Daycare owner arrested after 26 kids found behind false wall
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado woman accused of hiding 26 children behind a false wall at her daycare center was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor child abuse, police said Thursday. Carla Faith, 58, was arrested Monday in Colorado Springs on suspicion of two counts of reckless child abuse without...
Photo of gorilla with ‘cool birthmark’ shows hand that looks remarkably human
Since elementary school, we’ve learned that gorillas are one of humankind’s closest relatives. A photo released in August of a western lowland gorilla at Zoo Atlanta is going viral this week. Captured in photo is the hand of 6-year-old Anaka, which reminds one of how close the resemblance between humans...
Powerful storm pounds Southern California with rain, snowVideo
LOS ANGELES — A cold and blustery winter storm unleashed downpours and extensive snowfall on Southern California, triggering tornado warnings and snarling post-Christmas travel on major routes Thursday. Snow shut down vital Interstate 5 in Tejon Pass through the mountains north of Los Angeles and stopped traffic on Interstate 15...
3 Alabama high school students killed in Christmas night crash
Three Alabama high school students were killed, and two others injured in a horrific crash on Christmas night. The dead were all cheerleaders at Geneva High School, said Geneva County Coroner Donny Adkinson. The crash happened when their car ran off into a wooded area. The tragedy was first reported...
Ohio dad faces felony charges in 2-year-old girl’s shooting death
NEWARK, Ohio — An Ohio man has been indicted on involuntary manslaughter and other charges after his 2-year-old daughter was fatally shot at home. In a 911 call about the Dec. 14 shooting, the girl’s mother said Noelle Massuros was accidentally shot by her 6-year-old brother, who had found a...
Police release teen suspect in Barnard student’s killing
NEW YORK — A 14-year-old boy suspected of fatally stabbing a Barnard College freshman was released from police custody on Thursday, mere hours after New York City police said he had been located and taken into custody following a two-week manhunt. Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison tweeted that finding the...
Health officials warn of possible measles exposure at 3 airports after infected traveler’s holiday flights
A person who traveled through multiple U.S. airports during the holidays was infected with measles, officials said. Health officials have warned travelers that an unidentified flier, who contracted measles in Europe in late November or early December, had flown on United Airlines from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas,...
Police locate teen suspected in killing of Barnard freshman
NEW YORK — A 14-year-old boy suspected of fatally stabbing a Barnard College freshman in a park near the school’s New York City campus has been found following a two-week manhunt, police said Thursday. Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison tweeted that police “have located this individual” but gave no other...
Redwood tree falls, kills hiker in California park
MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT PARK, Calif. — A huge redwood tree fell and killed a man visiting Muir Woods National Monument Park in California on Christmas Eve, authorities said Thursday. Subhradeep Dutta, 28, of Edina, Minn., died while walking on a marked dirt trail with two other people in the...
Prosecutor: Boston-area mom found dead with kids may have killed herself
BOSTON — Authorities believe a mother killed herself after her two young children fell from the roof of a Boston parking garage on Christmas Day and died. Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said Thursday the woman, whom she did not identify, was 40 years old, and her children were 15...
Florida waitress receives $2,000 tip on Christmas Eve
A Florida waitress who had just depleted her bank account to make a car repair received a $2,000 tip on Christmas Eve from regulars with whom she had shared her financial woes. Lynette Baio said the couple left her a check with the eye-popping amount Tuesday. Baio has worked at...
Colorado daycare owner arrested after 26 kids found behind false wall
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado woman accused of hiding 26 children behind a false wall at her daycare center was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor child abuse, police said Thursday. Carla Faith, 58, was arrested Monday in Colorado Springs on suspicion of two counts of reckless child abuse without...
Western Pa. received plenty of rain in 2019, but a record is unlikely
This year may have been one of the wettest in Pennsylvania history, but it’s got a few more inches to go if it wants to top the list. As of Friday , the Pittsburgh area recorded 51.64 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Normal average annual precipitation...
Tenn. bill would force students to compete as their biological sex at birth
A state legislator has introduced a bill in Tennessee that would require state-funded elementary and secondary school student-athletes to compete as the gender stated on their original birth certificate. HB 1572 states that any school found violating the law would be “immediately ineligible to continue to receive public funds of...
Pennsylvania dioceses offer $84M to 564 clergy abuse victims
Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse, a tally that’s sure to grow substantially in the new year as compensation fund administrators work through a backlog of claims, according to an Associated Press review. Seven of the state’s eight dioceses launched victim...
Trump warns of ‘carnage’ in rebel stronghold in SyriaVideo
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is speaking out against the “carnage” involving thousands of civilians in a rebel stronghold in Syria. In a tweet Thursday, Trump wrote: “Russia, Syria, and Iran are killing, or on their way to killing, thousands of innocent civilians in Idlib Province. Don’t do...
Spanish police try to find cause for U.K. family drownings
MADRID — Autopsy results show the three members of British family who lost their lives in a swimming pool in southern Spain on Christmas eve died by drowning, police said Thursday. Investigators were now trying to determine why they drowned, Civil Guard union spokesman officer Paco González said. Leading Spanish...
W.Va. man arrested after Christmas Day chase with baby in car
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A West Virginia man who led police on a Christmas Day chase with a baby in his car has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday. Harrison County Sheriff Robert Matheny told The Exponent Telegram the pursuit started in Upshur County after the suspect “fired a shotgun and fled...
Alabama police deaths rise; 5 of 6 killed with stolen guns
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Lowndes County Sheriff John “Big John” Williams was shot and killed at a gas station. Huntsville police Officer Billy Fred Clardy III was killed as officers tried to intercept a suspected drug delivery. In all, six Alabama law enforcement officers were shot and killed in 2019, the...
You may have to give more personal data to get personal loan
Would you feel comfortable disclosing your bank account information on a personal loan application? What about your work history? Your college major? That’s what it could take to borrow money from some loan companies that consider alternative data — which can be anything that isn’t in your credit report —...
Election officials learn military mindset ahead of 2020 vote
SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Inside a hotel ballroom near the nation’s capital, a U.S. Army officer with battlefield experience told 120 state and local election officials that they may have more in common with the military strategists than they might think. These government officials are on the front lines of a...
Thousands in Asia marvel at ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — People along a swath of southern Asia gazed at the sky in marvel on Thursday at a “ring of fire” solar eclipse. The so-called annular eclipse, in which a thin outer ring of the sun is still visible, could be seen along a path stretching from...
N. Carolina couple call 911 on vacuum thought to be intruder
HIGH POINT, N.C. — ‘Twas the night of Christmas at a North Carolina house, no creature should have been stirring, not even a mouse. But a Forsyth County couple awoke with a fright, as something was moving about their house in the night. They dashed to their closet and hid...
Police: Man arrested days after fatal stabbing in TennesseeVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Law enforcement officials arrested man charged with criminal homicide Wednesday, concluding a dayslong search after a fatal stabbing outside a Tennessee bar. Michael Mosley, 23, was captured in Cheatham County, the Nashville Metro Police announced. Mosley is accused in the Saturday attack at a Midtown Nashville bar...
Woman, 2 kids die after being found on sidewalk near Boston garage
BOSTON — A woman and two young children have died after being found unconscious on a sidewalk near a Boston parking garage on Christmas Day. “Today is a tragedy,” said Boston Police Commissioner William Gross. The identities of the victims, as well as the woman’s relationship to the children, who...