TIPP CITY, Ohio

A former “American Idol” contestant has been arrested and charged with fatally shooting his wife and staging the crime scene to look like a burglary, authorities said.

Caleb Flynn, 39, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of murder, assault, and tampering with evidence. During his arraignment, Flynn addressed the judge, saying, “I just want to take care of my daughters. I’m not a risk.” Judge Samuel Huffman set bond at $2 million.

Ashley Flynn, 37, was found dead Monday after police responded to a reported burglary and shooting at the couple’s Tipp City home. Officers arrived to find Flynn, his wife, and their two children inside, according to a police news release.

In a 911 call released by authorities, a frantic Caleb Flynn told a dispatcher that an intruder had broken in and shot his wife multiple times in the head, adding that he did not know if the suspect was still in the house.

Investigators allege the scene was staged to mislead them. Flynn remains in custody pending further court proceedings.

By James Kisoo

NEW YORK

A powerful nor’easter is barreling toward the East Coast, prompting cities and towns from Maryland to Massachusetts to scramble Sunday as forecasters upgraded alerts to blizzard warnings and warned the storm could be significantly more severe than initially projected.

The National Weather Service said 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible in many areas, with blizzard warnings now in effect for New York City, Long Island, Boston, and coastal communities across New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Flooding is also possible in parts of New York and New Jersey.

“While we do get plenty of these nor’easters that produce heavy snow and strong impacts, it’s been several years since we saw one of this magnitude across this large of a region in this very populated part of the country,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center.

The storm is expected to arrive Sunday morning in areas around Washington, D.C., before stretching toward Philadelphia and New York City, and reaching Boston by evening.

By James Kisoo

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

Danish forces evacuated an ailing U.S. submarine crew member off the coast of Greenland on Saturday, a routine rescue that quickly became entangled in a political dispute after President Donald Trump announced plans to send an American hospital ship to the Danish territory.

The Joint Arctic Command said the crew member was retrieved by a Danish Seahawk helicopter deployed from an inspection vessel and transported to a hospital in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, approximately 7 nautical miles from shore.

Hours later, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to announce that the U.S. would dispatch a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that residents are sick and not receiving adequate care.

“Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there.

It’s on the way!!!” Trump wrote, referring to his special envoy for the territory.

The announcement drew a swift response from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who defended Greenland’s health care system.

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told public broadcaster DR that authorities had not been informed the vessel was en route.

By James Kisoo

NEW YORK

JPMorgan Chase has acknowledged for the first time that it closed the bank accounts of President Donald Trump and several of his businesses in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, marking a significant development in the president’s legal battle with the nation’s largest bank.

The admission came in a court filing submitted this week in Trump’s $5 billion lawsuit against the bank and its CEO, Jamie Dimon.

The president alleges his accounts were shut down for political reasons, disrupting his business operations in a practice known as “debanking.”

Until now, JPMorgan had never explicitly confirmed in writing that it closed Trump’s accounts after Jan. 6. The bank previously spoke only hypothetically about its account-closing policies, citing federal privacy laws.

“In February 2021, JPMorgan informed Plaintiffs that certain accounts maintained with JPMorgan’s CB and PB would be closed,” Dan Wilkening, the bank’s former chief administrative officer, wrote in the filing.

The abbreviations refer to JPMorgan’s commercial and private banking divisions.

The acknowledgment removes any ambiguity about the bank’s actions and provides new ammunition for Trump’s claims that financial institutions targeted him in the turbulent aftermath of the Capitol riot.

By James Kisoo

WASHINGTON

The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs has injected fresh uncertainty into the already fragile landscape of U.S.-China relations, forcing both economic superpowers to recalibrate just as a high-stakes summit looms.

Friday’s ruling would appear to strengthen Beijing’s position at the negotiating table. But analysts predict China will move cautiously, wary of provoking Trump, who retains other avenues to levy taxes and has shown no hesitation in using them.

Both sides are keen to preserve a fragile trade truce and stabilize ties ahead of Trump’s highly anticipated visit to Beijing.

“It will give China a moral boost in their negotiations with Trump’s team ahead of the summit, but they are prepared for the scenario that nothing actually changes in reality,” said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank.

Furious over the judicial setback, Trump announced he would impose a temporary 10% global tariff before raising it to 15%, while simultaneously pursuing alternative paths for import duties.

He framed the aggressive posture as a necessary response to China, which he said poses the greatest challenge to U.S. economic, technological, and military dominance.

By James Kisoo

SAN FRANCISCO

Scott Wiener, the California state senator favored to succeed Nancy Pelosi in the U.S. House, has built a career on picking fights other politicians avoid.

From banning masks for federal agents to shielding transgender youth, his legislative portfolio reads like a roadmap of the nation’s most explosive cultural battles.

On Sunday, Wiener is expected to receive the California Democratic Party’s endorsement, bolstering his campaign in a competitive primary.

If elected, he would arrive in Washington as a ready-made symbol: a San Francisco progressive celebrated by the left and vilified by conservatives, yet occasionally at odds with his own allies.

After 15 years in city and state politics, Wiener is no stranger to tightrope walking.

“Sen. Wiener only does the tough bills,” said Chris Micheli, a longtime Sacramento lobbyist. “He never shies away from a significant political battle.”

But navigating modern Democratic politics has its perils. In January, Wiener shifted his rhetoric on the war in Gaza, adopting the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions days after declining to do so.

The reversal angered some Jewish groups and prompted Wiener to step down as co-chair of the state Legislative Jewish Caucus—a rare retreat for a politician known for charging ahead.

By James Kisoo

DAKAR, Senegal

Farah fled Morocco to save her life. Her family had beaten her, hunted her, and tried to kill her after discovering she was in a same-sex relationship.

Now, after a harrowing journey to the United States and a swift deportation by the Trump administration, the 21-year-old says she is back in the country where being gay is a crime—and back in hiding.

“I have to work and live with the fear of being tracked once again by my family,” Farah told The Associated Press in a rare testimony from an asylum-seeker deported to a third country despite having a protection order from a U.S. immigration judge. “But there is nothing I can do.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of persecution, Farah described a desperate odyssey that began when her relationship was discovered.

She was beaten, first by her own family and then by her partner’s relatives. Kicked out of the family home, she fled to another city with her partner, only to be found and nearly killed, she said.

Through a friend, the couple learned of an opportunity to obtain visas for Brazil, hoping to eventually reach the United States where they had connections.

From Brazil, they trekked through six countries over weeks before finally reaching the U.S. border, where they requested asylum.

The AP reviewed her protection order, and lawyers verified parts of her account. In Morocco, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison.

Now, Farah says she is trapped in the very country she fled, her safety once again hanging in the balance.

By James Kisoo