Suspect in mob boss hit flashes pro-Trump slogans on hand
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The man charged with killing the reputed boss of the Gambino crime family wrote pro-Donald Trump slogans on his hand and flashed them to journalists before a court hearing Monday. Anthony Comello, 24, was arrested Saturday in New Jersey in the death of Francesco “Franky Boy”...
Former IUP dean fined for ethics violation received $290,000 discrimination settlement from university
The Pennsylvania Ethics Commission last week fined a former Indiana University of Pennsylvania administrator $3,000 for repeatedly hiring her son’s firm for university business and neglecting to file accurate financial disclosure statements, actions deemed technical violations of the state Ethics Act. But former IUP Associate Dean of Student Affairs Carolyn...
Iowa Rep. Steve King posts meme bragging red states have ‘8 trillion bullets’
WASHINGTON — Rep. Steve King posted a meme during the weekend about a hypothetical civil war between “blue states” fighting over which bathroom to use and “red states” with trillions of bullets. The post is an image of two figures composed of traditionally Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning states in fighting postures...
Over 1,000 feared dead as cyclone slams into Mozambique
JOHANNESBURG — More than 1,000 people were feared dead in Mozambique four days after a cyclone slammed into the country, submerging entire villages and leaving bodies floating in the floodwaters, the nation’s president said. “It is a real disaster of great proportions,” President Filipe Nyusi said. Cyclone Idai could prove...
NPYD: Bronx cop believed to have died after 1999 shooting is alive
NEW YORK — A cop believed to have died some time after he was shot 20 years ago in the Bronx by a man arrested Friday actually survived the shooting, the New York Police Department said Monday. Law enforcement authorities, including NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill in a tweet Sunday, had...
Get a 3-story home in Italy for only $66
Do you have dreams of packing it all up and getting away to a romantic setting in Italy? Have we got a house for you. And, it would only cost you $66. That’s if you are lucky enough to win it. A British couple, Jim and Lea Abbott, are raffling...
New Zealand prime minister says gun reforms are coming
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – New Zealand’s coalition government plans to announce gun law changes within the next week in response to Friday’s deadly shooting rampage at two mosques in Christchurch, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. The measures could include restricting the military-style semiautomatic weapons that were used in the...
Man accused of throwing pancake batter faces battery charge
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — A 45-year-old Florida man is accused of throwing a bowl of pancake batter at a woman who was making dinner. An arrest report says Dwayne Zimmerman was drunk on Friday night when he went onto the porch of a home where the woman was making pancakes. The...
U.S. drug czar says border wall will reduce influx of drugs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — President Donald Trump’s drug czar says the president’s plan for a U.S.-Mexico border wall would save American lives by helping stem the flow of illegal drugs into the country. Jim Carroll said in Kentucky on Monday that Trump’s long-promised border wall would help stop drug smugglers looking...
DNA match leads to arrest in 1999 Alabama slaying, rape case
OZARK, Ala. — A DNA match found through genealogy testing led to the arrest of a truck-driving preacher in the killings of two teen girls who were found shot to death in a car trunk nearly 20 years ago, authorities said Monday. Coley McCraney, 45, of Dothan is charged with...
Medicare’s confusing coverage rules can trip up patients in costly ways
When Beverly Dunn called her new primary care doctor’s office last November to schedule an annual checkup, she assumed her Medicare coverage would pick up most of the tab. The appointment seemed like a routine physical, and she was pleased that the doctor spent a lot of time with her....
Homes flood as Missouri River overtops, breaches levees
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hundreds of homes have flooded in northwest Missouri after the Missouri River overtopped and breached several levees following heavy rain and snowmelt upstream, local officials said Monday. Many homes in the mostly rural area were inundated with 6 to 7 feet of water, Holt County Emergency...
Rousing theories on why yawning is so contagious
Have you ever found yourself starting to yawn just because you saw someone else do it? It’s not your imagination: Yawns really are contagious! In fact, humans can feel the urge to yawn after seeing, hearing or even just thinking about someone else doing it. Scientists have been trying for...
Trump calls Joe Biden a ‘low I.Q. individual’
Looking ahead to the 2020 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump fired a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday morning with a tweet calling him “another low I.Q. individual!” Trump said in the post, “Joe Biden got tongue tied over the weekend when he was unable to properly...
Federal tax refunds up, despite early reports to the contrary
With tax day looming a month away, the Washington Post has a good news-bad news report about tax refunds. First the good news. Although early reports suggested tax refunds were down anywhere from 8 to 16.8 percent in the first year of the new tax system, more recent reports show...
Pennsylvania prisons to implement system-wide tobacco ban
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s prison system is banning all tobacco products inside every facility’s secure perimeter, starting July 1. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel announced the new policy Monday, citing the success of existing tobacco prohibitions in three state correctional institutions and Quehanna Boot Camp. After July 1 all tobacco products in...
Orangutan blinded after being shot 74 times with air gun
SIBOLANGIT, Indonesia — An endangered orangutan with a young baby on Indonesia’s Sumatra island was blinded after being shot at least 74 times with an air gun, an official and veterinarian said Monday. An X-ray showed at least 74 air gun pellets in its body, including four in its left...
Trump says media trying to blame him for New Zealand massacre
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he is unfairly being blamed for the New Zealand mosque massacre. Trump tweeted Monday that the media “is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand.” He adds: “They will have to work very hard to prove that one.” The...
Potholes prove costly for Pa. drivers
Pennsylvania’s ubiquitous potholes cost taxpayers more than $63 million last year, transportation data show. In Southwestern Pennsylvania, those costs were more than $11 million. Contrary to popular perception, fixing potholes is a year-round job. And if a season existed for these pesky road craters that wreak havoc on the asphalt...
U.S., Russia to hold talks on Venezuela in Rome
ROME — U.S. and Russian officials are meeting in Rome this week to discuss the crisis in Venezuela. The U.S. State Department says Elliott Abrams, the U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, will hold talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and other Russian officials on Monday and Tuesday. Ryabkov...
Crews work to control fire at Texas petrochemicals plant
DEER PARK, Texas — Emergency crews worked Monday to control a large fire burning at a Houston-area petrochemicals terminal that has spread to eight storage tanks. Firefighters used foam to battle the blaze, which started Sunday morning at Intercontinental Terminals Co. in Deer Park, about 15 miles southeast of Houston....
Gunman kills 3 on Dutch tram, mayor says terror likely
UTRECHT, Netherlands — A gunman killed three people and wounded nine others on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht, sparking a manhunt that saw heavily armed officers with sniffer dogs zero in on an apartment building close to the shooting. Authorities immediately raised the terror alert for...
Beto O’Rourke says he raised $6.1M online in 1st 24 hours
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke raised more than $6 million online during the first 24 hours after he announced his White House bid, the highest 24-hour number reported by any candidate, his campaign said Monday. The “record-breaking” $6.1 million came “without a dime” from political action committees, corporations...
Group with consumer-friendly vibe pushes drugmakers’ message
WASHINGTON — As ominous music plays in the background, the narrator of a radio ad echoes objections from drugmakers by warning that a Trump administration proposal to apply international pricing to certain Medicare drugs would be a nightmare for seniors. The one-minute spot is the handiwork of the Alliance for...
Christchurch gun shop sold rifles online to accused shooter
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A Christchurch gun shop on Monday acknowledged selling guns online to the 28-year-old white supremacist accused of killing 50 people in mosque shootings that have upturned New Zealand’s reputation as among the world’s most tolerant and safe nations. At a news conference, Gun City owner David...
