Fueled by wind, largest wildfire moves near California cityVideo
SUSANVILLE, Calif. — Firefighters faced dangerously windy weather Tuesday as they struggled to keep the nation’s largest wildfire from moving toward a Northern California city and other small mountain communities. Forecasters issued red flag warnings of critical fire weather conditions including gusts up to 40 mph from late morning to...
Death toll from Haiti’s weekend earthquake rises to 1,941Video
LES CAYES, Haiti — Haitian officials raised the death toll from a deadly weekend earthquake by more than 500 on Tuesday after Tropical Storm Grace forced a temporary halt to search and rescue efforts, a delay that fed growing anger and frustration among thousands who were left homeless. Grace battered...
Artists to chalk portraits of passengers, crew of Flight 93 as part of 9/11 20th anniversary events
Ambassadors and park rangers tell visitors to the Flight 93 National Memorial repeatedly, “It’s all about the heroes of Flight 93.” Those would be the men and women aboard the United jetliner who made America’s first stand in the war on terror in the skies above Somerset County on Sept....
Pandemic pushed people to buy groceries online. How many will still get them delivered?
Jon Roesser, the general manager of Weavers Way Co-op, usually works with banks and suppliers to keep the grocery running, puts together the $34 million budget, or plans marketing promotions, like an upcoming sale on frozen shrimp. But as the demand for home deliveries exploded during the pandemic, Roesser became...
Judge won’t close hearings in Florida school shooting case
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida judge refused Tuesday to close pretrial hearings to the media and public in the case of the man accused of killing 17 people in a 2018 high school mass shooting. Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer rejected a motion by defendant Nikolas Cruz’s lawyers...
NYC begins requiring proof of vaccination at eateries, gyms
NEW YORK — Notices taped to the windows and front door of the Stop Inn, a diner in Queens, made it clear the eatery would comply with the city’s new edict against the coronavirus: All patrons dining indoors at restaurants, browsing works of art at museums or sweating it out...
Pentagon: U.S., Taliban coordinate as Kabul evacuation speeds
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is coordinating with the Taliban while accelerating the airlift of Americans and Afghan allies from the Kabul airport, and also bringing in additional U.S. troops in a scramble to complete the evacuation in two weeks, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. The disclosure by Pentagon spokesman John...
Taliban announce ‘amnesty,’ urge women to join government
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee their rule. Following a blitz across Afghanistan...
Amid new virus surge, Florida skeptics reconsider vaccines
CALLAHAN, Fla. — In a rural stretch of northeastern Florida where barely half the people have gotten a coronavirus shot, Roger West had no problem telling others he was “adamantly anti-vaccination.” The co-owner of the Westside Journal weekly newspaper used his voice as a columnist to widely share his doubts...
Germany: 1 dead, 1 missing after flood brings down bridge
BERLIN — German rescue teams have recovered the body of a woman who was swept off a bridge by floods in Bavaria, the German news agency dpa reported Tuesday. They are still searching for a second person person who was also swept off the bridge by sudden floods in southern...
Sudoku maker Maki Kaji, who saw life’s joy in puzzles, dies
TOKYO — Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said Tuesday. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer. Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for...
Sources: U.S. to recommend covid vaccine boosters at 8 months
WASHINGTON — U.S. health experts are expected to recommend covid-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. Federal health officials have been actively...
3 shot dead outside San Antonio sports bar; suspect arrested
SAN ANTONIO — A man was arrested Monday on a capital murder warrant in the shooting of five people, three fatally, outside a San Antonio sports bar following an argument, police said. The shooting happened about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the Boom Boom Sports Bar parking lot, Police Chief William...
Fred drenches U.S. Southeast; Grace again a tropical stormVideo
Fred weakened from a tropical storm to a depression early Tuesday as it trekked inland, spreading heavy rains over the U.S. Southeast. The National Weather Service said it spawned several tornadoes in Georgia, and flash flooding and mudslides were possible in mountainous areas as it moves toward the mid-Atlantic states....
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promotes covid treatment, downplays vaccine effectivenessVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held another event to promote Regeneron treatments for covid-19 on Monday, unveiling a new clinic at Camping World Stadium in Orlando amid the surge in cases and hospitalizations in the state. Asked why he hasn’t been promoting vaccinations with the same enthusiasm he...
Haiti quake death toll rises to 1,419, injured now at 6,000Video
LES CAYES, Haiti — Rescuers and scrap metal scavengers dug into the floors of a collapsed hotel Monday in this quake-ravaged coastal town, where 15 bodies had already been extracted. Jean Moise Fortunè, whose brother, the hotel owner, was killed in the quake, believed there were more people trapped in...
Pennsylvania to offer weekly covid-19 testing for schools
ENOLA — Pennsylvania will offer voluntary covid-19 testing in all K-12 schools, state health and education officials announced Monday. School districts will have to opt in, and parents must give consent. For participating school districts, the weekly tests will be conducted in classrooms. Students’ nasal swabs will be pooled and...
Democrats push for new Voting Rights Act before maps are drawn
WASHINGTON — Facing pressure from civil rights groups, House Democrats kicked an effort to pass a new Voting Rights Act into high gear this week, despite intense Republican opposition. Over the weekend and during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Monday, House Democrats stated their intention to vote on the measure...
Tennessee tops 1-month covid hospitalization high in 2 weeks
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s top health official said Monday that just halfway through August, the state has already shattered its single-month record for new covid-19 hospitalizations. Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey told reporters the surge in covid-19 patients “really tips the scales” in hospitals even if there aren’t as many people currently...
Cardinal who expressed vaccine skepticism hospitalized with covid, breathing with ventilator
MADISON, Wis. — Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Catholic Church’s most outspoken conservatives and a vaccine skeptic, said he has covid-19 and his staff said he is breathing through a ventilator. Burke tweeted Aug. 10 that he had caught the virus, was resting comfortably and was receiving excellent medical...
7 killed in Kabul airport chaos as Taliban patrols capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul’s main airport Monday, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths. At least seven people died in the chaos, U.S. officials said, as America’s longest war...
Many Bible Belt preachers silent on shots as covid-19 surges
Dr. Danny Avula, the head of Virginia’s covid-19 vaccination effort, suspected he might have a problem getting pastors to publicly advocate for the shots when some members of his own church referred to them as “the mark of the beast,” a biblical reference to allegiance to the devil, and the...
Biden says he stands ‘squarely behind’ Afghanistan decisionVideo
WASHINGTON — Striking a defiant tone, President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the Afghan government’s collapse was quicker than anticipated. Biden said he was faced with a choice between sticking to a previously negotiated agreement to...
Greece wildfires: New blazes burning outside of Athens
More wildfires broke out Monday in hard-hit Greece, with two blazes fanned by strong winds triggering evacuation alerts for villages southeast and northwest of the Greek capital. The first blaze, which broke out in the morning in the Keratea region southeast of Athens, quickly burned through shrubland and was heading...
Taliban take over Afghanistan: What we know and what’s next
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the U.S. and...
