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...
Kansas hopes to resurrect proof-of-citizenship voting law
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court will hear arguments Monday over the constitutionality of a struck-down Kansas statute that had required people to provide documents proving their U.S. citizenship before they could register to vote. In a case with national implications for voting rights, Kansas faces an uphill...
Iran’s Rouhani urges Iranians to ‘put all your curses’ on U.S.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s president on Monday urged Iranians to put a curse on the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, reiterating his long-standing charge that the U.S. and its allies are responsible for the country’s ailing economy. President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks were meant to deflect criticism of his administration’s...
Japan to make crater on asteroid to get samples from inside
TOKYO — Japan’s space agency said Monday that its Hayabusa2 spacecraft will follow up last month’s touchdown on a distant asteroid with another risky mission — to drop an explosive to make a crater and collect underground samples to get possible clues to the origin of the solar system. Hayabusa2...
R. Kelly case spotlights abuse of girls in #MeToo era
NEW YORK — The girls, a dozen of them 15 to 18 years old, file into a conference room in a Brooklyn office building, taking seats in chairs carefully arranged in a circle. On the floor is a makeshift altar of comforting objects: A string of Christmas lights, plastic toys,...
Serbia president vows to defend law and order amid protests
BELGRADE — Serbia’s president pledged Sunday to defend the country’s law and order a day after opposition supporters stormed the national TV station, protesting what they called his autocratic rule and biased grip on the country’s media. The opposition clashes with police on Saturday and Sunday in Belgrade, the capital,...
Report: U.S. could keep nearly 1,000 troops in Syria
WASHINGTON — The United States could keep up to 1,000 troops in Syria three months after President Trump ordered a full withdrawal from the war-torn nation, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The Journal’s report, citing U.S. officials, said the United States planned to continue working with Kurdish fighters in...
Dick Dale, King of Surf Guitar, ‘Miserlou’ composer, is deadVideo
LOS ANGELES — Dick Dale, whose pounding, blaringly loud power-chord instrumentals on songs such as “Miserlou” and “Let’s Go Trippin’” earned him the title King of the Surf Guitar, has died at age 81. His former bassist Sam Bolle says Dale passed away Saturday night. No other details were available....
New Zealand citizens seem open to gun reform after massacre
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The New Zealand leader’s promise of tightened gun laws in the wake of the Christchurch mosque shootings has been widely welcomed by a stunned population. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her Cabinet would consider the details of the changes Monday. She has said options include a...
Tanker truck catches fire, triggers explosions in South Los Angeles, injuring 2 peopleVideo
LOS ANGELES — A 9,000-gallon tanker truck leaking gasoline caught fire and triggered multiple explosions Sunday in South Los Angeles early, igniting surrounding structures and sending a huge column of black smoke into the air, authorities said. Fire officials arrived at the scene on West Slauson Avenue about 7:45 a.m....
RNC links ‘noted Irishman’ Beto O’Rourke’s heritage to 1998 DWI arrestVideo
The Republican National Committee on Sunday sent out a tweet linking Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s Irish heritage to his 1998 drunken-driving arrest, in an attack that Democrats and some Republicans criticized as being based on stereotypes. Republicans have previously sought to focus attention on O’Rourke’s DWI arrest, but...
Kirsten Gillibrand declares candidacy for president after campaigning for months
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination Sunday, casting herself as the party’s strongest champion of reversing President Trump’s agenda. Gillibrand, who started an exploratory committee in January, has been campaigning for months. But she used a video announcement online to draw new...
Trump and first lady attend church service on St. Patrick’s Day
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump spent St. Patrick’s Day morning worshipping at the “Church of the Presidents” near the White House. Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, joined parishioners for Sunday’s 11 a.m. service at St. John’s Church, a historic yellow church across from the White House and...
Mourners pay tribute to New Zealand victims, await burials
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A steady stream of mourners paid tribute Sunday at a makeshift memorial to the 50 people slain by a gunman at two mosques in Christchurch, while dozens of Muslims stood by to bury the dead when authorities finally release the victims’ bodies. Hundreds of flowers were...
More evacuations in Midwest as floodwaters head downstream
ST. LOUIS — Residents in parts of southwestern Iowa were forced out of their homes Sunday as a torrent of Missouri River water flowed over and through levees. Heavy rainfall and snowmelt forced river levels across several Midwestern states to dangerous levels. At least two deaths were blamed on flooding,...
University of Scandal, Corruption? USC at core of bribe plot
LOS ANGELES — Roy Nwaisser has four degrees from the University of Southern California and is a superfan of its storied football squad — he hasn’t missed a home or away game in 27 years. But his devotion has been tested by a series of scandals culminating with the school’s...
Puzzling number of men tied to Ferguson protests have died
FERGUSON, Mo. — Two young men were found dead inside torched cars. Three others died of apparent suicides. Another collapsed on a bus, his death ruled an overdose. Six deaths, all involving men with connections to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, drew attention on social media and speculation in the activist...
Report: Ex-Putin adviser who died in U.S. had broken neck
WASHINGTON — Newly released documents show that a former adviser to Russia’s president sustained a complete fracture of his neck “at or near the time of his death” in a Washington hotel room in 2015. The documents from the city’s medical examiner were released to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in...
White House aide says ‘absurd’ to link mosque shooter, Trump
WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Sunday that President Donald Trump “is not a white supremacist” and attempts to tie him to the alleged New Zealand mosque shooter are “absurd.” Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of staff, described the New Zealand shooter as a “disturbed individual” and “evil...
Some lawmakers worry about allowing sports bets on phones
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — For states looking to profit off the new world of legal sports betting, there’s an app for that. The question for state lawmakers: Should they allow it? As state legislatures across the U.S. decide whether to authorize sports gambling, lawmakers are debating whether the bets — like...
Growing movement calls on media to avoid naming shooters
A few months after teen shooters killed 12 classmates at Columbine High School, Coni Sanders was standing in line at a grocery store with her young daughter when they came face to face with the magazine cover. It showed the two gunmen who had carried out one of the deadliest...
New Zealand prime minister says gun laws to change after mosque attack
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has reiterated her promise that there will be changes to the country’s gun laws in the wake of a terrorist attack on two mosques and said her Cabinet will discuss the policy details on Monday. At a Sunday news conference,...
