Andrew Yang’s wife details alleged sexual assault by OB-GYN
WASHINGTON — The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while she was pregnant with the couple’s first child. Evelyn Yang said in an interview televised Thursday by CNN that the assault happened in 2012, and she was initially afraid to tell...
Arizona Sen. Martha McSally calls CNN reporter ‘liberal hack’ in combative encounterVideo
Maybe Martha McSally was having a bad day. On Thursday, the senator from Arizona debased CNN reporter Manu Raju by dismissing his questions and calling him a “liberal hack.” “Manu, you’re a liberal hack. I’m not talking to you,” the senator said, when she refused to answer Raju’s question whether...
Florida high court sides with governor on felon voter rights
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court sided with Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday in a legal dispute over restoring voting rights to felons with unpaid fines — one of many clashes over the ballot box in a state that will play a crucial role in this year’s presidential election. The...
Court documents allege congressional candidate Robert Hyde tracked and stalked woman
A female political consultant was granted a protection order against Robert F. Hyde last year after alleging that he “demonstrated an inveterate pattern of monitoring, tracking, and surveilling” her location, according to court documents obtained by The Hartford Courant. Hyde is tied to a growing controversy over alleged surveillance of...
Gambling revenue in Pennsylvania hits record high
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s commercial casinos reached a new high in revenue last year, state regulators said Thursday, a record boosted by an aggressive new expansion of gambling authorized by state lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said revenue at the state’s 12 casinos, as...
Legal online poker in Pennsylvania makes $2.5 million in 1st full monthVideo
Pennsylvania’s first legal real-money poker website made $2.5 million in December, according to the latest figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. PokerStars PA launched in November. It’s a partnership between Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos and PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker company. Online poker accounted for...
Judge upholds ban on weapons at gun rally in VirginiaVideo
RICHMOND — A judge on Thursday upheld a ban on firearms at a pro-gun rally scheduled for next week in Virginia, rejecting a request from gun-rights groups who had sued to overturn it. The Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gunowners of America had filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking an injunction...
Gov. Tom Wolf mixed state work with personal time in Israel trip
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf returned Thursday to the United States after a previously undisclosed trip to Israel that his office said mixed personal travel with state business. Wolf’s spokesman said the governor and his wife, first lady Frances Wolf, spent three days at the end of their trip...
Vladimir Putin fast-tracks effort to extend his rule in Russia
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday fast-tracked work on constitutional changes that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024 while lawmakers quickly sealed his choice for new prime minister. Speaking to a working group created to draft constitutional changes, Putin cast his...
DA stops short of saying investigation into Penn State football hazing allegations is closed
While insisting criminal charges aren’t warranted at this point, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna didn’t completely close the door Thursday on his investigation into allegations of brutal hazing on Penn State’s football team. Cantorna gave that sign in a statement he released in response to a federal civil rights...
Ukraine opens probe of possible surveillance of ambassador
KYIV, Ukraine — Police in Ukraine are investigating whether the U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before the Trump administration recalled her from Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. The announcement came two days after Democratic lawmakers in the United States released documents and text messages that...
Trump boosts school prayer, helps faith groups
President Donald Trump took steps Thursday to give religious organizations easier access to federal programs and reaffirmed students’ rights to pray in public schools. Under orders from Trump, nine Cabinet departments proposed rules intended to remove “regulatory burdens” on religious organizations participating in federal programs by eliminating a requirement that...
Alabama man charged with abusing missing woman’s corpse
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A convicted sex offender has been charged in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama woman whose body was found in a shallow grave weeks after she texted a friend she was “in trouble.” The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office charged Fredrick Hampton, 50, on Thursday with abuse...
37 charged in Puerto Rico to Wisconsin drug smuggling case
MILWAUKEE — Federal prosecutors have charged 37 people accused of sending cocaine and other drugs from Puerto Rico to Wisconsin and elsewhere in the country using the U.S. Postal Service, authorities said Thursday. The United States Attorney’s Office in Eastern Wisconsin said the drugs were sold in the state, as...
AP sources: FBI to keep states in loop on election breaches
WASHINGTON — The FBI, in a change of policy, is committing to inform state officials if local election systems have been breached, federal officials told The Associated Press. In the past, the FBI would alert local governments about attacks on their electoral systems without automatically sharing that information with the...
FBI arrests 3 white supremacists ahead of pro-gun rally in Virginia
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — FBI agents on Thursday arrested a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist and two other men who are linked to a violent white supremacist group and were believed to be heading to a pro-gun rally next week in Virginia’s capital. The three men are members of The...
Group finds aircraft approval process safe, despite Boeing crashes
A government committee asked to review U.S. approval of new passenger planes after two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max has found that the system is safe and effective but could be improved. The committee differed sharply with legislators who are investigating Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, which...
Russia’s new PM a career bureaucrat with no political aims
MOSCOW — Mikhail Mishustin never had any political ambitions as a career bureaucrat and his name didn’t come up as a top candidate to become Russia’s next prime minister. But the 53-year-old Mishustin, the longtime chief of Russia’s tax service, was tapped for the post by President Vladimir Putin. The...
Nations of Iran crash victims seek compensation for families
LONDON — The governments of five countries that lost citizens when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner demanded Thursday that Tehran accept “full responsibility” and pay compensation to the victims’ families — though they had little to offer besides moral pressure to get Iran to comply. After a meeting in...
Police: Suspended student stabs 2 classmates at Texas school
ABILENE, Texas — A recently suspended Texas high school student stabbed two of his classmates Thursday morning before fleeing campus, officials said. Police arrested the student about 30 minutes after the 8 a.m. attack at Abilene High School, police spokesman Rick Tomlin told KTXS-TV. Medics took both victims to a...
Muslim millennial’s site dispels stereotypes for millions
Today she travels the world, attends a red-carpet movie premiere and sits on panels with astronauts, former presidents and feminist icons. But in the years after 9/11, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh was just a New Jersey teenager, writing a blog from her bedroom. She used the blog to connect with other young...
7 killed, 14 tortured in Panama exorcism terror rituals
PANAMA CITY — Prosecutors in Panama said Thursday they have found the corpses of six children and one adult in a clandestine burial pit where a religious sect was found torturing indigenous people in exorcism rituals. Prosecutors said the dead minors found in the pit ranged in age from one...
Prince Harry takes on 1st duties since royal crisis talksVideo
LONDON — Prince Harry went back to work Thursday, mixing with children playing rugby and offering no hint of the days of turmoil that followed his recent announcement that he wished to step back from royal duties and become financially independent. It was a fairly standard event for Harry, who...
Chief justice, senators sworn in for Trump impeachmentVideo
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in Thursday to preside over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, then immediately administered the oath to the full Senate to ensure “impartial justice” as jurors for only the third such proceeding in American. history. Roberts made the short trip across the street...
Watchdog: White House violated law in freezing Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment, a federal watchdog agency said Thursday. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget violated the law in holding...
