Unity a theme as 3 presidents commemorate 9/11 in New York
Three American presidents stood somberly side by side Saturday at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, sharing a moment of silence to mark the anniversary of the nation’s worst terrorist attack with a display of unity. Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton gathered at the site...
Pope: Aim to counter fundamentalist violence with schooling
Unchecked poverty and ignorance help fundamentalist violence to take hold easily, Pope Francis said as he urged fellow religious leaders and others to counter the phenomenon by promoting schooling. Francis made the call in a message to a four-day meeting that began on Saturday evening in Bologna, Italy, with the...
Pennsylvania targeting doctors over blanket mask exemptions
Some Pennsylvania physicians are offering stock doctor’s notes for use by parents wishing to have their children exempted from wearing masks in school, according to state health officials who say they have referred the matter for possible disciplinary action. A statewide, universal mask mandate for Pennsylvania schools went into effect...
Biden’s vaccine rules ignite instant, hot GOP opposition
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s aggressive push to require millions of U.S. workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus is running into a wall of resistance from Republican leaders threatening everything from lawsuits to civil disobedience, plunging the country deeper into culture wars that have festered since the onset of...
‘Don’t focus on hate’: World marks 20th anniversary of 9/11
The world solemnly marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday, grieving lost lives and shattered American unity in commemorations that unfolded just weeks after the bloody end of the Afghanistan war that was launched in response to the terror attacks. Victims’ relatives and four U.S. presidents paid respects at...
CDC finds unvaccinated 11 times more likely to die of covid
New U.S. studies released Friday show the covid-19 vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalizations and death even as the extra-contagious delta variant swept the country. One study tracked over 600,000 covid-19 cases in 13 states from April through mid-July. As delta surged in early summer, those who were unvaccinated were...
U.S. gives 1st public look inside base housing Afghans
The Biden administration on Friday provided the first public look inside a U.S. military base where Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan are being screened, amid questions about how the government is caring for the refugees and vetting them. “Every Afghan who is here with us has endured a harrowing journey...
FDA official hopeful younger kids can get shots this year
The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine chief said Friday the agency will rapidly evaluate covid-19 vaccinations for younger children as soon as it gets the needed data — and won’t cut corners. Dr. Peter Marks told The Associated Press he is “very, very hopeful” that vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds...
Saudi Arabia, 20 years after 9/11: ‘A country in the making’
The Saudi Arabia of today is far different from the Saudi Arabia of Sept. 11, 2001. All but four of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi citizens, and the Saudi kingdom was the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida and mastermind of the attack 20 years...
California firefighters chase new fires ignited by lightning
Firefighters scrambled Friday to quash fires ignited by lightning as thunderstorms with mostly small but welcome amounts of rain rumbled across drought-stricken Northern California, where forests have been burning for weeks. Firefighters were diverted from the huge Caldor Fire south of Lake Tahoe to fight multiple overnight lightning fires throughout...
Measles cases halt Afghan evacuee flights from 2 key bases
The U.S. has halted all U.S.-bound flights of Afghan evacuees from two main bases overseas after discovering a limited measles outbreak among Afghans arriving in the United States, a hitch that American officials warned will have a severe impact on an often-troubled U.S.-run evacuation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection made...
Post-Ida recovery in New Orleans: Beer and beignets are back
NEW ORLEANS — Supply trucks are once again delivering beer on Bourbon Street and the landmark Cafe Du Monde is serving beignets, fried pastries covered with white sugar, even though there aren’t many tourists or locals around to partake of either. With almost all the power back on in New...
Court: DeSantis ban on school mask mandates back in force
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The on-again, off-again ban imposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to prevent mandating masks for Florida school students amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak is back in force. The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Friday that a Tallahassee judge should not have lifted an automatic stay...
Woman who admitted to Slender Man attack to be freed
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin woman who admitted to helping stab a classmate to please the horror character Slender Man will be freed Monday from a mental health institution, a judge ruled Friday. Anissa Weier, 19, will be released after spending almost four years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute....
Israeli police kill suspected Jerusalem Palestinian attacker
JERUSALEM — A Palestinian suspected attacker has died shortly after being wounded by Israeli police gunfire in Jerusalem where he had reportedly tried to stab officers Friday, medical sources said. A spokesperson for Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem confirmed the death. Palestinian media reports identified the dead man as Hazem...
Giuliani associate pleads guilty in campaign donation case
NEW YORK — A Florida businessman who made headlines for helping Rudy Giuliani seek damaging information on Joe Biden in Ukraine pleaded guilty Friday to a charge alleging he helped facilitate illegal foreign campaign contributions in an effort to build a marijuana business in the U.S. Igor Fruman, 56, entered...
20 years later, fallout from toxic WTC dust cloud grows
NEW YORK — The dust cloud caught Carl Sadler near the East River, turning his clothes and hair white as he looked for a way out of Manhattan after escaping from his office at the World Trade Center. Gray powder billowed through the open windows and terrace door of Mariama...
Greece approves tough penalties for bogus covid certificates
ATHENS, Greece — Greece has introduced tough penalties for the issuing of fake covid-19 vaccination certificates after a worker at a state vaccination center was suspended for allegedly helping several dozen people acquire bogus documents. Health Minister Thanos Plevris said Friday that parliament has approved a legislative amendment to impose...
U.S. investigating airlines over slow refunds during pandemic
WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department is detailing efforts it says it is making to help airline customers who were wrongfully denied refunds after flights were canceled or changed during the pandemic. The department says in a new report that it investigated 20 airlines over failures to issue prompt refunds to...
Queen’s London representative says royals back BLM movement
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family back the Black Lives Matter movement, one of her senior representatives said in a television interview to be broadcast Friday. Philanthropist Kenneth Olisa, the first Black Lord Lieutenant of Greater London, told Channel 4 News that he had discussed the issue...
Former Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge makes 1st appearance since stroke, reflects on 9/11 attacks
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge made his first public appearance since he suffered a stroke earlier this year, speaking about the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. On Thursday morning, Ridge released a statement and a short video filmed in Erie, his hometown. Ridge, 76, suffered a stroke...
Report of gunshot triggered lockdown at Air Force base in Ohio
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base went into lockdown for several hours while security officials investigated reports of a shooter on the campus but eventually gave the all-clear early Friday morning. Two individuals reported hearing one gunshot at the base just east of Dayton just...
From 9/11’s ashes, a new world took shape. It did not last
In the ghastly rubble of ground zero’s fallen towers 20 years ago, Hour Zero arrived, a chance to start anew. World affairs reordered abruptly on that morning of blue skies, black ash, fire and death. In Iran, chants of “death to America” quickly gave way to candlelight vigils to mourn...
Penn State professor facing charges for allegedly assaulting counter protester
A Penn State professor is facing misdemeanor charges — and has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation — after allegedly assaulting a counter-protesting student during an Aug. 27 pro-vaccine rally. According to the criminal complaint, W. Oliver Baker — a 36-year-old assistant professor of English and African American...
$3M deal reached in rough arrest of Colorado woman with dementia
DENVER — A Colorado city announced Wednesday it has agreed to pay $3 million to a woman with dementia who was roughly arrested by police last year after being suspected of shoplifting, money which her family said will pay for the around-the-clock care she has needed after her condition deteriorated...
