U.S./World category, Page 1133
How the FBI limited investigation of Brett Kavanaugh allegations
WASHINGTON — As Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh prepares for his second year on the Supreme Court, new reporting has detailed how the limits ordered by the White House and Senate Republicans last year constrained the FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct when he was a college freshman. The FBI...
Psychiatrist: Man accused of killing 6 controlled by voices
HOUSTON — A forensic psychiatrist tells jurors a man accused of fatally shooting six members of his ex-wife’s family in 2014 wasn’t responsible for his actions because severe mental illness made him believe voices in his head were telling him to carry out the killings. Prosecutors allege Ronald Lee Haskell...
Jeffrey Epstein accusers denied compensation in victims’ rights case
A group of women who say they were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein suffered a setback Monday in their decade-long legal fight over a plea deal that allowed the financier to avoid a lengthy prison term. A federal judge in West Palm Beach, Florida, ruled that the women were not...
IS leader calls on fighters to free detained comrades
BEIRUT — The leader of the Islamic State group released a new alleged audio recording Monday calling on members of the extremist group to do all they can to free IS detainees and women held in jails and camps. The purported audio by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in which he also...
Tattered by Hurricane Dorian, ‘Steve’ the flag auctioned to aid Outer Banks
The American flag that withstood hurricane winds on a light tower in the Atlantic Ocean is for sale. The tattered flag, nicknamed Steve, flew above Frying Pan Shoals Light Tower on Sept. 6 during the brunt of Hurricane Dorian. The tower’s owner, Charlotte software engineer Richard Neal, is auctioning the...
Kentucky man jailed in threat to Planned Parenthood in Ohio
INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — A Kentucky man accused of threatening to blow up a Planned Parenthood facility in Cincinnati was ordered held on $100,000 bond Monday after police found a “homemade destructive device” at his home. WXIX-TV reports Daniel Kibler was arrested Sunday after police searched his home in Independence. He...
Man who let 12-year-old drive car that hit boy is imprisoned
WATERLOO, Iowa — An Iowa father whose 12-year-old son struck a 4-year-old boy while driving the man’s car has been sent to prison. Black Hawk County District Court records say 34-year-old Jesse Azbill pleaded guilty Friday to child endangerment and aiding and abetting serious injury by auto. He was sentenced...
Propane explosion kills firefighter, injures 6 others
FARMINGTON, Maine — A powerful propane explosion leveled a recently opened nonprofit center after crews arrived to investigate the smell of gas Monday morning, killing one firefighter and injuring six other people, including fellow firefighters, officials said. The building had been evacuated after the gas was detected, said Farmington Town...
UAW official: GM’s offer came too late to avoid strike
DETROIT — A strike by over 49,000 United Auto workers against General Motors could have been averted had the company made its latest offer sooner, the union’s top negotiator said in a letter to the company. In the letter dated Sunday, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes told GM’s labor relations...
Pigeon poops on lawmaker discussing pigeon poop problemVideo
CHICAGO — A pigeon apparently didn’t think much of a lawmaker’s ideas to address a messy situation at a Chicago Transit Authority stop known by some as “pigeon poop station.” WBBM-TV reports that one of the birds did its business on the head of Democratic state Rep. Jaime Andrade as...
No new measles cases reported in fading U.S. outbreak
NEW YORK — The nation’s worst measles epidemic in 27 years could be in its final stages as a week went by with no new reported cases. “To get to zero is tremendously encouraging,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University expert on vaccination policy. The current epidemic emerged about a...
W.Va. man caught with $25K of heroin sues over seizure of home
OAK HILL, W.Va. — A West Virginia man whose house and car were seized after deputies found $25,000 worth of heroin in an illegal search is suing the authorities involved, saying his property was improperly forfeited. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Keith Allen Sizemore is suing Fayette County, the town of...
U.S. service member killed in action in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — A U.S. service member was killed in action in Afghanistan on Monday, NATO said, without providing further details. Last week, President Donald Trump abruptly called off talks with the Taliban to end American’s longest war, citing the killing of a U.S. service member in a Taliban attack...
Trump boxed in after blaming Iran for Saudi oil plant strikeVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration sought to offer new evidence to back its claim that Iran conducted the attack on major Saudi Arabian oil facilities, saying the munitions used in the strikes were well beyond the capabilities of the Houthi rebels who claimed responsibility. The evidence put forward by several...
Dem presidential candidates call for Kavanaugh’s impeachment
WASHINGTON — At least three Democratic presidential candidates are calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the face of a new, uninvestigated, allegation of sexual impropriety when he was in college. Kavanaugh was confirmed last October after emotional hearings in the Senate over a sexual assault...
Suspect arrested in fire at historic Minnesota synagogue
DULUTH, Minn.— Authorities say a suspect has been arrested in a fire that destroyed a historic synagogue in northeastern Minnesota. Duluth police and fire officials said in a press release that a news conference is set for 11 a.m. Sunday to talk about the investigation into the fire earlier this...
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launch drones on 2 big Saudi oil sites
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies. The drone attacks affected up to half of the supplies from the...
Man who dragged shark from boat in Florida sentenced to 10 days in jail
A Florida fisherman will spend 10 days in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty for dragging a live shark by the tail from a boat. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Robert “Bo” Benac III was the last of three men facing charges stemming from the June 2017...
White House says bin Laden son killed in U.S. operation
WASHINGTON — The White House announced Saturday that Hamza bin Laden , the son of the late al-Qaida leader who had become an increasingly prominent figure in the terrorist organization, was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. A statement issued in President Trump’s name gave no...
Solid gold toilet stolen from Winston Churchill’s birthplace
LONDON — A unique solid gold toilet that was part of an art exhibit was stolen early Saturday from the magnificent home in England where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. The toilet, valued at roughly $1.25 million, was the work of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It had been...
Still reeling from Hurricane Dorian, Bahamas hit by tropical storm
FREEPORT, Bahamas — Officials temporarily suspended aid efforts and closed a couple of small airports in the Bahamas Saturday as Tropical Storm Humberto dumped rain on parts of the archipelago’s northwest region that were already hammered by Hurricane Dorian two weeks ago. Humberto lashed the islands as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio...
Lying prisoners: New laws crack down on jailhouse informants
HARTFORD, Conn. — A movement to put jailhouse informants under a more powerful microscope before they testify is gaining traction around the country, a byproduct of new DNA testing technology that has exonerated dozens of people wrongly locked up based on informants’ lies. Several states have moved to toughen regulations...
Sikh preaches love 18 years after brother killed over turban
PHOENIX — Indian Sikh immigrant Rana Singh Sodhi still preaches love and tolerance 18 years after his brother was gunned down in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by a man who mistook him for a Muslim because of his turban and beard. “I want there to be...
Collection of premier proverb scholar opens at UVM
BURLINGTON, Vt. — From “Strike while the iron is hot” to “Been there, done that,” proverbs have been developed around the world for centuries, spread by word of mouth, writings, and nowadays social media. University of Vermont Professor Wolfgang Mieder, thought to be the world’s premier paroemiologist, has been studying...
The ‘fool’ that fentanyl made into a millionaire
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. SALT LAKE CITY — The photo that flashed onto the courtroom screen showed a young man dead on his bedroom floor, bare feet poking from the cuffs of his rolled up jeans. Lurking on a...
