Lawyer: Abuse victims set to sue Baltimore ArchdioceseVideo
BALTIMORE — After Maryland lawmakers recently eliminated the statute of limitations for child sex abuse lawsuits amid heightened scrutiny of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced plans Tuesday to bring a series of civil claims on behalf of victims. The threat of litigation comes as the...
Harlan Crow rebuffs Senate demand to list all gifts to Justice Clarence Thomas
WASHINGTON — Harlan Crow, the Dallas real estate mogul in the middle of a Supreme Court ethics controversy, has declined a Senate request for a full accounting of gifts, payments and vacations he’s provided to Justice Clarence Thomas and his family. In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee obtained...
Fox News will not change ‘programming strategy’ despite financial losses and plunging ratings
NEW YORK — The Fox News Channel has no plans to change its “successful” approach to programming despite a record defamation settlement and the unceremonious departure of its most prominent star. “There’s no change to our programming strategy at Fox News,” Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch reportedly told analysts Tuesday....
U.S. Rep. George Santos facing federal charges
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. George Santos, who faced outrage and mockery over a litany of fabrications about his heritage, education and professional pedigree, has been charged with federal criminal offenses, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The charges against Santos, filed in the Eastern District of...
Sen. Dianne Feinstein returning to Washington after extended absence
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is flying back to Washington, her spokesman said Tuesday, after her extended absence because of the shingles virus threatened to derail Senate Democrats’ agenda. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Feinstein, who had been convalescing in the Bay Area since mid-February, boarded a charter private plane on...
Man guilty in Texas protest killing posted ‘I am a racist’
AUSTIN, Texas — Prosecutors sought Tuesday to portray as racist a U.S. Army sergeant who fatally shot an armed man during a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas, saying he was hostile toward social justice causes and looking for trouble before the encounter. Daniel Perry’s two day-sentencing hearing began with...
U.S. busts Russian cyber operation in dozens of countries
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Tuesday that it had disrupted a long-running Russian cyberespionage campaign that stole sensitive information from computer networks in dozens of countries, including the U.S. and other NATO members. Prosecutors linked the spying operation to a unit of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, and...
Veteran ‘enamored’ with Hitler gets 4 years for Capitol riot
A military veteran who told an undercover FBI agent about his admiration for Adolf Hitler and discussed a plan to “wipe out” the nation’s Jewish population was sentenced to four years in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ordered Virginia resident Hatchet Speed to serve...
First 550 U.S. active duty troops arriving at southern border
WASHINGTON — About 550 U.S. active duty troops have begun arriving along the U.S.-Mexico border in the first group of military support ahead of an expected increase of migrants, U.S. defense officials said Tuesday. The forces will mainly be used to help monitor and watch the border as pandemic-era restrictions...
Robert De Niro, at 79, becomes a father for the 7th time
Robert De Niro has welcomed another child. The 79-year-old is now the father of seven. A representative for De Niro confirmed the birth to The Associated Press on Tuesday but said no other details or statement were expected. The Oscar winner is also a parent to Drena, 51, and Raphael,...
Start mammograms at 40, not 50, a U.S. health panel recommends
Women should start getting every-other-year mammograms at age 40 instead of waiting until 50, according to a draft recommendation from a federal task force. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has long said women can choose to start breast cancer screening as young as 40, with a stronger recommendation that...
Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards accuser $5MVideo
NEW YORK — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House. The verdict was split: Jurors rejected Carroll’s claim that...
Perimeter guards absent as 2 men escaped Philadelphia prison
PHILADELPHIA — There were no corrections officers assigned specifically to watch the housing unit of a Philadelphia prison when two inmates escaped Sunday night, and no armed perimeter guards were on duty as the men broke through the prison’s fence, a correctional officers union official told The Associated Press on...
Far-right faction pushes to oust ‘traitors’ from Georgia GOP
ATLANTA — A far-right faction that has gained clout in the Georgia GOP wants to give the state party new powers to block candidates from qualifying to run as Republicans if they’re deemed to be insufficiently conservative or a “traitor” to the party. The rule change is being championed by...
U.S. to provide Ukraine $1.2 billion in long-term security aid
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will provide $1.2 billion more in long-term military aid to Ukraine to further bolster its air defenses as Russia continues to pound Ukraine with drones, rockets and surface-to-air missiles, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The aid package will be provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Unlike...
Reports: Pittsburgh man dies when car drops on him hours after his graduation
A Pittsburgh man who’d attended the University of Dayton in Ohio was killed hours after graduating. KDKA reports that Ian Brunner, 22, was working on his car on Sunday night when the jack apparently slipped, pinning him beneath the vehicle. WPXI reports that emergency responders arrived to the student housing...
Pennsylvania House battle hinges on Philadelphia suburbs
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democrats who reclaimed the Pennsylvania House majority in November and clung to a one-seat margin by sweeping three special elections earlier this year face yet another contest for control of the chamber next week, when voters will fill a vacancy in the Philadelphia suburbs. At stake in...
The end of an era for the Sisters of Charity of New York
NEW YORK — Through more than 200 years, the Sisters of Charity of New York nursed Civil War casualties, joined civil rights and anti-war demonstrations, cared for orphans, and taught countless children. They’re proud of their history of selfless service. But they can’t ignore their current reality: The congregation continues...
Sheriff: Louisiana man shot child playing hide and seek
STARKS, La. — A Louisiana man faces aggravated assault and battery charges after firing a gun at children who were playing hide and seek outside his home, wounding a 14-year-old girl, according to the local sheriff’s office. The girl suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the head early...
EU takes aim at countries helping Russia to avoid sanctions
BRUSSELS — A top European Union official Tuesday urged the 27 member nations to take trade measures against countries that help the Kremlin to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions against Russia. During a visit to Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the measures — which would set a...
Germany proposes rules to ease legal changes of gender
BERLIN — The German government on Tuesday presented a proposal for a law that will make it easier for people to legally change their name and gender, ending decades-old rules that require them to get expert assessments and a court’s authorization. Under the planned “self-determination law,” adults would be able...
Biden: Debt meeting ‘productive,’ default ‘not an option’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and congressional leaders confronted each other on the debt limit impasse Tuesday, ending their meeting with no breakthrough but agreeing to meet again this week to try to avert the looming risk of an unprecedented government default. Speaking at the White House, Biden described the...
Authorities: Texas mall gunman had ‘neo-Nazi ideation’
ALLEN, Texas — The gunman who killed eight people and wounded seven others at a suburban Dallas shopping mall had no prior criminal record but had “neo-Nazi ideation,” authorities said Tuesday. Investigators are still trying to determine why Mauricio Garcia opened fire Saturday at the Allen Premium Outlets, Hank Sibley,...
Texas mall shooting victims include guard, young sisters
DALLAS — The people killed by a gunman at a mall near Dallas over the weekend include two elementary school-age sisters, a couple and their 3-year-old son, a young engineer and a security guard. The victims represent a multicultural cross-section of the metropolitan area’s increasingly diverse suburbs. Cox Elementary School...
Grief book author’s murder charge tangled in estate dispute
SALT LAKE CITY — A children’s book author who prosecutors say killed her husband has been battling with his relatives over the family estate since his death last year, court documents show. Kouri Richins, 33, is accused of poisoning her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home...
