Month: August 2021

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A witness at the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial says the R&B star once compared himself to rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis. The witness testified Thursday that Kelly called himself a “genius” just like Lewis, who became notorious for marrying his 13-year-old cousin decades ago. The witness

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When deadly floods knocked out all communications but radio in rural Tennessee last weekend, emergency officials had a new tool at their disposal. Bobby Brown is director of Humphrey County’s 911 center, located in the hard-hit city of Waverly. He noted on Thursday that he was

MARINETTE, Wis. (AP) — A judge has sentenced an 84-year-old man to consecutive life sentences in connection with a 1976 double homicide. A jury convicted Raymand Vannieuwenhoven in July of killing David Schuldes and Ellen Matheys at a Marinette County park. WLUK-TV reported that Judge James Morrison handed down the sentence Thursday. He said life

By CALVIN WOODWARD, ELLEN KNICKMEYER and DAVID RISING Associated Press The terrorist attacks on the United States nearly 20 years ago brought profound change in America and the world.  The death and devastation stirred grief, rage and war. It also sparked solidarity, not only in the United States but among its allies — even some

By MARIAM FAM, DEEPTI HAJELA and LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Muslim Americans who grew up under the shadow of 9/11 have faced hostility and surveillance, mistrust and suspicion. In the 20 years since the terrorist attacks, they’ve also dealt with questions about their Muslim faith and doubts over their Americanness.

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer DALLAS (AP) — Ask anyone old enough to remember travel before Sept. 11, 2001, and you’re likely to get a gauzy recollection of what flying was like. There was security screening, but it wasn’t intrusive. There were no long checkpoint lines. Passengers and their families could walk right to

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 terror attacks. Yet an estimated 33,000 or more people successfully evacuated the stricken buildings. They navigated mountains of smoky stairs in the World Trade Center’s twin towers or streamed out of a flaming Pentagon. Some fled an otherworldly

By JOHN RABY Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A grassroots group is using the centennial of a deadly fight to organize West Virginia coal miners to urge Sen. Joe Manchin to support higher wages and better voting protections. Members of the Poor People’s Campaign invoked the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain after traveling by

By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Drummer Kenny Malone, an in-demand session player who played on hits by Dolly Parton, Dobie Gray and more, has died. He was 83. Malone’s friend Dave Pomeroy said he died after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He is credited on hundreds of records, including hits

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government says it is shutting down an embattled federal jail in New York City after a slew of problems that came to light following Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide there two years ago. The federal Bureau of Prisons said Thursday the Metropolitan

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A panel planning a permanent memorial at the Las Vegas site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history is focusing on stories about the more than 58 people killed and thousands left wounded and emotionally scarred, as well as on lessons learned. The 1

By MALLIKA SEN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Time’s Up CEO Tina Tchen has resigned in the wake of revelations that leaders of the sexual harassment victims’ advocacy group advised former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration after he was accused of misconduct. In a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday, Tchen said she’s

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in the state of Virginia have filed a lawsuit asking the courts to remove Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe from the ballot because he failed to sign his official declaration of candidacy form. The suit argues he should be disqualified from running because of the omission

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A school official in northern Nigeria says gunmen have released some of the more than 100 children who had been abducted back in May. The kidnapping victims from the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Niger state had included children as young as 5 years old. Other

By BETH HARRIS Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pop star JoJo Siwa will compete as part of the first same-sex pairing on “Dancing With the Stars” for the show’s upcoming 30th season. Olympic gymnastics champion Suni Lee also is joining the cast, the rest of which will be announced on Sept. 8. ABC says

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A strengthening Tropical Storm Nora is rolling toward a possible hurricane brush with Mexico’s Pacific Coast over the weekend and later a strike on the Baja California Peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm could bring dangerous flash floods and mudslides through the weekend. It’s likely to graze the

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Al Capone is infamous for having been a ruthless mob boss, but one of his granddaughters says Capone’s softer side will shine through when the family auctions some of his personal belongings in October. Items heading for the block include a diamond-encrusted pocket watch, family

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has ruled that Jussie Smollett’s attorneys cannot call as a witness the Chicago prosecutor whose office dropped initial charges accusing the actor of staging a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in 2019. Cook County Judge James Linn also said Thursday that Smollett’s attorneys cannot mention various lawsuits linked to his

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida postal clerk has pleaded guilty to stealing mail and passport applications as part of an identify theft scheme. Court records say 31-year-old Jasmine Wynne pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and six other charges in Tampa federal court. An indictment says Wynne conspired with others

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press Officials in Detroit are looking at making continued changes to city towing rules after several federal corruption probes. Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters Thursday that he’s asked the city’s police chief for a plan in two weeks to eliminate a decade-long practice of rotating towing duties to a list of

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The leader of Tigray forces in Ethiopia has expressed the commitment to a “negotiated end” to the nine-month war that has killed thousands and left nearly half a million people facing famine. And the United Nations secretary-general warns that “there is no military solution.” In a

BETHEL, Maine (AP) — A Maine museum will play host to a chunk of rock it said is the largest intact Mars rock on Earth. The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum said the specimen weighs 32 pounds and is about 10 inches at its longest point. The museum said the rock was the result of

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A school board in Virginia has agreed to pay $1.3 million in legal costs to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU spent six years representing a student who sued over the school board’s transgender bathroom ban. Gavin Grimm’s suit against the Gloucester County School Board

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Medical Board has opened an investigation following reports that inmates at a county jail were prescribed an anti-parasitic drug to combat COVID-19 even though it hasn’t been approved to treat the coronavirus. Board Director Amy Embry on Thursday declined to elaborate on the

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The night before he was indicted this week, a Long Island dentist suspected of exchanging painkillers for sexual favors was sending text messages suggesting he’d give a woman a Percocet prescription if she wanted to “hang out” and “party a bit,” federal prosecutors said Thursday.