Salman Rushdie ‘on the road to recovery,’ agent saysVideo
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie is “on the road to recovery,” his agent confirmed Sunday, two days after the author of “The Satanic Verses” suffered serious injuries in a stabbing at a lecture in New York. The announcement followed news that the lauded writer was removed from a ventilator Saturday...
Police: Man killed himself after ramming U.S. Capitol barrier
WASHINGTON — A man drove his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol early Sunday and then began firing gunshots in the air before fatally shooting himself, according to police, who said he did not seem to be targeting any member of Congress. The incident happened just before 4...
1 dead, 17 hurt in crash in northeastern Pennsylvania during fundraiser for fire victimsVideo
BERWICK — One person was killed and another 17 people injured when a vehicle struck a crowd gathered at a Pennsylvania bar for a fundraiser for victims of a house fire that killed 10 earlier this month; the man police say was the driver was arrested shortly afterward in the...
More U.S. lawmakers visiting Taiwan 12 days after Pelosi trip
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A delegation of American lawmakers is visiting Taiwan just 12 days after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that angered China. The five-member delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet senior leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade, investment and...
Car crashes into Pa. fundraiser for fire victims: reports
BERWICK - Authorities in northeastern Pennsylvania responded to a multi-scene incident that started with a car plowing into a fundraiser here. According to initial reports, a person drove a car into a crowd at the benefit fundraiser in Berwick, Columbia County, and then sped off. That driver then was involved...
Prosecutor: Stab attack on Salman Rushdie was ‘preplanned’
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — The man accused in the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called a “preplanned” crime, as the renowned author of “The Satanic Verses” remained hospitalized with serious injuries. An attorney for Hadi Matar entered...
Expanded IRS free-file system one step closer in Dems’ bill
WASHINGTON — The flagship climate change and health care bill passed by Democrats and soon to be signed by President Joe Biden will bring U.S. taxpayers one step closer to a government-operated electronic free-file tax return system. It’s something lawmakers and advocates have been seeking for years. For many Americans,...
Afghan rights leader heartbroken after year of Taliban rule
UNITED NATIONS — A year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, prominent Afghan rights activist Sima Samar is still heartbroken over what happened to her country. Samar, a former minister of women’s affairs and the first chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, left Kabul in July 2021 for...
Over a dozen injured when car crashes into Irish pub, police say
ARLINGTON, Va. — More than a dozen people were injured — four of them critically — after a vehicle crashed into a northern Virginia pub and restaurant, according to authorities. The crash at the Ireland’s Four Courts establishment, which happened early Friday evening, also caused a fire, which was soon...
R. Kelly accuser to give key testimony on trial-fixing charge
CHICAGO — R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago that starts Monday is in many ways a do-over of his 2008 state child pornography trial, at which jurors acquitted the singer on charges that he produced a video of himself when he was around 30 having sex with a girl no...
Sinema took Wall Street money while killing tax on investors
WASHINGTON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democrat who single-handedly thwarted her party’s longtime goal of raising taxes on wealthy investors, received nearly $1 million over the past year from private equity professionals, hedge fund managers and venture capitalists whose taxes would have increased under the plan. For years, Democrats...
Russian shelling heavy in east; Ukraine strikes key bridge
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s military pounded residential areas across Ukraine overnight, claiming gains, as Ukrainian forces pressed a counteroffensive to try to take back an occupied southern region, striking the last working bridge over a river in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, Ukrainian authorities said Saturday. A Russian rocket attack on...
Shippers prepare for worst as Rhine levels near critical low
Shipping companies prepared to halt the transport of goods on the Rhine as water levels in Germany’s biggest river neared a critically low point Saturday. An ongoing drought affecting much of Europe has lowered rivers such as the Rhine, preventing large ships with heavy loads from passing key waypoints and...
Southern Baptists say denomination faces DOJ investigation over clergy sex abuse
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse. The SBC’s Executive Committee has received a subpoena, but no individuals...
Salman Rushdie on ventilator after stabbing, may lose an eye
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie remained hospitalized Saturday after suffering serious injuries in a stabbing attack as praise poured in for him from the West but he was disparaged in Iran. Rushdie, 75, suffered a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye, and was on a ventilator,...
Fetterman ‘grateful’ as he returns to Pa. Senate race
ERIE — Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman acknowledged he was lucky to be alive as he officially returned to the campaign trail Friday, more than 90 days after the Democrat suffered a stroke that threatened his life and political prospects in one of the nation’s premier Senate contests. Fetterman spoke...
Dr. Mehmet Oz makes campaign stop at central Pa. diner
Kenny Aumack happened to be passing Capitol Diner in Dauphin County when he spotted Dr. Mehmet Oz, Republican U.S. Senate candidate. “I’m just here for a picture,” said Aumack, of Lindenwold, N.J., as he waited in the diner’s parking lot. “He’s a celebrity.” Dozens of people showed up Friday at...
Kansas to recount abortion vote by hand, despite big margin
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ elections director says the state will go along with a request for a hand recount of votes from every county after last week’s decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights, even though there was a 165,000-vote difference and a recount won’t change the result. Melissa Leavitt of...
Pipeline break spills 45,000 gallons of diesel in Wyoming
BILLINGS, Mont. — A diesel pipeline in Wyoming owned by a company that’s being sued by federal prosecutors over previous spills in two other states cracked open and released more than 45,000 gallons of fuel, state regulators and a company representative disclosed Friday. Cleanup work is ongoing from the spill...
What’s in Biden’s big bill? Climate, health care, deficit reduction
WASHINGTON — The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. A hard-fought cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients. A new corporate minimum tax to ensure big businesses pay their share. And billions left over to pay down federal deficits. All told, the Democrats’ “Inflation...
House Democrats pass sweeping health care, tax and climate bill
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Friday passed a sweeping health care, tax and climate change bill. Now they have to sell it. The vote was 220-207, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposing. With the midterm elections quickly approaching, congressional Democrats have had a series of legislative...
Anne Heche, TV, film and stage actor, dies at 53 from injuries sustained in car crash
LOS ANGELES — Anne Heche, the Emmy- and Tony-nominated actor whose work in “Six Days Seven Nights,” “Another World” and dozens of other projects dovetailed with a groundbreaking romance with Ellen DeGeneres that challenged homophobia in Hollywood, has died. She was 53. Her son Homer confirmed her death in a...
Judds asks court to seal report of death investigation
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The family of country singer Naomi Judd filed a court petition Friday to seal police reports and recordings made during the investigation into her death. The family filed the petition in Williamson County Chancery Court, saying the records contain video and audio interviews with relatives in the...
Judge revives Obama-era ban on coal sales from federal lands
BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review...
Louisiana Supreme Court rejects appeal in abortion ban case
BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal filed by plaintiffs in the ongoing legal battle over the state’s abortion ban, allowing the ban to stay in effect. The ruling marked a major blow to abortion-rights advocates and providers, who had hoped the ban would...
