US & World News

Wisconsin Prison Head Says More Space Needed

The Oshkosh Correctional Institution, seen June 2, 2017 after lockdown went in effect the day before. (WLUK)MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The head of Wisconsin’s prison system is telling lawmakers that additional capacity is needed to deal with an aging and growing inmate population. Department of Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher tells a Senate committee Thursday that since he took over in…

Raw Sewage Contaminating Waters in Puerto Rico After Maria

21 out of 51 sewage treatment plants are still out of service on the island

Raw sewage is pouring into the rivers and reservoirs of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the Hurricane Maria. (AP – Oct. 12., 2017) CAGUAS, Puerto Rico (AP) — Raw sewage is pouring into the rivers and reservoirs of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. People without running water bathe and wash their clothes in contaminated streams, and…

Crews Continue to Battle California Wildfires

At least 40 people dead

A set of salvaged china that Karen Curzon, background center, inherited from her grandmother lie on the foundation ofher home that was destroyed by a wildfire in the Coffey Park neighborhood Sun., Oct. 15 in Santa Rosa. SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters kept gaining on the California wildfires Monday with help from lighter winds that made it easier to…

North Dakota Senator Introduces Savanna’s Act

THE LEGISLATION WOULD IMPROVE TRIBAL ACCESS TO CERTAIN FEDERAL CRIME DATABASES

WASHINGTON (KVRR) – Federal legislation aimed at protecting Native American women and girls from violence, abduction, and human trafficking is named for Savanna Greywind, the pregnant Fargo woman who was murdered and her baby taken. U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp introduced Savanna’s Act Thursday in Washington. The legislation would help improve tribal access to certain federal crime information databases. Heitkamp says…

Trump Justice Department Ends Transgender Workplace Protections

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal civil rights law does not protect transgender people from discrimination at work, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a memo released Thursday that rescinds guidance issued under the Obama administration. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars workplace discrimination between men and women but does not extend to gender identity, Sessions said….

Las Vegas Shooter’s Father had Ties to Superior

Lived in Superior After He Was Born in Wisconsin

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) – While investigators in Las Vegas work to find out what motivated a one-time accountant with no known criminal history to inflict so much pain in a mass shooting, others digging into his past know his father was a notorious bank robber with ties to Wisconsin. Stephen Paddock’s father, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, was born in Sheboygan in…

One Minnesotan Dead, Another Critically Injured in Vegas Shooting

Steve Berger (left), Phil Aurich (right) LAS VEGAS – One Minnesota man is dead and another critically wounded after a gunman opened fire at a country music festival in Las Vegas. The incident killed 59 people and injured 527 others; it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Minnesota native, Philip Aurich, living in Las Vegas was among…

Trump: Puerto Rico Put Budget ‘Out of Whack’ But Lives Saved

President Trump and first lady Melania take a walking tour with Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello, left, and his wife Beatriz Areizaga, to survey hurricane damage and recovery efforts in a neighborhood in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — President Donald Trump highlighted Puerto Rico’s relatively low death toll compared with “a real…

Rock Superstar Tom Petty Dies at Age 66 After Suffering Cardiac Arrest

Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performs during their 40th Anniversary Tour at Bridgestone Arena on April 25, 2017 in Nashville, TN. (Photo by Rick Diamond) LOS ANGELES (AP) – Rock superstar Tom Petty has died at age 66. Spokeswoman Carla Sacks says Petty died Monday night at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after he suffered cardiac…

Equifax: 2.5 Million More Americans May Be Affected by Hack

(AP) NEW YORK (AP) — Credit report company Equifax said Monday that an additional 2.5 million Americans may have been affected by the massive security breach of its systems, bringing the total to 145.5 million people who had their personal information accessed or stolen. Equifax said the company it hired to investigate the breach, Mandiant, has concluded its investigation and…

UPDATE: More than 50 Dead After Gunfire Rings Out at Las Vegas Music Festival

Officials Say the Gunman Killed Himself

LAS VEGAS – LAS VEGAS (AP) — A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing at least 50 people as tens of thousands of concertgoers screamed and ran for their lives, officials said Monday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S….

