‘Pooh,’ ‘Sun Also Rises’ among works going public in 2022
WASHINGTON — “Winnie the Pooh” and “The Sun Also Rises” are going public. A.A. Milne’s beloved children’s book and Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel, along with films starring Buster Keaton and Greta Garbo are among the works from 1926 whose copyrights will expire Saturday, putting them in the public domain as...
Over 65 shots fired on busy Philadelphia street; 6 wounded
PHILADELPHIA — Two gunmen fired more than 65 rounds on a Philadelphia street, sending nighttime pedestrians on a busy block teeming with markets and restaurants scrambling for cover and injuring six people, at least one of them critically, police said Friday. Police responded around 11:30 p.m. Thursday in the Germantown...
‘Wait, what?’ quip tops school’s annual banished words list
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — The judges of a Michigan university’s cheeky annual “Banished Words List” have a message for texting and tweeting Americans: Your “wait, what?” joke is lame. The phrase topped Lake Superior State University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula lighthearted list of 10 “winners” chosen from among more...
Photos of the year 2021
It was a year of starting again. Giving it another try. The coronavirus continued to invade our homes and communities in 2021 but we learned how to rise above it. We got our children back in classrooms and engaged in after-school activities. Restaurants and theaters welcomed patrons in greater numbers....
Yemen officials: Saudi airstrike kills 12 troops by mistake
SANAA, Yemen — An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition has mistakenly hit a camp of allied Yemeni pro-government forces, killing at least 12 troops, Yemeni military officials said Friday. The strike, which took place on Thursday in the province of Shabwa, also wounded at least eight Yemeni troops, the officials...
Penn State announces in-person spring semester classes despite omicron
Despite covid-19 surging throughout the country, and with health experts warning of challenging weeks ahead, Penn State announced Thursday night that it will start the spring semester in person, as planned, because it feels it can do so “safely but carefully.” Still, according to the university, conditions around University Park...
Researchers: 2 doses of J&J’s covid vaccine slashes omicron hospital stays
Two doses of Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine slashed hospitalizations caused by the omicron variant in South Africa by up to 85%, a critical finding since the shot is being increasingly relied upon across the continent, researchers said. The results are a welcome bit of news as the explosive rise...
Western North Carolina sheriff: 3-year-old shot Christmas Day has died
EDNEYVILLE, N.C. — A 3-year-old girl flown to a western North Carolina hospital on Christmas Day for treatment of what officials described as an “accidental self-inflicted shooting” has died, authorities announced on Wednesday. Aylee Gordon died late Tuesday at Mission Hospital in Asheville, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said in...
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2021
They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service. But both also saw their legacies tarnished by their actions in the long, bloody war in Iraq. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are among the many noteworthy...
Biden, Putin talk nearly an hour as alarm rises over UkraineVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin spoke frankly for nearly an hour late Thursday amid growing alarm over Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine, a simmering crisis that’s recently deepened as the Kremlin has stiffened its demands for increased security guarantees and test fired hypersonic missiles to underscore...
Colorado wildfires burn hundreds of homes, force evacuationsVideo
DENVER — An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center have burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said only one injury has been reported, but didn’t rule out finding out later...
University of Pittsburgh issues shelter-in-place request, required covid testing for students
The University of Pittsburgh’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office has released a plan for the spring semester that includes a phased move-in beginning Jan. 8 along with a shelter-in-place request and testing for students. Pitt will make available one covid-19 test through Quest Diagnostics for all of the approximately 34,000 students...
Florida sees spike in covid cases as hospitalizations rise
MIAMI — Florida is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections as the omicron variant rages through the state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 58,000 new cases for Wednesday and revised its tallies to add thousands of cases to the daily counts of...
CDC warns against cruises, regardless of vaccination status
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people on Thursday not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of onboard outbreaks fueled by the omicron variant. The CDC said it has more than 90 cruise ships under investigation or observation as a result of covid-19...
Do at-home covid-19 tests detect the omicron variant?
Yes, but U.S. health officials say early data suggests they may be less sensitive at picking it up. Government recommendations for using at-home tests haven’t changed. People should continue to use them when a quick result is important. “The bottom line is the tests still detect covid-19 whether it is...
Israel to offer 4th vaccine dose to most vulnerable
JERUSALEM — Israel has approved a fourth vaccine dose for people most vulnerable to covid-19, becoming the first country to do so as it braces for a wave of infections fueled by the omicron variant. Nachman Ash, the director general of the Health Ministry, announced the decision at a press...
Why are so many flights being canceled?
The forces that have scrambled thousands of flights since Christmas Eve could ease in January, but that’s cold comfort to the millions of flyers with New Year’s plans. And if 2021 has taught us anything, it’s that 2022 will likely be just as unpredictable. Here’s a look at what has...
Iran launches rocket into space amid Vienna nuclear talks
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities announced Thursday, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth’s orbit. It was not clear when the launch happened or what devices the carrier brought with it. Iran aired footage of...
U.S. children hospitalized with covid in near-record numbers
SEATTLE — The omicron-fueled surge that is sending covid-19 cases rocketing in the U.S. is putting children in the hospital in close to record numbers, and experts lament that most of the youngsters are not vaccinated. “It’s just so heartbreaking,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious-disease expert at Children’s Hospital...
Mom: Daughter mistaken for intruder by father, fatally shot
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The mother of a 16-year-old girl who was fatally shot in her family’s Columbus home has told authorities that the teen’s father accidentally killed her because he mistook the girl for an intruder. The shooting on the city’s Southeast side was reported around 4:30 a.m., authorities said....
Times Square show will go on despite virus surge, mayor says
NEW YORK — New York City will ring in 2022 in Times Square as planned despite record numbers of covid-19 infections in the city and around the nation, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. “We want to show that we’re moving forward, and we want to show the world that...
Tiger fatally shot after biting arm of man near enclosure
NAPLES, Fla. — A sheriff’s deputy shot a Malayan tiger that grabbed the arm of a man who was either feeding or petting the animal at a zoo in southwest Florida, authorities said. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said the man, believed to be in his 20s, was seriously injured...
U.S. Navy seizes $4 million worth of heroin in Arabian Sea
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. Navy vessels seized 385 kilograms (849 pounds) of heroin in the Arabian Sea worth some $4 million, in a major bust by the international maritime operation in the region, officials said Thursday. The USS Tempest and USS Typhoon seized the drugs hidden aboard a...
Suspect in Denver shootings wrote books previewing attacksVideo
DENVER — A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks. The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out...
Coroner finds 3 siblings at Johnstown home died of covid
JOHNSTOWN — A Pennsylvania coroner said Wednesday that three siblings found dead at a home near Johnstown two months ago all died from covid-19. Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said he drew that conclusion after autopsies, toxicology tests and microbiology examinations. “They were positive for covid-19, the lungs were heavy...
