Exonerated member of ‘Central Park Five’ wins primary, nearly assuring seat on NYC Council
NEW YORK — Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” has won the Democratic primary, all but assuring him a seat on the New York City Council. It’s an improbable feat for a political novice who was wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned as a teenager for the rape...
Woman dies while hiking in triple-digit heat in Grand Canyon
A woman has died after attempting a day hike in Grand Canyon National Park when the temperature was in the triple digits. In a news release, officials with the national park in Arizona, said park rangers received a report about a distressed hiker around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 2....
Ohio abortion rights backers submit nearly double needed signatures for fall ballot measure
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Groups hoping to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio’s constitution delivered nearly double the number of signatures needed to place an amendment on the fall statewide ballot, aiming to signal sweeping widespread support for an issue that still faces the threat of needing a significantly increased victory margin....
Mass shootings claim lives at gatherings over the July Fourth holiday
SHREVEPORT, La. — Mass shootings broke out at festivals, block parties and other gatherings in a handful of cities this week as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July. Gun violence that flared in Washington, D.C, Louisiana, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Texas and Florida left more than a dozen dead and almost...
Philadelphia suspect left a will and was acting agitated days before shootings, prosecutors sayVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The man accused in the fatal shooting spree in Philadelphia that left five people dead and four others wounded Monday night left a will at his house, and according to a roommate had acted agitated and wore a tactical vest around his house in the days before the...
U.S. citizenship test changes are coming, raising concerns for those with low English skills
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency. The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship — a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years...
Secondary test of powder found in West Wing lobby shows it’s cocaine, Biden briefed on investigation
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been briefed on the investigation into the discovery of cocaine on the lobby floor of the White House West Wing, and thinks it is “incredibly important” for the Secret Service to determine how it got there, officials said Wednesday. U.S. Secret Service agents found...
Poll: Taxes, cost of living driving away young residents from Pennsylvania
A new survey suggests the price residents pay to live in Pennsylvania tempts younger generations to move. Results from the Commonwealth Foundation poll conducted last month show more than half of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 have considered moving to another state – or know someone who...
Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country grows more polarized
STAR, Idaho — Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself. Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin...
9 people, including 2 kids, are shot and wounded in the nation’s capital as violence mars July 4
WASHINGTON — Nine people outside enjoying the Independence Day festivities in the nation’s capital were shot and wounded early Wednesday, police said, as a spate of violence marred the holiday. Officers responding around 1 a.m. to the mass shooting in a neighborhood about a 20-minute drive east of the White...
Joey Chestnut shakes off rain delay and defends title at Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog contest
Eating superstar Joey “Jaws” Chestnut shook off a rain delay and gobbled his way to another win at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, downing 62 franks and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut out ate runner-up Geoffrey Esper and the rest of an international field of 15...
Shots fired into a crowd of hundreds after a holiday festival in Texas leaves 3 dead, 8 injured
DALLAS — Three people were killed and eight others injured when shots were fired into a crowd of hundreds following a festival in a Texas neighborhood, authorities said. The shooting in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como happened at about 11:47 p.m. Monday, and police said a chaotic scene followed...
The world’s tallest flagpole. A tiny Maine town. An idea meant to unite people is dividing them
COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine — Lobster boat engines rumble to life in quiet coves. Lumberjacks trudge deep into the woods. Farmers tend expanses of wild blueberries. Maine’s Down East region is where the sunlight first kisses the East Coast of the United States each day, where the vast wilderness and ocean...
In a polarized U.S., how to define a patriot increasingly depends on who’s being asked
Millions of Americans will attend parades, fireworks and other Independence Day events on Tuesday, celebrating the courage of the nation’s 18th century patriots who fought for independence from Great Britain and what they considered an unjust government. Those events also will honor the military and those who sacrificed in other...
The American flag wasn’t always revered as it is today. At the beginning, it was an afterthought
PHILADELPHIA — In the bedroom of the Betsy Ross House, a reconstruction of where the upholsterer worked on her most famous commission, a long flag with a circle of 13 stars hangs over a Chippendale side chair and extends across the floor. Over the weeks in 1776 needed to complete...
5 dead in Philadelphia-area shooting spree that’s nation’s worst violence yet around July 4Video
PHILADELPHIA — A 40-year-old man with a rifle, a pistol, a bulletproof vest, extra magazines and a police scanner fatally shot four men in a Philadelphia neighborhood and chased and killed a fifth man inside a house, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the...
Harvard legacy admissions targeted after Supreme Court ruling on affirmative actionVideo
Harvard University was accused by minority groups of violating federal law by giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to children of alumni and wealthy donors, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the use of race-based affirmative action policies. The long-standing practice of legacy admissions flouts a provision...
Any progress made toward settling Pa.’s state budget dispute? It’s hard to tell
Pennsylvania enters the Fourth of July holiday with a budget agreement still a work in progress — if there is even any progress. The state Capitol was a near-ghost town on Monday, the third day of the new fiscal year. Neither spokeswomen for the Democratic-controlled House nor Republican-controlled Senate offered...
Maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate
Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic...
Pittsburgh synagogue attacker has high IQ, problems with social cues, expert says
The man who killed 11 people in a Squirrel Hill synagogue has an IQ in the top 10% but has deficits in some areas of cognitive function, including his brain’s processing speed, recognizing faces and social cues. Those characteristics, a defense expert said Monday, can be consistent with schizophrenia, a...
Fright over crack on North Carolina ride serves as reminder of risks at amusement parksVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A visible crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster served as a reminder of the risks that sometimes arise with amusement park rides, particularly as families and adrenaline junkies flock to the attractions throughout the summer. Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular...
A Texas man who went missing as a teen in 2015 has been found alive, his family and police say
HOUSTON — A Texas man who went missing as a teenager in 2015 after last being seen walking his dogs in Houston has been found alive, his family and police said Monday. Police and firefighters found Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV around 10 p.m. Thursday after getting a call of a...
Arkansas governor names state GOP chairman, former federal prosecutor to Supreme Court seat
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday named state Republican Party chairman and former federal prosecutor Cody Hiland to the Arkansas Supreme Court, giving it a conservative majority as justices prepare to take up a challenge to her education overhaul. Hiland was appointed to fill the vacancy...
The aftermath of mass shootings infiltrates every corner of survivors’ lives
CHICAGO — More than a year after 11-year-old Mayah Zamora was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, where she was critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, the family is still reeling. Knocks on the door startle Mayah into a panic. The family...
A year of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians just escalated. Is this an uprising?
TEL AVIV, Israel — Airstrikes targeting Palestinian militants in a crowded residential area. Armored bulldozers plowing through narrow streets, crushing cars and piling up debris. Protesters burning tires. A mounting death toll. Israel’s large-scale military raid into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday had undeniable...
