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...
Pompeii dig yields rare window on daily life of enslaved
Archeologists in Pompeii excavating a villa amid the ruins of the 79 A.D. volcanic eruption that destroyed the ancient city have discovered a cramped dormitory and storage room that offers “a very rare insight into the daily life of slaves,” officials said Saturday. Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said the...
Navy launches ship named for gay rights leader Harvey Milk
A Navy ship named for slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk, who served four years in the Navy before being forced out, was christened and launched in San Diego Bay on Saturday. The replenishment oiler USNS Harvey Milk slid down the shipyard ways after a bottle of champagne was smashed...
Roads, transit, internet: What’s in the infrastructure bill
The House has passed a $1 trillion bipartisan plan to rebuild roads and bridges, modernize public works systems and boost broadband internet, among other major improvements to the nation’s infrastructure. The legislation now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature. Once it is signed by Biden, the new law...
Oil tanker truck explodes in Sierra Leone, killing at least 98
An oil tanker truck exploded near Sierra Leone’s capital, killing at least 98 people and severely injuring dozens of others after large crowds gathered to collect leaking fuel, officials and witnesses said Saturday. The explosion took place late Friday when the tanker collided with another truck as it was pulling...
Crowd surge kills at least 8 at Houston music festival
The crowd at a Houston music festival suddenly surged toward the stage during a performance by rapper Travis Scott, squeezing fans so tightly together that they could not breathe or move their arms, witnesses said Saturday, hours after at least eight people died in the chaos. The pandemonium unfolded Friday...
Democrats end deadlock, House hands Biden infrastructure win
The House approved a $1 trillion package of road and other infrastructure projects after Democrats resolved a months-long standoff between progressives and moderates, notching a victory that President Joe Biden and his party had become increasingly anxious to claim. The House passed the measure 228-206 late Friday, prompting prolonged cheers...
Red wave in Western Pennsylvania ring counties leaves Allegheny a blue island
A red wave that has been building in Southwestern Pennsylvania for a decade broke loose, washing over the region with a vengeance Tuesday, leaving only Allegheny County reliably blue when the votes were counted. In statewide judicial races that topped the ballot, Republican candidates who carried the day outpolled Democrats...
Florida considers ousting mockingbird from honorary perch
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After nearly a century on its lofty perch, the northern mockingbird may be singing its last melodies as the state bird of Florida. An effort is taking flight to replace the far-ranging musical mockingbird with a bird that is more identifiable as distinctly Floridian. “Part of...
Russian diplomat dead in Germany in ‘tragic accident’
BERLIN — A Russian diplomat has died in Berlin in what the Russian Embassy on Friday called a “tragic accident.” It said the incident involving the embassy employee occurred on Oct. 19, but gave no details of what happened. The Russian Embassy issued its statement after German news magazine Der...
Pfizer says its covid pill cut hospital, death risk by 90%
WASHINGTON — Pfizer Inc. said Friday that its experimental antiviral pill for covid-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults, as the drugmaker joined the race for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus. Currently most covid-19 treatments require an IV or injection. Competitor Merck’s...
Abby Drey: What it was like to cover the first week of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal
I was 8 months into my career as a photographer at the Centre Daily Times on a chilly Friday night in November when I was sent to the district magistrate’s office on West College Avenue before a high school football game. My assignment: Get a photo of Second Mile founder...
Gov. Wolf describes having wife drop off ballot as honest mistake
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said his mail-in ballot was dropped off by his wife before Tuesday’s election despite a state law requirement that voters deliver them in person. Wolf’s spokeswoman Beth Rementer called it an honest mistake. “I did vote, actually I voted by mail,” Wolf said Tuesday...
Wreckage of missing plane found; pilot remains missing
ORLEANS, Mass. — State police divers have found the wreckage of the small plane that went down in the ocean off the coast of Cod Cod last weekend, but the pilot remains missing. The plane was found Thursday about 3.5 miles east of Orleans in 70 to 80 feet of...
Lawsuit alleges Sen. Josh Hawley received nearly $1 million in illegal campaign funds from the NRA
WASHINGTON — A new lawsuit alleges U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley accepted $973,411 in illegal campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association during his 2018 Senate Campaign. The lawsuit, filed by the Campaign Legal Center on behalf of the gun control advocacy group headed by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, alleges...
Biden’s big bill on brink of House votes, but fights remainVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats in the House appear on the verge of advancing President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing domestic policy package alongside a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill in what would be a dramatic political accomplishment — if they can push it to passage. The House scrapped votes late Thursday but...
Indiana man charged in fatal shooting of trick-or-treater
HAMMOND, Ind. — A man was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of a 13-year-old boy who was killed when shots were fired at a group of trick-or-treaters on Halloween in northwestern Indiana. Desmond Crews, 23, of Gary is also charged with attempted murder in the shooting Sunday in...
New grand jury seated as Trump criminal probe continues
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump’s business dealings have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in the probe as the previous panel’s term was set to run out, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. The development comes...
Navy fires 2 top officers of submarine damaged in collision
WASHINGTON — The Navy said Thursday it fired the two senior officers of a nuclear-powered attack submarine that was damaged in an underwater collision last month in the South China Sea. A sailor who served as a senior enlisted adviser to the commander and the executive officer was also removed...
Biden administration sues Texas over new voting restrictions
AUSTIN — The Biden administration on Thursday sued Texas over new voting laws that outlasted a summer of dramatic protests by Democrats, who face fading hopes of overhauling the nation’s elections in response to a wave of restrictive new rules in Republican-led states. The lawsuit does not challenge the entirety...