Trump Says Supplies Streaming into Storm-Tossed Puerto Rico

Downed power lines and debris are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26. (AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure to do more for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump on Thursday waived federal restrictions on foreign ships’ transportation of cargo to the island. He tweeted that relief supplies are getting through. “The electric…

Playboy Magazine Founder, Hugh Hefner, Dies at 91

April 5, 2007 AP File Photo LOS ANGELES (AP) – Playboy magazine founder and sexual revolution symbol Hugh Hefner has died. He was 91. The magazine released a statement saying Hefner died at his home of natural causes Wednesday night surrounded by family. Founding the magazine in 1953, Hefner built a brand that defined the sexual culture of the second half…

Cause of Ohio Man’s Death in North Korea May Never be Known

FILE: In this Feb. 29, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier speaks as he is presented to reporters in Pyongyang, North Korea. More than 15 months after he gave a staged confession in North Korea. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon, File) CINCINNATI (AP) — A coroner said Wednesday her office could not determine what led to the fatal brain damage…

Aid Lags in Hurricane-Torn Puerto Rico

MONTEBELLO, Puerto Rico (AP) — Relatives helped Maribel Valentin Espino find shelter when Hurricane Maria roared through her community in northern Puerto Rico. Neighbors formed volunteer brigades to cut fallen trees and clear twisty mountain roads after the storm had passed. Now, friends and a local cattle ranch provide the water they need to survive in the tropical heat. Valentin…

Trump, GOP Tax Plan Would Cut Rates for Many Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are proposing a far-reaching, $5 trillion plan Wednesday that would cut taxes for corporations and potentially for individuals, simplify the tax system and nearly double the standard deduction used by most Americans. The plan is sweeping in scope but omits critical, controversial details that are likely to take months to work…

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Hit Another High in US

NEW YORK (AP) – Health officials are reporting another record increase in infections from three sexually transmitted diseases. More than 2 million new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were reported in the United States last year – the most ever. The diseases are treatable with antibiotics. Rates for all three have been rising for several years. Health officials have…

Equifax Dumps CEO in Wake of Damaging Data Breach

(AP) NEW YORK (AP) – Credit reporting agency Equifax is ousting CEO Richard Smith in an effort to clean up the mess left by a damaging data breach that exposed highly sensitive information about 143 million Americans. The shake-up announced Tuesday comes after Equifax disclosed that hackers exploited a software flaw that the company didn’t fix to heist Social Security numbers,…

Republican Leaders: Senate Won’t Vote on Obama Repeal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing assured defeat, Republican leaders decided Tuesday not to even hold a vote on the GOP’s latest attempt to repeal the Obama health care law, surrendering on their last-gasp effort to deliver on the party’s banner campaign promise. Leaving a lunch of Republican senators who’d gathered to discuss their next steps on the issue, Sen. Pat Roberts,…

Anthony Weiner Sentenced to 21 Months in Sexting Case

Former Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) arrives at federal court for his sentencing hearing in a sexting scandal, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in New York. (AP) NEW YORK (AP) — Former Rep. Anthony Weiner was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison for sexting with a 15-year-old girl in a case that rocked Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the White House in…

North Korea says Trump has ‘Declared War’ on His Country

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – North Korea’s top diplomat said Monday that President Donald Trump’s tweet that leader Kim Jong Un “won’t be around much longer” was a declaration of war against this country by the United States. Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters that what he called Trump’s “declaration of war” gives North Korea “every right” under the U.N….

Broken Dam and Island-Wide Blackout Stir Fear in Puerto Rico

A local looks at the devastation left by Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. (AP) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A failing dam prompted emergency evacuations of two towns in northwestern Puerto Rico on Friday as the U.S. territory struggled with flooding, an island-wide blackout and other dangers in Hurricane Maria’s wake. The National Weather…

Missing Pennsylvania Teen Located in the Twin Cities

UPDATE: Victoria Grimaldi was located safe earlier Thursday afternoon by a BCA special agent and North St. Paul officer. Victoria Grimaldi MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) – The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has issued a statewide alert on behalf of the West Whiteland, Pennsylvania Police Department for a missing 15-year-old girl who could be in Minnesota. Victoria Lynn Grimaldi was last seen at Henderson High…

Fiat Chrysler Recalling 494,417 Ram Trucks for Safety Issue

DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is recalling almost half a million Ram heavy-duty pickups and medium-duty trucks because their water pumps could be defective. The recall involves Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups and Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis cabs from the 2013 to 2017 model years. All 494,417 of the vehicles involved have 6.7-liter engines. Most of the trucks…

Maria Knocks Out Power, Triggers Flooding in Puerto Rico

Satellite image taken Tuesday, Sept. 19 show Hurricane Maria southeast of Puerto Rico (NOAA via AP) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in over 80 years destroyed hundreds of homes, knocked out power across the entire island and triggered heavy flooding Wednesday in an onslaught that could plunge the U.S. territory deeper into…

Mexicans Dig Through Collapsed Buildings as Quake Kills 225

Rescue workers and volunteers search for survivors on a collapsed building in the Del Valle neighborhood in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP) MEXICO CITY (AP) — Rescuers said Wednesday they have found a surviving child in the ruins of a school that collapsed in Mexico’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake, one of many efforts across the city to save people…

