News category, Page 557
Ray Epps, a target of Jan. 6 conspiracy theories, gets a year of probation for his Capitol riot role
WASHINGTON — A man targeted by right-wing conspiracy theories about the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Tuesday to a year of probation for joining the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of fellow Donald Trump supporters. Ray Epps, a former Arizona resident who was driven into hiding by...
Defense Secretary Austin treated for prostate cancer, urinary tract infection, doctors sayVideo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer, and his recent secretive hospitalization was for surgery and later to treat a urinary tract infection related to that operation, his doctors said Tuesday. The cancer revelation answers the main question about Austin’s hospitalization, which has now lasted eight days. But...
Sprawling storm wallops U.S. with tornado reports, damage and heavy snow, closing roads and schoolsVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — A sprawling storm hit the South with tornado warnings and strong wind that blew roofs off homes, flipped over campers and tossed about furniture in Florida on Tuesday. Another storm brought cities across the Midwest to a standstill with more than half a foot of snow,...
White House orders Cabinet secretaries to notify when they can’t perform duties after Austin illness
WASHINGTON — The White House chief of staff on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members or secretaries to notify his office if they ever can’t perform their duties, as the Biden administration, reeling from learning of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s surprise illness last week, mounts a policy review. Jeff Zients, in a...
Return of bullfighting to Mexico’s capital excites fans, upsets animal rights groups
MEXICO CITY — In the center of a desolate and cold Plaza Mexico stadium, a young matador raises a red cape and leaps to the right as he gets charged — not by a bull, but by a bull’s head on a cart. A bellowing colleague is pushing the wheeled...
Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers deal prompts California controller to ask Congress to cap deferred payments
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Controller Malia M. Cohen wants Congress to change the tax code to cap deferred payments, a change that could ensure the state is owed more money from Shohei Ohtani. Cohen made the request four weeks after the two-way star and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to...
How an animated character named Marlon could help Trump win Iowa’s caucuses
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Well before Donald Trump takes the stage, a waiting audience of hundreds of supporters sits captivated as dramatic music begins to swell throughout the room. On projector screens, a rotating Planet Earth appears. “Making America Great Again starts one place on Earth, and one place only,”...
2 tractor-trailers go over an embankment along Pa. Turnpike near Donegal
Two westbound tractor-trailers crashed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Somerset and Donegal exits Tuesday morning, with the vehicles rolling over a snow-covered embankment. The crash happened about 9:15 a.m. near milepost 95, state police said. The turnpike passes over Route 130 in the area. Police said one of the...
4-year-old among 2 killed in central Pa. fire sparked by smoking, says coroner
A child and an adult were killed in a house explosion in York County on Monday morning, authorities say. The York County coroner’s office late Monday night identified the victims as a 4-year-old boy and a 79-year-old man. Their names will be released on Tuesday, the coroner said. The coroner’s...
Pa. bear harvest lowest in 16 years for hunters, but wildlife experts know the likely causes
After white-tailed deer hunting, no big-game species draws the interest of Pennsylvania sportsmen like black bears. The Keystone State is renowned for its bruin-hunting opportunities, as well as the extremely large bears it gives up annually. Over the years, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has expanded its bear hunting opportunities...
New rule tightens worker classification standards; Uber, Lyft say their drivers won’t be affectedVideo
The Biden administration enacted a new labor rule Tuesday that aims to prevent the misclassification of workers as “independent contractors,” a step that could bolster both legal protections and compensation for millions in the U.S. workforce. Major app-based platforms including Uber, Lyft and DoorDash expressed confidence that the new rule...
IRS seizes former skill game executive’s cash, accounts as part of tax investigation
Federal investigators have seized more than $400,000 from a retired Pennsylvania State Police corporal who, until recently, served as compliance director for Pace-O-Matic, the maker of Pennsylvania skill games at the center of a legal quandary over whether they are gambling devices. The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation branch posted...
Aid group says 6,618 migrants died trying to reach Spain by boat in 2023, more than double 2022
MADRID — More than 6,600 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by boat last year, a Spanish non-profit organization said Tuesday. The figure is more than double the number in the previous year, when the organization, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders), said 2,390 died. The organization said 2023 was the...
Pope Francis calls for a universal ban on surrogacy. He says it exploits mother and child
ROME — Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on what he called the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity. In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy...
Intensified Russian airstrikes are stretching Ukraine’s air defense resources, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s recent escalation of missile and drone attacks is stretching Ukraine’s air defense resources, a Ukrainian air force official said Tuesday, leaving the country vulnerable in the 22-month war unless it can secure further weapons supplies. “Intense Russian air attacks force us to use a corresponding amount...
South Korea’s parliament passes landmark ban on production and sales of dog meat
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s parliament on Tuesday passed a landmark ban on production and sales of dog meat, as public calls for a prohibition have grown sharply over concerns about animal rights and the country’s international image. Some angry dog farmers said they plan to challenge the bill’s...
With Trump present in court, judges express skepticism of claims that he’s immune from prosecution
WASHINGTON — With Donald Trump listening intently in the courtroom, federal appeals court judges in Washington expressed deep skepticism Tuesday that the former president was immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The panel of three judges, two of whom were...
Explosion at historic Texas hotel injures 21 and scatters debris in downtown Fort Worth
FORT WORTH, Texas — An explosion at a historic Texas hotel in Fort Worth on Monday blew out windows, littered downtown streets with large sections of debris from the building and injured 21 people, including one who was in critical condition, authorities said. The blast flung doors and entire sections...
France gets its youngest-ever prime minister, Gabriel Attal, as Macron shakes up government
PARIS — Gabriel Attal was named Tuesday as France’s youngest-ever prime minister, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right. Macron’s office announced the appointment in a statement. Attal, 34, rose to prominence as the government...
Israel’s military says no damage was caused in a strike on an army base in northern Israel
GHANDOURIYEH, Lebanon — Israel’s military said no damage was caused to one of its army bases in northern Israel after Hezbollah said it launched explosive drones Tuesday toward the area, while an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon killed three members of the militant group, officials said. The Israeli military did...
Spain investigates contamination of Atlantic shore by countless plastic pellets spilled from ship
MADRID — Spanish state prosecutors have opened an investigation of countless tiny plastic pellets washing up on the country’s northwest coastline after they were spilled from a transport ship, posing a possible major ecological problem in the area. The state prosecutor’s office made the announcement late on Monday after having...
Filing alleges ‘improper’ relationship between Fulton County DA, top Trump prosecutor
ATLANTA — District Attorney Fani Willis improperly hired an alleged romantic partner to prosecute Donald Trump and financially benefited from their relationship, according to a court motion filed Monday arguing the indictment was unconstitutional. The bombshell public filing alleged that special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a private attorney, paid for lavish...
White House, Pentagon will review Defense Secretary Austin’s lack of disclosure on his hospital stay
WASHINGTON — Both the White House and Pentagon said Monday they would look into why President Joe Biden and other top officials weren’t informed for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized. A Pentagon spokesman pointed to one reason: A key staffer was out sick with the flu....
Park Service retracts decision to take down William Penn statue at Philadelphia historical site
HARRISBURG — The National Park Service withdrew a proposal Monday to take down a statue of William Penn at a Philadelphia historical site as part of a renovation that touched off a torrent of criticism over the legacy of the man who founded the province of Pennsylvania. In a brief...
Explosion at historic Texas hotel injures 21 and scatters debris in downtown Fort WorthVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — An explosion at a historic Texas hotel in Fort Worth on Monday blew out windows, littered downtown streets with large sections of debris from the building and injured 21 people, including one who was in critical condition, authorities said. The blast flung doors and entire sections...
