Federal prosecutors detail Chinese scholar’s brutal death in Illinois
Michael Tarm, Associated Press
June 12, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday shared with jurors grisly details of how they claim a former University of Illinois doctoral student kidnapped a visiting scholar from China who aspired to return home and become a professor, then brutally beat and killed her. Opening statements...
Buttigieg’s high college debt draws attention to the issue
Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press
June 9, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg knows firsthand the burden of six-figure student loan debt. He and his husband, Chasten, are far from alone, though, and their personal college indebtedness is helping to keep the issue on the national stage. With loans totaling...
Undone by Brexit, May steps down as Conservative leader
Jill Lawless, Associated Press
June 7, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May's time as Conservative Party leader ended Friday, not with a bang but a whimper. May, who announced her departure two weeks ago after her career was undone by the Brexit mess, formally stepped down in a private exchange of letters with the party,...
D-Day at 75: Nations honor aging veterans, fallen comrades
Raf Casert, John Leicester and Elaine Ganley, Associated Press
June 6, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — Standing on the windswept beaches and bluffs of Normandy, a dwindling number of aging veterans of history's greatest air and sea invasion received the thanks and praise of a world transformed by their sacrifice. The mission now, they said, was to honor the dead and keep...
Mexican officials try to stave off tariffs at White House
Jill Colvin, Matthew Lee and Luis Alonso Lugo, Associated Press
June 5, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexican and U.S. officials met late into the day Tuesday at the White House trying to stave off President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs on all Mexican goods flowing into the United States. The first tariffs — 5% taxes on imports from Mexico — are to go into effect next...
Prosperity, repression mark China 30 years after Tiananmen
Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press
June 4, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
BEIJING (AP) — Thirty years since the Tiananmen Square protests, China's economy has catapulted up the world rankings, yet political repression in the country is harsher than many who watched those events would have anticipated. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are held in re-education camps without...
Illinois governor set to sign bill removing abortion restrictions
Mari Oliver, Contributing Writer
June 3, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
A controversial abortion bill which removes abortion restrictions in Illinois and criminal penalties for physicians who perform abortions passed in the state Senate on Saturday along party lines, with a 34-20 vote. The bill, which previously passed in the House on Tuesday, comes as a number of states...
Despite Smollett controversy, hate crime still a pervasive issue
Noah Festenstein, Contributing Writer
June 3, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
Amid the widely publicized Jussie Smollett controversy, in which the “Empire” actor claimed to have been the victim of a racially-motivated and homophobic attack, statistics show that hate crimes are on the rise nationally. According to the most recent statistics from the FBI, there were 7,175 incidents...
Poor countries take on debt with China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Cole Bursch, Contributing Writer
June 3, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
Since China introduced its plans to rebuild ancient trading routes in Eurasia in 2013, there have been billions of dollars poured into investments in Africa and Western Asia, with signed Memorandums of Understanding in a number of European countries like Italy. But while Chinese officials have touted t...
Tensions rise between leaders in Tehran, Washington
Bianca Cseke, Online Editor
June 3, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to rise as the White House announced that it will send an additional 1,500 troops to the Middle East, and President Donald Trump tweeted about “the official end of Iran” if the two countries were to go to war. The Trump administration has said — thoug...
Police: Multiple people hurt in Virginia Beach shooting
May 31, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — A shooter wounded "multiple" people at a municipal center in Virginia Beach on Friday, according to police, who said they had taken a suspect into custody and believed the person was acting alone. Police tweeted that there were "multiple injuries," but did not elaborate...
Mueller: Special counsel probe did not exonerate Trump
Eric Tucker, Michael Balsamo and Chad Day, Associated Press
May 29, 2019
Filed under Nation & World
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller said Wednesday he was legally barred from charging President Donald Trump with a crime but pointedly emphasized that his Russia report did not exonerate the president. If he could have cleared Trump of obstruction of justice he "would have said so,"...