Philly landlord charged with stealing from murdered tenant’s home
Authorities say a landlord was charged with stealing from his tenant’s home in Philadelphia the day after he was murdered. Police say 38-year-old Dan Charyna was arrested early Thursday morning and charged with burglary, criminal trespass and theft. Officers responded to the home Wednesday evening, the same location the tenant...
Seattle bus driver shot in torso drives passengers to safety
SEATTLE — A Seattle bus driver hailed as a hero for steering the bus away from a gunman who opened fire on him and his passengers says he’s “glad to be alive.” Eric Stark was hit in the torso Wednesday afternoon by a bullet but authorities say he still managed...
Motorist hit in face by frozen turkey dies years later at 59
LAKE RONKONKOMA, N.Y. — A New Yorker who urged leniency for the teenager who nearly killed her in 2004 by throwing a frozen turkey through her car windshield has died. Victoria Ruvolo was 59. Anthony Ruvolo says his aunt died Monday. The cause is not known, and it’s unclear whether...
Mueller report is more than 300 pages, AG tells top Democrat
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election spans more than 300 pages, a Justice Department official said Thursday. Attorney General William Barr confirmed the report’s length during a Wednesday phone call with Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. During...
ACLU: Meijer to change policies on filling prescriptions
PETOSKEY, Mich. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan says it has reached an agreement with Meijer on policy changes and training after a pharmacist at one of the retailer’s stores refused to fill a prescription to help a woman complete a miscarriage. The ACLU said in a news...
Pa. man gets death for teen’s rape, murder, dismemberment
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — A man who killed and dismembered his girlfriend’s 14-year-old daughter as part of a rape-murder fantasy he shared with the teenager’s mother was sentenced to death Thursday. Jacob Sullivan, 46, had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and related charges for killing Grace Packer in 2016. After deliberating...
Police: Standoff ‘resolved’ at hotel hours after man killed
MANCHESTER, N.H. — At least one man was killed in a 15-hour standoff at a New Hampshire hotel that ended Thursday, police said. The standoff ended around 10:30 a.m. with authorities bringing out a stretcher with someone on it at the Quality Inn in Manchester, New Hampshire, near Interstate 293...
Smollett saga shook public trust, heightened racial tensions
In the two months since Jussie Smollett reported a late-night attack by assailants shouting racial and anti-gay slurs, the “Empire” actor and activist went from victim to defendant. Police and many in the black community rallied to his defense before condemning his account as a hoax. On Tuesday, Smollett was...
Trump turns to health care with an eye on 2020
WASHINGTON — Buoyed by word that the special counsel didn’t find collusion with Russia, President Donald Trump is voicing new interest in policymaking, including a fresh effort to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” But Trump has few detailed policy proposals to back up his words, suggesting he’s as focused on highlighting...
After Mueller, Trump allies counsel against pardon push
NEW YORK — The end of the special counsel’s investigation sparked fresh speculation that President Donald Trump might pardon some of those charged in the probe. It’s also spawned a don’t-go-there chorus from some of Trump’s closest advisers and GOP allies. They’re warning that pardons could ignite a political firestorm...
Trump visits Michigan as Republicans confront ominous signs
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 50 or so party faithful gathered at a western Michigan GOP headquarters prayed for President Donald Trump’s re-election and hummed with excitement about his upcoming visit — a meeting-turned-pep rally for the effort they’ll mount on his behalf in 2020. “Are we ready?” former Michigan...
Mueller’s evidence is likely a massive amount of material
WASHINGTON — Democrats say they want “all of the underlying evidence” in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. But what is all of that evidence? Mueller’s team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants and interviewed more than 500 witnesses. That means the special counsel likely compiled thousands,...
Winning $768M Powerball ticket sold in Wisconsin
NEW BERLIN, Wis. — A single ticket that matched all six Powerball numbers to win the estimated $768.4 million jackpot — the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history — was sold in a Milwaukee suburb, Wisconsin Lottery officials said Thursday. The ticket, worth a cash option of $477 million, was...
Alaska white supremacist gang members face federal charges
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Filthy Fuhrer and five other members of a white supremacist gang that was spawned in prisons in Alaska, Arizona and Colorado have been charged in the gruesome beating death of a member whose Nazi tattoo was burned off his rib cage with a hot knife. Fuhrer, who...
Arizona lawmaker resigns amid probe of 1983 sex charges
PHOENIX — Arizona Rep. David Stringer resigned Wednesday amid an ethics investigation of 1983 sex charges and his comments on race and immigration. The Prescott Republican lawmaker stepped down as he faced a 5 p.m. deadline to hand over documents demanded by the House Ethics Committee. Earlier in the day...
Man pleads guilty to kidnapping Jayme Closs, killing parents
BARRON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty Wednesday to kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents, in a move that spares the girl held captive in a remote cabin for three months from the possible trauma of having to testify at his trial. Jake Patterson, 21, sniffled and...
Police: 2 killed in ‘random’ shooting, crash in Seattle
SEATTLE — A man opened fire on motorists in a Seattle neighborhood in what authorities are calling a “random” attack that left two dead and two injured Wednesday afternoon. One man was fatally shot and another killed in an automobile crash, authorities said. Two other people were shot but survived,...
Federal judge blocks Medicaid work rules in blow to Trump
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Medicaid work requirements undermine the program’s mission of providing health care for the needy, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to push the poor toward self-sufficiency. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, D.C., blocked work requirements for low-income...
Ancient West Bank site draws Christians, controversy
SHILOH, West Bank — Deep in the West Bank, Israeli settlers have transformed an archaeological site into a biblical tourist attraction that draws tens of thousands of Evangelical Christians each year. Tel Shiloh is believed to have been the site of the biblical tabernacle, but not everyone is pleased at...
Alaska Native servicemen finally honored as Code Talkers
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Army veteran Richard Bean Sr. died without anyone knowing that he and four other long-deceased Alaska Natives had used their Tlingit language to outsmart the Japanese during World War II. Now, they are finally being hailed in their home state for their lifesaving efforts as servicemen. Earlier...
Woman who shoved friend off bridge gets jail, work crewVideo
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A woman who pleaded guilty to pushing her 16-year-old friend from a bridge at a popular swimming area near Vancouver has been sentenced to two days in jail and 38 days on a county work crew. Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman sentenced 19-year-old Tay’lor Smith...
FAA defends its reliance on aircraft makers to certify jets
WASHINGTON — Under fire from lawmakers on Capitol Hill over the two deadly Boeing crashes, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday defended the FAA’s practice of relying on aircraft makers to help certify their own planes for flight. Acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said the strategy has...
Man awarded $80M in lawsuit claiming Roundup causes cancer
SAN FRANCISCO — A jury on Wednesday awarded $80 million in damages to a California man who blamed Roundup weed killer for his cancer, in a case that his attorneys say could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits. The six-person jury in San Francisco returned its verdict...
Poll: Most Republicans want to see the full Mueller report
WASHINGTON — Most Republicans think the full Mueller report should be released to the public, a new poll has found. It’s a sharp departure from the position GOP lawmakers have established as they call for some parts of the report to be redacted. Fifty-six percent of the 405 Republicans surveyed...
Manhattan drivers near new era that may include $11.52 in tolls
London did it. So did Singapore and Stockholm. Now New York may finally be coming around to congestion pricing. The idea is gaining momentum in the state capital and at city hall, giving new urgency to a plan that would transform everyday life for millions of people by charging motorists...
