Wildfires threaten rural towns in Montana, California
LAME DEER, Mont. — Wildfires in Montana threatened rural towns and ranchland Friday and victims of a California blaze returned to their incinerated community, even as the U.S. West faced another round of dangerous weather and smoke pollution fouled the air. Firefighters and residents have scrambled to save hundreds of...
Gun owners can soon openly carry pistols with permit in S.C.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon in South Carolina will no longer have to keep their weapon hidden under clothing starting Sunday. Gov. Henry McMaster held a ceremonial signing Friday for a new state law allowing people to carry pistols in the open. The...
Covid-stricken Oregon deploys National Guard to hospitals
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s governor said Friday she will send up to 1,500 National Guard troops to hospitals around the state to assist healthcare workers who are being pushed to the brink by a surge of covid-19 cases driven by the delta variant. Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said the...
Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith dies
Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter from Texas whose literary songs like “Love at the Five and Dime” celebrated the South, has died. She was 68. Her management company, Gold Mountain Entertainment, said Griffith died Friday but did not provide a cause of death. “It was Nanci’s wish that no...
Las Vegas grocery storefront collapses at opening, injures 4
A storefront collapsed into rubble at a Las Vegas supermarket at opening time early Friday, injuring four people but none seriously, a fire official and witnesses said. Firefighters pulled one person from wood planking and roof debris about 6:20 a.m. at the La Bonita market east of the Las Vegas...
Penn State’s faculty senate passes ‘vote of no confidence’ on university’s fall covid-19 plan
Penn State’s faculty senate formally passed a vote of no confidence Friday on the university’s fall covid-19 plan, slamming the administration for what it perceives as an inadequate response while again reiterating its desire for a vaccine mandate. The resolution stopped short of directly expressing no confidence in the Penn...
Experts: False claims on voting machines obscure real flaws
The aftermath of the 2020 election put an intense spotlight on voting machines as supporters of former President Donald Trump claimed victory was stolen from him. While the theories were unproven — and many outlandish and blatantly false — election security experts say there are real concerns that need to...
Federal judge leaves CDC evictions moratorium in place
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday refused landlords’ request to put the Biden administration’s new eviction moratorium on hold, though she ruled that the freeze is illegal. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said her “hands are tied” by an appellate decision from the last time courts considered the evictions...
Woman using gun’s laser sight to play with cat shoots friend
A Wisconsin woman accidentally shot a friend while using the laser sight on a handgun to play with a cat, authorities said. A criminal complaint charging the 19-year-old woman with negligent use of a weapon said she was visiting a Kenosha apartment on Tuesday afternoon where a 21-year-old man had...
Biden eyes tougher vaccine rules without provoking backlash
WASHINGTON — When the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. first began to slow, President Joe Biden backed incentives like million-dollar cash lotteries if that’s what it took to get shots in arms. But as new coronavirus infections soar, he’s testing a tougher approach. In just the past two weeks,...
Biden made ‘Obamacare’ cheaper, now sign-up deadline is here
With the Obama health care law undergoing a revival under President Joe Biden, this Sunday is the deadline for consumers to take advantage of a special sign-up period for private coverage made more affordable by his covid-19 relief law. A strong close would bolster Biden’s case that Congress needs to...
Man kills 5, himself in UK’s first mass shooting in decade
Police investigating Britain’s first mass shooting in more than a decade — which left six dead, including the gunman — said Friday the motive was unclear but there were no immediate signs that the crime was an act of terrorism, or connected to right-wing groups. Police identified the shooter as...
Moderate Democrats demand quick passage of infrastructure bill
Moderate House Democrats say they would sink a crucial fiscal blueprint outlining $3.5 trillion in social and environment spending unless a separate infrastructure bill is approved first, a new complication for the divided party’s drive to enact President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda. The centrists’ threat directly defies House Speaker Nancy...
27 people aboard Carnival cruise test positive for covid-19
Twenty-seven people aboard a Carnival cruise tested positive for covid-19 just before the ship made a stop in Belize City this week, according to the Belize Tourism Board. The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which is carrying over 1,400 crew and...
Census data sets up redistricting fight over growing suburbs
The once-a-decade battle over redistricting is set to be a showdown over the suburbs, as new census data showed rapid growth around some of the nation’s largest cities and shrinking population in many rural counties. From Texas to Florida, some of the biggest gains reported Thursday came in states where...
U.S. sending 3,000 troops for partial Afghan embassy evacuation
WASHINGTON — Just weeks before the U.S. is scheduled to end its war in Afghanistan, the Biden administration is rushing 3,000 fresh troops to the Kabul airport to help with a partial evacuation of the U.S. Embassy. The move highlights the stunning speed of a Taliban takeover of much of...
Extra covid vaccine OK’d for those with weak immune systems
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Thursday said transplant recipients and others with weakened immune systems can get an extra dose of the covid-19 vaccine to better protect them as the delta variant continues to surge. The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration applies to millions of Americans who are...
Supreme Court justice won’t block Indiana University vaccine mandate
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday refused to block a plan by Indiana University to require students and employees to get vaccinated against covid-19. Barrett’s action came in response to an emergency request from eight students, and it marked the first time the high court has...
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul failed to disclose wife’s stock in company behind covid treatment
WASHINGTON — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul waited more than a year to disclose that his wife purchased stock in a company that makes a covid-19 treatment, an investment made after Congress was briefed on the threat of the virus but before the public was largely aware of its danger. The...
Pa.’s political mapmakers finally have new census data. Now the hard work begins.
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — After months of delays, the Census Bureau on Thursday delivered...
Mormon leaders urge members to mask up, get covid-19 vaccine
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renewed its prior calls to members to get a covid-19 vaccine and to wear face masks in public gatherings Thursday. Church leaders said in a statement that available vaccines have proven to be both safe and effective and...
Census shows U.S. is diversifying, white population shrinking
The United States became more diverse and more urban over the past decade, and the white population dropped for the first time on record, the Census Bureau said Thursday as it released a trove of demographic data that will be used to redraw the nation’s political maps. The new figures...
OxyContin-maker Purdue goes to judge to confirm settlement
NEW YORK — Purdue Pharma’s quest to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of OxyContin and its other prescription opioid painkillers entered its final phase Thursday with the grudging support of many of those who have claims against the company. Nearly two years after seeking bankruptcy protection, the company...
Simone Biles to speak at Pa. Conference for Women
Olympic champion Simone Biles, considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time and a role model for mental health, has been booked to speak at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women in November. The theme is “Stronger. Wiser. Braver” and organizers say it speaks to how women like...
State prison guards union warns Wolf of legal action over vaccine mandate
HARRISBURG — The union that represents about 10,000 guards in Pennsylvania’s state prisons told Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday it plans legal action to stop his effort to force them to get covid-19 vaccines over the next month. The president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association sent a letter...
