Turkey suspends trial of Saudi suspects in Khashoggi killing
ISTANBUL — A Turkish court ruled Thursday to suspend the trial in absentia of 26 Saudis accused in the gruesome killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and for the case to be transferred to Saudi Arabia, raising fears of impunity for a crime that sparked international outrage. Khashoggi, a...
U.S. jobless claims stay at historically low levels last week
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs remain at historically low levels. Jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 166,000 for the week ending April 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s number was revised down a whopping 31,000 claims. In recent weeks, claims...
Russian retreat reveals destruction as Ukraine asks for help
CHERNIHIV, Ukraine — Russian troops retreating from this northern Ukrainian city left behind crushed buildings, streets littered with destroyed cars and residents in dire need of food and other aid — images that added fuel to Kyiv’s calls Thursday for more Western help to halt Moscow’s next offensive. Dozens of...
U.S. Navy intends to decommission some of its newest warships
PORTLAND, Maine — The Navy that once wanted smaller, speedy warships to chase down pirates has made a speedy pivot to Russia and China — and many of those recently built ships could be retired. The U.S. Navy wants to decommission nine ships in the Freedom-class of littoral combat ships...
Senate votes 100-0 to end Russia trade status, enact oil ban
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities. Lawmakers overwhelmingly support the substance of the two bills, but they had languished for weeks...
Arizona AG Mark Brnovich’s letter offers no proof of 2020 election fraud
PHOENIX — Arizona’s Republican attorney general issued an interim report Wednesday on his review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County that outlined his concerns with some election procedures but did not provide proof of any major issues despite six months of investigation. Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who is in...
Dan Scavino, Peter Navarro held in contempt of Congress in Jan. 6 probeVideo
WASHINGTON — Former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino were held in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for their monthlong refusal to comply with subpoenas rendered by the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The two men became the latest members of former...
Juvenile suspect sought in Erie school shooting turns self in
ERIE — A juvenile suspect being sought in a shooting that injured another student inside a northwestern Pennsylvania high school has turned himself in to police, authorities said. “Earlier today, the suspect in yesterday’s school shooting turned himself in to the Erie police department,” Erie city officials said in a...
Pennsylvania State Police settle profiling, immigration suit
Pennsylvania State Police settled a federal lawsuit alleging troopers routinely and improperly tried to enforce federal immigration law by pulling over Hispanic motorists on the basis of how they looked and detaining those suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, officials announced Wednesday. The settlement pays a total of $865,000...
No charges filed in no-knock warrant killing of Amir Locke
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota prosecutors declined to file charges Wednesday against a Minneapolis police SWAT team officer who fatally shot Amir Locke while executing an early morning no-knock search warrant in a downtown apartment in February. Locke, 22, who was Black, was staying on a couch in his cousin’s apartment when...
The 6 lives lost in the Sacramento mass shooting
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A father of four. A best friend with a positive personality. A vivacious partygoer. The six people who were killed in a mass shooting in California’s capital city are being remembered by their friends and family as police worked to piece together what happened when two groups...
Nursing home care, funding system need overhaul, report says
NEW YORK — Nursing home residents are subjected to ineffective care and poor staffing, while facility finances are shrouded in secrecy and regulatory lapses go unenforced, according to a report Wednesday that called for wholesale changes in an industry whose failures have been spotlighted by the pandemic. To anyone who...
Late Iowa man linked to 1980s killings in Indiana, Kentucky
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Police said Tuesday that they used genealogical data and crime scene evidence to link an Iowa man who died in 2013 to the killings of three female motel clerks and sexual assault of a fourth in Indiana and Kentucky from 1987 through 1990. Harry Edward...
Mariupol’s dead put at 5,000 as Ukraine braces in the east
ANDRIIVKA, Ukraine — The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol put the number of civilians killed there at more than 5,000 Wednesday, as Ukraine collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the ruined outskirts of Kyiv and braced for what could become a climactic battle for control of the...
Trib Total Media to co-host political debates ahead of Pa. primary election
Trib Total Media, in partnership with Spotlight PA and its founding members, will co-host debates this month featuring candidates for Pennsylvania governor and the state’s open U.S. Senate seat ahead of the spring primary. The gubernatorial debate features Republican candidates Joe Gale, Charlie Gerow, Melissa Hart and Nche Zama. It...
Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era water rule for now
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated for now a Trump-era rule that had curtailed the power of states and Native American tribes to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute rivers, streams and other waterways. The justices agreed to halt a lower court judge’s order throwing...
W.Va. Gov. Justice repeatedly late paying mine safety penalties
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has consistently missed deadlines in recent months to pay the U.S. government the millions of dollars he owes in penalties for unsafe working conditions at his coal mines, according to federal court documents. The Republican governor — who owns dozens of companies...
Future of covid boosters comes down to crucial meeting of FDA advisers
An all-star panel of covid-19 experts will convene this week to hash out how and when vaccines should be updated to address future variants as the virus continues to rapidly mutate. The meeting of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers should provide some of the first hints of its strategy...
Russia’s failure to take down Kyiv was a defeat for the ages
WASHINGTON — Kyiv was a Russian defeat for the ages. The fight started poorly for the invaders and went downhill from there. When President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Feb. 24 after months of buildup on Ukraine’s borders, he sent hundreds of helicopter-borne commandos — the best of the...
Texas takes new border action; ex-Trump officials want more
SAN ANTONIO — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday delivered new orders along the U.S.-Mexico border and promised more to come as former Trump administration officials press him to declare an “invasion” and give state troopers and National Guard members authority to turn back migrants. The two-term Republican governor did...
Oklahoma state House approves bill to make abortion illegal
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma House gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. With little discussion and no debate, the Republican-controlled House voted 70-14 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Kevin...
Pennsylvania court blocks governor’s carbon emissions plan
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania court on Tuesday blocked the centerpiece of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight climate change, the latest challenge to the Democrat’s effort to make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy. Commonwealth Court, in a one-line unsigned order, said it...
California Rep. Ami Bera bitten by a wild fox on U.S. Capitol groundsVideo
WASHINGTON — Fox news made its way to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., identified himself as the victim of a fox attack. Bera, a doctor, told reporters he was walking near a Senate office building Monday when he felt something around his ankle. “Yeah, I was just...
Zoos hiding birds as avian flu spreads in North America
OMAHA, Neb. — Zoos across North America are moving their birds indoors and away from people and wildlife as they try to protect them from the highly contagious and potentially deadly avian influenza. Penguins may be the only birds visitors to many zoos can see right now, because they already...
Army Gen. Mark Milley urges more U.S. troops in eastern EuropeVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States should look at the development of more bases in Eastern Europe to protect against Russian aggression, but rotate forces through them rather than make permanent deployments, the top U.S military officer told Congress on Tuesday. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of...