CHICAGO (AP) — A woman dubbed a “serial stowaway” for repeatedly trying to sneak onto commercial jets without a ticket has been ruled unfit for trial, a judge ruled Thursday. Cook County Judge Maura Slattery Boyle ordered Marilyn Hartman, 66, to be sent to a secured mental health facility in Elgin, near Chicago. The ruling…
By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas agency plans to conduct a full audit of a water park’s inspection records before it reopens this spring, a state official said Wednesday, after criminal charges were filed over the decapitation of a 10-year-old boy on the world’s tallest waterslide there in 2016. The state…
By MICHAEL R. SISAK, Associated Press NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Bill Cosby’s lawyers are expected to make a last-ditch effort on Thursday to postpone the comedian’s sexual assault retrial by pressuring the judge to step aside after losing their bid to overturn his ruling allowing up to five additional accusers to testify. The defense first demanded…
By HOPE YEN and ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin Wednesday in the wake of a bruising ethics scandal and a mounting rebellion within the agency, and nominated White House doctor Ronny Jackson to lead the agency. A Navy rear admiral, Jackson is a surprise choice…
By SUMMER BALLENTINE, Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge reopened fact-finding in a wrongful-death civil lawsuit over a former St. Louis police officer’s fatal shooting of a black man. Attorney Al Watkins, who represents Anthony Lamar Smith’s family, on Wednesday confirmed U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton’s decision to reopen discovery. It comes…
By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Sacramento church is the latest site of mourning over the death of 22-year-old Stephon Clark at the hands of police last week, with family, friends and strangers gathering Wednesday for his public wake. Some attendees wore black shirts calling for justice, while one woman held up…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – The Illinois State Board of Elections will hold public hearings on the state’s automatic voter registration system before it takes effect this summer. The board says the hearings will explain the system to the public and answer any questions about its implementation. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner approved the automatic voter registration…
By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook is giving its privacy tools a makeover as it reels from criticisms over its data practices and faces tighter European regulations in the coming months. The changes won’t affect Facebook’s privacy policies or the types of data it gathers on users. But the company hopes…
By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A water park company co-owner accused of rushing the world’s tallest waterslide into service and a designer accused of shoddy planning were charged Tuesday in the decapitation of a 10-year-old boy on the ride in 2016. With the latest charges, three men connected with Texas-based Schlitterbahn Waterparks…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol is warning motorists in southern areas of the state of expected flooding and possible dangerous travel conditions. The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for Tuesday and some flood warnings in southern parts of Missouri after heavy rains fell this week in the region.…