U.S. and World News

Ex-Pa. officer once hailed as hero faces charges

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and given a seat next to the first lady at a speech by President Obama has been arrested and charged with rape and other crimes.

Authorities: Hofstra student was killed by police

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities say a police officer's bullet killed a New York college student during the response to a home invasion at an off-campus home.

NTSB investigating Conn. train crash that injured 70

FAIRFIELD, CONN. (USA Today) -- Investigators say it's too soon to know what caused a commuter train to derail Friday, injuring 70 people when it slammed into another train heading in the opposite direction.

Up to 60 injured after car drives into Va. parade

DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) -- An emergency official says about 50 to 60 people were injured after car drove into a group of hikers at a parade in a small Virginia town.

Powerball pot may get up to $1 billion

The estimated jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing has swelled to a record $600 million for the popular lottery game, but one official estimated today that if it goes unclaimed the prize would zoom to nearly $1 billion.

Landing gear leads to plane's belly landing

An airline official said a US Airways flight with 34 people aboard was forced to make a belly landing at Newark International Airport after experiencing landing gear trouble. No injuries were reported.

No drinking and boating

It's not just the highways: With the summer recreational boating season just getting underway, several states are moving to cut down on boating under the influence.

60 hurt as Conn. commuter trains collide

Sixty people were transported to hospitals and five people were hurt critically, one very critically, Friday night near Bridgeport, Conn., after an eastbound commuter train derailed and was hit by a westbound train, Conn. Gov. Dan Malloy said in a news conference.

Pittsburgh Zoo unveils Amur tiger cub to public

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (AP) -- Officials at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium are showing off their new Amur tiger cub to the public, though the 6-week-old cat can only be seen on a video monitor for now.

Naked man climbs on fire truck, arrested

CALVERTON, Md. (WUSA) -- You don't see this every day.

According to Statter911, the PGFD Truck 831 crew stopped at a store to grab some food on Wednesday and when they returned to their truck a naked man was on the top of their aerial ladder.

Baby Sammy home after heart surgery

SACRAMENTO, CA. (KTXV) -- The baby at the center of a controversial CPS dispute is finally home with his parents.

Name changes planned for beef & pork cuts

Amateur drives away with hole-in-one and a BMW

GREER (GREENVILLEONLINE.COM)-- On a day when none of the professionals separated themselves from the crowd at the Web.com Tour BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex Corporation, amateur Walt Dennis certainly did.

$1M in jewelry stolen from a hotel safe

This weekend, stars may sport a little less bling and the parties could be a little less sparkly.

Ousted IRS chief: It wasn't on purpose

A huge increase in workload, rather than deliberate targeting, led to "foolish mistakes" and the political discrimination in the Internal Revenue Service cited by an inspector general's report, the agency's outgoing commissioner said Friday.

Earthquake shakes parts of N.Y., Vermont

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake in Ontario, Canada, was felt early Friday from upstate New York to the Vermont border.

ICE freed more felons than thought

Feds have taken back into custody 58 of the convicted criminals released after review.

Arrests in New Orleans parade shootings cheered

 Bond has been set at more than $10 million for the second of two brothers facing attempted second-degree murder charges in the Mother's Day shooting spree that broke out during a neighborhood parade in New Orleans.

Benghazi e-mails raise questions

The communications raise questions about who called the shots and why, say an analyst and a lawmaker involved in the investigation.

Gas prices heading higher near term

It's been a rollercoaster year for gas prices, which began the year averaging $3.29 a gallon, then zoomed to $3.78 in February before dropping to $3.50 last month. Current average price: $3.60.

Powerball jackpot climbs again, reaches $550M

Looking for a big payday? Dueling Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots are giving many in the USA two chances to strike it rich Friday and Saturday.

House group reaches deal on immigration bill

After years of negotiating and a week that saw one of its members nearly bolt from the group, a bipartisan group of House members announced Thursday that they had reached a deal "in principle" on a bill to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.