New York AG

pleads not guilty

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is scheduled for trial in January after pleading not guilty to federal charges accusing her of lying on mortgage papers to secure favorable loan terms in a case pushed by President Donald Trump.

James left the courthouse Friday smiling to cheers from supporters, who chanted, “We stand with Tish!” James says the case is about “a justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge.”

James faces bank fraud and false-statements charges in connection with a 2020 home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia. James’ attorney calls the Democrat’s case a vindictive prosecution brought at the direction of the Republican president.

Tropical storm

brings huge rains

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Melissa is nearly stationary in the central Caribbean, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane.

Catastrophic flooding and landslides are likely in southern Haiti in the coming days. U.S. forecasters said the storm’s slow movement will mean days of exposure to heavy rain and strong winds, which will worsen flooding and other dangers. Melissa had 60 mph winds Friday. It could strengthen into a hurricane today and a major hurricane later in the weekend. Authorities were opening shelters and making other preparations in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Families search

through corpses

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian families are facing a grisly search through corpses for lost loved ones, with Israel returning bodies to Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal.

Over the past 10 days, 195 Palestinian bodies have been released by Israel as part of an exchange of the dead, with Hamas gradually returning remains of 28 hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.

Families have flocked to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, searching for the missing. Israel gave no identification for the bodies and doesn’t allow DNA testing material into Gaza. The bodies are decomposed and damaged. It’s up to families to recognize relatives.

The Israeli military says all bodies returned are those of combatants. But some families say those they’ve identified were never fighters.