Trump signed Bibles. Heresy? Many religious leaders say no
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — President Donald Trump was just doing what he could to raise spirits when he signed Bibles at an Alabama church for survivors of a deadly tornado outbreak, many religious leaders say, though some are offended and others say he could have handled it differently. Hershael York, dean...
They go after suspected pedophiles while others watch online
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Many days, Brandi Lehrian wakes up to five or six text messages from men wishing her a good morning — and sometimes more. She spends most of the day and night letting multiple men believe that she can make their fantasies come true: No, she’s never been...
As budget deficit balloons, few in Washington seem to care
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit is ballooning on President Donald Trump’s watch and few in Washington seem to care. And even if they did, the political dynamics that enabled bipartisan deficit-cutting deals decades ago has disappeared, replaced by bitter partisanship and chronic dysfunction. That’s the reality that will greet...
Pa. proposal aims to ease government efforts to reclaim records
State and local government records that have been stolen or have otherwise ended up in private hands without authorization would be much easier to reclaim under legislation that could pass the Pennsylvania House in the coming days. A bill scheduled for a vote this week would give the Pennsylvania Historical...
Michigan man receives congratulatory telegram 50 years later
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A man who graduated from the University of Michigan in 1969 has finally received a congratulatory telegram from family friends that was sent more than 50 years ago. Robert Fink received the Western Union telegram this year. Western Union ended its telegram business in 2006. The...
Wanted: More pastures for West’s overpopulated wild horses
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — If you ever wished to gaze at a stomping, snorting, neighing panorama of Western heritage from your living-room window, now could be your chance. A classic image of the American West — wild horses stampeding across the landscape — not only has endured through the years but...
R. Kelly: ‘We’re going to straighten all this stuff out’
CHICAGO — R. Kelly walked out of a Chicago jail on Saturday after someone who officials say did not want to be publicly identified paid $161,633 that the R&B singer owed in back child support. Kelly, who was ordered taken into custody on Wednesday by a judge after Kelly said...
Jayme Closs kidnapping suspect reportedly confesses in letter from jail
A man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs from her rural Wisconsin home in the fall after her parents were killed has purportedly written a letter from jail saying he regretted the crimes and committed them “mostly on impulse.” The letter supposedly from Jake Patterson, who was arrested in January...
Richmond exhibit seeks to reimagine Confederate statues
RICHMOND, Va. — They are towering figures, larger-than-life statues that honor heroes of a bygone era. The Confederate leaders memorialized on Richmond’s Monument Avenue were once revered, but have become flashpoints in a national debate about how symbols of slavery and white supremacy should be treated today. The angst over...
Motorcyclist killed after hitting dead pig in roadway
LITTLEROCK, Calif. — Authorities say a motorcycle rider has died after he hit a dead pig on a Southern California road and was thrown from his bike. KABC-TV says 57-year-old Bradley St. John was doing about 55 mph Thursday night in Littlerock when he struck the animal, which was directly...
More women work in construction that’s still a man’s world
NEW YORK — Tameeka Gwyn is used to schlepping concrete weighing as much as 60 pounds (27 kilograms) around a construction site. For Janna Rojas, it’s a cinch to carry metal pipes as heavy as 100 pounds going into new plumbing. “When you first do it, it’s quite a shock,...
CDC: Unvaccinated Oregon boy almost dies of tetanus
PORTLAND, Ore. — An unvaccinated 6-year-old Oregon boy was hospitalized for two months for tetanus and almost died of the bacterial illness after getting a deep cut while playing on a farm, according to a case study published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2017...
GOP lawmaker tried to silence a black senator in a gun law debate. She stood her ground – and won.Video
Debate on gun legislation reached a crescendo at the Arkansas state capitol Wednesday when a senator fervently denounced a bill that would make it easier to use lethal force in the name of self-defense. The bill, sponsored by three Republican state senators, would remove a clause from the current law...
Utah teacher forces student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross
SALT LAKE CITY — A teacher in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah was placed on administrative leave after she forced a Catholic student to wash off the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead. William McLeod, 9, had just returned to his school near Salt Lake City after attending Catholic...
Manafort case sparks conversation about sentence disparities
A judge’s decision to sentence President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman to less than four years in prison — a fraction of the penalty called for in government guidelines — sparked widespread anger Friday and opened up a conversation about whether the justice system treats different crimes and criminals fairly....
Trump surveys devastation, pays respects to tornado victims
BEAUREGARD, Ala. — Standing near the slab that’s all that is left of one family’s garage, President Donald Trump on Friday surveyed the devastation wrought by a powerful tornado that ripped through a rural Alabama town, uprooting trees, tearing homes from their foundations and killing nearly two dozen people. “We...
NC man wins $1 million lottery prize. For the second time. At the same store.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina man has won a second $1 million lottery prize at the same store in less than two years, lottery officials said Friday. Terry Splawn, of Concord, won $1 million with a $150 Million Cash Explosion scratch-off ticket he bought Wednesday at Sam’s Mini Stop...
Greensburg man shared woodworking talent with church, community
Ed Iezzi discovered his talent for woodworking following a real mid-life crisis. “He got interested in it when he had open heart surgery when he was 40 and he was laid up for a couple of months,” said his son, Christopher. With time on his hands, Mr. Iezzi invested in...
Puerto Rico starts cutting food stamp benefits amid congressional impasse
Puerto Rico has started cutting benefits paid out by a food stamps program used by more than 1 million of its residents, as federal lawmakers have not provided the island with additional emergency disaster funding amid opposition from the Trump administration. On Monday, Puerto Rico started reducing food stamp benefits...
‘He said, he said’ – Who can you trust in Cohen-Trump saga?
NEW YORK — It’s a “he said, he said” where the “he” — no matter who he is — has a credibility problem. The latest White House legal drama — whether or not the president’s former legal fixer asked him for a pardon — has pulled back the curtain on...
Smollett indicted on 16 counts stemming from reported attack
CHICAGO — A grand jury in Chicago indicted “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts related to making a false report that he was attacked by two men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs. The Cook County grand jury indictment dated Thursday and made public on Friday gives details...
New Mexico moves toward legalizing recreational marijuana
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico took a step toward legalizing recreational marijuana when its House approved a bill that would allow state-run stores and require customers to carry a receipt with their cannabis or face penalties. The measure, narrowly approved Thursday following a late-night debate, mixes major provisions of...
Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to end seasonal time change
Pennsylvanians, like most Americans, will set their clocks ahead one hour by 2 a.m. Sunday, as the nation switches to daylight saving time. If House member Russ Diamond, a Lebanon County Republican, has his way, it will be the last time Keystone State residents “spring forward.” He intends to sponsor...
California man learns he’s dying from doctor on robot video
FREMONT, Calif. — A California family is devastated that their relative was told he didn’t have long to live by a doctor appearing on a robot’s video screen. San Francisco Bay Area news station KTVU reported Thursday that 79-year-old Ernest Quintana went Sunday to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center’s emergency department...
Quirky moments from China’s annual Congress
BEIJING (AP) — The annual meeting of China’s legislature is a highly scripted affair, but quirky moments and offbeat details lurk around the edges and behind the scenes. Hundreds of military officers serving as delegates march to the event in formation, carrying identical navy satchels, their red name tags dangling...
