Author: Wolf Blitzer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The weeks since President Donald Trump returned to office have been a whirlwind of activity to show Americans that his administration is relentlessly pursuing his promises.With a compliant Republican-controlled Congress, Trump has had a free hand to begin overhauling the federal government and upending foreign policy. As Trump hits his 100th day in office Tuesday, his imprint is everywhere. But the long-term impact is often unclear. Some of the Republican president’s executive orders are statements of intent or groundwork to achieve what has yet to be done. On Day 1, for example, he declared an energy emergency…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Tennessee police officers will face an out-of-town jury when their trial in state court starts Monday on second-degree murder charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols after a 2023 traffic stop in Memphis.Opening statements are expected to begin in the trial of former Memphis Police Department officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, who have pleaded not guilty and already face the prospect of years behind bars after they were convicted of federal charges last year. The beating of Nichols, a Black man, was caught on police video and led to national…
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The trial of a former Michigan police officer charged with second-degree murder in the killing of a 26-year-old Black man is set to begin in Grand Rapids, three years after the case sparked weeks of protest and national outrage.Patrick Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant who sought refuge with his family in the U.S. to flee violence in his home country, was fatally shot by former officer Christopher Schurr, who is white.Lyoya was shot in the back of the head while facedown on the ground following a traffic stop. Schurr’s attorneys argue he acted in self-defense.Opening statements…
NEW YORK (AP) — A Brooklyn woman said she feared for her life as she was chased, kicked, spit at and pelted with objects by a mob of Orthodox Jewish men who mistook her as a participant in a protest against Israel’s far-right security minister.The assault, recorded by a bystander, unfolded Thursday near the global headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Crown Heights, where an appearance by Itamar Ben-Gvir set off clashes between pro-Palestinian activists and members of the neighborhood’s large Orthodox Jewish community.The woman, a neighborhood resident in her 30s, told The Associated Press she learned of the protest…
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — One person has died and several were injured Sunday when a boat crashed into a ferry off the Memorial Causeway Bridge and then fled the scene, authorities said.The Clearwater Police Department posted on X that there were multiple injuries and the crash had been declared “a mass casualty incident” by the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department due to the number of injuries.All of those injured were aboard the ferry, which was carrying more than 40 people. Police did not provide any information about the person who died. The ferry came to rest on a sandbar just…
President Donald Trump made clear Sunday that he would not follow his predecessor’s practice of recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day alongside Columbus Day in October, accusing Democrats of denigrating the explorer’s legacy as he pressed his campaign to restore what he argues are traditional American icons.Democrat Joe Biden was the first president to mark Indigenous Peoples Day, issuing a proclamation in 2021 that celebrated “the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples” and recognize “their inherent sovereignty.” The proclamation noted that America “was conceived on a promise of equality and opportunity for all people” but that promise “we have never fully…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A suspect has been arrested in connection with the theft last week of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ‘s purse as she ate at a Washington, D.C., restaurant, officials said Sunday.Noem’s purse was nabbed on Easter Sunday and reportedly contained about $3,000 in cash, her keys, driver’s license, passport and Homeland Security badge. The Homeland Security Department said Noem had cash in her purse to pay for gifts, dinner and other activities for her family on Easter.A suspect was taken into custody without incident in Washington after an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and the Metropolitan…
NEW YORK (AP) — Drag performer Bianca Castro-Arabejo, who was known as reality television star Jiggly Caliente on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” died Sunday at age 44, days after her family reported hospitalization for a serious infection. Castro-Arabejo, who became a judge on “Drag Race Philippines” in 2022, scrapped plans to appear on the upcoming season after a recent hospitalization for a “severe infection” and a leg amputation surgery, her family said in a statement on her Instagram page. She died early Sunday, her family said in another statement. “A luminous presence in the worlds of entertainment and advocacy, Jiggly Caliente…
Horror movies are often one-week wonders at the box office, but Ryan Coogler’s“Sinners” is defying the odds and proving to be true event cinema. In its second weekend in theaters, “Sinners” earned $45 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. That’s down a miniscule 6% from its Easter holiday launch, the smallest drop in any genre since “Avatar” in 2009. Worldwide, “Sinners” has now made $161.6 million.For the industry, the showing proves the film’s reach has broadened beyond horror fans to mainstream audiences wanting to see what the hype is about.…
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Many days over the past two weeks, no one answered the phone at any of U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s four offices.Perry’s team did not share details about the Republican congressman’s public appearances until they were over. Even supporters who live in Perry’s central Pennsylvania district could not remember the last time he hosted an in-person town hall.No one opened the locked door at his district office in Mechanicsburg last week when an Associated Press reporter rang the bell. A male voice said through the intercom, “I don’t have any public appearance information that I can provide.”…