Judge blocks most of an Iowa law banning some school library books and discussion of LGBTQ+ issues
DES MOINES, Iowa — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked key parts of an Iowa law that bans some books from school libraries and forbids teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues. Judge Stephen Locher’s preliminary injunction halts enforcement of the law, which was set to take effect Jan. 1 but...
Florida lawmakers want to end 3-day waiting periods for rifles, shotguns
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Southwest Florida state senator wants to eliminate a statewide three-day waiting period to buy a rifle or a shotgun, undoing one of the changes enacted after the Parkland mass shooting. State Sen. Jonathan Martin’s bill would keep the waiting period in place for handgun purchases while...
West Virginia starts distributing funds from the settlement of opioid lawsuits
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is issuing the first checks from a fund established by the settlement of opioid lawsuits in the state, which has by far the nation’s highest drug overdose death rate. The Kanawha County Commission said Thursday it received a $2.9 million check and plans to discuss...
In Pennsylvania, any challenge to Trump being on the ballot must go through the courts
Pennsylvania’s secretary of state said Friday he does not have the authority to remove former President Donald Trump from the ballot and any such challenge here must be done through the courts. “Pennsylvania’s Election Code does not give me, as secretary of the commonwealth, the authority to reject a nomination...
Civil rights leader removed from movie theater for using his own chair
A civil rights leader was escorted by police out of a North Carolina movie theater after he insisted on using his own chair for medical reasons, prompting an apology from the nation’s largest movie theater chain. The incident occurred Tuesday in Greenville during a showing of “The Color Purple.” The...
Associate of Russian opposition leader Navalny sentenced to 9 years in prison
MOSCOW — An associate of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday, the latest move in a relentless Kremlin crackdown on dissent. Ksenia Fadeyeva, a regional legislator who headed a local branch of Navalny’s organization in the Siberian city of Tomsk, was...
Woman sues Hershey’s Co. over Reese’s pumpkins without faces
A Florida woman filed a federal lawsuit against The Hershey Company over claims some of its seasonal shaped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were advertised deceptively. Cynthia Kelly, of the Tampa area, is suing the company for $5 million in Florida’s Middle District Court. In the lawsuit, Kelly claims the company...
2 dead after truck hits several people in city in southern Germany, police say
BERLIN — Two people have died after a truck struck several people in southern Germany on Friday morning, police said. The 63-year old truck driver struck a group of five people close to the railway station in downtown Passau, police said in a statement. A 37-year-old woman died of her...
Ohio’s GOP governor vetoes ban on gender-affirming care, transgender athletes in girls sports
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors and transgender athletes’ participation in girls and women’s sports, in a break from members of his party who championed the legislation. GOP lawmakers hold enough seats to override DeWine’s veto, but...
Poland says ‘everything indicates’ a Russian missile briefly entered its airspace and left
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s defense forces said an unknown object entered the country’s airspace Friday morning from the direction of Ukraine and then vanished off radars, and that all indications pointed to it being a Russian missile. “Everything indicates that a Russian missile intruded in Poland’s airspace. It was monitored...
Slippery Rock University’s marching band set to perform in London’s New Year’s Day Parade
The tubas – five in all – went first. They and other large brass and percussion instruments, plus enough band gear to fill a 26-foot box truck, had to be packed up and shipped overseas weeks before members of the Slippery Rock University Marching Pride band boarded flights for London....
Russia fires 122 missiles, 36 drones in what Ukraine calls the biggest aerial barrage of the war
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 24 civilians across the country in what an air force official said was the biggest aerial barrage of the war. The Ukrainian air force intercepted most of the ballistic and...
Trump is blocked from the GOP primary ballot in 2 states. Can he still run for president?
DENVER — First, Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump wasn’t eligible to run for his old job in that state. Then, Maine’s Democratic secretary of state ruled the same for her state. Who’s next? Both decisions are historic. The Colorado court was the first court to apply...
Nikki Haley doesn’t mention slavery when asked what caused the Civil War. She later walks that backVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was asked at a New Hampshire town hall about the reason for the Civil War, and she didn’t mention slavery in her response. She walked back her comments hours later. Asked Wednesday night during a town hall in Berlin what she believed...
3 dead, 1 injured in central Pa. stabbings, police say
Police are investigating several stabbings Thursday in Hanover, York County, that left three people dead and a fourth injured. Hanover Borough Police Department responded at 10:18 a.m. where they said they encountered a 27-year-old Hanover man outside a residence with severe injuries. Police said the man, who was taken to...
Huge surf pounds West Coast and Hawaii, flooding some low-lying areasVideo
LOS ANGELES — Powerful surf rolled onto beaches Thursday on the West Coast and Hawaii as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushed toward shorelines, causing localized flooding. Forecasters urged people to stay off rocks and jetties, and to not turn their backs to the ocean because...
Maine bars Trump from ballot as U.S. Supreme Court weighs state authority to block former president
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s Democratic secretary of state on Thursday removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether Trump remains eligible to continue...
As cities take down Confederate memorials, Florida bill seeks to stop them — and put the statues back up
Confederate monuments have come down in Orlando, Tampa and most recently Jacksonville as part of a nationwide reckoning with public memorials that commemorate the Confederacy. But if a bill becomes law next year, local leaders could be fined and even booted from office if they remove those monuments. State Rep....
Woman sues dentist after 4 root canals, 8 dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota woman has sued her dentist after receiving four root canals, eight dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit that she says led to her disfigurement. Kathleen Wilson filed the lawsuit last week in Hennepin County District Court, accusing Dr. Kevin Molldrem of Molldrem Family...
Nikki Haley doesn’t mention slavery when asked what caused the Civil War. She later walks that backVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was asked at a New Hampshire town hall about the reason for the Civil War, and she didn’t mention slavery in her response. She walked back her comments hours later. Asked Wednesday night during a town hall in Berlin what she believed...
Jan. 6 rioter who was sentenced in secret provided information to authorities, court papers say
A Pennsylvania man who was sentenced in secret for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot cooperated with authorities investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and an unrelated case, according to court documents unsealed this week. The documents provide insight into the unusual secrecy in the case of Samuel Lazar,...
House where 4 University of Idaho students were killed is being demolished
MOSCOW, Idaho — The house where four University of Idaho students were killed last year was demolished Thursday, marking an emotional step for the victims’ families and a close-knit community that was shocked and devastated by the brutal stabbings. The sounds of construction equipment pierced the early morning air as...
Gypsy Rose Blanchard out of prison years after persuading boyfriend to kill her abusive mother
Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the Missouri woman who persuaded an online boyfriend to kill her mother after she had forced her to pretend for years that she was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses, was released Thursday from prison on parole. Blanchard was released early in the day...
Boebert switches congressional districts, avoiding Democratic opponent who has far outraised her
DENVER — Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert announced Wednesday she is switching congressional districts, avoiding a likely rematch against a Democrat who has far outraised her and following an embarrassing moment of groping and vaping that shook even loyal supporters. In a Facebook video Wednesday evening, Boebert announced she would enter...
Texas has arrested thousands on trespassing charges at the border. Illegal crossings are still high
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Before settling in New York City like thousands of other migrants this year, Abdoul, a 32-year-old from West Africa, took an unexpected detour: Weeks in a remote Texas jail on local trespassing charges after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. “I spent a lot of hours without sleeping,...
