WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday plans to declare the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency — a step that won’t bring new dollars to fight a scourge that kills nearly 100 Americans a day but will expand access to medical services in rural areas, among other changes, White House officials said … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has agreed to a “very substantial” payout and is apologizing to tea party groups to settle lawsuits over the extra, often burdensome IRS scrutiny they received when applying for tax-exempt status during the 2012 election. Eddie Greim, a lawyer representing more than 400 groups in a class-action suit, provided … Continue reading
BANGKOK (AP) — With solemn faces and outright tears, black-clad Thais said farewell to their king and longtime father figure Thursday on Bangkok’s streets and at viewing areas around the nation, capping a year of mourning with funeral ceremonies steeped in centuries of tradition. Three processions involving the royal family, thousands of troops, a golden … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An anti-apartheid activist who died in 1971 was tortured and killed by South African police, a court said Thursday, a landmark decision that raised hopes that dozens of similar cases would be investigated. The inquest into Ahmed Timol’s death had riveted South Africans as legal experts said it could set a precedent … Continue reading
PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. decision to pull out of UNESCO (all times local): 3:30 p.m. The director of UNESCO is expressing “profound regret” at the U.S. government’s decision to pull out of the U.N. cultural agency because of what’s seen as longstanding anti-Israel bias. Director-general Irina Bokova said in a statement … Continue reading
ISLAMABAD (AP) — An American woman, her Canadian husband and their three young children have been released after years of being held captive by a network with ties to the Taliban, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. U.S. officials say Pakistan secured the release of Caitlan Coleman of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, and her husband, Canadian Joshua … Continue reading
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — The flames that raced across California wine country left little more than smoldering ashes and eye-stinging smoke in their wake. House after house is gone, with only brick chimneys and charred laundry machines to mark sites that were once family homes. The wildfires burned so hot that windows and tire … Continue reading
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean lawmaker says North Korean hackers may have stolen highly classified military documents that include U.S.-South Korean wartime “decapitation strike” plans against the North Korean leadership, according to South Korean media reports. The United States, meanwhile, staged another show of force meant to deter any North Korean aggression … Continue reading
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on wildfires in California (all times local): 5:55 p.m. Hospitals say they have treated at least 185 people injured by wildfires that have rampaged through parts of Northern California since Sunday night. Most of the injured were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital’s emergency room, which treated about … Continue reading
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Even without rescuing anyone from the rubble after Mexico’s big earthquake, a photogenic yellow Labrador retriever named Frida has gained an international social media following. At least 344 people died in the Sept. 19 earthquake, including 205 in Mexico City. For days, rescuers who tunneled into huge mounds of debris and … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Trump administration declared Thursday that its relief efforts in Puerto Rico are succeeding, but people on the island said help was scarce and disorganized while food supplies dwindled in some remote towns eight days after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory of 3.4 million people. President Donald Trump … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A massive new rock fall hit Yosemite National Park on Thursday, cracking with a thundering roar off the iconic El Capitan rock formation and sending huge plumes of white dust surging through the valley floor below. It was not immediately clear if there were new casualties, a day after another slab … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Its conservative majority restored, the Supreme Court said Thursday it will return to an issue with the potential to financially cripple Democratic-leaning labor unions that represent government workers. After the justices deadlocked 4-4 in a similar case last year, the high court will consider a free-speech challenge from workers who object to … Continue reading
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Architect Kobi Karp has a vision for affordable housing in the Florida Keys: residences set at coconut-tree height to keep them dry, atop concrete columns holding them in place. Key West clients sought out his designs before Hurricane Irma struck the island chain this month, and he thinks the … Continue reading
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nearly 150 years after he was killed on the streets of his adopted hometown, Octavius Valentine Catto was honored by a crowd of hundreds gathered in Philadelphia on Tuesday for the unveiling of a statue in his honor. The honor is the first such named tribute for an African-American on public land … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 