Satanic Temple after-school club wins $200k settlement from Pennsylvania school district
PHILADELPHIA — The Lehigh Valley school district that tried to ban an after-school Satan Club from meeting on its property this year has agreed to pay $200,000 to cover attorney fees. The school also will give the club the same access to school facilities as “comparable groups.” In the settlement...
Convicted sex offender found guilty of hacking jumbotron at Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A convicted child molester was found guilty Friday of hacking the jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium after the team learned he was a registered sex offender and fired him. A federal jury found 53-year-old Samuel Arthur Thompson, of St. Augustine, guilty of producing, receiving and possessing...
Bill Cosby accuser files new lawsuit under expiring New York survivors law
A woman who said Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was a young comedy writer more than 50 years ago filed a lawsuit against the actor Thursday under a soon-to-expire New York law that gave victims of sexual abuse a one-year window for claims that would otherwise be barred...
Grand Canyon hiker, 65, dies on popular trail, rangers say
A hiker died while trying to trek across a popular but notoriously dangerous trail in Grand Canyon National Park, rangers said. The hiker’s personal locator beacon alerted dispatchers to the unresponsive hiker on Bright Angel Trail, about 1.5 miles north of Havasupai Gardens, on Thursday, officials said in a news...
Colorado judge keeps Trump on ballot, rejects insurrection argument
DENVER — A Colorado judge on Friday rejected an effort to keep former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s primary ballot, the latest blow to groups seeking to block his run for another term using a Civil War-era Constitutional amendment that prevents anyone who “engaged in insurrection” from...
Dogs coming down with an unusual respiratory illness in several states
Veterinary laboratories in several states are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs and encouraging people to take basic precautions to keep their pets healthy as veterinarians try to pin down what’s making the animals sick. Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire are among the states that have seen cases of...
FDA screens cinnamon imports after more kids sickened by lead-tainted applesauce
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is screening imports of cinnamon from multiple countries for toxic lead contamination after growing reports of children who were sickened after eating pouches of applesauce and apple puree. Cinnamon from a manufacturer in Ecuador is the “likely source” of high levels of lead found...
Judge rejects Trump’s request for a mistrial in civil fraud case
NEW YORK — The judge in Donald Trump’s civil fraud case denied his bid for a mistrial Friday, rejecting claims from the former president’s lawyers that the proceedings are poisoned by political bias. Trump’s lawyers had argued Judge Arthur Engoron irreparably harmed Trump’s right to a fair trial through “astonishing...
Victim identified in New Hampshire psychiatric hospital shooting
CONCORD, N.H. — A shooter killed a security guard in the lobby of New Hampshire’s state psychiatric hospital on Friday before being fatally shot by a state trooper, officials said. The shooting happened about 3:30 p.m. at New Hampshire Hospital and was contained to the front lobby of the 185-bed...
Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to financial crimes in deal that gives him more prison time
BEAUFORT, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh pleaded guilty Friday to stealing millions of dollars from vulnerable legal clients in schemes lasting over a decade under an agreement that all but ensures more prison time for the longtime lawyer who was convicted of killing his wife and younger son. Murdaugh agreed to...
Former Pa. employee gets nearly $200k over sexual harassment claims against former Shapiro cabinet member
A former state employee will receive nearly $200,000 Friday as part of a previous settlement of sexual harassment claims she made against a former cabinet member in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury, it has received requests for a total of $295,000 in payments related...
Rosalynn Carter, 96-year-old former first lady, is in hospice care at home
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is in hospice care at home in Plains, Georgia, the Carter Center announced Friday. The center said the 96-year-old is at home with former President Jimmy Carter, now 99. The Carter family said through the statement that they are “grateful for the outpouring of love...
In death, one cancer patient helps to erase millions in medical debt
A New York City woman who died Sunday from cancer has raised enough money to erase millions of dollars in medical debt with a posthumous plea for help. Casey McIntyre told followers in a social media message posted by her husband that she had arranged to buy the medical debt...
Ethics chairman launches new bid to expel George Santos after a withering conduct report
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Ethics Committee announced Friday he has filed a resolution to force a vote on expelling Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress, one day after the committee issued a withering report detailing substantial evidence that Santos converted campaign donations for his own personal use....
Climate change in Texas school textbooks is causing friction in America’s biggest oil and gas state
AUSTIN, Texas — How science textbooks in Texas address climate change is at the center of a key vote expected Friday after some Republican education officials criticized books for being too negative toward fossil fuels in America’s biggest oil and gas state. The issue of which textbooks to approve has...
Maine lobsterman jumps from boat to help rescue driver from car submerged in a bay
PORTLAND, Maine — A lobsterman in Maine jumped from a boat into the water to help save a driver trapped in a sinking car, police said. The car drove into Casco Bay shortly after noon on Thursday, according to police in Portland, Maine. Police and fire crews were able to...
French commission wants to remove statute of limitations for sexual violence against children
PARIS — A French commission examining sexual violence against children called Friday for the removal of all time limits on prosecuting people suspected of rape and sexual assault against minors. The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence against Children, known as Ciivise, also said in a report released Friday...
Ukrainian marines claim multiple bridgeheads across a key Russian strategic barrier
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s troops secured multiple bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region in fighting that the country’s marine corps described Friday as having left nearly 3,500 Russians killed or wounded and dozens of ammunition depots, tanks, armored vehicles and other weaponry destroyed....
IBM pulls ads from Elon Musk’s X after report says they appeared next to antisemitic posts
IBM has stopped advertising on social media platform X after a report said its ads were appearing alongside material praising Adolf Hitler and Nazis — a fresh setback as the site formerly known as Twitter tries to win back big brands and their ad dollars. The U.S. tech company made...
Russian authorities ask Supreme Court to declare the LGBTQ ‘movement’ extremist
MOSCOW — The Russian Justice Ministry on Friday said it has filed a lawsuit with the nation’s Supreme Court to outlaw the LGBTQ+ “international public movement” as extremist, the latest crippling blow against the already beleaguered LGBTQ+ community in the increasingly conservative country. The ministry said in an online statement...
Pa. State Police’s K9 who aided hunt for escaped murderer to be honored at National Dog Show
A celebrity of sorts will be honored at The National Dog Show — a Pennsylvania State Police dog who helped in the high-profile search and arrest of an armed escaped murderer near Philadelphia. Rom was heavily involved in the search for Danelo Cavalcante, who was captured Sept. 13 after a...
Powerful earthquake shakes southern Philippines, causing ceilings to fall at malls
MANILA, Philippines — A powerful undersea earthquake shook the southern Philippines on Friday, causing ceilings in shopping malls to plunge to the ground as shoppers screamed. No tsunami warning was in effect. The Office of Civil Defense said it was investigating a report of one death. The magnitude 6.7 quake...
Texas jury convicts woman of fatally shooting cyclist Anna ‘Mo’ Wilson in a jealous rage
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas jury on Thursday convicted a woman of murder in the May 2022 shooting death of rising professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson in a case that led investigators on a 43-day international search for the killer. Kaitlin Armstrong, 35, faces a penalty of up to life...
Biden tells Asia-Pacific leaders U.S. ‘not going anywhere’ as he looks to build economic tiesVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — President Joe Biden on Thursday made America’s case to national leaders and CEOs attending the Asia-Pacific summit that the United States is committed to high standards in trade and to partnerships that will benefit economies across the Pacific. “We’re not going anywhere,” he declared. Fresh off his...
California professor charged with involuntary manslaughter in death of Jewish demonstrator
LOS ANGELES — A Southern California college professor was charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of a Jewish protester during demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a statement that both charges have special allegations that Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50,...
