Jan. 6 panel issues subpoena to Trump, demanding he testify
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a subpoena Friday to Donald Trump, exercising its subpoena power against the former president who lawmakers say “personally orchestrated” a multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The nine-member panel issued a...
Bannon gets 4 months behind bars for defying 1/6 subpoena
WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was sentenced Friday to serve four months behind bars after defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols allowed Bannon to stay free pending appeal...
Climate questions: How does carbon dioxide trap heat?
That carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trap heat is something scientists have known about for more than a 150 years. The underlying concept behind climate change is simple enough that school children can replicate the chemistry and physics and so can you. The why and how it happens is...
Mississippi community with Confederate monument gets Emmett Till statue
JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi community with an elaborate Confederate monument plans to unveil a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till on Friday, decades after white men kidnapped and killed the Black teenager for allegedly whistling at a white woman in a country store. The 1955 lynching became a catalyst for...
Russian threats revive old nuclear fears in central Europe
WARSAW, Poland — Two stories beneath a modern steel production plant on Warsaw’s northern edge lies an untouched Cold War relic: a shelter containing gas masks, stretchers, first aid kits and other items meant to help civil defense leaders survive and guide rescue operations in case of nuclear attack or...
Italy’s far-right leader formally asks for mandate to govern
ROME — Italian politician Giorgia Meloni, whose party has neo-fascist roots, said Friday that she and her allies have asked the nation’s president to give her the mandate to form what would be Italy’s first far-right-led government since the end of World War II. Meloni and her campaign allies met...
Ukrainian forces pile pressure on Russian-held Kherson
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces continued to pile on the pressure on Russian positions in occupied Kherson Friday, targeting resupply routes across the Dnieper river as Kyiv inched closer to a full-scale assault to retake the strategic southern port city. As many as 2,000 Russian draftees have poured into the...
Biden stumps for Pa.’s Fetterman, says ‘world is looking’
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the “rest of the world is looking” to see who holds control of Congress after the upcoming midterm elections, warning that Republican victories would jeopardize the nation’s standing abroad as he tried to deliver a boost to Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman’s campaign...
Report: Elon Musk plans to cut 75% of Twitter workforce
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk plans to lay off most of Twitter’s workforce if and when he becomes owner of the social media company, according to a report Thursday by The Washington Post. Musk has told prospective investors in his Twitter purchase that he plans to cut nearly 75% of...
Military suicides drop as leaders push new programs
WASHINGTON — Suicides across the active duty U.S. military decreased over the past 18 months, driven by sharp drops in the Air Force and Marine Corps last year and a similar decline among Army soldiers during the first six months of this year, according to a new Pentagon report and...
Railroads reject sick time demands, raising chance of strike
OMAHA, Neb. — The major freight railroads appear unwilling to give track maintenance workers much more than they received in the initial contract they rejected last week, increasing the chances of a strike. The railroads took the unusual step of issuing a statement late Wednesday rejecting the Brotherhood of Maintenance...
Jury: Kevin Spacey didn’t molest actor Anthony Rapp in 1986
NEW YORK — A jury sided with Kevin Spacey on Thursday in one of the lawsuits that derailed the film star’s career, finding he did not sexually abuse Anthony Rapp, then 14, while both were relatively unknown actors in Broadway plays in 1986. The verdict in the civil trial came...
Dr. Oz made reputation as a surgeon, a fortune as a salesman
HARRISBURG — Dr. Mehmet Oz rolled onstage inside of an inflatable orb, put on a hydrating face mask and proceeded to pitch a new line of skin care products to a convention of supplement distributors at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena in 2018. The crowd roared in applause. The celebrity...
Pentagon to provide funds, help for troops seeking abortions
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will provide travel funds and support for troops and their dependents who seek abortions but are based in states where they are now illegal, according to a new department policy released Thursday. The military will also increase privacy protections for those seeking care. The order issued...
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rise this week to 6.94%
WASHINGTON — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates inched up this week ahead of another expected rate increase by the Federal Reserve when it meets early next month. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the key 30-year rate ticked up this week to 6.94% from 6.92% last...
U.S. heating worries mount amid growing costs, uncertainty
JAY, Maine — Across the U.S., families are looking to the winter with dread as energy costs soar and fuel supplies tighten. The Department of Energy is projecting sharp price increases for home heating compared with last winter and some worry whether heating assistance programs will be able to make...
Strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake shakes western Panama
PANAMA CITY — A strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook western Panama early Thursday, though there were no initial reports of damage. Panama’s national civil defense agency said via Twitter that the earthquake was felt in Herrera, Bocas del Toro, Veraguas and western Panama. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake...
Russia seeks to regain ground, hits Ukraine’s power plants
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian troops fought Thursday to regain lost ground in areas of Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin has illegally annexed while Moscow tried to pound the invaded country into submission with more missile and drone attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure. Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions near Bilohorivka,...
Fewer Americans apply for jobless benefits last week
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week and remains historically low even as the U.S. economy slows in the midst of decades-high inflation. Jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 15 declined by 12,000 to 214,000 from 226,000 last week, the Labor Department reported...
Indonesia says contaminated medicines linked to 99 deaths
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia has found contaminated medicines that are suspected of being linked to the deaths of 99 children this year due to acute kidney injury, officials said Thursday. Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said it was tracing 26 medicinal syrups used to treat fevers, coughs and colds,...
Truss quits, but UK’s political and economic turmoil persist
LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss quit Thursday after a tumultuous and historically brief term marred by economic policies that roiled financial markets and a rebellion in her political party that obliterated her authority. After just 45 days in office, Truss became the third Conservative prime minister to be...
Prison escapee accused of sending threatening letter, powder
SCRANTON — Federal prosecutors have accused a Pennsylvania prison escapee of sending a letter with threats to kill President Biden and the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, among others, and containing a white powder with an allusion to anthrax. Robert Maverick Vargo, 25, of Berwick is charged with making...
Texas schools are giving parents DNA kits to help identify their children in emergencies
DALLAS — Texas public schools are distributing DNA and fingerprint identification kits to parents in case they need to provide their child’s DNA to law enforcement if they go missing — or in case of other emergencies. But as school districts begin distributing the kits this fall, for many it’s...
GOP candidate for Arizona college district suspends campaign
PHOENIX — The Republican candidate for Maricopa Community College District Governing Board has suspended his campaign after being cited for alleged public sexual indecency, according to authorities. A police officer at Rio Salado College’s Surprise campus west of Phoenix reported seeing Randy Kaufman allegedly exposing himself while in his parked...
Judge: Trump knew vote fraud claims in legal docs were falseVideo
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump signed legal documents challenging the results of the 2020 election that included voter fraud claims he knew to be false, a federal judge said in a ruling Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter in an 18-page opinion ordered that four emails between Trump...
