Authorities in Alabama cast doubt Wednesday on the story of a woman who set off a frantic search when she disappeared for two days after calling 911 to report a toddler wandering on the highway. Carlee Russell told investigators she was abducted and forced into a car Thursday, but they have been unable to verify…

COLUMBUS, Ohio—An armed robbery spree in Ohio ended with a police chase and shootout that left one suspect dead and an officer critically wounded, authorities said. Two other suspects who fled on foot from the shootout were later captured. The spree began around 2:15 p.m. Thursday, when a man stole the keys to an SUV…

New York City has lost nearly half a million residents in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with most city-dwellers having flocked to the southern states, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The U.S. Census Bureau revealed on May 18 that the Big Apple witnessed an exodus of over 468,200 between April 2020 and July 2022, resulting in…

ALBANY, Ore.—Seven people were killed and multiple others hurt in a crash involving several vehicles Thursday on Interstate 5 in an agricultural area of western Oregon, police said. Officers responded at about 2:05 p.m. to the crash involving two semi trucks and a passenger vehicle in the northbound lanes about 7 miles (11 kilometers) north…

Uber Technologies Inc. drivers are not exempt from a U.S. law requiring them to bring work-related legal disputes in private arbitration rather than joining class action lawsuits in court, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday. A panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that Uber drivers do not qualify for…

BOWDOIN, Maine—Four people were fatally shot at a house in Maine on Tuesday shortly before gunfire wounded three others on a busy highway, in a pair of crimes that are linked, authorities said. Hours later, a man was charged with murder. Police closed a portion of the interstate highway and residents and businesses in the…

MOBILE, Ala.—A Florida woman making a cross-country drive with her boyfriend allegedly let him out on Interstate 10 and then intentionally ran him down, killing him, authorities said. Johana Suarez, 37, of Miami, was jailed on a charge of murder in the death of Henry Hernandez, 48. The man was found dead early Sunday alongside…

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—A 17-mile stretch of interstate in central Illinois that had closed after a pileup involving about 100 cars, trucks, and big rigs in a blinding snowstorm fully reopened Friday. There were no reports of injuries in the crashes, which happened Thursday on Interstate 39 north of Bloomington as winds gusting up to 40 mph…

Queensland has decided to scrap PCR testing for travellers prior to entering the state, switching to the more convenient rapid antigen tests (RAT). In a social media post on Wednesday morning, state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said, “From Jan. 1, travellers into Queensland from interstate hotspots can use a negative rapid antigen test to satisfy border…

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—The driver of a girl’s home van in which eight children died in a fiery interstate crash in Alabama has filed suit against trucking companies based in California and Georgia and a driver, her lawyers said Monday. The federal lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount of money, recounts a desperate attempt by the woman,…