Texas committee still trying to question Uvalde police
UVALDE, Texas — Police in Uvalde still haven’t committed to speaking to a Texas House committee investigating the May 24 massacre at an elementary school and the law enforcement response that day, the lawmaker leading the probe said Friday. Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows said his committee was in conversations...
Ex-Trump aide Navarro pleads not guilty to contempt charges
WASHINGTON — Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro pleaded not guilty Friday to contempt of Congress charges after refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro, 72, appeared in federal court in Washington to be arraigned on the two-count indictment....
Louisiana asks Supreme Court to delay mostly Black district
Louisiana’s secretary of state and attorney general asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to put a hold on a federal judge’s order for the state to create a second majority Black congressional district by Monday. Judge Shelly Dick’s ruling “throws the election process into chaos, and creates confusion statewide,”...
Trump weighs another run as GOP rivals eye own campaigns
NASHVILLE — As religious conservatives gathered this week at a sprawling resort near the Grand Ole Opry House, Nikki Haley pressed the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” crowd to look to the future. “It’s up to us to deliver a new birth of patriotism,” said Haley, the former...
Ukraine introduces visa regime for Russians amid war
KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian cabinet approved a resolution on Friday to bar Russian citizens from entering Ukraine without a visa. The move is likely to be viewed as symbolic given that the borders between Russian and Ukraine have remained shut since Moscow invaded its neighbor on Feb 24 and...
Towns near Yellowstone fear impact of lost tourism seasonVideo
RED LODGE, Mont. — A gnawing uncertainty hung over the Yellowstone National Park gateway town of Gardiner this week following unprecedented flooding that shut down one of America’s most beloved natural attractions and swept away roads, bridges and homes. Gardiner itself escaped the flooding but briefly became home to hundreds...
Iowa Supreme Court: Abortion rights not protected by state constitution, clearing way for ban on procedure
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for lawmakers to severely limit or even ban abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to the procedure under the Iowa Constitution. The court, now composed...
FDA authorizes 1st covid shots for infants, preschoolers
U.S. regulators on Friday authorized the first covid-19 shots for infants and preschoolers, paving the way for vaccinations to begin next week. The Food and Drug Administration’s action follows its advisory panel’s unanimous recommendation for the shots from Moderna and Pfizer. That means U.S. kids under 5 — roughly 18...
Building collapse kills 6 in Egyptian capital of Cairo
CAIRO — A building collapse early on Friday in the Egyptian capital of Cairo killed six people, authorities said, as rescuers at the scene searched through the rubble. It was not immediately known what caused the collapse. The city’s deputy governor, Ibrahim Abdel-Hadi, said in a statement released by the...
U.K. government orders Julian Assange’s extradition to U.S.; appeal planned
LONDON — The British government on Friday ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges, a milestone — but not the end — of a decade-long legal saga sparked by his website’s publication of classified U.S. documents. WikiLeaks said it would challenge...
Larry Nassar loses last appeal in sexual assault scandal
DETROIT — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday rejected a final appeal from sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting gymnasts, including Olympic medalists. Attorneys for Nassar said he was treated unfairly in 2018 and deserved a new hearing, based on vengeful remarks...
Hurricane Blas heads out to sea off southern Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Blas was heading out to sea off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Friday, but a tropical depression has also formed off Central America. The depression is forecast to become a tropical storm while moving closer to El Salvador and Guatemala, before veering away from land over the...
Mastriano proposal would allow school employees to be armed; Pa. teachers union pushes back
A Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to allow K-12 school employees to carry firearms in classrooms in an effort to prevent mass shootings like the one in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers. The proposal by Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, would let employees with a concealed carry permit...
Police: 3rd victim in Alabama church shooting dies
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. — The third victim of a church shooting in Alabama has died, police said Friday. The 84-year-old woman died at a hospital a day after a gunman opened fire with a handgun Thursday at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, the police...
5 former fraternity members sentenced in hazing death
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Three former fraternity members were sentenced Thursday to jail terms for their roles in the hazing death of a Bowling Green State University student, while two others were ordered to serve house arrest. Jarrett Prizel, 19, of Olean, New York, Daylen Dunson, 22, of Cleveland, and...
Jan. 6 panel: Plan for Pence to reject electors ‘nuts,’ ‘crazy’
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s closest advisers viewed his last-ditch efforts pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to halt congressional certification of his 2020 election defeat as “nuts,” “crazy” and even likely to incite riots if Pence followed through, witnesses revealed in stark testimony to the Jan. 6 committee on Thursday. Gripping...
Jan. 6 takeaways: ‘Heated’ Trump, Pence’s near miss with mob
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection used its latest public hearing on Thursday to focus on the pressure that then-President Donald Trump put on his vice president, Mike Pence, to delay or reject the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory on Jan. 6, 2021. The committee is...
Shaky oasis for some polar bears found, but not for species
With the polar bear species in a fight for survival because of disappearing Arctic sea ice, a new distinct group of Greenland bears seem to have stumbled on an icy oasis that might allow a small remote population to “hang on.” But it’s far from “a life raft” for the...
Some clinics halting abortions while bracing for Roe’s fall
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Abortion providers in some places where the procedure could be banned if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade are bracing for a ruling by halting scheduling for the procedure, transitioning staff to help patients travel to other states and creating networks of clinics that...
Florida only state not preordering toddler covid-19 vaccines
MIAMI — Florida is the only the state that hasn’t preordered covid-19 vaccines for toddlers in anticipation of their final approval by the federal government, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he won’t facilitate their distribution, though he said they’ll be available to those who want them. White House...
Leaders pledge arms and EU path for Ukraine in Kyiv visit
KYIV, Ukraine — Four European leaders expressed their support for Ukraine on Thursday while meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, vowing to back Kyiv’s candidacy to eventually join the European Union and offering more weapons to fend off Russia’s invasion. French President Emmanuel Macron promised Ukraine six more truck-mounted artillery guns,...
NASA set to finally complete Artemis I wet dress rehearsal
ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA is hoping the fourth time’s the charm for the final big test before it can finally launch its massive new rocket to the moon. The redo of the Artemis I wet dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center is slated to begin Saturday evening with staff called...
NYC guitar concert by Hinckley, who shot Reagan, is canceled
NEW YORK — A concert by John Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has been canceled even as Hinckley was freed from federal court oversight, the New York City venue that had booked the performance announced. The Market Hotel in Brooklyn cited “very real and...
Watch: 1/6 panel probes Trump pressure on Pence to reject election
WASHINGTON — The 1/6 committee is set to plunge into Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to salvage the 2020 election by pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to defy historical precedent and reject the electoral count in the run-up to the U.S. Capitol riot. With two witnesses Thursday, the House panel intends...
Jan. 6 panel sends letter asking Ginni Thomas to testify
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol has asked Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for an interview, the panel’s chairman said Thursday afternoon. Thomas, a conservative activist, communicated with people in President Donald Trump’s orbit ahead of the...
