Breaking News

New York man freed after 19 years in prison for robbery he didn’t commit

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who spent nearly two decades in prison for a roughly $550 robbery was exonerated and freed Monday, after prosecutors said they now agree he didn’t commit the crime. “It cost me 20 years, but they said they corrected it now. So that’s all that matters. So I’m good with that,” Kenneth Windley, 61, said as he left a Brooklyn courthouse, at liberty for the first time since 2007. A judge threw out his conviction and dismissed his case entirely, at the request of both prosecutors and Windley’s lawyers. Prosecutors said new evidence — including ...

Spring, climate change, jet stream serves up buffet of wild weather

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly every type of wild weather hit some part of the United States on Monday as the normal changing seasons clash of cold and warm air collided with a jet stream gone crazy and a possible dash of climate change, meteorologists and scientist said. A blizzard dumped snow by the feet around the Great Lakes. Damaging high winds — with threats of tornadoes inside — started marching across the Eastern part of the country, followed by Arctic cold. An unprecedented heat wave is poised to take hold in the Southwest. Immense amounts — more than two feet (60 ...

Challenging your brain helps keep it healthy. Here’s how to do it

WASHINGTON (AP) — “Exercise your brain,” experts advise people hoping to stave off dementia. But how? Stretching your brain might be the better description. Do a crossword puzzle a day and you may just get good at crosswords. Instead, research increasingly shows that a variety of habits and hobbies are like a cognitive workout, building knowledge and skills that may beef up parts of the brain as we get older. One recent study linked a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline to lifelong learning, meaning intellectually stimulating experiences — reading and ...

Snow and wind batter parts of U.S., with threat of tornadoes

CHICAGO (AP) — A broad and erratic patchwork of severe weather rumbled across much of the U.S. on Sunday, dumping heavy snow and making roads impassable in the Upper Midwest while damaging high winds swept across the Plains. Hawaii also continued to be affected by severe flooding. And portions of the mid-South readied for late-day thunderstorms. Forecasters said the storms will spread eastward and by Monday threaten a large swath of the Eastern U.S., with mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., at greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes. Successive punches of snow, wind and ...

Two weeks into war with Iran, Trump has been knocked back on his political heels

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In the two weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump increasingly has been knocked on his political heels. He’s grown more agitated with news coverage and has failed to find a way to explain why he started the war — or how he will end it — that resonates with a public concerned by American deaths in the conflict, surging oil prices and dropping financial markets. Even some of his supporters are questioning his plan and his overall poll numbers are declining. Meanwhile, Moscow is getting a boost from the ...

Horoscope

Two days before the new moon, one day before St. Patrick’s Day and in the final days of the Mercury retrograde, we exhale the last breaths of winter. It’s low-tide energy. There’s a sense that something is about to turn but hasn’t yet. In the meantime, tie up some small loose ends. Let the conversation settle. Trust. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Perseverance is important, but so is knowing where to put it. Misplaced perseverance wastes time. Know when to pivot and apply the same actions to a more promising trajectory. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re so good at offering ...