27 people rescued from floating ice chunk in Green Bay
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Authorities rescued 27 people from a floating chunk of ice that broke away from shore in the bay of Green Bay in eastern Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office said Sunday. No injuries were reported in the incident that happened Saturday morning north of Green Bay, in the...
Stay home or work sick? Omicron poses a conundrum
As the raging omicron variant of covid-19 infects workers across the nation, millions of those whose jobs don’t provide paid sick days are having to choose between their health and their paycheck. While many companies instituted more robust sick leave policies at the beginning of the pandemic, some of those...
Watershed moment in NYC: New law allows noncitizens to vote
NEW YORK — More than 800,000 noncitizens and “Dreamers” in New York City will have access to the ballot box — and could vote in municipal elections as early as next year — after Mayor Eric Adams allowed legislation to automatically become law Sunday. Opponents have vowed to challenge the...
Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson will seek reelection
MADISON, Wis. — Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, one of former President Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters, said Sunday that he will seek reelection, avoiding a wide open GOP primary in the narrowly divided swing state. Johnson had pledged in 2016 not to run for a third time,...
CES gadget show turnout falls more than 70% thanks to covid
LAS VEGAS — Attendance at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas fell more than 70% compared to its previous in-person event two years ago, its organizer said Saturday. The Consumer Technology Association said that more than 45,000 people attended the multi-day event on the Las Vegas Strip that ended...
Obama, Biden honor Sen. Reid as man ‘who got things done’
LAS VEGAS — Former President Barack Obama commemorated late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Saturday as a man “who got things done,” as Democratic leaders gathered to recall Reid — often laughingly — as a man whose impatience for pleasantries was part of a drive to improve the lives...
Woman stole nearly $1 million from Walmart stores in 24 states, feds say
The nearly $1 million in checks that a woman and a man cashed at more than 300 Walmart stores in 24 states looked like legitimate bank checks, federal prosecutors said, but they were counterfeits. The pair spent the money — more than $850,000 — on prepaid debit cards, including from...
Moderna gives Mexico 2.7 million shots as deaths top 300,000
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. company Moderna donated 2.7 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Mexico on Saturday as the country’s official death toll topped 300,000. Mexico passed 300,000 test-confirmed coronavirus deaths this week, but so little testing is done in the country that a government review of death certificates...
Conservative firebrand Doug Mastriano enters Pennsylvania’s governor’s race
Doug Mastriano, the state senator from Franklin County who parlayed anger over coronavirus pandemic rules and no-holds-barred support for former President Donald J. Trump into an extended political moment, opened his candidacy for governor Pennsylvania Saturday. Mastriano, who practices his politics with a messianic zeal that has helped him develop...
Wall of rock falls on boaters in Brazilian lake; 2 die
BRASILIA, Brazil — A towering slab of rock broke from a cliff and toppled onto pleasure boaters drifting near a waterfall on a Brazilian lake on Saturday and officials said at least two people died. Minas Gerais Fire Department Lt. Pedro Aihara said at least 32 people were also injured,...
Space telescope’s ‘golden eye’ opens, last major hurdle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s new space telescope opened its huge, gold-plated, flower-shaped mirror Saturday, the final step in the observatory’s dramatic unfurling. The last portion of the 21-foot mirror swung into place at flight controllers’ command, completing the unfolding of the James Webb Space Telescope. “I’m emotional about it....
Omicron explosion spurs nationwide breakdown of services
Ambulances in Kansas speed toward hospitals then suddenly change direction because hospitals are full. Employee shortages in New York City cause delays in trash and subway services and diminish the ranks of firefighters and emergency workers. Airport officials shut down security checkpoints at the biggest terminal in Phoenix and schools...
Maine governor vetoes bill to allow farm workers to unionize
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s Democratic governor has vetoed a bill that would have given farm workers in the state the right to unionize, citing the possibility of heaping new costs on an already struggling agriculture sector. The Maine Legislature passed the proposal, which called for people working in agriculture to...
Hundreds in Lebanon protest measures targeting unvaccinated
BEIRUT — Hundreds of people rallied in Beirut on Saturday to protest measures imposed against the unvaccinated, saying individuals should have the right to decide whether to be inoculated or not. Vaccination is not compulsory in Lebanon, but in recent days authorities have cracked down on people who are not...
Chinese American man attacked in New York City dies months later
NEW YORK — A Chinese American man who was brutally attacked in April while collecting cans in East Harlem has died of his injuries, and his case is now deemed a homicide, police said Saturday. Yao Pan Ma, 61, died Dec. 31, police said. The attack drew national attention as...
Biden surveys Colorado wildfire damage, comforts victims
LOUISVILLE, Colo. — Offering hugs and humor, President Joe Biden comforted Coloradans grappling with rebuilding homes and businesses destroyed last week by a rare wind-whipped, winter fire that burned through a pair of heavily populated suburbs between Denver and Boulder. One victim was identified Friday and one person remained unaccounted...
Treasury: November saw highest disbursement of rental aid
States and localities in November paid out the largest amount of rental assistance to cash-strapped tenants since a federal program began, the Treasury Department said in a statement Friday. The $2.9 billion paid out is the latest sign that the program’s early hiccups have been mostly been resolved and it...
Slain officer’s sister sues Facebook for wrongful death
OAKLAND, Calif. — The sister of a slain federal security officer is suing Facebook, alleging the tech giant played a part in the radicalization of two men who are accused of planning the killing on its platform. David Patrick Underwood was fatally shot and his partner was wounded while guarding...
Supreme Court casts doubt on Biden’s vaccine rule for the workplace
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority cast doubt Friday on President Joe Biden’s plan to require that most American employees be vaccinated for covid-19 or undergo weekly testing. The justices agreed to weigh in on the partisan divide over vaccines and hear from lawyers for 27 Republican-led states, who...
Biden’s economic challenge: Finding workers and goods
President Joe Biden enters the midterm election year of 2022 determined to address what economists call a “supply” problem — there aren’t enough jobseekers or goods to meet the country’s needs. This is also a political problem. The mismatch has obscured the strong growth and 3.9% unemployment rate achieved during...
Where are the covid-19 tests that Biden promised?
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced last month that the federal government will buy half a billion covid-19 rapid test kits and distribute them free to people to use at home. But despite high public demand for tests, it will still be several more weeks before these kits are available...
Sen. Ted Cruz apologizes for describing Jan. 6 attack as terrorism
NEW YORK — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had desperation written on his face. The conservative ideologue and potential 2024 presidential contender appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show Thursday to apologize for describing the Jan. 6 insurrection as “a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol” a day earlier,...
Ahmaud Arbery killers get life in prison; no parole for father, son
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced Friday to life in prison, with a judge denying any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man. Murder carries a mandatory sentence...
Contemplating a covid party for your kids? It’s still a bad idea
In the days before a vaccine for chicken pox became widely available, some parents would host “chicken pox parties” amidst an outbreak to try to ensure that their kids wouldn’t be left out of the wave of infections. The thinking was that chicken pox was a mild disease for kids...
Stalemates, court battles could squeeze Pennsylvania primary election
HARRISBURG — More extreme time pressures could push the bounds of how Pennsylvania’s elections are run in 2022, with wide-open races for a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office driving voter interest and partisan stalemates in the statehouse sowing uncertainty. It is barely a month before candidates can legally...
