NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. (AP) — Actor James Cromwell was one of two people escorted from an upstate New York business event for protesting an award given to an energy company. The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports (http://bit.ly/1SyXr1F ) that the 75-year-old actor whose work includes “Babe” and “L.A. Confidential” was removed from the Tuesday night … Continue reading
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities on Thursday were trying to learn why a couple left behind their infant daughter and carried out a shooting rampage that left 14 people dead and seriously wounded more than a dozen others in one of the nation’s worst mass shootings. The pair were killed in a shootout with … Continue reading
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The Islamic State can be defeated within “months” of a ceasefire between Syria’s government and moderate rebels, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday, urging the world to come together behind a peace strategy recently hashed out by the United States, Russia and other countries. Kerry said air power alone … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are pushing toward Senate approval of legislation demolishing President Barack Obama’s signature health care law and halting Planned Parenthood’s federal money, setting up a veto fight the GOP knows it will lose but thinks will delight conservative voters. The White House promised a veto Wednesday, saying the bill would “take … Continue reading
More alive than most of the year’s films put together, Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq” is urgent agitprop that pulsates with unalloyed rage for the “self-inflicted genocide” of South Chicago and explodes with full-hearted (and gloriously lewd) pleas for peace. It’s wildly uneven but it is wild. There’s plenty here to quibble with (the film’s title prompted … Continue reading
BALTIMORE (AP) — Seven months after Baltimore erupted in riots over the death of Freddie Gray, the first of six police officers charged in the case went on trial Wednesday, with a prosecutor saying the patrolman could have saved Gray’s life simply by pushing a button on his uniform to call for a medic. Attorneys … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared skeptical that state officials have the power to require health insurers to turn over reams of data revealing how much they pay for medical claims. Most of the justices seemed to agree during a one-hour argument that efforts by Vermont and other states to collect … Continue reading
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada hospital wants a judge to order new tests for a college student who has been on life support since doctors declared her brain-dead more than six months ago, a move her father opposes because he insists she’s alive and doesn’t want to pull the plug. The case returns to … Continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An African general who briefly served as the president of Guinea pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling tens of thousands of dollars in cash into the U.S. Sekouba Konate, 51, had been scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on charges of bulk cash smuggling and making … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Following protests online, CNN removed a description of Baltimore’s Freddie Gray as “the son of an illiterate heroin addict” in a story posted about the first police officer about to go on trial for Gray’s death last spring while in police custody. Several tweets suggested that the reference amounted to victim … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic brought several guns, ammunition and propane tanks that officials say he assembled around a car. For hours, he holed up inside the clinic, unleashing a fusillade that wounded nine others and sent shoppers scattering inside surrounding buildings during a … Continue reading
Trailblazing pop star Pink saw firsthand severely malnourished children during a recent visit to Haiti as a part of a UNICEF program to provide therapeutic food packets to children in need. The singer, whose given name is Alecia Moore, was named a UNICEF ambassador Monday to help promote a new effort to encourage physical activity … Continue reading
Designer babies or an end to intractable illnesses: A revolutionary technology is letting scientists learn to rewrite the genetic code, aiming to alter DNA in ways that, among other things, could erase disease-causing genes. How far should these experiments try to go _ fix only the sick, or make changes that future generations could inherit? … Continue reading
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis has dismissed a question about whether condoms can be condoned in the fight against AIDS by saying there are more important issues confronting the world, like malnutrition, environmental exploitation and the lack of safe drinking water. Francis was asked about the church’s opposition to condoms while returning … Continue reading
BALTIMORE (AP) — Jury selection for the first police officer to go to trial in Freddie Gray’ s death began Monday with a judge questioning potential jurors about their knowledge of the explosive case, which led to widespread protests and rioting and added fuel to the Black Lives Matter movement. Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 