Romance novel model gets prison for dragging police officer down stairs in Jan. 6 attack
A Michigan pipelayer who modeled for covers of romance novels was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison for assaulting police at the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack. Logan Barnhart joined one of the most brutal clashes between rioters and police on Jan. 6, 2021. He grabbed an...
Florida GOP passes 6-week abortion ban, DeSantis supports
TALLAHASSEE — The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on Thursday approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis as he prepares for an expected presidential run. DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks....
Mother of young boy who shot teacher arrested in Virginia
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot and wounded his teacher in Virginia has been formally arrested on charges of child neglect and failing to secure her handgun, police announced Thursday. The Newport News Police Department released a booking photo of the woman, 25, and...
Tech consultant arrested in killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee
SAN FRANCISCO — A tech consultant was arrested and charged with murder Thursday in the stabbing death of the gregarious and popular Cash App founder Bob Lee last week in downtown San Francisco, authorities said. Nima Momeni, 38, and Lee, 43, knew each other, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott...
No known threats to Boston Marathon, but police are prepared
BOSTON — There are no known threats to this year’s Boston Marathon, but because it’s the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack that killed three spectators, federal, state and city law enforcement leaders said Thursday that they are prepared for anything. “At this point in time, the FBI is not...
AG: Guardsman to be charged with removing classified infoVideo
WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who has emerged as a main person of interest in the disclosure of highly classified military documents was taken into custody Thursday by federal agents, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced. Investigators believe that the guardsman, who specializes in intelligence, led the online...
Aurora opens terminal for driverless trucks in Texas
Self-driving vehicle startup Aurora Innovation, Inc. opened its first commercial-ready terminal for autonomous trucks that will serve as a “blueprint” for the Pittsburgh-based company’s future network of 24/7 driverless operations. The terminal in Palmer, Texas, near Dallas, deploys autonomous trucks for Aurora’s pilot customers, including FedEx, Schneider, and Uber Freight,...
Pitt official says more faculty need active killer training sessions
Not enough of the University of Pittsburgh’s 5,800 faculty have opted to take a campus police course that could save their lives if someone with a gun, knife or other weapon invades campus, a top official said. Fallout from Monday night’s active shooter hoaxes and a nearly 90-minute delay by...
Ukraine stands firm on Crimea, wants Russia out of all areas
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s foreign minister said Thursday his country won’t budge from its demand that Russia withdraw its forces from Crimea, as well as from other parts of Ukraine that Moscow illegally annexed more recently, for the war to end. Calling the conflict in Ukraine “a bleeding wound in...
Mary Quant, miniskirt designer who swung the 60s, dies at 93Video
LONDON — Mary Quant, the visionary fashion designer whose colorful, sexy miniskirts epitomized Swinging London in the 1960s and influenced youth culture around the world, has died. She was 93. Quant’s family said she died “peacefully at home” in Surrey, southern England, on Thursday. Quant helped popularize the miniskirt —...
First image of a black hole gets a makeover with AI
NEW YORK — The first image of a black hole captured four years ago revealed a fuzzy, fiery doughnut-shaped object. Now, researchers have used artificial intelligence to give that cosmic beauty shot a touch-up. The updated picture, published Thursday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, keeps the original shape, but with...
Expelled to reinstated: Pearson to return to Tennessee House
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will follow his colleague in returning to work at the Capitol on Thursday, a week after their banishments for a gun control protest on the House floor that propelled them into the national spotlight. Justin...
Trump answers questions for 7 hours in New York fraud lawsuit
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump answered questions for nearly seven hours Thursday during his second deposition in a legal battle with New York’s attorney general over his company’s business practices, reversing an earlier decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and remain silent. The Republican met...
Look who’s back: Donald Trump’s big return to Fox News
NEW YORK — For several months, Fox News treated Donald Trump like yesterday’s news. But now the former president has come roaring back at the popular network for conservative viewers, most notably since his indictment in New York on hush-money charges. The Trump revival was on display Tuesday night, when...
Holy Land Christians say attacks rising in far-right Israel
JERUSALEM — The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land has warned in an interview that the rise of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has made life worse for Christians in the birthplace of Christianity. The influential Vatican-appointed Latin Patriarch, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told The Associated Press...
DOJ to ask Supreme Court to put abortion pill limits on hold
AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department said Thursday that it will again go to the Supreme Court over abortion after a lower court ruling allowed the abortion pill mifepristone to remain available in the U.S. but reimposed past restrictions on getting and using the drug. At stake in the accelerating...
Torrential storms batter South Florida, close key airportVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE — Nearly a foot of rain fell in a matter of hours in Fort Lauderdale — causing widespread flooding, the closure of the city’s airport and the suspension of high-speed commuter rail service for the Broward County region. The city of Fort Lauderdale released a statement Wednesday evening...
Trump sues ex-lawyer Michael Cohen, key witness in criminal case
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump sued the key witness in his criminal case on Wednesday, accusing onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen of “vast reputational harm” for talking publicly about the hush-money payments at the heart of the case. The lawsuit, filed in Miami, offered a preview of...
After calls to resign, Feinstein seeks Judiciary replacement
LOS ANGELES — Recuperating U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California asked Wednesday to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee, shortly after two House Democrats called on her to resign after her extended absence from Washington. In a statement, the long-serving Democratic senator said her recovery from a case of...
Missing woman rescued from submerged Jeep, Texas police say
JEFFERSON, Texas — A missing woman was rescued from a submerged vehicle, and taken to a nearby hospital, according to east Texas law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies have said little about the woman, or how she ended up in the sinking Jeep. The woman was found alive Friday in...
Montgomery County mother charged in son’s death after SUV found at New Jersey beach
HORSHAM — A mother has been charged with murder in the death of her 11-year-old son in southeastern Pennsylvania and is awaiting extradition from New Jersey, where she was arrested after her SUV was found in the surf on a beach at the Jersey shore. Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 50, of Horsham,...
In a blow to Fox News, judge rules network committed ‘discovery misconduct’ over withheld Giuliani tapeVideo
Fox News was cited for “discovery misconduct” by the judge in the $1.6 billion defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems after learning that recorded conversations with former president Donald Trump’s attorneys were not turned over as evidence. The potentially significant revelation that such tapes exists — which could impact...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit will host first education fair in Youngwood
Belle Vernon Area School District Superintendent Kenneth Williams is looking for a few good men and women interested in education. And he is hardly alone. “School districts have been struggling with finding high-caliber candidates to fill positions for quite some time,” Williams said. With that in mind, the Westmoreland Intermediate...
Expelled Black lawmaker Justin Pearson to return to Tennessee HouseVideo
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will return to the Legislature after a Memphis commission voted to reinstate him Wednesday, nearly a week after his banishment for supporting gun control protesters propelled him into the national spotlight. Hundreds of supporters marched...
Robotic dog rejoins New York police
NEW YORK — New York City officials unveiled three new high-tech policing devices Tuesday, including a robotic dog that critics called creepy when it first joined the police pack 2½ years ago. The new devices, which also include a GPS tracker for stolen cars and a cone-shaped security robot, will...
