O.J. Simpson has been cremated, estate attorney in Las Vegas says. No public memorial is planned
LAS VEGAS — Former football star and celebrity criminal defendant O.J. Simpson was cremated Wednesday, the lawyer handling his estate said following his death last week at home in Las Vegas at age 76. Attorney Malcolm LaVergne told The Associated Press he was present, along with unspecified other people, for...
Lawyers for Nassar assault survivors have reached $100M deal with Justice Department, AP source says
The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The deal has not been finalized and...
Democrats clear path to bring proposed repeal of Arizona’s near-total abortion ban to a vote
PHOENIX — Democrats in the Arizona Senate cleared a path to bring a proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions to a vote after the state’s highest court concluded the law can be enforced and the state House blocked efforts to undo the long-dormant statute. Although no vote...
Cumberland Valley parents try to salvage appearance by ‘30 Rock’ actor that school board canceled
Some Cumberland Valley School District residents are launching an all-out effort to salvage a school assembly in May that the school board canceled Monday night out of stated concerns over injecting “political activism” into the schools. The board, on an 8-0 vote, voted to cancel the scheduled appearance by Maulik...
Columbia University’s president rebuts claims she has allowed school to become a hotbed of hatred
WASHINGTON — The president of Columbia University took a firm stand against antisemitism Wednesday as she parried accusations from Republicans who see the New York campus as a hotbed of bias, but she hedged on whether certain phrases invoked by some supporters of Palestinians rise to harassment. Nemat Shafik had...
Judges orders Pennsylvania agency to produce inspection records related to chocolate plant blast
Pennsylvania utility regulators must turn over inspection records to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the federal agency’s probe into a fatal explosion at a chocolate factory last year, a federal judge ruled this week. U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner sided this week with the federal safety...
Chicago woman pleads guilty, gets 50 years for cutting child from victim’s womb
CHICAGO — A Chicago woman accused of luring a pregnant teenager to her home and cutting her baby from her womb with a butcher knife nearly five years ago pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Clarisa Figueroa, 51, seated in a wheelchair and wearing...
FAFSA delays slow college choices and could foreshadow bigger problems
If this were a normal year, millions of prospective college students would have reviewed competing financial aid offers weeks ago and settled on their campus choice for the fall. For them and their families, that decision represents peace of mind that their future path is clear. For campuses, it means...
House’s Ukraine, Israel aid package gains Biden’s support as Speaker Mike Johnson fights to keep his jobVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he strongly supports a proposal from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending crucial bipartisan support to the effort this week to approve $95 billion in funding for the U.S. allies. Ahead of potential weekend...
Boeing put under Senate scrutiny during back-to-back hearings on aircraft maker’s safety culture
An engineer at Boeing said Wednesday that the aircraft company, in rushing to produce as many planes as possible, is taking manufacturing shortcuts that could lead to jetliners breaking apart. “They are putting out defective airplanes,” the engineer, Sam Salehpour, told members of a Senate subcommittee. Salehpour was testifying about...
9 are facing charges in what police in Canada say is the biggest gold theft in the country’s history
TORONTO — Police said nine people are facing charges in what authorities are calling the biggest gold theft in Canadian history from Toronto’s Pearson International airport a year ago. Peel Regional Police said Wednesday that 6,600 gold bars worth more than 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.5 million), and CA$2.5 million...
Trump complains jury selection moving too fast in Manhattan hush money trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump complained Wednesday about jury selection in his Manhattan hush money case as the trial moves faster than expected toward opening statements. After prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed on a surprisingly robust total of seven jurors in one day, Trump sought to tap the...
Alabama lawmakers advance bills to ensure Joe Biden is on the state’s ballot
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday to ensure President Joe Biden will appear on the state’s November ballot, mirroring accommodations made four years ago for then-President Donald Trump. Legislative committees in the Alabama House of Representatives and Senate approved identical bills that would push back the state’s certification...
Senate dismisses both articles of impeachment against Homeland Security secretary, ending trialVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate has dismissed all impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, ending the House Republican push to remove the Cabinet secretary from office over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. The two votes effectively end the trial before arguments ever began. Senators voted separately to dismiss...
Election HQ: A voter guide to 2024 primary races
Primary election day in Pennsylvania is Tuesday, April 23. It is a presidential election year, so voters will be picking the Democrat and Republican candidates for the role, although the results are already a given as neither faces a challenger. It’s the same case in the battle for one of...
Biden announces help for federal employees who are military spouses and want to telework from abroad
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced new steps to improve a program that lets federal employees who also are military spouses telework from overseas. The steps are part of Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative to support military and veteran families. The first lady was hosting a White...
Swedish Parliament votes to make it easier for people to legally change their gender
The Swedish parliament passed a law Wednesday lowering the age required for people to legally change their gender from 18 to 16. Young people under 18 will still need approval from a guardian, a doctor, and the National Board of Health and Welfare. However, a gender dysphoria diagnosis — defined...
FDA announces recall of heart pumps linked to deaths and injuries
A pair of heart devices linked to hundreds of injuries and at least 14 deaths has received the FDA’s most serious recall, the agency announced Monday. The recall comes years after surgeons say they first noticed problems with the HeartMate II and HeartMate 3, manufactured by Thoratec Corp., a subsidiary...
A look at the Democratic primary between Summer Lee, Bhavini Patel
Pennsylvania’s primary election day is coming up next week and will feature one of the more interesting races as Democrats will choose between incumbent Rep. Summer Lee and challenger Bhavini Patel, an Edgewood councilwoman, in the battle for the District 12 seat in the U.S. House. TribLive reporter Ryan Deto...
Storm dumps record rain across desert nation of UAE, floods Dubai’s airport
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The desert nation of the United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Wednesday from the heaviest rain ever recorded there after a deluge flooded out Dubai International Airport, disrupting flights through the world’s busiest airfield for international travel. The state-run WAM news agency called the...
UN report points to yawning gap of inequality in sexual and reproductive health worldwide
GENEVA — A new study says an African woman is roughly 130 times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth complications than a woman in Europe or North America, the U.N. population fund reported Wednesday as it decried widening inequality in sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. UNFPA’s...
1 injured after McKees Rocks shooting
One man was injured and transported to a hospital via a private vehicle following a shooting Tuesday afternoon in McKees Rocks. Allegheny County Police responded to the 300 block of Woodward Avenue around 3:30 p.m. First responders were told a man had been shot and had already left for the...
In politically riven Pennsylvania, primary voters’ picks could impact policy paralysis in Harrisburg
HARRISBURG — The two parties in Pennsylvania’s state House and its congressional delegation are nearly evenly divided, and that won’t change once results are in from next week’s primary election. But come November, the candidates the parties will select April 23 for hundreds of legislative seats could alter what has...
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in U.S. more likely to believe in climate change: AP-NORC poll
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States are more likely than the overall adult population to believe in human-caused climate change, according to a new poll. It also suggests that partisanship may not have as much of an impact on this group’s environmental views, compared to...
Bob Graham, ex-U.S. senator and Florida governor, dies at 87
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Former U.S. Sen. and two-term Florida Gov. Bob Graham, who gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks and as an early critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 87. Graham’s family announced the death...
