62,000 pounds of raw meat recalled ahead of Memorial Day
Talk about bad timing. Aurora Packing Company is recalling more than 62,000 pounds of raw beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli, just days before one of the biggest grilling weekends of the year. The USDA reported that North Aurora, Ill.-based company’s recalled products were packaged April 19...
Census: Big cities in U.S. aren’t growing like they used to
ORLANDO, Fla. — Big cities in the U.S. aren’t growing like they used to. Most of the nation’s largest cities last year grew by a fraction of the numbers they did earlier in the decade, according to population and housing unit estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The...
Politics, killings stifle wolf recovery amid hefty price tag
RALEIGH, N.C. — Illegal killings and longstanding political resistance have undercut the return of two species of endangered wolves to the wild, frustrating government efforts that already cost more than $80 million but have failed to meet recovery targets. The number of red wolves roaming the forests of North Carolina...
Fugitive says he’ll surrender if people like his wanted poster on Facebook
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New...
Trump’s campaign centered on fighting Democrats, not policy
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump dropped the pretense of working with congressional Democrats on Wednesday and sent a clear message that his re-election campaign will be centered on condemning overzealous investigations rather than advancing a robust domestic policy agenda. Both sides may have feigned surprise at Trump’s angry outburst, in...
U.S. says Trump coal moves hasten but don’t increase emissions
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration’s decision to lift a moratorium on coal sales from public lands could hasten the release of more than 5 billion tons of greenhouse gases, but officials concluded Wednesday it would make little difference in overall U.S. climate emissions. That conclusion from the Bureau of...
Democratic pledges against big money come with an asterisk
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders wants to crack down on outside groups that do political spending, though one is allied with his presidential campaign. Elizabeth Warren has vowed no untraceable “dark money” will help her White House bid, despite being backed by an organization that doesn’t disclose some of its donors....
3 deaths in Missouri as tornado strikes state capital
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A tornado caused heavy damage in Missouri’s capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing at least three deaths and injuring nearly two dozen people as homes and businesses were ripped apart. The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive tornado...
This Month In Sports History: May
A look back at sports history in the month of May via the Associated Press archives....
Judge refuses to block Trump bank subpoenas
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York refused Wednesday to block congressional subpoenas seeking financial records from two banks that did business with President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos said in a ruling delivered from the bench that Trump and his company were unlikely to succeed...
Police: Texas teen kidnapped after meeting man on Snapchat, escaped at a KFC
FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man was in custody Wednesday after authorities say he kidnapped a teenage girl and sexually assaulted her for several days before she escaped, police in Azle said. The girl, who was left unattended in a car in a parking lot Tuesday, ran into...
3 more parents plead guilty in college admissions scam
BOSTON — A married couple and a California businessman are the latest parents to plead guilty in the sweeping college admissions scam. Gregory and Marcia Abbott and Peter Jan Sartorio entered their pleas Wednesday in Boston federal court. They are among 14 parents who have agreed to admit to allegations...
6 die in Indonesia riots; Widodo says he won’t allow unrest
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities have the volatile situation in the country’s capital under control after six people died Wednesday in riots by supporters of his losing rival in last month’s presidential election. The clashes began Tuesday night when supporters of former Gen. Prabowo Subianto tried...
U.K. leader Theresa May in peril as Brexit offer slammed
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May dug in Wednesday against a relentless push by rivals and former allies to remove her from office as her attempts to lead Britain out of the European Union appeared to be headed for a dead end. May resisted calls to rip up her...
‘American Taliban’ Lindh to be released after 17 years
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — John Walker Lindh, the young Californian who became known as the American Taliban after he was captured by U.S. forces in the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, is set to go free after nearly two decades in prison. But conditions imposed recently on Lindh’s release, slated...
U.S. lawmakers demand U.N. health agency change opioid guidance
Two U.S. lawmakers are calling on the World Health Organization to withdraw pain care guidelines that include what they say are false claims about the safety of prescription opioids. They say the guidelines could lead other countries toward the same kind of addiction and overdose crisis that has plagued the...
U.S. officials say foreign election hacking is inevitable
WASHINGTON — The hacking of U.S. election systems, including by foreign adversaries, is inevitable and the real question is how the country responds, Trump administration officials said Wednesday. The comments by representatives from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security underscored the challenges for federal and state governments in trying...
Putin out-prepared Trump in key meeting, Rex Tillerson told House panel
WASHINGTON — Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin out-prepared President Trump during a key meeting in Germany, putting the U.S. leader at a disadvantage during their first series of tête-à-têtes. The U.S. side expected the 2017 encounter...
Girl, 10, 6th known child to die after U.S. border detention
HOUSTON — U.S. authorities say a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died last year after being detained by border authorities in a previously unreported case. The death marks the sixth known case in the last year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that she died on...
North Carolina teacher charged with threatening to ‘shoot up’ her school
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — A North Carolina teacher has been charged with threatening to “shoot up” her school. A news release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office says Kristen Thompson was arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of communicating a threat of mass violence. The sheriff’s office says Thompson abruptly resigned...
U.S. officials: Plan may send up to 10,000 troops to Mideast
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Thursday will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and...
Michael Avenatti charged with stealing money from Stormy Daniels
Los Angeles lawyer Michael Avenatti was indicted Wednesday on charges of stealing from his former client Stormy Daniels by skimming money from her deal to write a memoir detailing her alleged sexual affair with Donald Trump. It was the third time in two months that federal prosecutors have charged the...
Gov. Wolf: Early stats point to drop in 2018 overdose deaths
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf says preliminary statistics are pointing to a decrease in overdose deaths in Pennsylvania last year, as his administration suggests the opioid crisis might be starting to wane in some parts of the state. Wolf spoke Wednesday as he participated in a training session on how...
New York puts Democrats a step closer to Trump tax returns
ALBANY — New York lawmakers gave final passage to legislation Wednesday that would allow President Trump’s state tax returns to be released to congressional committees that have, so far, been barred from getting the president’s federal filings. The Democrat-led Senate and Assembly both approved the measures Wednesday, sending them to...
Dinosaur found at Denver construction site could be rare torosaurus
A construction crew made a groundbreaking discovery when they found dinosaur fossils in Denver. A limb bone and several ribs were revealed during excavation near a retirement community in the Highlands Ranch neighborhood, reports Fox-31 Denver. “From what we’ve seen, we think it’s a horned dinosaur, something like triceratops,” chief...
