May 13, 2023 4:52 am
ROME (AP) — The Vatican says that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy will meet with Pope Francis during a trip to Rome. Zelenskyy will also hold midday meetings with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and with President Sergio Mattarella. Zelenskyy’s exact schedule wasn’t being publicly announced because of security concerns and the Vatican only confirmed a papal meeting shortly before the Ukrainian president’s expected arrival in Rome. Italian state television reported that as part of protective measures, a no-fly zone was ordered for Rome skies and police sharpshooters were strategically placed on high buildings.
May 13, 2023 4:51 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump will share the spotlight in Iowa on Saturday, providing a chance to sway influential conservative activists and contrast their campaign styles in Republicans’ leadoff voting state. DeSantis is set to wade into Iowa’s hand-to-hand politicking at a congressman’s annual picnic and an Iowa Republican Party fundraiser, while Trump hopes to show strength with an outdoor rally with supporters. Although the two men will be hours away from each other, the split-screen moment in Iowa is a first for the two national Republican powerhouses. And it comes as DeSantis is widely expected to launch his 2024 presidential campaign soon.
May 13, 2023 4:49 am
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The U.S. has turned the page on pandemic-era immigration restrictions with relative calm at its border with Mexico as migrants adapt to strict new rules aimed at discouraging illegal crossings and await the promise of new legal pathways into the country. A full day after the rules known as Title 42 were lifted, migrants and government officials on Friday were still assessing the effects of new regulations from President Joe Biden’s administration. Migrants are now essentially barred from seeking asylum in the U.S. if they did not first apply online or seek protection in the countries they traveled through. The U.S. Homeland Security Department said Friday it had not witnessed any substantial increase in immigration.
May 13, 2023 4:48 am
Some of America’s largest cities that challenged their 2020 census numbers are hearing back from the U.S. Census Bureau. They’re not all getting what they hoped for. In Memphis, the bureau actually subtracted three people from the official headcount in an initial appeal. The biggest winner among big cities so far is Boston, where the bureau conceded that thousands of college students were missed amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Census Bureau has received more than 100 submissions from cities, towns and villages of all sizes. They’re trying to get a bigger piece of federal funding based on population numbers.
May 13, 2023 4:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — One outcome is clear as Washington reaches for a budget deal to end the debt ceiling standoff: The ambitious COVID era of government spending is giving way to a new focus on stemming deficits. As President Joe Biden and congressional leaders prepare to meet again next week, staff are working on a budget deal. The White House has threatened to veto Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill with its “devastating cuts” to federal programs. But the administration has signaled a willingness to consider other budget caps. It’s a turnaround from just a few years ago, when Congress passed trillions in emergency aid to halt the pandemic and rebuild the U.S. economy.
May 13, 2023 4:24 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — A man who police say made terroristic threats at Pittsburgh International Airport is fighting to be released from jail, after a district judge issued him an ROR bond. Judge Edward Borkowski will ultimately make the decision. Around two dozen of Hossein Dehnavifard’s family members and friends came from Philadelphia and Erie to the Allegheny County Courthouse to support him, after police say he made threats that grounded an American Airlines plane on Wednesday. He was in court after Magistrate Xander Orenstein initially said Hossein could be released on his own recognizance, which means he could be released from jail with posting bail. To prevent that from happening, a motions hearing was added to his case. An American Airlines gate attendant testified that Hossein was late to the gate for his flight to Philly, which would eventually head to Iran. When he missed the time to board, the attendant testified that Hossein said that the plane couldn’t leave without him because he had a bomb in his luggage. His defense attorney is arguing he should be released on house arrest, and that he’s not a flight risk. He also thinks there was a miscommunication.
May 13, 2023 4:17 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — The City of Pittsburgh is preparing for asylum seekers to come on Greyhound buses. There’s very limited information on who they are and where they’re coming from, only that they could arrive sometime this weekend. They’re preparing to give people a safe place here at the convention center. Pittsburgh police are monitoring the Greyhound bus station and the convention center in preparation for a group of asylum seekers. Officials say a group of approximately 1200 is expected to arrive in Pittsburgh sometime this weekend. These are not asylum seekers being directly brought from the border, which got national attention as the pandemic-era immigration policy called Title 42 ended Thursday. Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration says the group of asylum seekers expected here is coming from a detention facility, but they don’t know which one. The group will be welcomed into the convention center staffed by volunteers from multiple non-profits.
May 12, 2023 5:19 pm
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho jury has convicted Lori Vallow Daybell in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival. The verdict marks the end of a three-year investigation that included bizarre claims of zombie children, apocalyptic prophesies and illicit affairs. Prosecutors charged Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell, with multiple counts of conspiracy, murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of Vallow Daybell’s two youngest children: 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, in September 2019. Prosecutors also charged the couple in connection with the October 2019 death of Chad Daybell’s late wife, Tammy Daybell.
May 12, 2023 10:14 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say they have captured one of two inmates who escaped Sunday night from a Philadelphia prison. A U.S. Marshals Service official says a fugitive task force was conducting surveillance in an area of North Philadelphia where they believed 24-year-old Nasir Grant was staying Thursday night and they saw him leave a residence dressed as a woman. He was stopped in a car nearby and arrested without incident. The search continues for Ameen Hurst. The 18-year-old was facing four counts of murder when he and Grant cut through a fence and escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center. Authorities say the men were aided by a woman in the city who was arrested Wednesday and has been charged with escape and conspiracy.
May 12, 2023 4:30 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Joe Biden’s follow-up meeting with congressional leaders on averting a potential debt default has been postponed until next week. The meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the other leaders was originally set for this Friday. Staff level talks have been progressing privately for the past two days over a separate budget deal that could ease the debt ceiling vote. The White House said those conversations will continue over the weekend. But McCarthy said there’s not enough progress.
