leader
LOS ANGELES — A judge continued the extraordinary $50 million bail Friday for the leader of Mexico-based megachurch La Luz del Mundo but said prosecutors must offer more evidence of their child sex and human trafficking allegations at the next court hearing. Naasón Joaquín García, the church’s self-proclaimed apostle, poses...
