Italy shelves plan to undo crime of illegal immigration

ROME (AP) – Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says a proposal to decriminalize illegal immigration won’t be on an upcoming Cabinet meeting’s agenda because citizens feel unsafe. Renzi told state TV Sunday night that while enforcement clogs the justice system, “there’s a perception of being unsafe” and thus no need to rush to decriminalize. Illegally entering […]

Officials pledge closer cooperation in tackling extremists

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Police, politicians and intelligence officials from more than 50 countries pledged Monday to intensify the fight against violent extremism by cooperating more closely in tracking foreign fighters, their finances and communications. “We all agree that we need to share information better, smarter and faster,” Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said […]

Jordan says 16,000 Syrian refugees stranded on border

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – Jordan said Monday that some 16,000 Syrian refugees are stranded in a remote desert area along its border, up from 12,000 a week ago. Government spokesman Mohammed Momani told The Associated Press that the refugees are being “carefully monitored” by authorities and have received tents, heaters, food and medicine from U.N. […]

Trial of Freddie Gray van driver delayed by appeals court

BALTIMORE (AP) – A Maryland appeals court postponed the trial of a police van driver charged with second-degree murder in the death of Freddie Gray, saying it needs to address whether another Baltimore officer should be compelled to testify against Caesar Goodson. Jury selection for Goodson’s trial was supposed to start Monday. Prosecutors have indicated […]

For some theater shooting jurors, trial began after verdict

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) – For nearly 14 weeks, they sat in a suburban Denver jury box, listening for hours as witnesses described the searing pain of gunshot wounds and the terror they felt as they fled the movie theater, the gunman still firing at them. They sat feet from a poster-sized photo of a 6-year-old […]

Man charged in Baby Doe’s death pleads not guilty to murder

BOSTON (AP) – A man charged with killing a 2-year-old girl who was dubbed Baby Doe after her body washed up on a Boston Harbor island has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Michael McCarthy entered the plea Monday in Suffolk Superior Court. He was ordered held without bail. Prosecutors say McCarthy killed his girlfriend’s […]

A look at the 10 highest US lottery jackpots

The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday night’s drawing will be an estimated $1.4 billion – the largest lottery jackpot in the world. Not that there aren’t large jackpots elsewhere. Spain’s massively popular Christmas lottery, known as “El Gordo,” is ranked as the world’s richest, though it doles out a single jackpot among millions of prizes, instead […]

6.1-magnitude earthquake reported off coast of Japan

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) – The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting a 6.1-magnitude earthquake off Japan. The quake was reported just after 2 a.m. Tuesday morning local time (1700 GMT Monday), 984 kilometers (611 miles) north of Tokyo. It was west of Hokkaido island. The depth was reported at 236 kilometers. There is no current tsunami […]

Russia ready to arm Balkan ally Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Russia is ready to arm its Balkan ally Serbia with sophisticated weapons, the Russian deputy prime minister said Monday, which could be at odds with Belgrade’s desire to join the European Union. Dmitry Rogozin said in Belgrade that “we are ready to directly support our Balkan ally” in the purchase of […]

US stocks stabilize, shaking off another drop in China

Major U.S. stock indexes were little changed in midday trading Monday as investors weighed the implications of another slump in China’s stock market. Energy companies were among the biggest decliners as the price of crude oil fell. KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average was little changed at 16,348 as of 12:14 p.m. Eastern time. […]