Smokestack implosion at defunct Detroit trash incinerator ends decades of stink
DETROIT — In a boom, a low rumble and a vibrating crash, the looming smokestack of a shuttered trash incinerator whose stench sickened and angered Detroit residents for decades came down in a controlled implosion Sunday morning. Reducing the smokestack to rubble is almost the final phase in the facility’s...
Federal regulators promise safety review at all the major freight railroads
OMAHA, Neb. — The Federal Railroad Administration recently completed a review of Norfolk Southern’s safety culture in the wake of the February’s fiery derailment in Ohio, and officials plan to follow up with similar investigations of all the major freight railroads over the next year. A report will be released...
American musician arrested in Moscow on drugs suspicion
MOSCOW — An American musician who has lived in Russia for more than a decade has been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking, Russian news media reported Saturday. The reports said Michael Travis Leake is suspected of selling mephedrone, whose effects are similar to those of cocaine and MDMA. A...
Join the military, become a U.S. citizen: Uncle Sam wants you and vous and tu
WASHINGTON — When Esmita Spudes Bidari was a young girl in Nepal, she dreamed of being in the military, but that wasn’t a real option in her country. Last week, she raised her right hand and took the oath to join the U.S. Army Reserves, thanks in part to a...
U.S. confirms China has had spy base in Cuba since at least 2019
WASHINGTON — China has been operating a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019, part of a global effort by Beijing to upgrade its intelligence-gathering capabilities, according to a Biden administration official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said...
Biden marks LGBTQ+ Pride Month with celebration on White House South Lawn
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House on Saturday for a delayed Pride Month celebration aimed at showing LGBTQ+ people that his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping...
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis censured at N.C. GOP convention for bipartisan work with Dems
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Delegates at the Republican convention in Greensboro voted Saturday to censure U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, the state party confirmed. The vote to censure the senior Republican senator from North Carolina took place on Saturday morning, ahead of speeches later in the day by former Vice President Mike...
Pa. Senate sends bill to House seeking DEP name change
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate voted along party lines to approve a bill proposing that a state agency drop “protection” from its moniker to become the Department of Environmental Services. For the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) name change to become official, Senate Bill 691 would need approval of both...
Heavy rains in northwest Pakistan leave 20 dead, 80 injured
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Heavy rains swept through Pakistan’s northwest on Saturday, causing several houses to collapse and leaving at least 20 people dead and 80 injured, authorities said. Rains and hail hit the Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, senior rescue officer Khateer Ahmed said, uprooting...
‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski found dead in prison cell
WASHINGTON — Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who retreated to a dingy shack in the Montana wilderness and ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died Saturday. He was 81. Branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI, Kaczynski died at the federal prison medical...
Police: Teen dead after 3 juveniles shot at New Castle playground
One of three three juveniles who were shot early Saturday morning at a playground in New Castle has died, according to authorities. The New Castle Police Department posted on its Facebook page that the shooting happened at Bollinger Playground “during a graduation celebration.” Police Chief Robert Salem confirmed to the...
Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in a federal court in Florida. But about a thousand miles away, part of Trump’s defense is well underway in a different venue — the halls of Congress, where Republicans have been...
Trump blasts federal indictment as ‘baseless’ at first events since charges were unsealed
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless” Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage and...
Man who told jurors he had ‘fun’ at the Capitol riot sentenced to 6 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A Virginia man who told his wife — and a federal jury — that he had “fun” at the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for attacking police as he stormed the building. Markus Maly’s prison sentence is significantly lower than the punishment...
Conneaut Lake Park owner wants to evict Hotel Conneaut operator
Conneaut Lake Park’s owner wants to oust the operator of its Hotel Conneaut for alleged lease violations. In a May 28 letter, Keldon Holdings LLC notified On the Lake Enterprises LLC to voluntarily vacate the Hotel Conneaut by June 12 or face formal eviction proceedings. Hotel Conneaut remains open and...
One of the 2 giant ducks in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflates
HONG KONG — One of the two giant inflatable ducks floating in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflated on Saturday, just a day after they were unveiled to revelers. Crowds of residents and tourists flocked in the scorching heat to the promenade near the government headquarters in Admiralty to snap photos...
5 killed in explosion at rocket and explosives factory in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey — An explosion at a rocket and explosives plant in Turkey caused a building to collapse on Saturday, killing all five workers inside, an official said. The explosion occurred at around 8:45 a.m. at the compound of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, on the outskirts of...
On doctor’s advice, Pope Francis to skip Sunday public blessing
ROME — Pope Francis, “wisely” following doctors’ advice, will skip Sunday’s customary public blessing to allow him to better heal after abdominal surgery earlier this week, his surgeon told reporters. Blood and imaging tests indicate that the 86-year-old pope’s recovery is proceeding in an “absolutely normal” manner, Sergio Alfieri, who...
Ex-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns as MP
Boris Johnson quit his seat in the U.K. Parliament, denouncing as a “kangaroo court” the panel of lawmakers investigating his behavior and attacking the policies of the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak. The former premier — who blames Sunak for the role he played in his own downfall last year...
Former Penn State student sentenced to prison for strangling a woman in residence hall
A former Penn State undergraduate who assaulted a fellow student was sentenced Friday to a minimum of five years in state prison on a charge of felony strangulation. Preston J. Brindle, 19, of Chester County also received a consecutive five years for a first degree misdemeanor for unlawful restraint and...
UN peacekeeper killed, 8 seriously injured in northern Mali attack
UNITED NATIONS — Attackers killed one U.N. peacekeeper and seriously injured eight others Friday in Mali’s northern Timbuktu region, an area where extremists continue to operate, the United Nations said. The peacekeepers, all from Burkina Faso, were part of a security patrol that was targeted first by an improvised explosive...
4 kids lost in the jungle for 40 days after plane crash found alive in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday that authorities found alive four children who survived a small plane crash 40 days ago and had been the subject of an intense search in the Amazon jungle that held Colombians on edge. The children were alone when searchers found them...
Pa. Turnpike to gradually eliminate paper towels at all 17 of its service plazas
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has a plan to become America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040. “Protecting the environment through sustainability has been a guiding principle,” Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said in a news release in April. As part of that plan, the turnpike plans to convert...
Beware of fake rental listing scams, Pa. Attorney General says
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office is warning of a growing number of scams in which fraudsters alter rental property listings to get personal information and money from their victims. In a warning issued this week, PA Attorney General Michelle Henry said that scammers are taking legitimate real estate listings but...
Judge in FTX bankruptcy rejects media challenge, says customer names can remain secret
DOVER, Del. — The names of individual customers of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading can be permanently shielded from public disclosure, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Friday. Following a two-day hearing, Judge John Dorsey rejected arguments from lawyers for several media outlets and for the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, which serves...
