Polanski asks court to restore his film academy membership
LOS ANGELES —Roman Polanski asked a judge Friday to restore his membership in the organization that bestows the Academy Awards nearly a year after he was expelled from it for sexual misconduct. Lawyers for the 85-year-old fugitive director petitioned Los Angeles Superior Court to compel the Academy of Motion Picture...
After Mueller report, Democrats divided over end game – investigate Trump or impeach
WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller III’s report gave House Democrats a road map for investigating President Donald Trump and the cue they were waiting for - but the party was divided Friday over what, ultimately, should be their end game. In one camp, a faction of Democrats determined to...
Heiress pleads guilty in NXIVM sex slave case
NEW YORK — An heiress pleaded guilty on Friday in a sensational case accusing a cult-like upstate New York group of creating a secret harem of sex slaves for the group’s self-anointed spiritual leader. Clare Bronfman admitted in her plea in federal court in Brooklyn that she harbored someone who...
Rep. Joyce: Immigrant ‘crisis is real’ at Arizona border
Congressman John Joyce, a Hollidaysburg Republican, said he was stunned with what he saw on a congressional trip to the U.S.-Mexico border at Yuma, Ariz., this week. His trip with a contingent of Republican congressmen coincided with an emergency declaration by Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls, who called for a “FEMA-type...
Consumer group sues to obtain PHEAA’s student loan servicing contract
A national consumer group is suing the federal government to obtain access to the 600-page contract that details its relationship with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). The National Consumer Law Center, which filed suit in federal court in Massachusetts, maintains the document that outlines PHEAA’s duties and obligations...
Judge blocks part of Ohio ban on abortion procedure
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge blocked part of an Ohio law late Thursday that bans the abortion method of dilation and evacuation in most cases, adding to a list of restrictions on the procedure that are or soon could be in legal limbo. Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett...
From cherry pies to French dressing, FDA to ease some food rules
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump may soon be able to claim a sweet victory for his deregulation push, with officials preparing to get rid of the decades-old rules for frozen cherry pies. Emails show the Food and Drug Administration planned to start the process for revoking the standard for...
Joe Biden reportedly prepping to enter 2020 presidential race
Former Vice President Joe Biden is making preparations to enter the Democratic presidential campaign with a possible announcement as soon as next Wednesday, according to three people familiar with his plans. One of the people cautioned that the plans could change, given the former Delaware senator’s fits and starts around...
Two-wave flu season is now the longest in a decade
NEW YORK — Three months ago, this flu season was shaping up to be short and mild. But a surprising second viral wave has made it the longest the United States has seen in 10 years. This flu season has been officially going for 21 weeks, according to reports collected...
Virginia governor wants Confederate arch gone from U.S. fort
RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam is calling for the removal of an arch honoring the former president of the Confederacy at Fort Monroe, where the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia 400 years ago. The Daily Press reports that Northam’s office presented a letter to the Fort Monroe Authority...
Airlines could someday weigh passengers like luggage
In the name of fuel effeciency among airlines, a British start-up is looking into the idea of weighing passengers — just like luggage — before flights. The more a plane weighs, the more fuel it will need to burn to complete its flight. This is why your luggage is so...
Journalist shot dead in Northern Ireland rioting
LONDON — Police in Northern Ireland said Friday they are searching for multiple suspects in the fatal shooting of a journalist during overnight rioting in the city of Londonderry. The dissident republican group, the New IRA, was most likely responsible for killing Lyra McKee, police said after a clear escalation...
Internet domain battle pits Amazon against the Amazon
Call this battle Amazon versus the Amazon. The New York Times reported Friday that the giant Internet retailer’s seven-year battle with eight Amazon basin countries over the domain name .amazon has come down to the wire. Amazon has until Sunday to submit a new proposal to the Internet Corporation for...
Notre Dame’s bees — yes, bees — survived the fire
PARIS — The 180,000 bees kept in hives in Notre Dame Cathedral that were thought to have perished in this week’s fire have been discovered alive. The monument’s beekeeper, Nicolas Geant, told the Associated Press on Friday: “I am so relieved. I saw satellite photos that showed the three hives...
Authorities use dating site to capture sex assault suspect
CINNAMINSON, N.J. — Authorities say a New Jersey man sexually assaulted a Philadelphia woman he met through an online dating site, but they then used the site to capture him. Cinnaminson police say Jerell Manson used the site to entice the woman to travel to southern Jersey on Monday. They...
Kremlin: No proof in Mueller’s report of Russian meddling
MOSCOW — The Kremlin argued on Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 400-page report has not offered any credible evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The redacted report presented on Thursday said that there was no collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and Russian officials but...
James McCord, Watergate conspirator, died 2 years ago — and no one reported it
WASHINGTON — James McCord, a retired CIA employee who was convicted as a conspirator in the Watergate burglary and later linked the 1972 break-in to the White House in revelations that helped end the presidency of Richard Nixon, died June 15, 2017, at his home in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. He was...
Storms again roar across South, killing 2 in Mississippi
LEARNED, Miss. — Strong storms again roared across the South on Thursday, killing two Mississippi drivers and leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. National Weather Service forecasters said they believe multiple tornadoes hit southwest and central Mississippi, although they won’t be sure until...
Parents of 3 NYC children face $1,000 penalty for violating measles order
New York health officials issued summonses to parents of three children Thursday for not vaccinating their children against measles, a violation of the city’s emergency order mandating immunizations to control a surging outbreak. The adults face civil penalties of $1,000 if an officer upholds the summons at a hearing. Health...
Cancer-causing chemical taints water after California blaze
PARADISE, Calif. — The drinking water in Paradise, California, where 85 people died last year in the nation’s worst wildfire in a century, is contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical benzene, officials said. Officials said they believe the contamination happened after the November firestorm created a toxic combination of gases in...
Minister at secretive N Carolina church sentenced for fraud
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A minister at a secretive church in North Carolina has been sentenced to 34 months in prison and ordered to pay $466,960 in restitution for his role in an unemployment fraud scheme involving businesses owned by members of the congregation. Kent Covington, a minister at the Word...
Joe Biden, inching closer to presidential race, visits striking grocery workers
BOSTON - Despite all the familiar political rally trappings - the phalanx of TV news cameras, the anti-Trump words in his remarks and the handheld signs encouraging him to run for president - Joe Biden insisted that the plight of the people picketing behind the stage was more important than...
Officer says partner fired before he could analyze threat
MINNEAPOLIS — The partner of a Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman testified Thursday that he didn’t fire his own weapon because he hadn’t fully analyzed the possible threat, agreeing with a prosecutor’s characterization that it would have been “premature” to use deadly force. Officer Matthew Harrity...
Oregon sheriff known for standoff to resign over funds
PORTLAND, Ore. — A small-town sheriff who gained national attention for his leadership during a 41-day standoff with armed occupiers at a wildlife refuge in Oregon is resigning, citing chronic underfunding for his department and concerns about liability caused by an outdated and understaffed jail. Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward...
Chem professor on leave after Nazi gas chamber exam question
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — A chemistry professor whose exam question asked students to calculate the lethal dose of a poisonous gas used in Nazi gas chambers during the Holocaust has taken a leave of absence, Middlebury College said. The Vermont liberal arts college said that it’s investigating under the terms of...
