LONDON — Robbie Coltrane, the baby-faced comedian and character actor whose hundreds of roles included a crime-solving psychologist on the TV series “Cracker” and the gentle half-giant Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” movies, has died. He was 72. Coltrane’s agent Belinda Wright said he died Friday at a hospital...
U.S. Bank Gobbles Up Union Bank in $8B Buy
NEW YORK — Key financial regulators on Friday approved U.S. Bank's $8 billion acquisition of Japanese financial titan MUFG's Union Bank franchise, clearing big regulatory hurdles for a deal that will push U.S. Bank closer to the size of Wall Street’s mega banks. But in reaching those approvals, both the...
Boy, 15, Kills Five, Including a Police Officer, in Raleigh
RALEIGH, N.C. — A 15-year-old boy fatally shot two people in the streets of a middle-class Raleigh neighborhood, then fled toward a popular walking trail where he opened fire, killing three more people and wounding two others in an attack that left the city reeling and authorities searching for...
Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas Trump for Testimony on Capitol Attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump for his testimony about the 2021 Capitol attack. The panel voted unanimously to compel the former president to appear. “We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th’s central player,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice...
Parkland School Shooter to Get Life Sentence for Killing 17
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— A jury spared Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz from the death penalty Thursday for killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, sending him to prison for the remainder of his life in a decision that left many families of the victims angered, baffled, and...
Ukraine Gets More Air Defense Pledges as Russia Hits Cities
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s allies committed to supplying the country with advanced air defense systems as Russian forces attacked the Kyiv region with kamikaze drones and fired missiles at civilian targets elsewhere Thursday as payback for the bombing of a strategic bridge linking Russia with annexed Crimea. Missile strikes killed...
In Milwaukee, Latinos Fed up With Crime Weigh GOP Appeal
MILWAUKEE — In two decades of street outreach on Milwaukee’s south side, evangelical pastor Marty Calderon has offered Bible study, gang prevention, a safe place to stay for those battling addiction, and help getting jobs for those newly released from prison. But as he’s watched rising crime threaten those efforts...
NATO Chief Warns Russia Not to Cross ‘Very Important Line’
BRUSSELS — Russian President Vladimir Putin would be crossing a “very important line” if he were to order the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Thursday, as both the military alliance and Russia are due to hold nuclear exercises in the next few days. NATO...
LA Leader Resigns City Council Seat Over Racist Remarks
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council member whose racist slurs in a leaked recording created an uproar resigned Wednesday hours after the state attorney general announced an investigation into possible criminal charges involving a meeting where she made the remarks. Former Council President Nury Martinez, the first Latina...
Protests Galvanize Iranians Abroad in Hope, Worry, and Unity
LONDON — As anti-government protests roil cities and towns in Iran for a fourth week, tens of thousands of Iranians living abroad have marched on the streets of Europe, North America, and beyond in support of what many believe to be a watershed moment for their home country. From those...