Experts warn Midwest flood risk could persist for months
ST. LOUIS — Even as floodwaters receded in hard-hit places in in the Midwest, experts warned Saturday that with plenty of snow still left to melt in northern states, the relief may only be temporary. Rainfall and some snowmelt spurred flooding in recent weeks that’s blamed in three deaths so...
Cruise ship passengers hauled off ailing ship by helicopter
HELSINKI — A cruise ship with engine problems sent a mayday call off Norway’s western coast on Saturday, then began evacuating its 1,300 passengers and crew amid stormy seas and heavy winds in a high-risk helicopter rescue operation. The Norwegian newspaper VG said the Viking Sky cruise ship ran into...
Florida city dismantles, relocates Confederate statue
LAKELAND, Fla. — A statue of a Confederate soldier is being removed from a Florida park. The statue had stood at the center of Lakeland’s Munn Park for 109 years. City officials began dismantling the monument Friday. City commissioners voted in December 2017 to start the process to move the...
‘Cancel Brexit’ petition surpasses 4 million signatures to become most popular ever
LONDON — Can Brexit be stopped? A force of exasperated Brits are trying. A petition calling for Prime Minister Theresa May to revoke Article 50 and remain in the European Union surpassed 4,151,000 signatures on Saturday, becoming the most popular petition ever hosted on the British Parliament website. The previous...
Dispute over refinery near national park heats up in court
BISMARCK, N.D. — Parties involved in a dispute over whether North Dakota regulators should be involved in the siting of an oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park are battling in state court. The dispute is over whether state regulators should have reviewed the site of the $800 million Davis...
U.S.-backed Syrian force says IS defeated in Syria
BAGHOUZ, Syria — A Kurdish commander has formally announced the “physical defeat” of the Islamic State group and appealed for continued assistance until the full eradication of the extremist group. General Mazloum Kobani, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, says his forces have destroyed the group’s so-called caliphate...
Attorney general to release Mueller report’s ‘principal conclusions’ as early as today
Attorney General William Barr is expected to make public as early as today the principal conclusions of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election, giving the public its first glimpse into the findings of the 22-month probe. Barr...
Pope replaces Santiago bishop accused of sex abuse cover-up
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Saturday replaced Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, the embattled archbishop of Santiago, Chile, after he became embroiled in the country’s spiraling sex abuse and cover-up scandal. Francis accepted Ezzati’s resignation and named a temporary replacement to govern Chile’s most important archdiocese: the Spanish-born Capuchin friar and...
Georgia Senate OKs governor-backed ‘heartbeat’ abortion ban
ATLANTA — Amid protests and a heavy police presence, the Georgia Senate on Friday passed a bill banning almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The bill, backed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, passed on a 34-18 party-line vote and would be one of the nation’s strictest...
Museum is glad to finally hear: Yes, it’s really a Van Gogh
HARTFORD, Conn. — A painting at a Connecticut museum that has long been thought to be by Vincent Van Gogh has been authenticated as such by Dutch researchers. The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford announced Friday that the oil painting “Vase with Poppies” has been verified by researchers at the Van...
DeMarino joined Marines, was World War II hero
Sante DeMarino joined his three brothers in serving with the Marines during World War II and was awarded the Silver Star for his heroism against the Japanese in a battle on the island of Saipan in June 1944. He was severely wounded during the fighting, resulting in the loss of...
Couple brings 1,600-pound steer to a Texas Petco
Are all leashed animals really welcome at Petco? It was a question raised by a Texas couple and their pet, Oliver, a 1,600-pound Ankole-Watusi steer. So, they figured it was time to get an answer. “We decided to take a chance and call Petco’s bluff on the ‘ALL LEASHED PETS...
California to waive environmental rules for fire season prep
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved Friday to bypass environmental regulations to prepare for the next wildfire season, a move he said was necessary to prevent further loss of life even as it frustrated activists in a state viewed as a national environmental leader. “The increasing wildfire risks...
Schumer meets with Stacey Abrams about possible Senate bid for Georgia seat
Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat who narrowly lost her race for governor in 2018, met Friday with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is trying to recruit her to run for the Senate next year, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. Georgia has been a reliably Republican...
Robert Durst faces new lawsuit in death of first wife
NEW YORK — The legal saga surrounding real estate scion Robert Durst found yet another venue Friday, as a new lawsuit accused him of killing his first wife in New York and disposing of her body in 1982. The wrongful death claim, filed in state court, came two years after...
Teen charged with making racist threats in Charlottesville
A 17-year-old boy was charged Friday with making online threats of “ethnic cleansing” against black and Hispanic students at the public high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, a city that was the site of a deadly white nationalist rally in 2017. The threats had shut down the city’s public schools on...
Robert Mueller concludes Russia probe, delivers report to AG Barr
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump’s presidency, entangled Trump’s family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president’s closest associates. The report, still confidential, marks the...
Flight attendant detained by immigration on return to U.S.
HOUSTON — A flight attendant who traveled to Mexico for work through a program for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children has been detained. Attorney Belinda Arroyo said Friday that 28-year-old Selene Saavedra Roman raised concerns about whether she could work an international flight due to her immigration status....
Former Pa. Attorney General Kathleen Kane is disbarred
HARRISBURG — Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is losing her law license, a few months after she began a jail sentence for perjury, obstruction and other counts. The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a disbarment order Friday, based on paperwork voluntarily submitted and signed by...
Ohio police unit that went after Stormy Daniels disbanded for alleged misconduct
Beset by the fallout of a high-profile scandal involving adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and allegations that an officer traded sex for releasing women he had arrested, an Ohio police department has taken the unprecedented action of disbanding a unit that was once in charge of pursuing “moral crimes.” On Tuesday,...
Temple University offers free vaccine as mumps criss-cross campus
Plagued by an outbreak of mumps that has criss-crossed its Philadelphia campus, Temple University is holding free vaccine clinics on campus and will now require incoming students to verify they have had two doses of the MMR vaccine. The Temple outbreak, which includes 15 confirmed and 59 probable cases of...
Midwest flooding costs increasing, with $1.6B damage in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday that recent flooding in the state has caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage, pushing the total costs from the devastating Midwest flooding to at least $3 billion. The ongoing flooding along the Missouri River has damaged thousands of homes...
Police: Man told Jewish co-worker she was in ‘gas chamber’
ALBANY, N.Y. — The arrest of a New York man on charges of harassing a Jewish co-worker at a health food store is the latest in a rising number of anti-Semitic episodes reported in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. The Democrat joined state police Superintendent Keith Corlett for...
NCAA Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh
Here is a look at some of sports actions photos from TribLIVE.com sports photojournalist’s Shane Dunlap and Chaz Palla who will be covering the NCAA wrestling championships all weekend at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh....
Authorities: Lackawanna County worker was accessing child porn
SCRANTON — Authorities say a county worker in Pennsylvania used county-issued equipment to access child pornography. The Lackawanna County district attorney’s office says Theodore Karampilas faces nearly 100 counts of possessing and disseminating child porn. It wasn’t known if the 41-year-old Scranton man has retained an attorney. County officials say...
