Author: rpnadmin

Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle partnership is expanding into wildfire relief for her home state of Washington, according to TMZ, which reported Wednesday that the retailer will let shoppers donate to relief efforts at checkout. Starting Friday and running through Aug. 31, American Eagle customers shopping online or in stores can round up their total or contribute an amount of their choosing, with proceeds going to Second Harvest, according to the outlet. TMZ reported the initiative comes as Ms. Sweeney and her boyfriend, music executive Scooter Braun, remain on the ground in the Spokane area, where they have been delivering meals…

New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department seeking to compel the federal government to hand over unredacted files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The complaint, filed in Washington federal court on Wednesday, contends that the Epstein files are necessary to investigate his alleged crimes at a property the late financier purchased in New Mexico in 1993. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said the federal government’s conduct “actively harms victims and undermines the public interest” by “stonewalling” his criminal investigation into conduct by Epstein and his coconspirators at the Zorro Ranch estate. The lawsuit argues that…

COLUMBIA, S.C — A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by Alex Murdaugh seeking $600,000 in legal fees by the former court clerk whose misconduct led his murder convictions to be overturned on appeal. Murdaugh sued Becky Hill in May saying she violated his right to a fair trial in the deaths of his wife and son. A jury found Murdaugh guilty, but the state Supreme Court overturned the convictions and life sentences earlier this year saying Hill’s comments to jurors suggested the once-prominent lawyer was guilty and his testimony in his own defense couldn’t be trusted. The problem…

KIRTLAND. Ohio — Elder Brian Garner led a small group of visitors through the sturdy wooden door of what looked like an ordinary colonial church. But nearly two centuries ago, it was where a radical departure in American religious history took hold. “Welcome to the house of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Garner said. The visitors walked through the church’s assembly halls and meeting rooms where Joseph Smith gathered in the 1830s with early followers of the movement that became known as Mormonism. They sang a temple-dedication hymn where it was first sung by pioneers in the faith. The building in…

KIRTLAND. Ohio — Elder Brian Garner led a small group of visitors through the sturdy wooden door of what looked like an ordinary colonial church. But nearly two centuries ago, it was where a radical departure in American religious history took hold. “Welcome to the house of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Garner said. The visitors walked through the church’s assembly halls and meeting rooms where Joseph Smith gathered in the 1830s with early followers of the movement that became known as Mormonism. They sang a temple-dedication hymn where it was first sung by pioneers in the faith. The building in…

WAPAKONETA, Ohio — Inside Neil Armstrong’s boyhood home, at the top of a creaky stairway, sits his bedroom where he launched model airplanes out of the rear window to measure how far they’d fly. Hanging in the room now are autographed photos of astronauts who’ve visited the privately kept house to see where Armstrong’s first steps to the moon began. Owned by a retired history teacher devoted to preserving its past and charming character, the home is for sale for the first time in nearly 40 years. What will become of it remains uncertain. All over Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta,…

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A federal appeals court signaled that it might not allow a lawsuit brought by fishing industry businesses and trade groups against a California aquarium to proceed because of the case’s potential impact on free speech. The New England-based plaintiffs sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium for defamation after the aquarium’s Seafood Watch conservation program placed American and Canadian lobster on its do-not-eat “red list” in 2022. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether the lawsuit can go forward. One of the appellate judges, Judge Seth Aframe, said during oral arguments on July 27 that…

NEW YORK — Parasitic illness cases in 15 states have been linked to iceberg lettuce, U.S. health officials said Wednesday. Cyclospora cases have been reported in at least 47 states this year, and investigators have continued to probe how many could be linked to a common contaminated source. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of states tied to the deadly outbreak had grown from nine to 15. Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina were added to a list that previously included Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Investigators…

Three people have been charged with threatening a judge, a witness and local officials connected to the investigation into the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found dead after a July Fourth boat trip with friends to an island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. None of the three appear to know Wells, his family or the boating group, or be part of the investigation. The threats came amid rampant speculation and scrutiny of the investigation, deepened in part by uncertainty surrounding Wells’ final hours, distrust of law enforcement and the state’s long history of racist violence. The teenager, who was…

The Orange County Fair pulled a photograph from its competitive art exhibit this week after Orange County Republicans objected to the image, which depicted a child holding a sign reading “Happy Last Birthday” beside anti-Trump messaging — though fair officials say the removal came at the photographer’s own request, not in response to GOP pressure. The image, titled “The Young Fight” and submitted by photographer Alexander Nguyen as entry No. 1443, showed a family at a “No Kings” protest in Torrance. A child in the photo held the “Happy Last Birthday” sign next to another bearing a caricature of President…