Saudi women’s rights activist sentenced to nearly 6 years
One of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent women’s rights activists was sentenced Monday to nearly six years in prison, according to state-linked media, under a vague and broadly worded counterterrorism law. The ruling nearly brings to a close a case that has drawn international criticism and the ire of U.S. lawmakers....
Lori Loughlin released after prison term in college scam
“Full House” actor Lori Loughlin was released from prison Monday after spending two months behind bars for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into college. Loughlin was released from the federal lockup in Dublin, California, where she had been serving her sentence for her...
5 reasons to donate plasma during COVID-19
There are many ways you can help your community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe you’ve been ordering take-out to support your favorite small restaurants. Maybe you’ve donated canned goods to the local food bank or called to check on an elderly neighbor. But there is another important way you can...
In-betweenland: As 2020 slips away, an American snapshot
GLENSHAW, Pa. — The enormous signs, selling for just $9.99, greet shoppers at the suburban supermarket’s entryway, carrying a holiday message that means something very different this year: “GATHER,” they shout, even as the state’s governor urges citizens to do precisely otherwise. To come together or to stay apart: one...
Trump signs massive measure funding government, covid reliefVideo
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Sunday, ending days of drama over his refusal to accept the bipartisan deal that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert a federal government shutdown. The massive bill includes $1.4 trillion to...
Trump risks legacy of ‘chaos and misery,’ Sen. Pat Toomey saysVideo
President Donald Trump risks being remembered for creating “chaos and misery” at the end of his term if he vetoes the $900 billion stimulus passed by Congress and triggers a government shutdown, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey said. The Trump administration helped negotiate the bill, and if the president believes direct...
Dr. Anthony Fauci believes the worst of the covid pandemic could be aheadVideo
Dr. Anthony Fauci expects more dire days ahead as the covid-19 pandemic continues to rage on through the holidays. The infectious diseases expert told CNN he agrees with President-elect Joe Biden’s estimation that the worst of the pandemic could be ahead of us. “The reason I’m concerned, and my colleagues...
Authorities: Suspect in Nashville explosion died in blastVideo
NASHVILLE — The man believed to be responsible for the Christmas Day bombing that tore through downtown Nashville blew himself up in the explosion, and appears to have acted alone, federal officials said Sunday. Investigators used DNA and other evidence to link the man, identified as Anthony Quinn Warner, to...
Lawmakers press Trump on relief bill as jobless aid expiresVideo
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump appeared no closer to signing an end-of-year covid relief and spending bill Sunday as unemployment aid expired, the government barrels toward a mid-pandemic shutdown and lawmakers implored him to break the impasse he created after Congress approved the deal. Trump blindsided members...
‘Believe in science’: EU kicks off covid-19 vaccine campaign
ROME — Doctors, nurses and the elderly rolled up their sleeves across the European Union to receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine Sunday in a symbolic show of unity and moment of hope for a continent confronting its worst health care crisis in a century. Weeks after the...
Man charged in Illinois bowling alley shooting that killed 3Video
ROCKFORD, Ill. — A U.S. Army special forces sergeant based in Florida has been charged in an apparently random shooting at an Illinois bowling alley that left three people dead and three wounded, authorities said Sunday. Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said Duke Webb, 37, has been charged with...
3 dead, 3 injured in shooting at Illinois bowling alley
ROCKFORD, Ill. — A gunman opened fire inside an Illinois bowling alley, killing three people and injuring three others Saturday night in what authorities believe was a random attack. A “person of interest” was taken into custody after the shooting at Don Carter Lanes, Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said...
Girl Scouts accuse Boy Scouts of poaching their membership in latest filing of 2-year legal battle
Boys will be boys. And, according to court documents, girls should be Girl Scouts. The Girl Scouts of the United States of America, in a pointed Manhattan Federal Court filing, accused the Boy Scouts of America of wrongfully crossing the gender line by poaching potential female members from their organization...
Canada records 1st cases of new coronavirus variant
TORONTO — Officials in Canada’s most populous province have confirmed the first two known Canadian cases of of a more contagious variant of covid-19 that was first identified in the United Kingdom. The province’s associate chief medical officer says that the cases are a couple from Durham Region, just east...
In wake of election, Republican leaders seek vote restrictions
ATLANTA — Changes to the way millions of Americans voted this year contributed to record turnout, but that’s no guarantee the measures making it easier to cast ballots will stick around for future elections. Republicans in key states that voted for President-elect Joe Biden already are pushing for new restrictions,...
Unemployment benefits expire for millions as Trump stands pat
WEST PALM BEACH, — Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet lapsed overnight as President Donald Trump refused to sign an end-of-year covid relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections. The fate of the bipartisan package remained in...
Thailand finds new coronavirus clusters in south and east
BANGKOK — Health officials in Thailand said Saturday that two new clusters of coronavirus cases have been found that appear to be linked to a major outbreak discovered a week earlier among migrant workers in an industrial province near Bangkok. The new cases were found in 19 members of a...
Turnout among young voters key to Georgia Senate runoffs
ATLANTA — Preethi Gowrishankar was never really politically active before this year. But watching polarization increase during President Donald Trump’s administration changed that. The 27-year-old data scientist put on a face mask and stood in line on a recent sunny but cold day in Atlanta to cast a ballot early...
British double agent George Blake dies in Russia at 98
MOSCOW — George Blake, a former British intelligence officer who worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union and passed some of the most coveted Western secrets to Moscow, has died in Russia. He was 98. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, known as SVR, announced his death Saturday in a...
Trump’s court appointments will leave decades-long imprint
WASHINGTON — On this, even President Donald Trump’s most fevered critics agree: He has left an imprint on federal courts that will outlast his one term in office for decades to come. He used the promise of conservative judicial appointments to win over Republican skeptics as a candidate. Then as...
Hundreds of migrants freezing in heavy snow in Bosnia camp
BIHAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Hundreds of migrants were stranded Saturday in a squalid, burnt-out tent camp in Bosnia as heavy snow fell in the country and winter temperatures suddenly dropped. Migrants at the Lipa camp in northwest Bosnia wrapped themselves in blankets and sleeping bags to protect against the biting winds...
Vaccination rate in W.V. surges, as pandemic claims more lives
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice reported that nearly half of his state’s stock of covid-19 vaccines has been administered. But the promising news was tempered by the governor’s announcement on Christmas Day that 55 more West Virginians had died from the disease. During a press briefing Friday, the governor described,...
Q&A: Knowing when to get the coronavirus vaccine — and if pregnant women should get it
SEATTLE — Federal approval of the second coronavirus vaccine means more doses are coming to Washington and with them a growing interest about the distribution of vaccines. This week, Washington was set to receive 130,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine, which was approved by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup...
Officials accuse Florida rapper, 2 others, of home invasion
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Two Florida men, including an underground rap artist known as Splash Zanotti, appeared in federal court Christmas day in connection with a home invasion two months ago, in which authorities said the men terrorized a couple, demanded $20,000 and sexually assaulted a woman. A third man...
Nashville explosion investigation prompts FBI to search home
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal agents converged Saturday on the home of a possible person of interest in the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville as investigators scoured hundreds of tips and leads in the blast that damaged dozens of buildings on Christmas morning. More than 24 hours after the explosion,...
