329 years later, last Salem ‘witch’ who wasn’t is pardoned
BOSTON — It took more than three centuries, but the last Salem “witch” who wasn’t has been officially pardoned. Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday formally exonerated Elizabeth Johnson Jr., clearing her name 329 years after she was convicted of witchcraft in 1693 and sentenced to death at the height of the...
Oxford students walk out to support Robb school in Texas
OXFORD, Mich. — Hundreds of students at Oxford High School, the Michigan school where four were killed in November, walked out Thursday and formed a ‘U’ on the football field to show support for students and families in Uvalde, Texas. “We went through the same thing. I lost a lot...
‘This tears my soul apart’: A Ukrainian boy and a killing
BUCHA, Ukraine — As he listened to his father die, the boy lay still on the asphalt. His elbow burned where a bullet had pierced him. His thumb stung from being grazed. Another killing was in progress on a lonely street in Bucha, the community on the outskirts of Ukraine’s...
Justices to rule in gun case with U.S. raw from mass shootings
WASHINGTON — With mass shootings in Texas, New York and California fresh in Americans’ mind, the Supreme Court will soon issue its biggest gun ruling in more than a decade, one expected to make it easier to carry guns in public in some of the largest cities. Already in an...
Dominant coronavirus mutant contains ghost of pandemic past
The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease. Why? Because it combines properties of both omicron and delta,...
Trump loses appeal, must testify in New York civil probe
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in the New York attorney general’s civil investigation into his business practices, a state appeals court ruled Thursday, rejecting his argument that he be excused from testifying because his answers could be used in a parallel criminal probe....
Kevin Spacey charged in UK with 4 counts of sexual assault
LONDON — British prosecutors said Thursday they have charged actor Kevin Spacey with four counts of sexual assault against three men. The Crown Prosecution Service said Spacey “has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.” The alleged incidents took place in London...
Russia slams sanctions, seeks to blame West for food crisis
KYIV, Ukraine — Moscow pressed the West on Thursday to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis that has been worsened by Kyiv’s inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products due to the...
Police: Texas gunman was inside the school for over an hourVideo
UVALDE, Texas — The gunman who massacred 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school was inside for more than an hour before he was killed in a shootout, law enforcement authorities said Thursday amid mounting public anger and scrutiny over their response to the rampage. A media...
Prague strips Soviet WWII commander of honorary citizenship
PRAGUE — The Czech capital stripped a Soviet World War II commander of his honorary Prague citizenship Thursday. The Prague City Council ‘s approved Mayor Zdenek Hrib’s proposal to revoke the honor bestowed in June 1945 on Soviet Marshal Ivan Stepanovic Konev. Konev led the Red Army forces that liberated...
Pakistan’s ex-premier calls off planned sit-in, demands vote
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s defiant former Prime Minister Imran Khan called off a planned, open-ended sit-in in Islamabad on Thursday, temporarily assuaging fears of a protracted civil conflict after he led thousands on a march toward Parliament and demanded the government’s resignation. Khan’s followers began converging on the Pakistani capital on...
Senate GOP blocks domestic terrorism bill, gun policy debate
WASHINGTON — Democrats’ first attempt at responding to the back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, failed in the Senate on Thursday as Republicans blocked a domestic terrorism bill that would have opened debate on difficult questions surrounding hate crimes and gun safety. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y....
Spanish court dismisses Shakira appeal in tax fraud case
MADRID — A court in Spain on Thursday dismissed Colombian singer Shakira’s appeal in a tax fraud case, paving the way for a trial after a judge previously concluded there was enough evidence to suggest the pop star may have avoided her fiscal obligations to the state. The case first...
Wisconsin GOP leader open to arming teachers in schools
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s top legislative Republican said Thursday that he is open to the idea of arming teachers following the latest school shooting in Texas, while he dismissed as “disingenuous” an offer from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to find common ground. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told the Associated Press...
Greece tells UN that Turkey is challenging its sovereignty
ATHENS, Greece — Greece has told the head of the United Nations that Turkey is directly challenging its sovereignty over islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, and pursuing a hostile and “revisionist” policy that is destabilizing the region. The four-page letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated May 25 and signed...
Lawsuit: 13-year-old’s hands up when shot by Chicago police
CHICAGO — A 13-year-old boy shot in the back by a Chicago police officer was unarmed and had his arms raised to surrender when he was hit by the bullet, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday, saying the incident illustrates deeply flawed implementation of department policy on the pursuit of...
Doctors, hospitals in crisis-hit Lebanon go on 2-day strike
BEIRUT — Dozens of doctors, nurses and medical personnel rallied Thursday outside the Central Bank in the Lebanese capital of Beirut after declaring a two-day general strike to protest rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. The strike was declared by two medical professionals’ unions — The Syndicates of Doctors in Beirut and...
Police: Video captures man shooting 4 walking to Philadelphia prom party
PHILADELPHIA — Four people were shot Wednesday night as they walked to a prom party in the Mantua neighborhood, according to Philadelphia police. WPVI-TV reports that just after 7 p.m. surveillance video captured a gunman who was reportedly on a bike when he fired the gunshots. The suspect is described...
Davos ends with Germany pushing global work on climate, war
DAVOS, Switzerland — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed hopes Friday for global cooperation on climate change, hunger and war, while dozens of climate activists demonstrated in the Swiss town of Davos as a meeting of global elites ended with many words but little concrete action to solve the world’s most...
Russians shell dozens of Ukrainian towns in fierce battle for the Donbas
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Russia shelled more than 40 towns and villages in the Donbas region, Ukrainian officials said Thursday, as Moscow intensified attacks in Ukraine’s industrial heartland and attempted to encircle key eastern cities. Now in its fourth month, Russia’s war on its neighbor has increasingly zeroed in on efforts...
Fewer Americans apply for jobless benefits last week
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week with the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits already near five-decade lows. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 210,000 for the week ending May 21, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications are generally representative of the number...
Powerful earthquake shakes southern Peru
LIMA, Peru — A magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook a remote region of southern Peru on Thursday, sending frightened people running into the streets in nearby Bolivia, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7:02 a.m. quake was centered 8 miles west-northwest...
Hearts ‘forever broken’: Here are the victims of the Texas school shooting
UVALDE, Texas — At least 21 people — including 19 children — were killed by a gunman during Tuesday’s massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Among them were a 10-year-old girl who had just made the honor roll and a fourth-grade teacher who had worked for the school...
U.S. making covid antiviral drug more available at test sites
WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects covid-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island, providing patients...
States divided on gun controls, even as mass shootings rise
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was quick to react to this week’s carnage at a Texas elementary school, sending a tweet listing the gun control measures the Democratic-controlled state has taken. He finished with: “Your turn Congress.” But gun control measures are likely going nowhere in Congress, and...
