Abby Drey: What it was like to cover the first week of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal
I was 8 months into my career as a photographer at the Centre Daily Times on a chilly Friday night in November when I was sent to the district magistrate’s office on West College Avenue before a high school football game. My assignment: Get a photo of Second Mile founder...
Gov. Wolf describes having wife drop off ballot as honest mistake
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said his mail-in ballot was dropped off by his wife before Tuesday’s election despite a state law requirement that voters deliver them in person. Wolf’s spokeswoman Beth Rementer called it an honest mistake. “I did vote, actually I voted by mail,” Wolf said Tuesday...
Wreckage of missing plane found; pilot remains missing
ORLEANS, Mass. — State police divers have found the wreckage of the small plane that went down in the ocean off the coast of Cod Cod last weekend, but the pilot remains missing. The plane was found Thursday about 3.5 miles east of Orleans in 70 to 80 feet of...
Lawsuit alleges Sen. Josh Hawley received nearly $1 million in illegal campaign funds from the NRA
WASHINGTON — A new lawsuit alleges U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley accepted $973,411 in illegal campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association during his 2018 Senate Campaign. The lawsuit, filed by the Campaign Legal Center on behalf of the gun control advocacy group headed by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, alleges...
Biden’s big bill on brink of House votes, but fights remainVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats in the House appear on the verge of advancing President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing domestic policy package alongside a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill in what would be a dramatic political accomplishment — if they can push it to passage. The House scrapped votes late Thursday but...
Indiana man charged in fatal shooting of trick-or-treater
HAMMOND, Ind. — A man was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of a 13-year-old boy who was killed when shots were fired at a group of trick-or-treaters on Halloween in northwestern Indiana. Desmond Crews, 23, of Gary is also charged with attempted murder in the shooting Sunday in...
New grand jury seated as Trump criminal probe continues
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump’s business dealings have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in the probe as the previous panel’s term was set to run out, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. The development comes...
Navy fires 2 top officers of submarine damaged in collision
WASHINGTON — The Navy said Thursday it fired the two senior officers of a nuclear-powered attack submarine that was damaged in an underwater collision last month in the South China Sea. A sailor who served as a senior enlisted adviser to the commander and the executive officer was also removed...
Biden administration sues Texas over new voting restrictions
AUSTIN — The Biden administration on Thursday sued Texas over new voting laws that outlasted a summer of dramatic protests by Democrats, who face fading hopes of overhauling the nation’s elections in response to a wave of restrictive new rules in Republican-led states. The lawsuit does not challenge the entirety...
Self-defense or murder? Pennsylvania woman charged in fatal stabbing headed to trial
BELLEFONTE — Centre County prosecutors have enough evidence to go to trial against a woman accused of killing a man inside her Penns Valley home, a county district judge ruled this week. Brittany Guisewhite, 28, saw felony charges of third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault move forward after a...
Two 16-year-olds charged as adults in death of Spanish teacher in Iowa
FAIRFIELD, Iowa — Two teenagers are being charged as adults in the death of a Fairfield High School teacher, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office said. Investigators said Nohema Graber, a Spanish teacher, was reported missing on Tuesday and her remains were found later that day at the Chautauqua Park in...
Capitol rioter who bragged she wouldn’t go to jail gets prison termVideo
A real estate agent from suburban Dallas who flaunted her participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on social media and later bragged she wasn’t going to jail because she is white, has blond hair and a good job was sentenced on Thursday to two months behind...
Analyst who aided Trump-Russia dossier charged with lying
WASHINGTON — A Russian analyst who contributed to a dossier of Democratic-funded research into ties between Russia and Donald Trump was arrested Thursday on charges of lying to the FBI about his sources of information, among them an associate of Hillary Clinton. The case against Igor Danchenko is part of...
Mostly white jury puts race out front in Arbery death trial
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The selection of a nearly all-white jury to decide the fate of three men charged with murder for chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery has forced concerns about racial fairness to the forefront of the case before the trial even begins. The trial over the 25-year-old Black man’s...
WHO: Europe is the epicenter of pandemic despite vaccines
GENEVA — Top officials at the World Health Organization said Thursday that Europe has seen a more than 50% jump in coronavirus cases in the last month, making it the epicenter of the pandemic despite an ample supply of vaccines. “There may be plenty of vaccine available, but uptake of...
U.K. authorizes Merck’s covid pill, 1st shown to treat covid
LONDON — Britain has granted a conditional authorization to Merck’s coronavirus antiviral, the first pill shown to successfully treat covid-19. It is the first country to OK the treatment, although it was not immediately clear how quickly the pill would be available. The pill was licensed for adults 18 and...
Analysis: After tough election, Biden dismisses danger signs
WASHINGTON — The hazard lights are blinking for President Joe Biden after Democratic setbacks in this week’s elections, but the president professes to see no reason for panic. Just one year after he rode to the White House with a record 81 million votes, Biden saw Democratic stalwart Terry McAuliffe...
Are covid-19 boosters the same as the original vaccines?
NEW YORK — Are covid-19 boosters the same as the original vaccines? Yes, covid-19 boosters use the same recipe as the original shots, despite the emergence of the more contagious delta variant. The vaccines weren’t tweaked to better match delta because they’re still working well. The vaccines work by training...
Wisconsin sheriff wants charges filed over nursing home vote
RACINE, Wis. — A sheriff on Wednesday recommended that five members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission be criminally charged for telling local elections officials to send absentee ballots to eight nursing home residents in 2020 instead of sending poll workers to oversee voting there during the coronavirus pandemic. Racine County...
Trump says calling his accuser Summer Zervos a liar was just ‘fiery rhetoric’
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump said he was just engaging in “fiery rhetoric” when he said a former “Apprentice” contestant was lying about being sexually assaulted by him more than a decade ago. Trump said the defamation lawsuit filed against him by Summer Zervos was doomed to fail...
Supreme Court signals it’s likely to bolster the right to carry a concealed gun in publicVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s justices, citing the right to bear arms in the Second Amendment, sounded ready Wednesday to strike down laws in New York and California that deny most gun owners permits to carry concealed guns in public. Most of the justices said people who live in “high-crime...
Retired public relations director was an institution at Saint Vincent College
Don Orlando was an institution within an institution at Saint Vincent College. Orlando, who graduated from the college in 1972, was back within several years working at the college where he went on to serve as director of public relations for 40 years. Former Saint Vincent President Brother Norman Hipps...
Democrat Phil Murphy narrowly reelected governor in New Jersey
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly won reelection Wednesday, eking out a victory that spared Democrats the loss of a second gubernatorial seat. He’s the state’s first Democratic governor to get a second straight term in 44 years, defeating Republican former Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli. Ciattarelli...
Prosecutors seek 44 months in 1st sentence for Capitol riot violence
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday recommended a prison sentence of nearly four years for a New Jersey gym owner who is on track to be the first person sentenced for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Scott Fairlamb’s sentencing, scheduled for next Wednesday, could guide...
Senate Democrats push new voting bill, again hit GOP wallVideo
WASHINGTON — If at first you don’t succeed, make Republicans vote again. That’s the strategy Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appears to be pursuing as the New York Democrat forced another test vote Wednesday on legislation to overhaul the nation’s election laws. For the fourth time since June, Republicans blocked...
