Senate panel interviews former U.S. attorney in Trump probe
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee met privately Wednesday with a former U.S. attorney in Georgia who resigned in January as then-President Donald Trump waged a pressure campaign on state and federal officials to overturn his presidential defeat — part of a larger probe into Trump’s actions after the November...
Warrants served to Texas Democrats, but holdout continues
AUSTIN, Texas — Officers of the Texas House of Representatives delivered civil arrest warrants for more than 50 absent Democrats on Wednesday as frustrated Republicans ratcheted up efforts to end a standoff over a sweeping elections bill that stretched into its 31st day. But after sergeants-at-arms finished making the rounds...
Census data kicks off effort to reshape U.S. House districts
Redistricting season officially kicks off with the release of detailed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau that will be used to redraw voting districts nationwide — potentially helping determine control of the U.S. House in the 2022 elections and providing an electoral edge for the next decade. The new...
#MeToo Take 2? Movement’s strength hailed amid Cuomo fallout
NEW YORK — Anita Hill educated a nation about workplace sexual harassment back in 1991 with calm, deliberate testimony against Clarence Thomas. And today, 30 years later, she speaks in the same measured tones, eschewing dramatic declarations — especially of victory — and sounding more like the soft-spoken academic she...
U.S. sends 3K troops to Kabul to evacuate some embassy staffVideo
WASHINGTON — With security rapidly deteriorating in Afghanistan, the United States is sending in an additional 3,000 troops to help evacuate some personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, officials said Thursday. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said one Army and two Marine infantry battalions will enter Afghanistan within the next...
California surfer dad ‘enlightened by QAnon’ to kill his kids with a spear gun, feds sayVideo
LOS ANGELES — A California surfing school owner was charged Wednesday with killing his two young children with a spear gun in Mexico because he believed they would become monsters, authorities said. Matthew Taylor Coleman, 40, of Santa Barbara is facing a federal charge of the foreign murder of U.S....
Judge rules Dominion case can proceed against Trump allies
WASHINGTON — A federal judge cleared the way Wednesday for a defamation case by Dominion Voting Systems to proceed against Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, allies of former President Donald Trump who had all falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Judge Carl...
Tennessee House GOP urges session to curb local covid powers
NASHVILLE — All 73 Tennessee House Republicans signaled their support on Wednesday for a special session to limit the authority of local officials to make rules aimed at preventing the spread of covid-19, as lawmakers fumed over mask requirements in a handful of school districts. House Speaker Cameron Sexton sent...
FDA set to clear 3rd covid-19 shot for immunocompromised patientsVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. drug regulators are set to clear a third dose of covid-19 vaccines for people with weak immune systems as a new study showed the benefits of an extra shot in transplant patients. A third dose of Moderna Inc.’s vaccine significantly raised antibody levels against the coronavirus in...
Mississippi opening field hospital amid surge of covid cases
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi will open a 50-bed field hospital and the federal government will send medical professionals to help treat patients as covid-19 cases continue surging in a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, officials said Wednesday. Many Mississippi hospitals face a crunch for...
Heat wave hits Northwest, sending people to cooling centers
PORTLAND, Ore. — People headed to cooling centers Wednesday as the Pacific Northwest began sweltering under another major, multiday heat wave just more than a month after record-shattering hot weather killed hundreds of the region’s most vulnerable people. Temperatures soared to 95 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-afternoon in Portland, Ore. In...
Florida sheriff: Deputy fired for slamming girl to the groundVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A former Florida deputy who worked at a school for children with emotional and behavioral problems was fired Wednesday, nearly two years after a video showed him slamming a female student to the ground after she tapped his knee with her foot. Willard Miller, 40, was...
Police: Man arrested for tattooing child inside a South Carolina McDonald’sVideo
LAURENS, S.C. — A South Carolina man accused of tattooing a juvenile in a fast-food restaurant has been arrested and is facing charges, police said. Brandon Presha, 28, of Laurens, was arrested Tuesday on charges of illegal tattooing and underage tattooing, Laurens Police Chief Chrissie Latimore said. The chief said...
Philadelphia requiring masks at businesses indoors and large outdoor gatheringsVideo
The city of Philadelphia announced it will be requiring masks for businesses indoors and for many large outdoor gatherings. The new mask policy goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. In a news release issued Wednesday, the city cites the rise of the delta variant of the coronavirus, as cases...
19-month-old boy dies after mauling from dog inside Brooklyn homeVideo
NEW YORK — A 19-month-old boy was killed as a result of being mauled by a dog inside a Brooklyn apartment, police said. The New York Police Department said officers responded to a 911 call of a dog attack on a child just before 11 p.m. Tuesday at a building...
Tropical Storm Fred makes landfall in Dominican Republic, South Florida remains on edgeVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Fred made landfall in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, with forecasters warning that heavy rain could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides there and in the neighboring country of Haiti. After a quiet month of no named storms in the region, Fred became the...
Trump accounting firm must release some financial records to Congress
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Washington ruled that Donald Trump must disclose certain financial records held by his accounting firm Mazars in response to a subpoena from congressional Democrats. But in an order on Wednesday, the judge stopped short of calling for the handover of all the financial records...
NCAA hands Baylor probation, fine in sex assault scandal
The NCAA said Wednesday that its long investigation of the Baylor sexual assault scandal would result in nothing more than probation and other relatively minor sanctions because the egregious, “unacceptable” behavior at the heart of the case did not violate its rules. The NCAA ruling came more than five years...
California to require covid-19 vaccine or test for teachers
SAN FRANCISCO — California will become the first state in the nation to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly covid-19 testing, as schools return from summer break amid growing concerns about the highly contagious delta variant, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. Newsom announced the...
Hochul says she’s ready to lead following Cuomo’s exit
ALBANY, N.Y. — Suddenly tapped to lead New York through a pandemic and a political earthquake, Lt. Gov Kathy Hochul said Wednesday she was ready to steer the state and would set a different tone than Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is resigning amid sexual harassment allegations. “While it was not...
Court tosses ruling against Pennsylvania covid-19 measures
PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court has dismissed a judge’s ruling that threw out Gov. Tom Wolf’s sweeping covid-19 restrictions, saying the case is now moot because statewide mitigation measures have expired and Pennsylvania voters have since constrained a governor’s emergency powers. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled...
New census data expected to reveal a more diverse America
Almost 120 years ago, African American domestic workers settled in the Como neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, where they held Fourth of July parades, patronized shops on Horne Street and lived for several generations in what seemed like a small town within the big city. But many young families started...
Greek wildfires: Multinational force works to tame flare-ups
PEFKI, Greece — Hundreds of firefighters from across Europe and the Mideast worked alongside their Greek colleagues in rugged terrain Wednesday, trying to contain flareups of the huge wildfires that have ravaged Greece’s forests for a week, destroying homes and forcing thousands to evacuate. The spread of the blazes has...
CDC urges covid vaccines during pregnancy as delta surges
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged all pregnant women Wednesday to get the covid-19 vaccine as hospitals in hot spots around the U.S. see disturbing numbers of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus. Expectant women run a higher risk of severe illness and pregnancy complications from the...
Cuomo dynasty sputters out as scandal ends in lonely resignation
Andrew Cuomo’s resignation as governor of New York this week brought to an end a political dynasty stretching back to the 1980s, as a once-towering presence in Democratic politics was forced off stage for sexual misconduct ahead of a possible impeachment trial. It was an ignominious ending to the once-bright...
