6 killed in New Jersey gunbattle, including police officerVideo
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Six people, including a police officer and three bystanders, were killed in a furious gun battle Tuesday that filled the streets of Jersey City with the sound of heavy fire for hours, authorities said. The dead included the two gunmen, Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly...
Women seek access to strip clubs in constitutional battle
ORLANDO, Fla. — A lawsuit over women’s right to enter strip clubs unaccompanied by men is making Florida cities and counties worry about the future of their local civil-rights laws. An Orlando area strip club denied two Alabama women access because its policy required women to enter with men to...
Justices seem to favor insurers’ Obamacare claims for $12B
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to rule that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. Several justices indicated their agreement with arguments from the insurers that...
George Laurer, inventor of ubiquitous UPC, dies at 94
WENDELL, N.C. — George J. Laurer, whose invention of the Universal Product Code at IBM transformed retail and other industries around the world, has died. He was 94. A funeral was held on Monday for Laurer, who died Thursday at his home in Wendell, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh....
So, what’s next in the impeachment process?Video
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on two articles of impeachment by the end of the week, sending them to the House floor for a vote by Christmas. Next would come a Senate trial, likely in 2020. Here’s what to expect next in the impeachment process:...
Chile combs Antarctic for missing plane with 38 aboard
SANTIAGO, Chile — Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing Antarctic seas on Tuesday, hunting for a Chilean Air Force transport plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to a base on the frozen continent. Seven hours after contact was cut off, the Air Force declared the plane...
Chinese migrants found hiding in appliances at U.S. crossing
SAN DIEGO — Eleven Chinese migrants were discovered hiding in furniture and appliances inside a truck stopped by agents as it entered the U.S. from Mexico at a Southern California border crossing, federal officials said. At least one person was crammed inside a washing machine and another was curled up...
U.S. sanctions individuals suspected of human rights abusesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed economic sanctions on more than a dozen individuals suspected of human rights violations in six countries and banned two others from entering the United States, including a former Saudi official in Turkey for his alleged role in the murder of Saudi journalist...
Bill Cosby loses appeal of sexual assault conviction
Bill Cosby lost his bid to overturn his sexual assault conviction Tuesday, as an appeals court upheld the verdict in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. In its ruling, the Superior Court upheld the right of prosecutors to call other accusers to bolster their case — the same...
Exxon Mobil prevails in lawsuit over climate regulations
NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil won Tuesday in a closely watched lawsuit over the costs of climate change, with a judge saying there was no proof the energy giant duped investors about the toll that regulations could take on its business. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office didn’t prove...
U of Phoenix agrees to $50M settlement over false ad claims
The University of Phoenix and its parent company have agreed to pay $50 million in cash and cancel $141 million in student debt to settle allegations of deceptive advertisement brought by the Federal Trade Commission. The deal, announced Tuesday, settles a dispute over an ad campaign the for-profit college unrolled...
Brazil’s Bolsonaro calls activist Greta Thunberg a ‘brat’
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday called young Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg a “brat” after she expressed concern about the slayings of indigenous Brazilians in the Amazon. Bolsonaro questioned the coverage news media have given Thunberg, 16, who who on Sunday tweeted a link to...
Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to become 1st active-duty Purple Heart Base
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AP) — An Air Force base in Ohio plans to join the Purple Heart Trail community on Tuesday as the first active-duty Purple Heart Base. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base will have a public designation ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force...
‘They’ named Merriam-Webster word of the year
NEW YORK — A common but increasingly mighty and very busy little word, “they,” has an accolade all its own. The language mavens at Merriam-Webster have declared the personal pronoun their word of the year based on a 313% increase in look-ups on the company’s search site, Merriam-Webster.com, this year...
Pelosi announces agreement on North American trade pact
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced agreement on a modified North American trade pact, handing President Donald Trump a major Capitol Hill win on the same day that Democrats announced their impeachment charges against him. The California Democrat said the revamped U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is a significant improvement...
Suspect shoots 6 dead in Czech hospital, then kills self
PRAGUE — A man with an illegal gun shot six people dead and wounded three more in a hospital in the eastern Czech Republic Tuesday, the prime minister and officials said. The apparent suspect later shot himself dead as police approached his car. Prime Minister Andrej Babis told Czech public...
A free pass for Trump? GOP presses edge in key battlegrounds
WASHINGTON— A full year before Election Day 2020, Republicans quietly executed a “dry run” of President Donald Trump’s massive reelection machine. They activated tens of thousands of volunteers and tested phone bank capabilities and get-out-the-vote operations in every state in the nation. Before and after the sprawling exercise, GOP officials...
Teen runaway found ‘camping’ inside Bed, Bath & Beyond
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Employees at a Bed, Bath & Beyond in North Carolina discovered an uninvited sleepover guest hiding in the store when they opened up Monday morning. The Greenville employees called local police around 8:30 a.m. and officers responded to a “breaking and entering in progress,” according to The...
The epidemic — and consequences — of male loneliness
Loneliness kills. According to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, isolation and weak social connections “are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity.” Even when it’s not fatal, loneliness makes life a lot...
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Mitral valve repair with minimally invasive heart surgery
Dear Mayo Clinic: Is minimally invasive heart surgery to repair a mitral valve a safer option than open-heart surgery? Is it common for a surgeon to have to switch to an open-heart procedure after starting the surgery? Answer: Both minimally invasive heart surgery and traditional surgery that involves opening the...
Amid the holiday hustle and bustle, take time to care for yourself
This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but often it’s the most stressful. “The season to be merry is also the season for stress and anxiety,” says Jyl Glunt, a health and wellness specialist at the Excela Health Well-Being Center-Mind Body Health. “Shopping, decorating, parties,...
Health Happenings: Week of Dec. 9
Classes/programs • Childbirth and beyond weekender version, covering labor and birth options for pain control, cesarean birth, postpartum, the normal newborn and breathing/relaxation techniques, is planned 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Excela Square at Latrobe, 100 Excela Health Drive • Childbirth and Beyond, a two-week class meets from 6:30-9 p.m. Mondays...
Rick Gates seeks to avoid jail at sentencing for conspiracy
Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates asked a judge to spare him from prison, put him on probation and order him to do community service for his crimes of conspiracy and lying to federal investigators. In a court filing Monday, Gates said he has accepted responsibility “in every way possible.”...
Democrats roll out impeachment charges; Trump left ‘no choice’Video
WASHINGTON — House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, declaring he “betrayed the nation” with his actions toward Ukraine as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election. The specific charges aimed at removing...
Supreme Court leaves Kentucky’s ultrasound abortion law in place
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before abortions. The justices did not comment in refusing to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the law. Enforcement of the law had been on...