Small fire set at memorial to victims of Pulse nightclub shooting
ORLANDO, Fla. — Some banners were burned at a temporary memorial honoring the 49 victims who died in a massacre at a Florida gay nightclub five years ago, and the foundation that runs it is seeking the public’s help in catching the vandal. The onePulse Foundation over the weekend released...
Houston concert deaths spur calls for independent review
The Houston police and fire departments were deeply involved in safety measures for the music festival where a surging crowd killed eight people, playing key roles in crowd control measures, on-site security staffing and the emergency response. The police chief even met with the headlining performer before the show. Now...
Astronaut conducts 1st spacewalk by Chinese woman
Wang Yaping has become the first Chinese woman to conduct a spacewalk as part of a six-month mission to the country’s space station. Fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang left the station’s main module on Sunday evening and Wang followed later. They installed equipment and carried out tests alongside the station’s robotic...
Air-scrubbing machines gain momentum, but long way to go
On a field ringed by rolling green hills in Iceland, fans attached to metal structures that look like an industrial-sized Lego project are spinning. Their mission is to scrub the atmosphere by sucking carbon dioxide from the air and storing it safely underground. Just a few years ago, this technology,...
UN says over 3 million in Myanmar need ‘life-saving’ aid
The U.N. humanitarian chief urged Myanmar’s military leaders on Monday to provide unimpeded access to the more than 3 million people in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance since government forces seized power on Feb. 1 “because of growing conflict and insecurity, covid-19 and a failing economy.” Martin Griffiths warned that...
Easton Area school bus goes into creek; driver, 8 kids sent to hospitals
An eastern Pennsylvania school bus went off the road and ended up with its nose in a creek, sending the driver and eight students to hospitals, but no serious injuries were reported, authorities said. Easton Area School District officials said about 30 middle school students were on the bus when...
Jan. 6 panel subpoenas 6 more Trump associates in probe
WASHINGTON — Further expanding its probe, the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to six additional associates of former President Donald Trump who were closely involved in his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The committee’s chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson,...
Obama hits Russia, China for ‘lack of urgency’ on climate
GLASGOW, Scotland — Barack Obama expressed confidence at U.N. climate talks Monday that the Biden administration will ultimately get its $555 billion climate package through Congress, and faulted U.S. rivals China and Russia for what he called a “dangerous lack of urgency” in cutting their own climate-wrecking emissions. As nations...
Vaccine proof required as strict mandate takes effect in Los Angeles
People entering a wide variety of businesses in the city of Los Angeles had to show proof of covid-19 vaccination starting Monday as one of the country’s strictest measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus took effect. The new rule covers businesses ranging from restaurants to shopping malls...
High court struggles with government secrets case
The Supreme Court struggled Monday with whether to allow a lawsuit by Muslim men claiming religious bias by the FBI to go forward despite the government’s objection that doing so could reveal national security secrets. The case the high court was considering involves a group of three men from Southern...
Oscar Pistorius up for parole, but he must meet victim’s parents
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Eight years after he shot dead his girlfriend, Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius is up for parole, but first he must meet with her parents. Pistorius, a world-famous double-amputee athlete who competed at the 2012 Olympics, has been eligible for parole since July after he was...
SpaceX returns 4 astronauts to Earth, ending 200-day flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Four astronauts returned to Earth on Monday, riding home with SpaceX to end a 200-day space station mission that began last spring. Their capsule streaked through the late night sky like a dazzling meteor before parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola,...
Migrants aided by Belarus try to storm border into Poland
Hundreds if not thousands of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor wire defenses and using branches to try and climb over them. The siege escalated a crisis along the European Union’s eastern border that has been simmering for months. Poland’s interior ministry...
Shooting victim says he was pointing his gun at Rittenhouse
A protester and volunteer medic wounded on the streets of Kenosha by Kyle Rittenhouse testified Monday that he was pointing his own gun at the rifle-toting Rittenhouse when the young man shot him. Gaige Grosskreutz, the third and final man gunned down by Rittenhouse during a night of turbulent racial-justice...
Democrat appears poised to snare state Commonwealth Court seat as tight race flips
Pennsylvania Democrats appear poised to pick up a seat on the state’s Commonwealth Court. As provisional and mail-in ballots were tallied late last week, preliminary returns showed Democrat Lori Dumas, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge, slightly ahead of Drew Crompton, a Republican judge who was running for a full...
Officials: Gov. Wolf to let Pa. schools set mask rules in January
Pennsylvania school districts will be allowed to modify or end the mask mandate for K-12 students in January, Gov. Tom Wolf was set to announce Monday, according to two education officials who were briefed on the plan. The Democratic governor plans to turn over decisions about masking to local school...
U.S. charges 2 suspected major ransomware operators
WASHINGTON — A suspected Ukrainian hacker has been arrested and charged in the United States in connection with a string of costly ransomware attacks, including one that snarled businesses around the globe on the Fourth of July weekend, U.S. officials said Monday. Yaroslav Vasinskyi was arrested last month after traveling...
With a wink, judge fights ‘tyranny’ of Elf on the Shelf
MARIETTA, Ga. — Santa may have fewer eyes in homes this Christmas season after a Georgia judge — jokingly — banned the Elf on the Shelf. Cobb County Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard posted a mock order on Twitter Thursday banishing these elves. “Tired of living in Elf on...
Big Bird announced he got his covid-19 vaccine. Ted Cruz called it ‘government propaganda.’
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz appears to think Big Bird is a government plant. The “Sesame Street” staple announced Saturday that he had gotten his covid-19 vaccine, just days after the FDA approved the Pfizer shot for children ages 5-11. “My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give...
Brown, Columbia, Cornell are focus of bomb threats
ITHACA, N.Y. — Bomb threats at three Ivy League college campuses caused evacuations and prompted police responses on Sunday. The threats were received at Cornell, Columbia and Brown universities. In Ithaca, New York, Cornell police cordoned off the center of campus on Sunday after receiving a call that bombs were...
Charleston, Savannah see abnormally high tides during stormVideo
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A strong storm off the Southeast coast combined with periodic higher tides Sunday, causing coastal flooding that approached levels rarely seen outside of hurricanes along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts, officials said. Scientists have said data shows the unusually high tides and the flooding of roads...
Democrats facing tough slog in 2022 governor’s races
WASHINGTON — Republicans are increasingly optimistic about flipping governor’s offices in key battleground states next year, buoyed by President Joe Biden’s sagging approval ratings, Democratic infighting in Congress and better-than-expected results in elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Democrats were already steeled for tough races, but the upset loss in...
Biden vaccine mandates face first test with federal workers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is pushing forward with a massive plan to require millions of private sector employees to get vaccinated by early next year. But first, he has to make sure workers in his own federal government get the shot. About 4 million federal workers are to be...
Frustrations grow as marchers demand faster climate action
Tens of thousands of climate activists marched Saturday through the Scottish city hosting the U.N. climate summit, physically close to the global negotiators inside but separated by a vast gulf in expectations, with frustrated marchers increasingly dismissive of the talks and demanding immediate action instead to slow global warming. The...
Appeals court stays vaccine mandate on larger businesses
A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily halted the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more workers. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay of the requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that those workers be vaccinated by Jan. 4...
