Judges: Michigan must redraw congressional, legislative maps
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan must redraw dozens of congressional and legislative districts for the 2020 election because Republicans configured them to unconstitutionally guarantee their political dominance and dilute the power of Democratic voters, federal judges ruled Thursday. In a 3-0 ruling — which will be appealed — the panel gave...
Joe Biden spotted on Amtrak train after announcing presidential run
“Amtrak Joe” lived up to his old nickname Thursday when he took a modest train ride after becoming a 2020 candidate. Former Vice President Joe Biden was photographed riding an Amtrak train to New York just hours after his campaign announced his candidacy for president via an online video. BBC...
Massachusetts judge charged with helping man evade ICEVideo
BOSTON — A Massachusetts judge was indicted Thursday on charges that she helped a man who was living in the United States illegally evade an immigration agent by sneaking out the back door of a courthouse. District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and onetime court officer Wesley MacGregor were...
PHEAA will tap surplus for student grants
Pennsylvania college students could receive up to $4,123 in need-based grants next year under the new grant formula the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) adopted Thursday. The agency that oversees state grant aid to more than 132,000 Pennsylvania students approved maintaining the grant cap at this year’s level for...
3 sought in $450K colonoscopy instruments theft at Pennsylvania hospital
Police say two men and a woman broke into a Philadelphia-area hospital and stole nearly a half-million dollars’ worth of colonoscopy instruments. Authorities say the trio had access to a secured area of Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, which is about 8 miles west of Philadelphia. The people walked out...
Mother, son killed in tornado in northern Louisiana
A tornado killed two people as it tore through the northern Louisiana city of Ruston early Thursday, sending trees into houses, ripping roofs off buildings and causing a local public university to cancel classes, officials said. A mother and son in Lincoln Parish, which Ruston lies in, were killed when...
Veteran held on attempted murder counts after car hits crowd in California
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — A former Army sharpshooter with a history of post-traumatic stress disorder plowed his car at high speed into a group of pedestrians in a Silicon Valley suburb, injuring eight people, and then told authorities that he intentionally hit them, police said. Isaiah Joel Peoples, 34, gave no...
Food poisoning remains persistent problem, U.S. report finds
NEW YORK — As recent illnesses tied to raw turkey , ground beef , cut melon and romaine lettuce suggest, U.S. food poisoning cases don’t appear to be going away anytime soon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report Thursday that the frequency of several types...
George Conway launches ‘Deranged Donald’ nickname in Trump Twitter rant
The husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Thursday coined a new nickname for President Trump: Deranged Donald. George Conway started using the hashtag #DerangedDonald and it didn’t take long to start trending nationally on Twitter. “Deranged Donald is at back at it again. Deranged Donald can do things...
Remains of household cat to be launched into orbit around Earth
It will be a send-off like no other. The remains of a household cat named Pikachu, who died in January after a fight with diabetes, are slated to be launched into orbit around the Earth. Pikachu’s owner Steve Munt started a GoFundMe page to cover the costs of the space...
North Korea issued $2 million bill for comatose Otto Warmbier’s careVideo
BEIJING – North Korea issued a $2 million bill for the hospital care of comatose American Otto Warmbier, insisting that a U.S. official sign a pledge to pay it before being allowed to fly the University of Virginia student from Pyongyang in 2017. The presentation of the invoice – not...
Auditor general: Billions in transportation funding diverted to Pennsylvania state police
Pennsylvanians pay the nation’s highest gas tax — 57.6 cents per gallon — and that money is supposed to help pay for road projects and general infrastructure improvement. An audit of the past six years, however, shows that more than $4 billion in PennDOT revenues from the state’s Motor License...
Mexico is now the largest U.S. trading partner
MEXICO CITY — President Donald Trump has threatened to rip up NAFTA. To shut the border with Mexico. To impose tariffs on the thriving car industry in Mexico. “They’re killing us on jobs and trade,” he said as a candidate. And yet, two years into his presidency, a strange thing...
