Articles

Trump backs down, says he misspoke on Russia meddling

Blistered by bipartisan condemnation of his embrace of a longtime U.S. enemy, President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed away from his public undermining of American intelligence agencies, saying he simply misspoke when he said he saw no reason to believe Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.

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Pierogi festivals settle over trademark dispute

A northwestern Indiana city that hosts an annual festival built around a popular Polish delicacy has reached a settlement in its trademark dispute with a rival festival in Pennsylvania. Since 2014 the Edwardsville Hometown Committee has run the Pennsylvania festival dedicated to the potato-filled dumplings, abundant in a region whose coal mines drew Polish immigrants more than a century ago, while Whiting, Indiana, has hosted Pierogi Fest since 1995.

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Prosecutor in Fort Wayne girl’s 1988 killing hails genealogy databases

An Indiana prosecutor who’s preparing formal charges against a man in the 1988 abduction, rape and killing of an 8-year-old Fort Wayne girl says genealogy databases are powerful new tools for investigators. Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards said in an affidavit that investigators consulted a company that was able to narrow DNA in the Tinsley case to Miller and his brother using publicly available genealogy database research. 

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Prosecutors: Russian hackers exploited US cyber vulnerability

To steal politically sensitive information, prosecutors say Russian hackers exploited some of the United States’ own computer infrastructure against it, using servers they leased in Arizona and Illinois. The details were included in an indictment released Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller, who accused the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, of taking part in a wide-ranging conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

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Supreme Court nominee’s paper trail might color confirmation

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s opponents are digging through documents at President George W. Bush’s library in Texas and other repositories around the country looking for anything that could help derail his nomination. The trail of documents is extensive, as Kavanaugh spent five years in the Bush White House and 12 years as a federal judge.

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Lawsuit alleges USA Diving ignored sex abuse of divers

Two former divers are suing USA Diving, accusing the national governing body of ignoring or obstructing inquiries into allegations that a coach sexually abused them when they were young athletes dreaming of Olympic glory. The federal lawsuit, filed last week, names Indianapolis-based USA Diving, Inc., the Ohio State University Diving Club and Will Bohonyi.

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Suspect in 1988 killing of Fort Wayne girl, 8, appears in court

A judge has given prosecutors until Thursday to formally charge a man who is being held in the 1988 slaying of an 8-year-old Fort Wayne girl. John D. Miller, 59, of Grabill was arrested Sunday on preliminary murder, child molesting and criminal confinement charges in the abduction, rape and killing of April Marie Tinsley.

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Judge temporarily halts deportation of reunified families

A federal judge on Monday ordered a temporary halt to any deportations of immigrant families who were reunited after being separated by the Trump administration at the border. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw imposed a delay of at least a week after a request from the American Civil Liberties Union, which cited “persistent and increasing rumors … that mass deportations may be carried out imminently and immediately upon reunification.”

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Kavanaugh to address his past work involving Clinton, Bush

Before his Senate confirmation hearing, President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court will need to provide information about his past experience investigating President Bill Clinton and working for President George W. Bush. Requests for that information are included in questionnaires sent to Brett Kavanaugh by the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, who will lead the confirmation hearing.

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Health officer rejects Miami County needle exchange

The number of hepatitis C cases doesn’t justify implementing a local needle exchange program in Miami County, despite cases doubling in just one year, a north-central Indiana health official said. Health Officer Dr. Rafik Farag declined Tuesday to declare a public health emergency in Miami County that would lead to creating a needle exchange program.

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AG Hill contests special prosecutor role in groping investigation

Lawyers for Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill have filed court papers challenging the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate whether he drunkenly groped a lawmaker and three legislative staffers. A document filed in Marion Superior Court also challenges the authority of the state’s Inspector General to build a case against him.

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Senate Democrats vow to block Trump SCOTUS pick Kavanaugh

Democratic senators from Connecticut and Michigan on Friday announced opposition to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, saying Brett Kavanaugh’s judicial record clearly shows that he would limit access to health care and curtail environmental protections.

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12 Russians accused of hacking in 2016 U.S. election

The Justice Department on Friday indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers on charges they hacked into Democratic email accounts during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and released stolen information in the months before Americans headed to the polls.

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Pence family gas stations left costly environmental legacy

The collapse of an oil company linked to the Pence family in 2004 was widely publicized. Less known is that the state of Indiana — and, to a smaller extent, Kentucky and Illinois — are still on the hook for millions of dollars to clean up more than 85 of the company’s contaminated sites, including underground tanks that leaked toxic chemicals into soil, streams and wells.

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Health officer rejects needle exchange for Miami County

The number of hepatitis C cases doesn’t justify implementing a local needle exchange program despite cases doubling in just one year, a Miami County health official said. Health Officer Dr. Rafik Farag declined to declare an epidemic caused by needle sharing despite pleas from other officials.

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Scooters halted in Indy for now; cities address sudden issue

Scooter rental service Bird has changed its mind about maintaining operations in Indianapolis while it waits for city officials to come up with regulations. Bird began removing scooters from the city Wednesday. City-County Council members are expected to vote on an ordinance regulating scooter-rental services on Monday.

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