OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The economy expanded in nine Midwestern and Plains states last month despite mounting concerns about tariffs and trade skirmishes, according to a report released Thursday. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index slumped to 54.9 in October, from 57.5 in September , the report said. The October reading was the lowest since January 2017, but…
By MARYCLAIRE DALE , Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — The anti-Semitic truck driver accused of gunning down 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue pleaded not guilty on Thursday to federal charges that could put him on death row. Robert Bowers, 46, was arraigned one day after a grand jury issued a 44-count indictment that charges him…
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Divers on Thursday recovered a flight data recorder from the crashed Lion Air jet on the seafloor, a crucial development in the investigation into what caused the 2-month-old plane to plunge into Indonesian seas earlier this week, killing all 189 people on board. One TV station showed footage of two divers…
By ZARAR KHAN and MUNIR AHMED , Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Christian woman who spent eight years on death row under Pakistan’s blasphemy law was acquitted and ordered released Wednesday by the country’s top court, a ruling that raised fears of violence by religious extremists who held angry protests over the verdict. Asia…
By MARYCLAIRE DALE and ALLEN G. BREED , Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — The suspect in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday, four days after 11 people were killed and six wounded in the deadliest attack on Jews in American history. The indictment, which was expected, charges Robert Bowers…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Mueller’s office has referred to the FBI allegations that women were “offered money to make false claims” about the special counsel, according to Mueller’s spokesman. In a statement, spokesman Peter Carr says that once the office learned of the allegations, it immediately referred the matter to the FBI for investigation. The…
FORT DODGE, IA (AP) — A Roman Catholic diocese has hidden for decades a priest’s admission that he sexually abused dozens of Iowa boys, a silence that may have put other children in danger, The Associated Press has learned. The Rev. Jerome Coyle, 85, was stripped of his parish assignments in the 1980s but has…
BOSTON, MA (AP) — A former federal investigator says a Mafia hit man is a suspect in the prison slaying of Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger. The official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Fotios “Freddy” Geas and at least one other inmate are believed to have been involved in 89-year-old Bulger’s killing…
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The search for the crashed Lion Air plane has found aircraft debris and passenger belongings on the seafloor but the object thought to be the fuselage is still eluding it, an Indonesian official said Wednesday, as chilling video of passengers boarding the fatal flight emerged. Search and Rescue Agency chief Muhammad…
BOSTON, MA (AP) — Sports fans grown accustomed to the success of their beloved teams lined the streets in the hundreds of thousands on Wednesday to salute the Boston Red Sox on their fourth championship in the last 15 years. The parade, beginning at venerable Fenway Park, was to wind along several major downtown streets.…