By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr is defending his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation, saying the confidential document contains sensitive grand jury material that prevented it from being immediately released to the public. The statement Thursday came as Barr confronts concerns that his…
By CARRIE ANTLFINGER and DON BABWIN Associated Press AURORA, Ill. (AP) — Eight years after an Illinois boy disappeared, his family began to think that their nightmare might be over at last. A young man found wandering the streets of a Kentucky town claimed he had just escaped from two men in the Cincinnati area…
By COREY WILLIAMS AND CARYN ROUSSEAU Associated Press In 2011, 6-year-old Timmothy Pitzen’s mother picked him up at school in Illinois, took him to the zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a hotel, leaving a note in which she said her son was fine but that no one would ever…
By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee approved subpoenas Wednesday for special counsel Robert Mueller’s full Russia report as Democrats pressure the Justice Department to release the document without redactions. The committee voted 24-17 to give Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., permission to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department…
SINGAPORE (AP) — New Islamic criminal laws that took effect in Brunei on Wednesday, punishing gay sex and adultery by stoning offenders to death, have triggered an outcry from countries, rights groups and celebrities far beyond the tiny Southeast Asian nation’s shores. The penalties were provided for under new sections of Brunei’s Shariah Penal Code.…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand lawmakers on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of new gun restrictions during the first stage of a bill they hope to rush into law by the end of next week. The bill would ban the types of weapons a gunman used to kill 50 people at two mosques…
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Over the weekend, Gaza’s Hamas rulers marked a year of bloody, weekly protests that have failed to break the Israeli blockade. Rocket attacks brought a wave of Israeli airstrikes and unprecedented protests broke out against the Islamic militants’ increasingly unpopular rule. And yet Hamas’ control over Gaza is tighter…
BEIJING, CHINA (AP) — China said Monday it would begin regulating all fentanyl-related drugs as a class of controlled substances, in a change U.S. officials had long advocated as a way to stem the flow of lethal opioids from China. The sweeping change in the way China regulates drugs that mimic fentanyl takes effect May…
‘By BEN NADLER Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Watchful eyes now turn to Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, wondering when he might sign a “heartbeat” abortion ban that he supported and helped push through. The Georgia House gave final approval Friday to legislation outlawing abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, sending the bill…
MICHAEL BALSAMO and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation will be sent to Congress by mid-April and will not be shared with the White House beforehand, Attorney General William Barr said. Barr’s timeline, included in a letter to the chairmen of…