Duck! Flying squirrels take to the air in Nebraska city
LINCOLN, Neb. — A crew cutting down a dying oak at the University of Nebraska made a surprising find — flying squirrels. A video shot by a member of the crew made its way to Larkin Powell, a conservation biology professor. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that he was surprised...
New home sales jump 12.4% in November, highest in 7 months
WASHINGTON — Sales of new single-family homes rose 12.4% in November, the fastest pace in seven months, as the housing industry continued to benefit from low mortgage rates and strong demand. The November increase pushed the seasonally adjusted annual sales pace to 744,000 last month, the best showing since reaching...
U.S. adds Merck’s covid pill as 2nd easy-to-use drug against virus
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against covid-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of omicron infections. The Food and Drug Administration authorization comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. That pill is likely to become the...
Consumer prices up 5.7% over past year, fastest in 39 years
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years, as a surge in inflation confronts Americans with the holiday shopping season under way. The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the 12 months ending in...
Greece cancels Christmas events, brings back mask mandate
ATHENS, Greece — Christmas concerts and other events have been canceled in Greece under new restrictions announced Thursday that include a general mask mandate for outdoors and all public areas. Incoming travelers will also be required to have follow-up tests for covid-19 on the second and fourth days after their...
He wore a wire, risked his life to expose who was in the KKK
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For nearly 10 years, Joseph Moore lived a secret double life. At times the U.S. Army veteran donned a white robe and hood as a hit man for the Ku Klux Klan in North Florida. He attended clandestine meetings and participated in cross burnings. He even helped...
Kim Potter guilty of manslaughter in Daunte Wright’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser was convicted of manslaughter Thursday in the death of Daunte Wright, prompting tears from the young Black man’s parents and a jubilant celebration by supporters outside the courthouse who chanted “Guilty, guilty, guilty!” The...
Supreme Court will hear arguments on Biden vaccine requirements
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says it will hold a special session in just over two weeks to hear arguments on the Biden administration’s vaccine or testing requirement for large employers and a separate vaccine requirement for healthcare workers, an announcement that comes amid rising coronavirus cases. The high court...
Omicron less likely to put you in the hospital, studies contend
Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the delta version. Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact omicron spreads much faster...
9 days after tornado, cat found in rubble of building
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nine days after a tornado demolished his three-story office building in downtown Mayfield, Ky., Sonny “Hoot” Gibson was standing in the rubble when he thought he heard a faint meow. It instantly gave him hope that his office cat, Madix, who hadn’t been seen since before the...
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked in Philadelphia park, uninjured
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked in a south Philadelphia park, according to her office, which says she was uninjured. Communications Director Lauren Cox said Scanlon had attended a meeting in FDR Park and was carjacked at gunpoint in the park at about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. Cox...
Gov. Wolf vetoes GOP bill to post school course materials online
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have required school districts to post information about textbooks, course material and state academic standards online. The Democratic governor said the legislation “politicizes what is being taught in our schools” and that state regulations already require public...
Gov. Mike DeWine signs measure legalizing sports gambling in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday signed legislation to legalize sports gambling in Ohio. Ohio lawmakers approved legislation earlier this month that will allow people to place sports bets online, at casinos, racinos, and at stand-alone betting kiosks in bars, restaurants and professional sports facilities. People will be...
Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection requested an interview and information from Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Wednesday, the second time this week the committee publicly sought to interview a sitting member of Congress. In a letter to Jordan, Mississippi Rep. Bennie...
White House: Biden negative for covid after close contact
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has tested negative for covid-19, the White House said Wednesday. “This morning, President Biden received a PCR test and the test result was negative,” the White House press office said in a statement emailed to reporters, referring to a sensitive test used to detect the...
Pause on student loan payments is extended through May 1
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday extended a student loan moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic. Under the action, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through May 1. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period, and...
Pfizer pill becomes 1st U.S.-authorized home covid treatment
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against covid-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials...
U.S. Treasury creates pathway to send aid to Afghanistan
The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced it was issuing special licenses to ensure that some international aid could flow to Afghanistan, which faces a crisis as its economy collapsed following the Taliban takeover in August. The licenses will enable the U.S. government, international organizations such as the United Nations and...
Biden and Dems scramble to salvage social, climate package
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, along with progressive and moderate Democrats, appears determined to return to the negotiating table with Sen. Joe Manchin, the holdout Democrat who effectively tanked the party’s signature $2 trillion domestic policy initiative. In the days since the West Virginia lawmaker gave a thumbs down on...
Yuengling accuses Bud Light of trampling on trademark
A trademark tiff between America’s oldest beer maker and America’s best-selling beer brand appears to be over before it really began. Last week, D.G. Yuengling & Son, the nearly 200-year-old Pennsylvania-based brewer, demanded that its much larger rival, Anheuser-Busch, stop using a tagline for its forthcoming Bud Light Next zero-carb...
Pennsylvania elections chief warns lawmakers about deadlines
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top statewide elections official warned legislative leaders that delays in drawing new General Assembly district lines may require them to push back next year’s spring primary election. Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid told the floor leaders Tuesday for both parties in the two chambers on the...
Madagascar’s police chief swims to safety after copter crash
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Madagascar’s police minister and an air force mechanic succeeded in swimming for 12 hours to safety after their helicopter crashed in the Indian Ocean. Gen. Serge Gellé, 57, the Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie, was discovered in the water by a fisherman in a canoe who...
Gov. Brian Kemp backs Juneteenth as Georgia state holiday
ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp is supporting a plan to add Juneteenth as a mandatory 13th holiday for Georgia state employees. Georgia law now mandates the observance of the 10 federal holidays set in 1984, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first observed. But a new federal law signed...
Tequila byproduct spill fouls Mexican reservoir, kills fish
AYOTLAN, Mexico — When Jesús Solís noticed the waters of the reservoir where he had spent his entire life beginning to darken and a rotten odor taking hold, he was overcome with fear. Within weeks those initial concerns were confirmed as tens of thousands of dead fish floated to the...
Russian FM: Security talks with U.S., NATO to start next month
MOSCOW — Russian and U.S. negotiators will sit down for talks early next year to discuss Moscow’s demand for Western guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine, Russia’s top diplomat said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia in January will also start separate talks with NATO to discuss the...
