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...
Georgia Gov. Kemp to sign bill allowing concealed carry of handguns without a license
ATLANTA — As of Tuesday, most Georgians will be allowed to carry concealed handguns without first getting a license from the state. Making good on a 2018 campaign promise, Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign Senate Bill 319, sometimes referred to as “constitutional carry.” SB 319 would allow a...
Police: 5 children killed, 2 adults injured in Pennsylvania fire
GENESEE — An early morning fire that ripped through a northern Pennsylvania home killed five children and severely injured two adults, authorities said. Fire crews responding to the 3:30 a.m. Monday alarm on Slingerland Road in Genesee Township found the residence engulfed in flames, state police in Potter County said....
Trump weighs in on Pa. governor’s race, naming candidate he’s not endorsing
Former President Donald Trump weighed in on Pennsylvania’s governor’s race Tuesday indicating which of the nine Republican candidates he will not be endorsing. “One person in Pennsylvania who I will not be endorsing is Bill McSwain for governor,” Trump said in a statement. “He was the U.S. attorney who did...
Oklahoma governor signs bill to make abortion illegal
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes it a felony to perform an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, as part of an aggressive push in Republican-led states across the country to scale back abortion rights. The bill,...
Putin vows to press invasion until Russia’s goals are met
KYIV, Ukraine — Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday that Russia’s bloody offensive in Ukraine would continue until its goals are fulfilled and insisted the campaign was going as planned, despite a major withdrawal in the face of stiff Ukrainian opposition and significant losses. Russian troops, thwarted in their push toward Ukraine’s...
Potential far-right victory in France seen as threat to EU
MULHOUSE, France — The thought of an extreme-right leader standing at the helm of the European Union would be abhorrent to most in the 27-nation bloc. But if Emmanuel Macron falters in the April 24 French presidential elections, it might be two weeks away. Experts say a win for far-right...
Japan, Italy to lift defense ties amid China, Russia worries
TOKYO — Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said he and his Italian counterpart agreed Tuesday to step up military cooperation as Japan expands security ties with Europe amid concern about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on Asia. Kishi told reporters that he and Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini...
N.Y. Lt. Gov. Benjamin arrested in campaign donation scheme
NEW YORK — New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, whose seven months in that role has been overshadowed by probes into a previous campaign, was arrested Tuesday in a federal corruption investigation. The Democrat was accused in an indictment of participating in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions from a...
Biden waiving ethanol rule in bid to lower gasoline prices
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is visiting corn-rich Iowa on Tuesday to announce he’ll suspend a federal rule preventing the sale of higher ethanol blend gasoline this summer, as his administration tries to tamp down prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine. Most gasoline sold...
Police focus on van renter in Brooklyn subway shooting probeVideo
NEW YORK — A gunman in a gas mask and construction vest set off a smoke grenade and fired a barrage of at least 33 bullets in a rush-hour subway train, shooting at least 10 people Tuesday, authorities said. Police were scouring the city for the shooter and trying to...
Bill proposal would allow medical marijuana edibles in Pa. dispensaries
Pennsylvania medical cannabis patients currently have access to tinctures, pills, oils, topicals, and dry leaf to vaporize. A new bill will soon be introduced by state Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, to possibly expand those options and allow patients to purchase medical cannabis edibles. Launglin said that 25 other states already...
U.S. orders consular to leave Shanghai amid covid outbreak
BEIJING — The United States has ordered all non-emergency consular staff to leave Shanghai, which is under a tight lockdown to contain a covid-19 surge. The State Department said the order is an upgrade from the “authorized” departure issued last week that made the decision voluntary. The order covers “non-emergency...
Russian activist who said he had been poisoned is detainedVideo
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., who was twice sickened in incidents he suspected were poisonings, has been detained in Moscow by police, another prominent opposition figure said Monday. Ilya Yashin said on Twitter that Kara-Murza was detained Monday near his Moscow residence. It was unclear whether he had been...
Biden aims at ‘ghost gun’ violence with new federal ruleVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday took fresh aim at ghost guns, the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes, as he struggles to break past gun-control opposition to address firearm deaths. Speaking at the White House, Biden highlighted the Justice Department’s...
Former Virginia police officer convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
WASHINGTON — A federal jury on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer of storming the U.S. Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Jurors convicted former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson of all six counts he faced stemming from...