South Carolina may use firing squad as death penalty workaround
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation that would add firing squads to the state’s existing execution methods. The House Criminal Laws subcommittee on Thursday approved a Senate proposal that also changes South Carolina’s default execution method to the electric chair. Lawmakers acted after prison officials told them...
5 things we don’t know about Boeing 737 Max crisis
Boeing’s first earnings report since two deadly crashes of its 737 Max jets showed that a worldwide grounding of the company’s flagship jet is taking a toll on its business. But it left unanswered many key questions about the crisis. The aerospace giant said Wednesday that its first-quarter earnings fell...
Penn State ex-president Graham Spanier asks court to overturn conviction
SCRANTON — Former Penn State President Graham Spanier is asking a federal magistrate judge to overturn his conviction, less than a week before he is scheduled to start serving two months in jail. Spanier was in a Scranton, Pennsylvania, courthouse Thursday as his lawyers argued it violated the U.S. Constitution...
Ammonia leak sends 37 to hospitals in Chicago suburb
BEACH PARK, Ill. — Plumes of a toxic gas that leaked in a northern Chicago suburb Thursday morning sent at least 37 people to hospitals and prompted an order for residents to stay locked inside their homes with windows shut tight, officials said. Three law enforcement officers who responded to...
Bloodsucking ‘kissing bugs’ are on the march
It’s like “Sleeping Beauty” with a dose of nightmare fuel: A flat-bodied, six-legged insect moves toward you as you slumber, bound for the blood that surges around your eyes and lips. It crawls on your face. And the poop it leaves behind can be deadly. The triatomine bug, also known...
Canada accuses Facebook of breaking local privacy law, threatens lawsuit
Canadian regulators on Thursday found that Facebook committed “serious” breaches of local laws over its mishandling of users’ personal information, announcing they would take the company to court to force it to change its privacy practices. The new legal threat from Canada comes after federal authorities and regulators in British...
Demonstrator glues her breasts to road in climate protest
For the past 10 days, climate change protesters have been causing havoc in central London. Protesters — organized as the group Extinction Rebellion — have been distrupting traffic and bus routes by blocking bridges and major intersections in non-violent gatherings. On Thursday, the Associated Press reports the group targeted London’s...
A look back at past NRA conventions
The National Rifle Association is gathering for its 148th annual meeting, which begins Thursday in Indianapolis. What started in 1871 as a group devoted to hunting, shooting sports and gun safety has evolved into one of the most powerful forces in American politics. Up until the late 1960s and 1970s,...
Planet Fitness offering free gym to teens during summer
If your Planet Fitness gym seems a little more crowded this summer, this might be why. The fitness chain announced that it is offering teens ages 15-18 free access to its clubs during the summer. The Teen Summer Challenge kicks off May 15 and goes until Sept. 1. During that...
Democratic candidates: Guide to 20 potential presidents
With the entrance of former Vice President Joe Biden into the 2020 Democratic presidential contest on Thursday, the field is largely set, with all the big names included. The sprawling Democratic field features candidates ranging from 37 to 77 years old; liberals and moderates; senators, governors and mayors; and an...
Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro says clergy abuse shadows Catholics’ Notre Dame response
Pennsylvania Attorney General Joshua Shapiro was impressed with the response of the Catholic Church and Catholics around the world when Notre Dame went up in flames last week in Paris. But he’s disappointed in what he sees as the church’s lackluster response to protecting clergy abuse victims. In an op-ed...
Gunmen kill polio vaccine worker, wound another in Pakistan
QUETTA, Pakistan — Pakistani police say gunmen riding on motorcycles opened fire on female polio vaccination workers in the southwestern town of Chaman, killing one and wounding the other. Local police official Sami Agha says the assailants fled after Thursday’s attack, which was the third this week. In separate attacks...
