Move to bar rainbow flags outside U.S. embassies was ‘right decision,’ Pence saysVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence on Monday defended the Trump administration’s barring of rainbow flags from being flown on flagpoles outside U.S. embassies during LGBT Pride Month, calling it “the right decision.” Pence made the remarks in an interview with NBC News, which first reported on the move last...
Photos of travelers taken in data breach, Customs and Border Protection saysVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Monday that photos of travelers had been compromised as part of a “malicious cyberattack,” raising concerns over how federal officials’ expanding surveillance efforts could imperil Americans’ privacy. Customs officials said in a statement Monday that the images, which included photos of...
John Dean calls Mueller report ‘road map’ for Trump investigationVideo
WASHINGTON — John Dean, a star witness during Watergate who helped bring down the Nixon presidency, testified Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller has provided Congress with a “road map” for investigating President Trump. He told the House Judiciary Committee he saw parallels between Mueller’s findings and those of congressional...
Two Florida deputies wounded in gunfight that began after man shot at an Amazon AlexaVideo
Two Florida deputies were injured in a shootout Saturday morning, which began with a girl’s call for help. Her father, she said, had fired a gun at her mother’s Amazon Alexa smart speaker. Members of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office responded to the home after midnight and encountered 62-year-old Terrance...
Report: Almost all U.S. coal production consumed for electric power
Almost all U.S. coal production is consumed for electric power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Monday. Nearly all of the coal consumed in the United States is produced domestically, and most is consumed by the electric power sector to generate electricity, EIA said. In 2018, of the more...
Helicopter crashes on roof of Manhattan skyscraper; pilot killedVideo
NEW YORK — A helicopter crashed on the roof of a rain-shrouded midtown Manhattan skyscraper Monday, killing the pilot and briefly triggering memories of 9/11, after an erratic trip across some of the nation’s most restricted airspace. Authorities said they did not suspect terrorism. The crash near Times Square and...
Grandmother of dad who killed 5 kids asks to spare his life
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The grandmother of a South Carolina man facing a possible death sentence for killing his five children is asking a jury to spare his life. She says the family has already been through too much. Roberta Thornsberry testified Monday that along with losing her five great-grandchildren when...
Google’s search tool falsely called Mueller report ‘fiction’
People who searched on Google for the Mueller report have been told the document is “fiction,” a baffling falsehood that highlights the fallibility and threat of misinformation from the world’s most influential search engine. Searches for “Mueller Report,” which details the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian...
Mother charged with putting newborn in garbage bag in wooded area pleads not guilty
CHARDON, Ohio — A woman who authorities say put her newborn baby boy in a garbage bag and left him in a wooded area in 1993 has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder. Forty-nine-year-old Gail Eastwood-Ritchey pleaded not guilty Monday in Geauga County to aggravated murder and murder...
Largely unregulated, facial-recognition technology comes to airport gates
NEW YORK — You won’t need to pull out your ticket to board the flight to Cancun at JetBlue’s Gate 18 at John F. Kennedy Airport. Put away your passport, too. All this convenience costs is your face. You get only one of those, so I hope it’s worth it....
Cleveland area rocked by 4.0-magnitude earthquake
Residents in the Cleveland metro area got a jolt on Monday morning. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was registered at 10:55 a.m., centered in Lake Erie, just off the shore of Eastlake, Ohio. USGS The USGS received hundreds of reports from the surrounding area, and as...
Wildfire prompts evacuation at California Six Flags park
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A fast-moving brush fire erupted near a huge amusement and water park in Southern California on Sunday, sending hundreds of visitors to the exit to escape clouds of smoke and ash before fire officials asked them to stay put while they worked to contain the blaze....
Seagull photobombs, steals woman’s lobster roll
Alicia Jessop knew Friday was going to be a memorable day, but she didn’t realize it would be one she’d never forget. The 34-year-old Pepperdine University professor planned to finally visit New England, hitting some of the last seven states she’d never been to, and try her first-ever lobster roll....
Canada to ban single-use plastics
TORONTO — Canada will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday. Trudeau said the specific items to be banned will be determined based on a science-based review, but the government is considering items such as water bottles, plastic bags and straws. “As early as...
11-year-old Missouri girl dies in bulldozer accident
LABADIE, Mo. — An 11-year-old Missouri girl is dead after an accident involving a bulldozer. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Emma Proemsey of Labadie died Saturday. The child was on a utility vehicle that came up behind the bulldozer. The patrol says the bulldozer driver, 65-year-old Larry Proemsey, had...
Pennsylvania ranked as 8th most ‘fun’ state
Who isn’t up for a bit of fun? But what is fun? We all define fun differently, and that’s the point behind a new survey that ranks our great 50 states in order of their fun factor. WalletHub has crunched a lot of numbers — attractions, restaurants, golf courses, beaches,...
Amid criticism, Trump defends Mexico deal avoiding tariffs
STERLING, Va. — Stung by criticism that his deal to avert threatened Mexican tariffs mostly ramps up existing efforts, President Donald Trump is insisting there’s more to it than meets the eye. In a pair of tweets Monday morning, Trump claimed that Mexico had agreed to more than what was...
Where are they now? Key players in O.J. Simpson murder trial
LOS ANGELES — The June 12, 1994, killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman brought the “Trial of the Century” that saw O.J. Simpson acquitted of the murders. From Johnnie to Kato to Ito, the trial brought together a fascinating cast of charters. Here’s a look at...
25 years after murders, O.J. Simpson says ‘life is fine’
LOS ANGELES — After 25 years living under the shadow of one of the nation’s most notorious murder cases, O.J. Simpson says his life has entered a phase he calls the “no negative zone.” In a telephone Interview, Simpson told The Associated Press he is healthy and happy living in...
Body of Texas police Chief Chris Reed found in Houston Ship ChannelVideo
HOUSTON — Authorities say they’ve recovered the body of a Texas police chief who fell out of a boat into Galveston Bay Friday. The Coast Guard says a search crew pulled Kemah Police Chief Chris Reed’s body from the water of the Houston Ship Channel Sunday morning, ending a 40-hour...
Massive extradition bill protest fills Hong Kong streets
HONG KONG — Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Hong Kong on Sunday to voice their opposition to legislation that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China where they could face politically charged trials. The massive demonstration took place three days before the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s government...
Boyfriend charged in slaying of woman in Poconos
EAST STROUDSBURG — Authorities say a man fleeing a jail sentence in Virginia and arrested in New York has been charged in the slaying of a woman whose body was dumped near a stream in eastern Pennsylvania’s Pocono mountains. Authorities say 43-year-old Gerald Neal was apprehended a week ago in...
Southern Baptists are supposed to talk about sexual abuse, but right now they’re discussing whether one woman can preachVideo
Houston-based Bible teacher Beth Moore, one of the most widely recognized evangelical women in America, has highlighted the issue of sexual abuse from her stage for years. With her thick Southern drawl, she has told audiences how she was abused as a child, often sliding her personal story into her...
1 killed, 5 injured when crane topples on Dallas apartmentsVideo
DALLAS —A construction crane buffeted by high winds during a storm toppled on a Dallas apartment building Sunday, killing one woman in the building and injuring five other people, two of them critically, a fire official said. Crews searching the Elan City Lights building found the body of a woman...
Burger King condemns worker who cleaned table with mopVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Burger King is apologizing after a Florida employee was caught on video using a floor mop to clean the tops of tables. The video shows an employee scrubbing a table with a mop and then back down to the floor. The fast food chain released a statement...
