Top General News
'Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin dies at 76
NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul" who sang with matchless style on such classics as "Think," ''I Say a Little Prayer" and her signature song, "Respect," and stood as a cultural icon around the globe, died Thursday at age 76 from pancreatic cancer. She died at her home in...
The thrill and the truth of Aretha Franklin
NEW YORK (AP) — The clarity and the command. The daring and the discipline. The thrill of her voice and the truth of her emotions. Like the best actors and poets, nothing came between how Aretha Franklin felt and what she could express, between what she expressed and how we responded. Blissful on "(You...
Queen of Soul also leaves a powerful civil rights legacy
Aretha Franklin, who was born and rose to fame during the segregation era and went on to sing at the inauguration of the first black president, often used her talent, fortune and platform to inspire millions of black Americans and support the fight for racial equality. "She not only provided the soundtrack for...
Manafort jury ends first day of deliberations with questions
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The jury in the fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort ended its first day of deliberations with a series of questions to the judge, including a request to "redefine" reasonable doubt. The questions came after roughly seven hours of deliberation, delivered in a...
Washington cardinal entangled in two sex-abuse scandals
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, is facing a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation after becoming entangled in two major sexual abuse scandals roiling the church that he has served with distinction since 1966. A scathing grand jury report this week on rampant abuse in...
Former US security leaders blast Trump for yanking clearance
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former U.S. security officials issued scathing rebukes to President Donald Trump on Thursday, admonishing him for yanking a top former spy chief's security clearance in what they cast as an act of political vengeance. Trump said he'd had to do "something" about the "rigged" federal probe...
Bodies of missing wife, daughters found in Colorado
FREDERICK, Colo. (AP) — After his pregnant wife and two daughters disappeared, Christopher Watts stood on his porch in Colorado and lamented to reporters how much he missed them. He longed for the simple things, he said, like telling his girls to eat their dinner and gazing at them as they curled up to...
US officials: Ex-IS fighter accepted in US as refugee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An Iraqi man accused of killing for the Islamic State entered the U.S. as a refugee after claiming to be a victim of terrorism, in a case drawing attention amid the Trump administration's criticism of the resettlement program's vetting process. Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, 45, was...
Police work to stop overdoses after 76 fall ill
Police swarmed a Connecticut park near Yale University and searched people's homes for drugs Thursday in an effort to prevent more overdoses from a batch of synthetic marijuana blamed for sending more than 70 people to the hospital. Social workers and mental health professionals also responded to the New Haven...
As our media environment blurs, confusion often reigns
NEW YORK (AP) — A generation ago, the likes of Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer were the heroes of television news. Now the biggest stars are arguably Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow. Notice the difference? Cronkite, Jennings and Sawyer reported the news. Hannity and Maddow talk about the...
Latest General News
Women play Concerts for Compassion for war-weary refugees
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Jocelyn Zhu won the fiddling contest at the Mississippi State Fair when she was 5. Onlookers called her "cute." Her mother saw something totally different. "When Jocelyn played, I saw her spirit just flow out of her through the music," says Jane Zhu, a native of Taiwan who teaches...
Gathering to celebrate the mom not talked about for 50 years
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Her children talk about the pelicans, how they glided overhead as the singer finished the song. "Remember me" — the last lyric — faded with the evening sun on a Hilton Head Island beach. The birds' flight seemed preordained, part of the day's events. Margie...
Why Mississippi teachers are crowdfunding classrooms
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — Kristy Clark taught in the Hancock County School District on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for 15 years, but she decided to stop teaching in the spring of 2017. She said there are several things she will miss about being in the classroom — and a lot of things she won't miss at...
Waiter as much a tradition as restaurant's famed arancini
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — You can hear it across the restaurant. Alvin "Butch" Smith is engaging in friendly banter with his customers. His section at Gino's Restaurant on Bennington Drive in Baton Rouge sounds like it usually does, full of jokes and jabs between regulars and Smith himself, a career waiter...
4 of the 1st black professors retire after decades at UNCA
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Four friends sat chatting inside the home of newly retired professors Dolly and Dwight Mullen. Snacks of granola bars and nuts were shared and fresh coffee was poured while thunder and lightning cracked open the sky on Devonshire Road. A baby rested in the room opposite the dining...
Savannah man honored for decades at local botanical gardens
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Thirty-one years ago, Frank Williams was out of work and says he couldn't find a job anywhere in his hometown of Savannah. And, it was 31 years ago that he also made a promise to God — a promise he has worked hard to keep. "I said, Lord, if you'll help me find a job, I'll work...
Progressive tiny town still hasn't passed plastic bag ban
ABITA SPRINGS, La. (AP) — Can environmental activists get one of south Louisiana's most progressive small towns to ditch its plastic bags? So far, things haven't broken their way. "To say they weren't warmly received would be an understatement," said Abita Springs Mayor Greg Lemons. The plastics ban effort...
Today in History
Today in History Today is Saturday, Aug. 18, the 230th day of 2018. There are 135 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing all American women's right to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it. On this...
Explosion destroys coffee shop, injures 3 in rural Georgia
HOMERVILLE, Ga. (AP) — An explosion and fire destroyed a coffee shop Friday in this rural south Georgia city, seriously injuring three people and prompting a warning from city officials for residents to avoid the downtown area. The blast rocked tiny Homerville, a city of about 2,500 people, shortly after...
Man's body found on beach in Newport
NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — Police are investigating after the body of a 29-year-old man was found on a beach along the Oregon coast. The Newport Police Department says Nicolaus Christopher Hinton, was found dead around 7:45 a.m. Friday near Agate Beach. Anyone with information about the man's death was asked to...
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