Author: rpnadmin

PHOENIX — Enrollment in the biggest federally funded food aid program in the U.S. dropped by more than 13% in a 12-month span – a decline far steeper than the government estimated as work requirements and other provisions of President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” take hold. Those losing coverage in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, include people who don’t meet the tightening requirements to participate, and, advocates say, some who qualify for the help but are rejected because they miss deadlines or don’t have the needed documentation handy. It’s too early to tell exactly how many fall…

NEW YORK — The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is mentally competent to stand trial as he faces sex trafficking charges after being hospitalized for months for dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury, in her Thursday decision, concluded that Michael Jeffries “clearly possesses a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings” and is a “reasonably intelligent person and skilled communicator” following his stay at a federal prison hospital in Butner, North Carolina. The federal judge on Long Island, New York, said she reviewed testimony and written reports from medical experts and…

An American Airlines passenger needed medical attention upon landing in Dallas after getting injured by a burning laptop while the flight was in progress. American Airlines Flight 2398 left from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday and landed as planned at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, according to FlightAware. “American Airlines Flight 2398 landed safely at DFW after reports of smoke from a customer’s device during landing. … After landing, the aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power. Per procedure, emergency personnel met the aircraft upon arrival to the gate,” American Airlines said in a statement to People.…

A Texas judge on Saturday denied Karmelo Anthony’s request for a new trial, leaving intact his murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet. Retired District Judge Michael Chitty rejected the request after reviewing the defense motion, court record, evidence, legal briefs and arguments presented during two days of testimony in McKinney. His order did not provide a detailed explanation for the decision, according to Fox News Digital. Anthony’s attorneys had argued that several issues surrounding his trial violated his constitutional rights, including courtroom-access restrictions, proceedings conducted without him…

A black bear managed to get into a car in Colorado and died while unable to get out, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said. State wildlife officials said Monday on social media that the 300-pound bear got into the unlocked car in Colorado Springs, 60 miles south of Denver. Officials did not specify the age or sex of the dead bear. Pictures posted by wildlife officials show the animal and the mess it made of the car’s interior. The bear was undiscovered for several days “in the heat” before it was found dead, wildlife officials said, though they did not say…

HONOLULU — Tropical Storm Moke advanced toward Hawaii Saturday, likely bringing more heavy rainfall and strong gusts to the Big Island, where residents are still dealing with the aftermath of heavy flooding and damaging winds from Hurricane Lala. Moke, which formed Friday in the Pacific Ocean, was located about 470 miles (755 kilometers) southeast of Hilo, moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph), as of 5 a.m. on Saturday in Hawaii. Maximum sustained winds were around 50 mph (85 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. As with Hurricane Lala, the Big Island is expected to bear the brunt of Moke’s…

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas court on Friday slashed a $50 million judgment to $1.5 million against Infowars founder Alex Jones over falsely calling 2012 school shooting a hoax. The ruling does not affect a $1.4 billion judgement against Jones in Connecticut, but is a significant legal victory for Jones after he and his company, Free Speech Systems, were found liable for damages for claiming the mass shooting didn’t happen. The unanimous opinion by the Texas Third Court of Appeals found that Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis did not show evidence that harassment inflamed by Jones’ hoax…

DAKAR, Senegal — Twenty migrants deported from the United States arrived in Liberia on Thursday, the first group of an eventual 1,200 deportees that the West African country says it will receive from the U.S. under a new deal. Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to two dozen countries that aren’t their own, as it pushes ahead with its immigration crackdown, advocates say. An estimated 11 of those agreements, nearly half the total, are with African countries and the Liberia-U.S. agreement involves one of the largest numbers of such third-country deportations Immigration…

BOSTON — The defense rested its case Friday in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after eliciting more testimony about her mental state before she strangled her three young children. Prosecutors then began calling rebuttal witnesses before attorneys make their closing arguments in the trial, which is likely entering its final days. Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old. They were found in the basement of the family’s home in coastal Duxbury, Massachusetts. Clancy jumped from a second-story window after strangling…

CARLISLE, Pa. — Federal investigators have pulled intact data cards from a state police helicopter and Cessna plane that collided at a small airport in central Pennsylvania, killing the plane’s pilot. Aaron McCarter, investigator-in-charge with the National Transportation Safety Board, called the recovery of the cards “very good news from a data standpoint,” during a media briefing Friday morning. Neither aircraft would be required to have a cockpit voice recorder that is found in larger aircraft, McCarter said. “We don’t know exactly what kind of parameters are on these data cards, but in some cases we get fortunate” and the…