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...
A look at how immigration authorities make arrests
Immigrant advocates and sympathizers are warning about arrests around the country as early as Sunday. The anticipated sweep is expected to be similar to operations that authorities have regularly done since 2003. They often produce hundreds of arrests. This one is different because President Donald Trump announced Monday on Twitter...
Family of men shot by Phoenix police emboldened after video
PHOENIX — Relatives of Hector Lopez, who was fatally shot by Phoenix police in May, say passing officers have laughed and made obscene gestures — a charge the department vehemently denies — during past protests seeking information. But as the Lopez family returned to headquarters Friday for the sixth weekly...
Fellow SEALs say chief shot girl and old man in Iraq
SAN DIEGO — Two Navy SEALs testified Friday that their platoon chief gunned down a young girl and an old man in Iraq in 2017 from his sniper’s perch, though neither witnessed him pulling the trigger. The SEALs said shots came from the tower where Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher...
Trump struggles to balance looking tough on Iran with reticence to involve US in conflicts abroad
President Donald Trump considered military strikes against Iran and then called them off at close to the last minute Thursday evening - but it’s not clear he ever really wanted to go through with the attack. The on-again, off-again airstrikes were perhaps the most visible sign yet of the tension...
Sen. Toomey lauds Trump for calling off Iran strikes, supports stricter economic sanctions
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey on Friday lauded reports of President Donald Trump’s decision to call off a planned strike on Iran in retaliation for an American drone shot down earlier this week. Toomey said that “it’s commendable that the President’s instinctive approach is to try to avoid an escalation that...
FDA may soon give women more options for boosting their libidos
More than two decades after Viagra revolutionized the treatment of men’s sexual health, women looking for a pharmaceutical boost in the bedroom are having another kind of Me Too moment. In the coming days, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide whether to approve a new medication for...
Talk show host says Trump raped her at Manhattan department store in 1990s
NEW YORK — A veteran New York lifestyle journalist in a first-person essay published Friday says Donald Trump raped her in a dressing room at a ritzy Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s — one of the most serious accusations of sexual assault ever lobbed against the president. E. Jean...
Pa. commemorates anniversary of women’s vote with document display
One hundred years ago this month, on June 24, 1919, Pennsylvania became the seventh state to ratify the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. As part of Monday’s 100th anniversary commemoration of that event, Pennsylvania’s document ratifying the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution will be on display...
‘Disposition of joy’ hallmark of woman’s life
In 1915, when Mabel Glunt Keibler was born, Woodrow Wilson was president, the United States had not yet entered the war in Europe, Babe Ruth hit his first career home run and women were still fighting for the right to vote. Mrs. Keibler lived a quiet life in a century...
Man arrested after trying to pull over detectiveVideo
UPLAND, Calif. — Police say they arrested a man on suspicion of impersonating a police officer after he tried to pull over a real police detective in Southern California. KABC-TV reported Friday that a Jeep Wrangler with red and blue flashing lights tried to stop a Rancho Cucamonga detective who...
Bills aim to end Pennsylvania’s straight-party voting option
HARRISBURG — Legislation advancing in Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature would eliminate the ballot option for voters to simply select a straight-party ticket in elections, although House Democrats are objecting to it. Bills to eliminate it emerged from committee in both chambers this week. The Senate bill is sponsored by Democratic Sen....
Pennsylvania warns of phone scam targeting elderly, disabled
Phone scammers posing as state Department of Revenue employees are targeting senior citizens and people with disabilities in an effort to obtain people’s bank information, according to the state agency. The phone scammers are falsely telling residents they will deposit their property tax or rent rebate checks into their bank...
Controversial telescope to be built on sacred Hawaiian peak
After years of protests and legal battles, officials have announced that a massive telescope which will allow scientists to peer into the most distant reaches of our early universe will be built on a Hawaiian volcano that some consider sacred. The state announced a “notice to proceed” for the Thirty...
Chinese crackdown on foreign names draws protest
BEIJING — The Manhattan neighborhood, Venice Garden, the Vienna hotel chain — to the ears of the Chinese government, the names are too foreign-sounding and must go. Provinces and cities across China have been issuing notices pressuring both private and public officials to rename businesses, bridges and neighborhoods, reflecting renewed...
Man strips completely at checkpoint in Detroit Metro airport
ROMULUS, Mich. — Authorities say a man took off more than his belt and shoes at a Detroit Metropolitan Airport security checkpoint, and that he got completely naked before trying to pass through a metal detector. The Wayne County Airport Authority said in a statement that the man walked up...
Pa. woman wins cemetery property rights Supreme Court case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is siding with a Pennsylvania woman in a case that gives citizens another way to pursue claims when they believe states and local governments have harmed their property rights. The high court ruled Friday in the case of Rose Mary Knick. She tried to bring...
Scientists seek beaches where dead whales can rot in peace
PORTLAND, Ore. — So many gray whales are dying off the U.S. West Coast that scientists and volunteers dealing with the putrid carcasses have an urgent request for coastal residents: Lend us your private beaches so these ocean giants can rot in peace. The number of dead whales washing ashore...
Court tosses black man’s murder conviction over racial bias
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is throwing out the murder conviction and death sentence for a black man in Mississippi because of a prosecutor’s efforts to keep African Americans off the jury. The defendant already has been tried six times and now could face a seventh trial. The court’s 7-2...
Pa. couple convicted in beating death of 4-year-old who spilled his cereal
WILLOW GROVE — A suburban Philadelphia couple has been convicted of murder in the death of a 4-year-old who was beaten for spilling his breakfast cereal. A jury returned the verdict Thursday night against the boy’s mother, Lisa Smith, and her boyfriend, Keiff King. The Abington couple also was convicted...
TMZ’s 911 tape: Le’Veon Bell’s robbers were 2 women he left naked in his bed
New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell was unable to give a clothing description of the women who allegedly robbed him because they were not wearing any, according to a recording that TMZ claims is Bell’s call to 911. The former Pittsburgh Steeler reported that he was robbed May 25...
New York lawmakers OK pot decriminalization
ALBANY, N.Y. — Lawmakers in New York state have voted to eliminate criminal penalties for public possession and use of marijuana after efforts to legalize pot stalled. The measure would reduce low-level criminal charges for unlawful possession of marijuana to a violation, which comes with a fine similar to a...
No injuries in explosions, fire at Philadelphia oil refinery
PHILADELPHIA — A fire at a 150-year-old refinery complex in Philadelphia turned the early morning sky a bright orange and yellow and awakened startled residents with explosions that shook homes Friday. The fire broke out at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex around 4 a.m., spokeswoman Cherice Corley said. “Refinery...
U.S. prepped for strikes on Iran before approval was withdrawn
WASHINGTON — A U.S. official said the military made preparations Thursday night for limited strikes on Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but approval was abruptly withdrawn before the attacks were launched. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly and spoke...
NRA sidelines its top lobbyist in latest sign of internal turmoil
WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association has sidelined its top lobbyist, Chris Cox, after accusing him in court documents of participating in what it called a failed extortion scheme to rid the organization of its top executive. Cox, the NRA’s second-in-command and leader of its powerful political arm, was placed...
