Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appeals for out-of-state help against covid-19
Gov. Greg Abbott appealed for out-of-state help Monday to fight the third wave of covid-19 in Texas. The request came as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tents to accommodate their covid-19 overflow. Private hospitals in the county already were requiring their staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Meanwhile,...
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul threatens a Senate bottleneck to protest covid-19 restrictions
As schools wrestle with mask mandates and government agencies grapple with in-office work, Rand Paul is promising to pick a fight against continued coronavirus restrictions. And he’s threatening to gum up work in the U.S. Senate well into the future to make his point. The junior senator from Kentucky said...
Canada reopens its border for vaccinated U.S. visitorsVideo
DERBY LINE, Vt. — Canada lifted its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit on Monday while the United States is maintaining similar restrictions for Canadians, part of a bumpy return to normalcy from covid-19 travel bans. U.S. citizens and legal residents must be both fully...
Arkansas reports new record for covid-19 hospitalizations
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas on Monday set a new record for the number of people in the state hospitalized because of covid-19 as its coronavirus surge continued. The state reported its covid-19 hospitalizations rose by 103, its biggest one-day increase, to 1,376. The state’s previous record during the pandemic for...
Florida capital schools go against Gov. Ron DeSantis, require masksVideo
MIAMI — The superintendent of the school district in Florida’s capital said Monday that he will require students to wear masks amid an increase in covid-19 hospitalizations fueled by the delta variant, defying the governor’s attempts to block schools from imposing such a mandate. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office responded by...
Coronavirus cases resurge in West Virginia as school year starts
CHARLESTON — Active coronavirus cases in West Virginia continued to resurge at an alarming rate as public school students in some counties returned Monday for the start of fall classes. The number of active cases statewide has reached at least 4,010, a startling jump since bottoming out at 882 cases...
Prosecutors offer plea deal to Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin
SANTA FE, N.M. — Federal prosecutors have offered a confidential plea agreement to Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin that might resolve misdemeanor criminal charges against him linked to the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol, according to discussions at a Monday court hearing in Washington. The county commissioner...
Michigan police cuff Black real estate agent, client at homeVideo
WYOMING, Mich. — Police in west Michigan handcuffed a real estate agent, his client and that man’s 15-year-old son after a neighbor wrongly reported that the three Black people were breaking into a home. The agent, Eric Brown, told WOOD-TV that the police response Aug. 1 in Wyoming, including two...
Time’s Up leader resigns after criticism about Cuomo ties
The leader of Time’s Up, the #MeToo-era organization devoted to fighting sexual harassment, resigned under fire Monday for advising Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration in its effort to discredit one of Cuomo’s accusers. Time’s Up said in a tweet that it agreed with Roberta Kaplan that stepping down as chair of...
London’s Tower Bridge stuck open due to a technical fault
London’s Tower Bridge was stuck with its roadway arms raised Monday afternoon, snarling traffic on both sides of the River Thames. Images of the 127-year-old drawbridge, one of several spans that connect the northern and southern parts of the British capital, show the two halves of the roadway pointing skyward...
Pentagon to require covid vaccine for all troops by Sept. 15
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will require members of the U.S. military to get the covid-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press. That deadline could be pushed up if the vaccine receives final FDA approval or infection rates continue to rise. “I will seek...
Jury selection starts in R. Kelly sex trafficking case
NEW YORK — After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B hitmaker R. Kelly started Monday with jury selection in New York City. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly began questioning potential jurors about whether they can keep an open mind about Kelly two years after...
From alpha to lambda — a guide to the Greek alphabet of covid variants
First, many called it simply the coronavirus, then covid or covid-19. Now, we are keeping track of descriptors like alpha, beta and gamma, the variants of covid-19. The World Health Organization created this naming system to make them easier to publicly discuss. Viruses are constantly changing through mutation, which results...
Fake covid vaccine cards online worry college officials
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — As the delta variant of the coronavirus sweeps across the United States, a growing number of colleges and universities are requiring proof of covid-19 vaccination for students to attend in-person classes. But the mandatory requirement has opened the door for those opposed to getting the...
U.S. job openings hit a record 10.1 million in June
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted a record 10.1 million job openings in June, another sign that the job market and economy are bouncing back briskly from last year’s coronavirus shutdowns. Job openings rose from 9.5 million in May, the Labor Department reported Monday. Employers hired 6.7 million workers in June....
Senate Dems unveil $3.5T budget for social, climate efforts
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats unveiled a budget resolution Monday that maps $3.5 trillion in spending boosts and tax breaks aimed at strengthening social and environmental programs, setting up an autumn battle over President Joe Biden’s domestic policy ambitions. The measure lays the groundwork for legislation later this year that over...
Fire-friendly weather to return to Northern California
Thick smoke that held down winds and temperatures began to clear Sunday from the scenic forestlands of Northern California as firefighters battling the largest single wildfire in state history braced for a return of fire-friendly weather. The winds weren’t expected to reach the ferocious speeds that helped the Dixie Fire...
Infrastructure senators brush off criticism from left, right
WASHINGTON — Often elusive, the political center is holding steady in the Senate as a coalition of Democratic and Republican senators brushes off critics to push the $1 trillion infrastructure package toward final passage. On the left, the Democrats have withstood the complaints of liberals who say the proposal falls...
‘Not normal’: Ex-Cuomo aide details groping allegations
ALBANY, N.Y. — An executive assistant who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of groping her breast at the governor’s mansion detailed why she felt empowered to go public with her allegations Monday, as a key legislative committee is set to discuss possible impeachment hearings. Brittany Commisso, one of nearly...
‘Code red for humanity’: UN report says global warming nears limits
Earth’s climate is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably blow past a level of warming that world leaders have sought to prevent, according to a report released Monday that the United Nations called a “code red for humanity.” “It’s just guaranteed that it’s going to...
Senators push infrastructure bill a step closer to passageVideo
WASHINGTON — Senators hoisted the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package over another hurdle late Sunday, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans pushing it closer to passage despite a few holdouts trying to derail one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities. The rare bipartisan momentum was holding steady, a reflection of...
DA: 1 dead, 1 wounded in shopping center parking lot gunfire in Lower Nazareth Township
EASTON — One person was killed and another wounded by gunfire in the parking lot of a department store in eastern Pennsylvania, authorities said. Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck told LehighValleyLive.com that the two were injured in a shootout between occupants of two vehicles on Sunday afternoon outside the...
Sheriff: Caretaker charged with murder in North Carolina woman’s death
NEWLAND, N.C. — A caretaker for a western North Carolina woman who was found dead last week in her home, buried in concrete, has been arrested and charged with murder, a sheriff said on Sunday. Elizabeth Carserino, 53, of Goose Creek, S.C. was in the Avery County jail on secured...
1 Chicago officer killed, 1 wounded in traffic stop shootingVideo
CHICAGO — A 29-year-old Chicago police officer was killed and another was wounded in an exchange of gunfire during a traffic stop, officials said Sunday. The death of the female officer Saturday night was the first fatal shooting of a Chicago officer in the line of duty since 2018. Speaking...
Austin in ‘dire’ situation with rise in covid-19 hospitalizations, officials warnVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Available hospital space for covid-19 patients in the Austin area continued to be a source of anxiety over the weekend, leading officials to redouble their efforts to persuade residents to get vaccinated as a means of slowing new cases driven by the delta variant. An automated phone...
