TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The latest on an earthquake along the Iran-Iraq border (all times local): 6:30 a.m. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says the death toll in the powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake along the borders of Iran and Iraq has risen above 140. IRNA also said over 860 people were injured in the quake that … Continue reading
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fats Domino, the amiable rock ‘n’ roll pioneer whose steady, pounding piano and easy baritone helped change popular music even as it honored the grand, good-humored tradition of the Crescent City, has died. He was 89. Mark Bone, chief investigator with the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, coroner’s office, said Domino died Tuesday. … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — Roy Dotrice, a veteran British actor, died at his London home on Monday. He was 94. Dotrice was known for his role as Leopold Mozart in the Oscar-winning film “Amadeus” and his many theater and TV roles. He won many accolades throughout his lengthy career including a Tony Award in 2000 for … Continue reading
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Monty Hall, the genial TV game show host whose long-running “Let’s Make a Deal” traded on love of money and merchandise and the mystery of which door had the car behind it, has died. He was 96. Hall, who had been in poor health, died Saturday morning of heart failure … Continue reading
PARIS (AP) — Liliane Bettencourt, the L’Oreal cosmetics heiress and the world’s richest woman, has died at her home in a chic Parisian suburb. She was 94. Bettencourt’s daughter, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, said in a written statement Thursday that her mother “left peacefully” overnight in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Liliane Bettencourt was the only child of Eugene Schueller, … Continue reading
Sugar Ramos, champion shadowed by 2 ring deaths, dies at 75 By TIM DAHLBERG, AP Boxing Writer Sugar Ramos, the Cuban featherweight champion whose fists led to two ring deaths — one inspiring a Bob Dylan song — has died in Mexico City. He was 75. He died Sunday from cancer complications, the World Boxing Council … Continue reading
CAIBARIEN, Cuba (AP) — Hurricane Irma battered the Turks and Caicos Islands early Friday and Cuba evacuated tourists from beachside resorts as the fearsome storm continued a rampage through the Caribbean that has killed at least 11 people, with Florida in its sights. Waves as high as 20 feet (6 meters) were expected in the … Continue reading
MEXICO CITY (AP) — One of the most powerful earthquakes ever to strike Mexico has hit off its southern Pacific coast, killing at least 15 people, toppling houses and businesses and sending panicked people into the streets more than 650 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit off Chiapas state … Continue reading
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The Latest on the white nationalist rally being held in Charlottesville (all times local): 11:54 p.m. Three more men have been arrested in connection to the violent clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville. The Virginia State Police announced late Saturday that Troy Dunigan, a 21-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was … Continue reading
WYOMING, Ohio (AP) — Hundreds of mourners gathered Thursday to celebrate the life of an American college student who was detained in North Korea for over a year and died shortly after being returned home to Ohio in a coma. Otto Warmbier’s brother, sister and friends were among the scheduled speakers for the funeral Thursday … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reaction to the death of Roger Moore Tuesday at age 89: — “The world has lost one of its great champions for children — and the entire UNICEF family has lost a great friend. In his most famous roles as an actor, Sir Roger was the epitome of cool sophistication; but … Continue reading
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A white Oklahoma police officer acquitted in an unarmed black man’s shooting death will be back on the force next week, even as jurors who declared her not guilty of manslaughter unanimously agreed she should never return to patrol. Tulsa police Chief Chuck Jordan issued a one-sentence statement Friday in which … Continue reading
BOSTON (AP) — Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez hanged himself Wednesday in the prison cell where he was serving a life sentence for murder, taking his life on the same day his ex-teammates on the New England Patriots were set to visit the White House to mark their Super Bowl victory. His death came less … Continue reading
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Paul O’Neill, who founded the progressive metal band Trans-Siberian Orchestra that was known for its spectacular holiday concerts filled with theatrics, lasers and pyrotechnics, has died. He was 61. University of South Florida police spokeswoman Renna Reddick said O’Neill was found dead in his room by hotel staff at a Tampa … Continue reading
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — A medical examiner has concluded that the 20-year-old who died at Hampton Roads Regional Jail hanged himself. Donna Price, administrator of the chief medical examiner’s Norfolk office, told the Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/2mXh7Tm) Wednesday that Jakim Shareike Funderburk’s cause of death was hanging, and the manner was suicide. Jail staff found Funderburk the … Continue reading
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office has concluded that a 19-year-old man who was found dead at the city jail killed himself. Lt. Col. David Hackworth of the Sheriff’s Office tells local media that at 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 24, deputies found Joseph Darnell Palmer hanging from a bedsheet in his cell. Jail … Continue reading
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A man has been charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run after he arrived at a hospital the next morning with serious injuries that police say he had suffered in the crash. News outlets report that 81-year-old Doris Jean Wright, of Gloucester, died from injuries she suffered in a three-vehicle … Continue reading
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge tentatively approved an agreement Thursday, March 2, for the U.S. government to pay $1 million to the children of a Mexican man who died after being detained by immigration authorities and shot several times with a stun gun. The settlement considered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Louisa Porter is … Continue reading
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former longtime Minnesota Orchestra music director Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, who conducted major orchestras in England, Japan and other countries, died Tuesday after suffering a second stroke earlier this month, the orchestra said. He was 93. Skrowaczewski’s family told Minnesota Orchestra president Kevin Smith that he died at a suburban Minneapolis hospital, according to … Continue reading
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Police are investigating the death of a popular Virginia gamer who died during the home stretch of a 24-hour marathon video game session he was streaming online to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. News outlets report that 35-year-old Brian Vigneault was about 22 hours into playing “World of Tanks” … Continue reading
JORDAN-SYRIA BORDER (AP) — Armed Islamic State extremists are expanding their influence in a sprawling camp for displaced Syrians on Jordan’s border, posing a growing threat to the U.S.-allied kingdom, a senior Jordanian military commander said. Brig. Gen. Sami Kafawin, chief of Jordan’s border forces, spoke to The Associated Press during a tour of the … Continue reading
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas has named a shadowy militant commander as its new leader in the Gaza Strip, an official media outlet confirmed on Monday, placing one of the Islamic militant group’s most hard-line figures in charge of its core power base. The appointment of Yehiya Sinwar, who was freed by Israel … Continue reading
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — More than 1.5 million South Sudanese have become refugees and their humanitarian needs are overwhelming aid efforts during the country’s civil war, according to the United Nations. South Sudan’s civil war began in December 2013 and roughly 3.6 million people have fled their homes or become refugees, according to the U.N. … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local): 6:40 p.m. Syria’s state news agency says authorities have unveiled a statue of late President Hafez Assad in the city of Hama to replace the one pulled down by demonstrators nearly six years ago, in the early days of the uprising against his … Continue reading
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The wife of a man who died when his tractor-trailer plunged off a bridge into the Chesapeake Bay says “he was an awesome husband.” Forty-seven-year-old Joseph Chen of Greenville, North Carolina, died Thursday, shortly after he was plucked from the frigid water by a U.S. Navy helicopter crew. After the truck … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 