IS militants, families surrender after offensive in Syria
BAGHOUZ, Syria — U.S.-backed Syrian fighters said Thursday a “large number” of Islamic State militants and their families are surrendering a day after intense fighting in the last speck of land the extremists still hold in eastern Syria. At the edge of Baghouz, the village where the militants are still...
Man runs past firefighters to rescue dog from burning homeVideo
A man disregarded the shouts from firefighters and rushed into his burning home to rescue the family dog. Flames were shooting from the Pala, Calif., house as firefighters began spraying water from a safe distance. But resident José Guzman knew his dog was hiding inside and ran past the firefighters....
Court rules gun maker Remington can be sued over Newtown shooting
HARTFORD, Conn. — A divided Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled gun maker Remington can be sued over how it marketed the Bushmaster rifle used to kill 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Justices issued a 4-3 ruling that reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit and...
Deportation looms for convicted ‘Real Housewives’ husband
NEWARK, N.J. — The husband of one of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reality TV stars has been released from federal prison and is waiting to see if he’ll be deported back to Italy. An attorney for Joe Giudice says he’s been sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
Teenage climate activist nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Three Norwegian lawmakers have nominated Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who has become a prominent voice in campaigns against climate change, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Freddy Andre Oevstegaard and two other members of the Socialist Left Party said they believe “the massive movement Greta has set...
‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett pleads not guilty
CHICAGO — “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has pleaded not guilty to the charges accusing him of lying to police about being attacked in downtown Chicago a few weeks ago. The 36-year-old actor’s lawyer, Tina Glandian, entered the plea Thursday on Smollett’s behalf after Judge Steven Watkins was assigned to oversee...
8 indicted as Pennsylvania drug gang blamed for homicides
READING — Prosecutors have announced the federal indictment of eight alleged members of a violent drug organization blamed for as many as eight homicides in one Pennsylvania community. U.S. Attorney William McSwain says a drug gang called “Trinidad DTG” distributed methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in the Reading area. McSwain...
Pennsylvania drug gang blamed for homicides; 8 indicted
READING — Prosecutors have announced the federal indictment of eight alleged members of a violent drug organization blamed for as many as eight homicides in one Pennsylvania community. U.S. Attorney William McSwain says a drug gang called “Trinidad DTG” distributed methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in the Reading area. McSwain...
Court: Middle finger protected by the constitution
TAYLOR, Mich. — When it comes to the middle finger, police might need a thicker skin. A federal appeals court says a Michigan woman’s constitutional rights were violated when she was handed a speeding ticket after giving the finger to a suburban Detroit officer in 2017. The decision means a...
Robert Morris University to host open house for former Art Institute students
In a single week, students from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, who were locked out of their classrooms when the school abruptly closed, have found themselves being courted by the Community College of Allegheny County and Robert Morris University. A fixture in Pittsburgh higher education since 1921, the Art Institute...
Hate crimes unit investigates Ginsburg poster graffiti
NEW YORK — New York Police Department’s hate crimes unit is investigating after a poster of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was defaced with a swastika and an anti-Semitic insult. WNBC says a straphanger tweeted a photo of the defaced poster on a Brooklyn subway platform to the Metropolitan...
U.S. moves to lift remaining gray wolf protections
BILLINGS, Mont. — Gray wolves in the U.S. would be stripped of federal protection and subjected to hunting and trapping in more states under a proposal released Thursday that declares the predators recovered following a decades-long restoration effort. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to revoke the wolves’ endangered...
Charity used in fraudulent college donations, feds say
The mastermind of a wide-ranging college admissions scandal set up a charity that wove a deep web of deception and fraud to mask bribes and payoffs, funneling millions of dollars through the tax-exempt organization under the nose of U.S. officials, according to prosecutors and tax documents reviewed by The Associated...
GOP senators appear ready to block Trump border declaration
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate is set to deal President Donald Trump a rebuke on his declaration of a national emergency at the Mexican border, with the only remaining question how many GOP senators will join Democrats in defying him. Republicans are predicting that Thursday’s showdown vote will result in...
Colorado’s ‘bomb cyclone’ storm barrels toward Midwest
LONGMONT, Colo. — National Guard troops were using specialized vehicles with tank-like treads to rescue stranded drivers in Colorado in the wake of a massive late-winter storm that was expected to unleash heavy rain and snow on the Midwest plains on Thursday. Wednesday’s blizzard caused widespread power outages, forced the...
U.S. immigration agents find ways around ‘sanctuary’ policies
PHOENIX — Two years after New Mexico’s largest county barred local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration authorities, its leaders learned that the policy was being subverted from within. Staff members at the Bernalillo County jail in Albuquerque were still granting immigration authorities access to its database and, in some...
A lingering question in the college admissions scandal: Why?
LOS ANGELES — A college admissions scandal caught actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, a fashion designer, lawyers, CEOs and other wealthy families in an elaborate scheme to pay top dollar to ensure their kids got into elite universities. William “Rick” Singer, who ran a for-profit college admissions company in...
Gambino crime family boss Frank Cali shot, killed
NEW YORK — Gambino crime family boss Frank (Franky Boy) Cali was gunned down and run over Wednesday night in a gory hit in front of his Staten Island home, police sources said. Cali, 53, was shot six times in the chest, and run over by a blue pickup truck...
Malaysia backtracks on plan to abolish death penalty
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s government backtracked Wednesday on abolishing capital punishment, saying instead that the death penalty would no longer be mandatory for selected offenses. Rights groups slammed the reversal and urged it to reconsider. Deputy Law Minister Hanipa Maidin made the announcement in parliament but didn’t give any...
Lynn Hoak, wife of Steelers coach, devoted life to family
While her husband was on the road as the running backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lynn Hoak dedicated herself to her children. “She was always centered around the house and the family,” said her daughter Kelly Shuster. She would ferry them to dance lessons, skating lessons and other activities,...
Beto O’Rourke says, ‘I’m running,’ heads to Iowa
Beto O’Rourke starts a three-day trip to Iowa on Thursday, taking a first — and very high profile ◊ step into the crowded Democratic field for president, four months after narrowly losing a Texas Senate race that propelled him to national stardom. By Saturday night, the three-term congressman from El...
7 file papers to run for 2 Pennsylvania Superior Court seats
HARRISBURG — Four Democrats and three Republicans have filed petitions to get on primary ballots for a seat on Pennsylvania’s mid-level appellate court that handles civil and criminal appeals from county courts. Filings were due Tuesday for the May 21 primary for two open Superior Court seats. Democrats filing include...
Guard won’t be charged in shooting outside LA synagogue
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles prosecutors say they won’t charge a synagogue security guard accused of shooting a person who was recording video of the building. The Los Angeles Times reports the announcement Thursday came as the woman who was shot filed a civil lawsuit against the guard and his...
Judge won’t let unvaccinated children back in New York school
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A federal judge, citing an “unprecedented measles outbreak” in suburban Rockland County, New York, has denied a request to let 44 unvaccinated children return to school. Parents of students in the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge have sued the county health department. They say...
Streets weren’t so mean to Howard Schultz’s Brooklyn peers
BROOKLYN — When Howard Schultz tells people why he should be president of the United States, the billionaire often tells a story of a poor kid who escaped from the chaos and cacophony of a Brooklyn housing project to become the architect of a global coffee behemoth. The man who...
