Bronx native Cardi B to cover funeral costs for all 17 victims of deadly borough high-rise blazeVideo
NEW YORK — Grammy-winning Bronx native Cardi B pledged Wednesday to cover the funeral costs of all 17 victims of a high-rise building fire in her home borough. The hip-hop star’s commitment includes the expenses to return some of the dead for burial in their native Gambia, and Cardi B...
Sotomayor, Gorsuch deny report they were at odds over masksVideo
WASHINGTON — Two Supreme Court justices say a media report that they were at odds over the wearing of masks in court during the recent surge in coronavirus cases is false. The court on Wednesday issued an unusual three-sentence statement from Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch. It read: “Reporting...
Yvette Mimieux, ’60s starlet of ‘Time Machine,’ dies at 80
Yvette Mimieux, the blond and blue-eyed 1960s film star of “Where the Boys Are,” “The Time Machine” and “Light in the Piazza,” has died. She was 80. Michelle Bega, a family spokeswoman, said Mimieux died in her sleep of natural causes overnight Monday evening at her home in Los Angeles....
1st for Louisiana: Drug-resistant fungus found at hospital
A hospital in New Orleans says it has identified two patients infected with a rare, drug-resistant fungus — the first time it’s been found in Louisiana. Candida auris has already been found in Washington, D.C., and at least 20 other states including Georgia, Florida and Texas, according to the Centers...
What the No Surprises Act means for your medical bills
More Americans worry about unexpected medical bills than any other expense, according to polls by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2018 and 2020. Unfortunately, those bills aren’t rare: 18% of emergency visits and 16% of in-network hospital stays had at least one out-of-network charge, a 2020 Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker...
French actor Gaspard Ulliel, 37, dies after ski accident
French actor Gaspard Ulliel, known for appearing in Chanel perfume ads as well as film and television roles, died Wednesday after a skiing accident in the Alps, according to his agent’s office and local authorities. He was 37. Ulliel portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in 2007’s “Hannibal Rising” and fashion...
Is the allure of cryptocurrency fading?
Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low recently and its movement has closely mirrored financial markets in its decline. Bitcoin bulls often describe it as an asset that is uncorrelated to traditional financial markets, CNBC reported, however experts have noticed growing parallels in the price movements of bitcoin and stocks. It...
U.S. begins offering free covid test kits, but doubts persist
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, all Americans can log on to a government website and order free, at-home covid-19 tests. But the White House push may do little to ease the omicron surge, and experts say Washington will have to do a lot more to fix the country’s...
Germany criticizes Czech tycoon’s 257 mph Autobahn rideVideo
BERLIN — Germany’s Transport Ministry has criticized a stunt that saw a Czech millionaire drive his high-powered sportscar along a public highway at speeds of up to 414 kilometers per hour — 257 mph. A video posted online this month shows Radim Passer pushing his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds...
Israel evicts Palestinians from disputed Jerusalem property
JERUSALEM — Israeli police on Wednesday evicted Palestinians from a disputed property in a flashpoint Jerusalem neighborhood and demolished the building, leaving some 15 people homeless on a cold, rainy day in the wake of a tense standoff earlier this week. The predawn demolition took place in Sheikh Jarrah, an...
Security for Arbery death trial cost taxpayers $1.08 million
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The trial of three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery cost local taxpayers $1.08 million for security and other expenses related to the high-profile case, which sometimes drew large crowds to the courthouse but resulted in no violence. Commissioners in coastal Glynn County, Georgia, said...
U.K.’s Johnson defies calls to quit as ouster bid gathers pace
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied calls to resign in a feisty performance Wednesday in Parliament — but it may be too little to prevent a push by his Conservative Party’s lawmakers to oust him over a string of lockdown-flouting government parties. Pressure on the prime minister grew...
New York AG says Trump’s company misled banks, tax officialsVideo
NEW YORK — The New York attorney general’s office late Tuesday told a court its investigators have uncovered evidence that former President Donald Trump’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” asset valuations to get loans and tax benefits. The court filing said state authorities haven’t yet decided whether to bring a...
Pope on prisons: No inmate should ever be deprived of hope
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis issued a plea on behalf of prison inmates Wednesday, saying they should never be deprived of hope and always be given the opportunity to redeem themselves. In remarks at his weekly public audience at the Vatican, Francis told the faithful that “we risk being imprisoned...
Biden to give away 400 million N95 masks starting next week
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans starting next week, now that federal officials are emphasizing their better protection against the omicron variant of covid-19 over cloth face coverings. The White House announced Wednesday that the masks will come from...
U.S., Russia show no sign of relenting ahead of Ukraine talksVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — With critical talks approaching, the United States and Russia on Wednesday showed no sign either will relent from entrenched positions on Ukraine that have raised fears of a Russian invasion and a new war in Europe. Speaking in Kyiv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia...
1 killed, 8 hurt as explosion, fire collapses Bronx homeVideo
NEW YORK — One person was killed and eight other people — including five police officers — were hurt Tuesday in a suspected gas explosion and fire in the Bronx, officials said. The blast happened around 11 a.m. at a home on a block of three-story residences in the borough’s...
Florida Democrat sworn in as newest member of HouseVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida was sworn in as the newest member of the House on Tuesday, filling the seat last held by Alcee Hastings, who died in April of pancreatic cancer. She’ll boost the Democrats’ slender House majority to 222-212, leaving room for no more than...
In unusual move, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis submits redistricting map
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has submitted a proposal to reshape the state’s congressional map and carve up districts held by Black Democrats, as the Republican takes the unusual step of inserting himself into the redistricting process. The proposed congressional map, submitted Sunday on the eve of Martin Luther...
Confusion, lawsuit follow Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin’s order on masksVideo
RICHMOND — Virginia’s new Republican governor was facing pushback from Democratic lawmakers, school districts and a group of parents who sued him Tuesday over an executive order that aims to create an opt-out for classroom mask mandates. The order issued Saturday and set to take effect Monday was among Glenn...
Rudy Giuliani among Trump allies subpoenaed by Jan. 6 panel
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection issued subpoenas Tuesday to Rudy Giuliani and other members of Donald Trump’s post-election legal team who filed multiple lawsuits claiming election fraud that were roundly rejected by the courts but gave rise to the lie that Trump did not really lose...
Michigan Attorney General Nessel: ‘Absolutely’ enough evidence to charge GOP electors
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she believes there’s “absolutely” enough evidence to bring criminal charges against 16 Republicans who signed a certificate falsely claiming to be the state’s presidential electors in December 2020. Nessel, a Democrat and the state’s top law enforcement official, made the comment...
Report: Trump’s bid to overturn Pa. election results foiled by GOP’s ‘hedged’ wording on ‘fake’ elector ballots
Former President Donald Trump’s GOP electors in Pennsylvania weren’t willing to go all the way in the January 2021 bid by the ex-president’s campaign to overturn election results in as many as seven so-called “swing states.” As Lancasteronline reports, the bid in the commonwealth hit a snag because the state’s...
3 officers charged in shooting death of 8-year-old girl outside Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — Three police officers have been charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment after firing their weapons in the direction of a crowd of people exiting a high school football game outside of Philadelphia, killing an 8-year-old girl and injuring three people. A grand jury recommended the charges against the...
Former New York Post editor alleges harassment, retaliation
NEW YORK — A New York Post editor whose departure was announced Tuesday alleged she was fired two months after revealing to an executive that former editor Col Allan had sexually harassed her. The Post said any suggestion of wrongdoing related to Editor-in-Chief Keith Poole’s announcement of Michelle Gotthelf’s exit...