Hurricane Maria Slams Dominica, Now Takes Aim at Puerto Rico

Satellite image taken Tuesday, Sept. 19 show Hurricane Maria southeast of Puerto Rico (NOAA via AP) ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — Dominica’s leader sent out an emotional plea for help as Hurricane Maria smashed into the Caribbean island and caused “mind-boggling” devastation, but an ominous silence followed as the country lost all communications on Tuesday and the Category 5 hurricane took…

7.1 Magnitude Quake Kills 119 as Buildings Collapse in Mexico

Remains of a damaged building stands after an earthquake in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP)   MEXICO CITY (AP) — A magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked central Mexico on Tuesday, killing at least 119 people as buildings collapsed in plumes of dust and thousands fled into the streets in panic. The quake came less than two weeks after another…

State, Federal Authorities Proposing New Rules on Equifax

(AP) NEW YORK (AP) — State and federal authorities are proposing tougher regulations against Equifax and the entire credit monitoring industry after the company announced that personal information like Social Security numbers of about 143 million Americans was exposed. This is on top of the lawsuits already filed against Equifax by state attorneys general, and a multitude of lawsuits filed…

Hurricane Maria Grows, Threatening Storm-Battered Caribbean

GOES East Satellite Image provided by NASA taken at 7:45 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 17. (NASA via AP) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Hurricane Maria grew into a Category 3 storm on Monday as it barreled toward a potentially devastating collision with islands in the eastern Caribbean. Forecasters warned it was likely to grow even stronger. The storm…

UK Raises Terror Alert Level to ‘Critical

This is an image made from video showing burning items in underground train at the scene of an explosion in London, Friday. (Sylvain Pennec via AP) LONDON (AP) – British officials have raised the country’s terrorism threat level to ‘critical’ – meaning another attack is expected shortly. Prime Minister Theresa May acted on the recommendation of the Joint Terrorism Analysis…

Search for Perpetrators of Bomb on London Subway, 29 Wounded

JILL LAWSON - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A police forensic officer stands beside the trail, at left, where an incident happened, that police say they are investigating as a terrorist attack at Parsons Green subway station in London. (AP) LONDON (AP) — A homemade bomb planted in a rush-hour subway car injured 29 people in London on Friday, sparking a huge manhunt for the perpetrators of what…

Biracial Boy Nearly Hanged by Teens

Photo courtesy Cassandra Merlin CLAREMONT, N.H. (AP) – More than 100 people, holding hands and singing “We Shall Overcome,” gathered at a park to offer support to the family of an 8-year-old biracial boy who was nearly hanged by a group of teenagers. The boy’s grandmother said the teens taunted him with racial slurs on Aug. 28 in the mostly white town…

US West’s Wildfires Spark Calls to Thin Tree-Choked Forests

AP file photo, June 23, 2017 SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Wildfires that are blackening the American West in one of the nation’s worst fire seasons have ignited calls, including from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, to thin forests that have become so choked with trees that they are at “powder keg levels.” The destruction has exposed old frictions between environmentalists and those…

FEMA Insurance Chief: Harvey Losses Could Top $11 Billion

Highways around downtown Houston are empty as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey overflow from the bayous around the city Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston. (AP Photo) WASHINGTON (AP) – The head of the National Flood Insurance Program said Wednesday early estimates show Hurricane Harvey will result in about $11 billion in payouts to insured homeowners, mostly in southeast Texas….

FEMA Estimates 25 Percent of Florida Keys Homes are Gone

A roof is strewn across a home’s law as Rick Freedman checks his neighbor’s damage from Hurricane Irma in Marco Island, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 (AP) LOWER MATECUMBE KEY, Fla. (AP) — Search-and-rescue teams made their way into the Florida Keys’ farthest reaches Tuesday, while authorities rushed to repair the lone highway connecting the islands and deliver aid to…

President Trump on 9/11: ‘America Cannot be Intimidated’

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand as “Taps” is played during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (AP) ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Leading his first commemoration of the solemn 9/11 anniversary, President Donald Trump said Monday that “the living, breathing soul of America wept with grief” for each of the nearly…

Irma Weakens Into a Tropical Storm But Keeps Causing Misery

A man returns to his flooded home in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 (AP) TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Hurricane Irma weakened into a still-dangerous tropical storm Monday as it pushed inland, triggering record flooding in Florida’s northeastern corner, while rescuers in its soggy, wind-battered wake mobilized to reach victims and learn the…

Equifax Breach: Criticism from Lawmakers, What People Can Do

(AP) NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no way around it: The news from credit reporting company Equifax that 143 million Americans had their information exposed is extremely serious. Crucial pieces of personal data that criminals could use to commit identity theft — Social Security numbers, birthdates, address histories, legal names — were all obtained. That’s information that cannot change. And…