April 8, 2026 5:38 pm
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island architect has pleaded guilty to murdering seven women and admitted he killed an eighth in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings. Rex Heuermann entered the pleas on Wednesday in a courtroom packed with reporters, police and victims’ relatives. His decision brings finality to a case that bedeviled investigators, tantalized the public and spawned true-crime documentaries, podcasts and a Hollywood movie. Authorities say Heuermann killed the women over a 17-year span. Many of them were sex workers whose deaths received little attention until their remains were found buried together along an isolated beach highway. Heuermann faces life in prison and will be sentenced at a later date.
April 7, 2026 4:57 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says it detected North Korea firing several short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea Wednesday. North Korea has launched missiles in two consecutive days. The latest launches came hours after a senior North Korean official issued a statement ridiculing South Korean hopes for warmer ties. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area near the eastern coastal town of Wonsan. Seoul says North Korea also fired an additional ballistic missile toward its eastern waters later Wednesday, without giving further details. The South’s military was also analyzing a projectile launched from an area near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on Tuesday.
April 7, 2026 5:04 am
RINGGOLD, Ga. (AP) — Republican Clay Fuller has won Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former U.S. House seat in Georgia. Fuller’s special election win Tuesday bolsters a slim GOP majority. President Donald Trump in February endorsed Fuller, a former district attorney, propelling him to the front of a large field. Fuller beat Democrat Shawn Harris, who led the first round of voting in March but couldn’t overcome the northwest Georgia district’s strongly Republican tilt. Fuller will have to run again later this year to secure a full two-year term. Greene, once among Trump’s most ardent supporters, resigned in January after a falling out with the president.
April 7, 2026 5:03 am
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed that American journalist Shelley Kittleson, who was kidnapped last week in Iraq, has been released. Kittleson was abducted by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah from a street corner in Baghdad on March 31. Rubio said in a statement posted on X, “We are relieved that this American is now freed and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq.” He thanked Iraqi authorities, as well as the FBI and U.S. defense department and other U.S. agencies for their work toward securing Kittleson’s release.
April 8, 2026 3:51 pm
NASHVILLE (AP) — Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ray Stevens has broken his neck and is recovering at home. A statement on X confirmed Tuesday that the 87-year-old country star had been briefly hospitalized after falling late last month. The statement says he “is now fully mobile & in good spirits.” Stevens is known for his topical satire. His decades-long recording career has included such hits as the Grammy-winning “Everything Is Beautiful” as well as the zany “The Streak,” which captured the mid-1970s craze for running naked in public. His latest album is expected to be released Friday on Curb Records.
April 7, 2026 2:28 am
Community Bank will celebrate its 125th anniversary on July 1, 2026. Founded in 1901 in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, Community Bank has grown from a single office in Greene County to 12 branches serving communities across Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. As part of the anniversary, Community Bank is launching the “Generations of Trust” campaign, a multi-month initiative designed to honor the people, families, and communities that have shaped the bank over more than a century. Officials say the campaign reflects Community Bank’s long-standing commitment to building relationships rooted in trust, partnership and local service. They say the campaign will spotlight the enduring relationships that have defined Community Bank’s legacy, including real families whose banking relationships with the institution span multiple generations. Through storytelling shared across television, radio, print, digital, and social media channels, Community Bank will highlight how these relationships reflect the bank’s role in supporting local families and businesses across generations. Community Bank’s branch locations will host anniversary celebrations on the official milestone date by honoring the bank’s 125 years of shared history and deep community roots, with customer appreciation gifts and baked goods that showcase the talents of local customers specializing in baking and artistry.
April 7, 2026 4:55 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The parents of a toddler have been charged with endangering the welfare of children after the child squeezed through a fence at a Pennsylvania theme park zoo and made contact with a wolf. The child suffered a minor injury Saturday at ZooAmerica at Hersheypark. Police say the parents were about 25 to 30 feet away and appeared to be paying attention to their cellphones. The child went through a wooden barrier and put a hand through a metal fence. A wolf grabbed onto the hand with its mouth. Bystanders intervened to help. The parents await a preliminary hearing. Messages were left for the father’s lawyer.
April 7, 2026 4:49 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Airstrikes have hit two bridges and a train station in Iran, and Iranian officials urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants. That came as U.S. President Donald Trump warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran does not meet his latest deadline for the Islamic Republic to agree to a deal that includes reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Trump has extended previous deadlines but suggested the one set for 8 p.m. in Washington was final. The rhetoric on both sides reached a fever pitch.
April 7, 2026 4:47 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Airstrikes across Iran killed nearly three dozen people while Iran fired on Israel and Saudi Arabia, prompting the temporary closure of a major bridge. The latest strikes Tuesday came as Iranian officials urged youths to form human chains around power plants to protect them, as the latest deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump to reopen the Strait of Hormuz drew closer. Trump has threatened to bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his deadline to allow shipping traffic to fully resume through the strategic waterway. Israel’s military warned Iranians in Farsi to avoid taking trains throughout the day, likely telegraphing intended strikes on the rail network.
April 7, 2026 4:22 pm
BAGHDAD (AP) — American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week, has been released. That’s according to two Iraqi officials with direct knowledge of the situation. The officials say Kittleson was freed in the afternoon but did not share information about her current whereabouts beyond saying that prior to her release, she had been held in Baghdad. The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement earlier in the day that it had decided to free the journalist. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In Wisconsin, Kittleson’s mother said her daughter was not yet free and declined to comment further.
