Power outage in Venezuela leaves millions in dark
CARACAS, Venezuela — A massive blackout plunged Caracas and much of the nation into chaos Thursday, forcing the rush-hour closure of the capital’s metro and sending tens of thousands of people into the streets in what the authorities alleged was an act of “sabotage.” “This is part of a power...
Pope denounces ‘depraved’ antisemitism and urges dialogue
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis denounced the “depraved hatred” behind a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in parts of the world and said interfaith dialogue can help counter it. Francis met Friday with a delegation of the American Jewish Committee and praised their longstanding good relations. He lamented that their meeting...
Cleveland suburb to pay $1M to estate of man fatally shot by police
CLEVELAND — A city outside Cleveland has agreed to pay $1 million to the estate of an unarmed man fatally shot by a police officer after a vehicle chase in 2017. Cleveland.com reports an attorney for the estate of Roy Evans Jr. confirmed Thursday that Strongsville has agreed to settle...
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson is resigning
WASHINGTON — Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, once seen as a candidate to succeed Jim Mattis as defense secretary, said Friday she is resigning to become president of the University of Texas at El Paso. A former U.S. House Republican member from New Mexico and graduate of the U.S. Air...
Pa. Lottery machines spent most of the day down due to outage
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lottery officials say many machines around Pennsylvania had been offline for most of the day due to a service outage. Department of Revenue spokesman Jeffrey Johnson said the outage Friday was due to connectivity issues with Verizon’s cellular service at some terminals throughout the state. It only...
Billionaire diamond trader dies during penis enlargement operation
A billionaire diamond trader has died after complications during a medical procedure. The Toronto Sun reports that Israeli-Belgian dual citizen Ehud Arye Laniado, who founded Omega Diamonds, died at an upscale Paris hospital. “Farewell to a visionary businessman. It is with great sadness that we confirm that our founder Ehud...
A black man was picking up trash outside his home. Then police confronted him.
The Boulder, Colo., police department is conducting an internal investigation after video surfaced of an officer questioning a black man who was picking up garbage in front of his residence. The officer has been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is complete. On Friday morning, an officer initially approached...
Holocaust survivor says teens in swastika photo apologized
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The high school party took an ugly turn. Drink cups were used to form a crude swastika. Nazi salutes flashed. Cameras clicked. What appears to have been a woefully misguided attempt at humor turned into a national embarrassment for the Southern California city of Newport Beach,...
Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months in prison
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, much less than what was called for under sentencing guidelines. Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair as he deals with complications...
Sheriff: Hammer used to kill girlfriend, 2 children in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — A woman and two children bludgeoned to death with a hammer in a suburban New Orleans apartment were killed by the woman’s boyfriend, authorities said Thursday. Two other children remain hospitalized as a result of the attack Wednesday morning in Terrytown. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto identified...
Former Mt. Pleasant Sub ’n Pub owner kept upbeat attitude during cancer fight
Mary D. “Lou” Ross of Scottdale beat the odds in her 13-year battle against a rare cancer of the salivary glands, and did it with a smile on her face and positive attitude that spread to other patients undergoing treatment, according to her daughter. “She was called a miracle by...
House broadly condemns hate after anti-Semitism dispute
WASHINGTON — Divided in debate but mostly united in a final vote, the House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other bigotry Thursday, with Democrats trying to push past a dispute that has overwhelmed their agenda and exposed fault lines that could dog them through elections next year. The one-sided...
IRS millionaire audits decline
Here’s a little good news for millionaires worried about the ramifications of tax time as April 15 draws ever nearer: your chances of being audited have decreased significantly in recent years. Government records show the number of audits of America’s wealthiest taxpayers — those filing returns for $1 million or...
Protests erupt after Catholic school in Kansas declines to enroll a same-sex couple’s child
A Catholic school in Kansas refused to admit a same-sex couple’s kindergarten-aged child. Now, more than 1,000 people are protesting the decision and urging the school to change its mind. In a letter sent to the parents of students at St. Ann Catholic School in Prairie Village, the Rev. Craig...
Pa. man jailed for choking wife now charged with plotting her murder
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania man already serving time for assaulting and choking his wife faces new charges of plotting to kill her from prison. WHP-TV reports Dauphin County officials say Leroy Newton Vencak Jr. has been charged with solicitation to commit murder. A criminal complaint says Vencak solicited another person...
Gov. Wolf orders review of Glen Mills over abuse allegations
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered a review of complaints against the oldest reform school in the country as a result of a newspaper investigation detailed decades of alleged abuse and cover-ups at the campus. Lawmakers and children’s advocates on Wednesday called for the state to launch an...
Latrobe World War II veteran was ‘all about photography’
If Harry Frye wasn’t at a local fire or town council meeting, he was covering high school sports or taking candid photos basically everywhere he went. “It’s all about photography,” said Patrick Frye, 57, of West Chester, about his father. “He always had his camera in his hand and didn’t...
N.J. town calls for hefty fine, jail time for barking dog owners
SADDLE RIVER, N.J. — A New Jersey town is putting some bite in an ordinance that could result in hefty fines and even jail time for owners of barking dogs. The Saddle River council is amending a one-sentence noise rule by placing time restrictions that would prohibit dogs from barking,...
At least 16 diagnosed with mumps at Temple University
PHILADELPHIA — Health officials say at least 16 cases of mumps have been confirmed at Temple University, the most cases in the city since 2011. The Department of Public Health for Philadelphia said Thursday the effectiveness of the mumps vaccination tends to wane over time so it’s not necessarily a...
Monthly shots control HIV as well as pills in 2 big studies
SEATTLE — Monthly shots of HIV drugs worked as well as daily pills to control the virus that causes AIDS in two large international tests, researchers reported Thursday. If approved by regulators in the United States and Europe, the shots would be a new option for people with HIV and...
Cohen sues Trump Organization, wants it to pay nearly $2M in legal bills
President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming the Trump Organization broke a promise to pay his legal bills and owes at least $1.9 million to cover the cost of his defense. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York state court, claims the Trump Organization stopped...
Colorado man discloses details about killing wife, daughters
DENVER — A Colorado man strangled his pregnant wife in their bed before driving her body and their two daughters to a worksite where he smothered the girls with a blanket, according to records of an interview he gave police from prison. Christopher Watts made the statements during authorities’ prison...
Justice Department targeting scams against older people
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Thursday that it has charged more than 225 individuals over the past year in connection with fraud scams that victimize people age 60 and older. Attorney General William Barr and other law enforcement officials announced what they said was the department’s largest-ever nationwide crackdown...
Melania Trump recognizes women of courage around the world
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump is honoring women from around the world with international courage awards. The first lady said at Thursday’s ceremony in Washington that courage is one of the qualities society needs most. She says courage is what propels the world forward. Mrs. Trump joined Secretary of State Mike...
Germany: Woman cries ‘murder’ for faster response to car blocking garage
German police say officers called to investigate a murder arrived to find that the woman who had reported it just wanted someone to remove a car blocking her garage. The woman, who wasn’t named, rang emergency dispatchers early Thursday and claimed that her husband had been killed, sending police and...
