Trump administration considers sending more humanitarian aid for Venezuela
CUCUTA, Colombia — The day after military, police and civilian gangs loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro inflicted a brutal crackdown on Venezuelans trying to reach international shipments of food, medicine and other supplies in Colombia, U.S. officials appeared to be preparing to send more humanitarian aid to South America...
Trump extends China tariff deadline, cites progress in talks
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday he will extend a deadline to escalate tariffs on Chinese imports, citing “substantial progress” in weekend talks between the two countries. Trump tweeted that there had been “productive talks” on some of the difficult issues dividing the United States and China, adding that “I...
Tennessee police officer killed by hit-and-run driver
CHATTANOOGA — Tennessee officials say an officer who graduated from the police academy last month has been killed by a hit-and-run driver while checking on a hazard in a roadway. A statement from the Chattanooga Police Department says 38-year-old Nicholas Galinger was struck Saturday night while on a call with...
Trump books Lincoln Memorial for July 4th gala he’ll host
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’ll host a July Fourth celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. And though the event he’s calling “A Salute to America” is months away, he’s boasting it’ll be one of the city’s biggest Independence Day gatherings—ever. Trump tweeted Sunday: “HOLD THE DATE! We will be...
California man cleared after 40 years in prison gets $21M
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The city of Simi Valley, California, has reached a $21 million settlement with a man wrongly imprisoned for nearly 40 years in the killing of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old son. Craig Coley was released in 2017 after he was pardoned by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who...
Schiff vows lawsuit for Mueller report if it’s not released
WASHINGTON — Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday that House Democrats will subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before Congress if his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election is not made public. Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC News’ “This Week” that Democrats...
2 men ordered to trial in deaths of men discovered in Somerset County woods
SOMERSET, Pa. — Two men have been ordered to stand trial in the slayings of two western Pennsylvania men reported missing almost two years ago. A Somerset County district judge on Friday held 24-year-old Devon Wyrick of Columbus, Ohio, and 26-year-old Samson Washington, of Johnstown, for trial in county court...
Pope vows to end abuse cover-ups but victims disappointed
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis closed out his extraordinary summit on preventing clergy sex abuse by vowing Sunday to confront abusers with “the wrath of God” felt by the faithful, end the cover-ups by their superiors and prioritize the victims of this “brazen, aggressive and destructive evil.” But his failure...
Tornado death confirmed as violent storms smack the South
COLUMBUS, Miss. — Weekend storms raked parts of the Southeast, leaving deaths and injuries in their wake as a tornado smashed into a commercial district in a small Mississippi city and drenching rains fed a rising flood threat. A woman was killed when a tornado hit Columbus, Mississippi, and a...
Pompeo pledges continued pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro
WASHINGTON — The United States will continue to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro until he understands his days are “numbered,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday. Pompeo’s comments came the day after clashes between activists trying to deliver U.S-backed humanitarian aid into Venezuela and troops loyal to Maduro....
White House manages expectations for second Kim summit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is trying to manage expectations for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, predicting a “continuation of the progress” made last time. Trump tweeted Sunday that he was leaving early the next day for the meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, adding a tantalizing...
Unclaimed $1.5B Mega Millions jackpot mystery: Winner died? Ticket lost?
SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. — Nearly everyone in this small South Carolina town has a theory for the city’s billion-dollar mystery: Who won the $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot announced last October? Maybe the winner was so overwhelmed upon seeing the winning numbers that she or he died on the spot? Maybe...
UN: Last year saw highest number of Afghan civilian deaths
KABUL, Afghanistan — More civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year than in any of the previous nine years of the increasingly bloody conflict, according to a U.N. report released Sunday, which blamed the spike in deaths on increased suicide bombings by the Islamic State group and stepped up aerial...
Hanoi summit nightmare scenario: Bad deals and little change
HANOI, Vietnam — The nightmare scenario heading into the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un isn’t so much “fire and fury” and millions dead. Rather, some experts fear the meeting could result in an ill-considered deal that allows North Korea to get everything...
Congress mulls cap on what Medicare enrollees pay for drugs
WASHINGTON — With health care a top issue for American voters, Congress may actually be moving toward doing something this year to address the high cost of prescription drugs. President Trump, Democrats trying to retire him in 2020, and congressional incumbents of both parties all say they want action. Democrats...
Final weeks to see the Carnegie International at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh
The 57th Carnegie International , Carnegie Museum of Art’s signature exhibition comes to a close March 25. Find 'museum joy' at Carnegie Museum of Art's 57th Carnegie International in #Pittsburgh. WQED Pittsburgh (@wqed) January 28, 2019 Over the next four weeks, there will be artist talks, creative drawing sessions...
Priest speaks publicly about how McCarrick allegedly ruined his life
Less than a week after Theodore McCarrick became the first cardinal ever defrocked, a New Jersey priest has for the first time agreed to be interviewed about his accusations that McCarrick sexually abused him in the 1990s and the effect the alleged abuse has had on his life and career....
Cyber charter school costs are under the microscope
Tiffany Nix, superintendent of Leechburg Area schools, watched in frustration for years as hundreds of thousands of dollars went out the doors of her small, cash-strapped district with families who enrolled their children in cyber charter schools. “We were paying $13,000 to $24,000 a year for each of them. It...
Sheriff: No likely survivors in cargo plane crash near Houston
HOUSTON — A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner heading to Houston with three people aboard disintegrated after crashing Saturday into a bay east of the city, according to a Texas sheriff. Witnesses told emergency personnel that the twin-engine plane “went in nose first,” leaving a debris field three-quarters of a mile...
Mueller: Manafort ‘brazenly violated the law’ for years
WASHINGTON — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort committed crimes that cut to “the heart of the criminal justice system” and over the years deceived everyone from bookkeepers and banks to federal prosecutors and “members of the executive branch of the United States government,” according to a sentencing memo filed...
Biden’s 2020 opening? Dem field missing foreign policy hand
WASHINGTON — In town halls, television interviews and social media posts, Democratic presidential candidates are touting their support for “Medicare-for-all,” higher taxes on the wealthy and a war on climate change. But foreign policy, one of the chief responsibilities of a president, is largely taking a back seat on the...
Iceland to keep hunting up to 2,130 whales over 5 years
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland’s whaling industry will be allowed to keep hunting whales for at least another five years, killing up to 2,130 baleen whales under a new quota issued by the government. The five-year whaling policy was up for renewal when Fisheries Minister Kristjan Juliusson announced this week an...
Sen. Feinstein debates children over climate change
SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and a group of San Francisco Bay Area students squared off over climate change in a sometimes tense exchange captured on video and widely shared on social media. The 15-minute video of the impromptu Friday meeting captures the students and Feinstein debating the...
R. Kelly ordered jailed on $1M bond at Chicago hearing
CHICAGO — R. Kelly was ordered jailed on $1 million bond Saturday at his first court hearing since the R&B star was charged with sexually abusing four people, including three minors, in a case that seemed likely to produce another #MeToo trial involving a celebrity. The 52-year-old Grammy winner turned...
Pentagon chief getting firsthand look at US-Mexico border
EL PASO, Texas — Top defense officials toured sections of the U.S.-Mexico border Saturday to see how the military could reinforce efforts to block drug smugging and other illegal activity, as the Pentagon weighs diverting billions of dollars for President Donald Trump’s border wall. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, accompanied...
