Police search for motive in Brooklyn subway suspect’s videos
NEW YORK — Frank James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one....
Talk of race, sex in schools divides Americans, poll shows
WASHINGTON — Americans are deeply divided over how much children in K-12 schools should be taught about racism and sexuality, according to a new poll released as Republicans across the country aim to make parental involvement in education a central campaign theme this election year. Overall, Americans lean slightly toward...
Pfizer to seek covid booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds
Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its covid-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids. U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50...
Capitol riot defendant: I was following Trump’s instructions
An Ohio man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol and stealing a coat rack testified Wednesday that he joined thousands of protesters in ransacking the building last year on what he thought were orders from the president, Donald Trump. Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, said he took to...
23 injured in Texas storms; more tornadoes forecast in SouthVideo
SALADO, Texas — Nearly two dozen people were injured when tornadoes swept through central Texas as part of a storm system that was expected to spawn more twisters and damaging wind Wednesday. The storms caused widespread damage Tuesday in Salado, about 50 miles north of Austin. Bell County Judge David...
Pennsylvania Senate votes to end drop boxes, outside money for elections
HARRISBURG — Drop boxes for depositing mail-in and absentee ballots would be banned and donations to run elections would no longer be permitted from groups outside government under bills approved Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Senate. Senators voted 37-12, a potentially veto-proof margin, to prohibit the types of grants issued during...
Video: Michigan cop on Black man’s back, fatally shot him
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Black man face-down on the ground was fatally shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer, the violent climax of a traffic stop, foot chase and fight over a stun gun, according to videos of the incident on April 4 that...
Presidents from countries on Russia’s doorstep visit UkraineVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — The presidents of four countries on Russia’s doorstep visited Ukraine on Wednesday and underscored their support for the embattled country, where they saw heavily damaged buildings and demanded accountability for what they called war crimes carried out by Russian forces. The visit by the presidents of Poland,...
Biden approves $800M in new military assistance for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an $800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The Ukrainians also will receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in...
2 men from The Villages admit to casting multiple ballots in 2020 election
Two residents from The Villages confessed to voter fraud charges after filing two ballots in the 2020 presidential election, court records show. Charles F. Barnes and Jay Ketcik pleaded guilty to casting more than one ballot in an election, a third-degree felony that could have resulted in a maximum five-year...
Brooklyn subway suspect Frank James tipped off police to his locationVideo
NEW YORK — The man accused of shooting 10 people on a Brooklyn subway train was arrested Wednesday and charged with a federal terrorism offense after the suspect himself called police to come get him, law enforcement officials said. Frank R. James, 62, was taken into custody about 30 hours...
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices question ballot drop boxes
MADISON, Wis. — Skeptical Wisconsin Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday whether state law allows for voters to give their absentee ballot to someone else to return or whether drop boxes can be placed outside municipal clerk offices. The court’s ruling later this spring or summer is expected to establish rules...
Mark Meadows removed as North Carolina registered voter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff to President Donald Trump, has been removed from North Carolina’s list of registered voters after documents showed he lived in Virginia and voted in that state’s 2021 election, officials said Wednesday. Questions arose about Meadows last month, when North Carolina...
Police find 2 dead children in Miami apartment, mother arrested
MIAMI — Police in Miami arrested a 41-year-old woman in the deaths of her two children, aged 3 and 5, after officers responded to repeated hang-up 911 calls from her apartment where they found their tied-up bodies. “Come get them, I don’t want them anymore,” Odette Lysse Joassaint told officers...
Truck hits tourist bus in Egypt, kills 10
CAIRO — A tourist bus collided with a truck on a highway in southern Egypt and burst into flames on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, including four French and a Belgian, authorities said. The crash happened on a highway about 27 miles south of the city of Aswan, provincial...
Investigators: Drone that crashed in Croatia carried a bomb
ZAGREB, Croatia — A military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO member states before crashing in the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device, Croatian crash investigators said Wednesday. The 6-ton Soviet-era aircraft apparently drifted uncontrolled out of Ukraine,...
Texas keeping most truck inspections despite border gridlock
AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday defied intensifying pressure over his new border policy that has gridlocked trucks entering the U.S. and shut down some of the world’s busiest trade bridges as the Mexican government, businesses and even some allies urge him to relent. The two-term Republican governor,...
Russian embassy in Bosnia warns of destabilization
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The Russian embassy in Bosnia on Wednesday criticized the suspension of a Bosnian Serb property law and warned of potential destabilization in the tense Balkan country unless the decision by the top international official is revoked. The embassy in a statement carried by local media reiterated that...
U.K.’s Johnson rejects calls to resign amid ‘partygate’ fine
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to resign after being fined for breaking his government’s pandemic lockdown rules, saying he would instead redouble efforts to strengthen the economy and combat Russian aggression in Ukraine. London police fined Johnson and other people Tuesday for attending a birthday party...
Japan, U.S. hold navy drills off Koreas amid nuke test worry
TOKYO — U.S. and Japanese warships, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, are conducting their joint naval exercise in waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula for the first time in five years, in a show of their close military alliance amid growing speculation of North Korea’s...
IS supporter given life sentence for murdering U.K. lawmaker
LONDON — An Islamic State supporter was given a whole-life sentence Wednesday for stabbing a British lawmaker to death in revenge for his voting in support for airstrikes on Syria. Ali Harbi Ali, 26, was convicted Monday of murdering Conservative lawmaker David Amess and preparing terrorist acts. A jury deliberated...
Biden: Russia war a ‘genocide,’ trying to ‘wipe out’ UkraineVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — President Joe Biden on Tuesday said Russia’s war in Ukraine amounted to genocide,” accusing President Vladimir Putin of trying to “wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.” Speaking in Iowa shortly before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington, Biden said he meant...
Jake Corman is staying in the Republican race for Pennsylvania governor after moving to drop out
Pennsylvania state Senate leader Jake Corman was dropping out of the Republican primary for governor. Then he changed his mind. Shortly after filing a petition in state court Tuesday to remove his name from the ballot for the primary election on May 17, Corman released a statement saying he wasn’t...
More deer in Pa. with deadly chronic wasting disease lead to expanded state reaction
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has created a seventh Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area expanded two existing DMAs in response to recent discoveries of CWD-positive deer in new parts of the state. The new DMA 7 is a response to a CWD-positive deer in a captive facility in Lycoming County. At...
Ukrainian politician close to Putin detained
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials say fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who is both a pro-Russian opposition leader and a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has been detained in a special operation carried out by the country’s SBU secret service. Ivan Bakanov, the head of Ukraine’s national security...
