Abortion, race, gender: State Republicans wage culture wars
Not since the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in 1973 has there been a year in which states approved so many abortion restrictions. Since January, there have been a record 97 new laws limiting abortion enacted in 19 states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that...
‘It just went boom.’ ICUs are being overwhelmed with younger — and sicker — patients
MIAMI — Inside a covid-only intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, all eight beds are filled with patients. Six of the eight patients are younger than 50 years old. None of them has been vaccinated against covid-19. The youngest patient, a 27-year-old woman on a ventilator, had...
Erratic scooter driver arrested in Erie store robbery; pockets stuffed with cash
A pursuit by Erie police of an erratic scooter driver led to his arrest in the Sunday night robbery of a downtown convenience store, police said. Police said officers found cash stuffed in the scooter driver’s pockets. The 49-year-old man was in police custody Monday morning awaiting arraignment on robbery...
Aid group closes emergency clinic in Haiti amid violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Gang violence that has left more than 19,000 people homeless in Haiti’s capital has now forced a Doctors Without Borders clinic to close, officials said Monday. The emergency clinic in the Martissant neighborhood of Port-au-Prince had been operating for 15 years and served a community of some...
German court sets trial date for former Nazi guard, aged 100
BERLIN — A German court has set a trial date for a 100-year-old man who is charged with 3,518 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he served as a Nazi SS guard at a concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin during World War II. A spokeswoman for the...
Turkey battles wildfires for 6th day; EU to send planes
BOZALAN, Turkey — Selcuk Sanli let his two cows lose to fend for themselves, put his family’s most treasured belongings in a car and fled his home as a wildfire approached his village near Turkey’s beach resort of Bodrum, one of thousands fleeing flames that have coated the skies with...
Trump’s kingmaker status faces test in Ohio special election
GROVE CITY, Ohio — As soon as it became clear last week that a Texas congressional candidate backed by Donald Trump would be defeated in a special election, the former president’s allies quickly shifted their attention to Ohio to ward off another embarrassing loss. Make America Great Again, a super...
Skipper: Documents show no coverup in 1963 submarine sinking
PORTLAND, Maine — The release of about 3,000 pages of documents delving into the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history has not yielded any sinister effort to hide the truth, a retired Navy skipper says. Instead, documents show the Navy’s policies and procedures failed to keep pace with fast-moving technological...
Penn State ranks as one of the nation’s best 50 employers for recent college grads, per Forbes list
Penn State is among the nation’s best employers for recent college graduates, according to Forbes’ annual rankings that include businesses and organizations with at least 1,000 employees. The annual rankings — based on criteria such as opportunities for advancement, work environment and competitiveness of compensation — ranked Penn State at...
‘Mass chaos’ after fight triggers mad rush for exits at Lancaster County sports complex
MANHEIM — Authorities say a number of people were injured at an indoor sports complex in Pennsylvania after some kind of incident triggered a crowd rush for the exits. Diane Garber, emergency services coordinator for East Hempfield Township, said the 2:20 p.m. Sunday incident at Spooky Nook Sports in Manheim...
Senators produce bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure billVideo
WASHINGTON — After much delay, senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package Sunday night, wrapping up days of painstaking work on the inches-thick bill and launching what is certain to be a lengthy debate over President Joe Biden’s big priority. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act clocked in...
Trump allies among Congress members who might be subpoenaed in Jan. 6 Capitol siege probe, Adam Kinzinger saysVideo
A Republican member of the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday wouldn’t rule out calling on fellow members of Congress to testify. “I would support subpoenas to anyone that can shed light. … If that’s the leader, that’s the leader,” Rep. Adam...
Evacuations lifted as progress made against western fires
BLY, Oregon — Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation’s largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near a major blaze in Northern California. Containment of the Bootleg Fire in remote southern Oregon was up to 74% on Sunday. It was 56% contained a day...
Dr. Fauci says shots work despite cases among fully vaccinatedVideo
WASHINGTON — Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease doctor, said covid-19 vaccines work extremely well and that a return to the lockdowns of 2020 is unlikely despite reports of recent outbreaks among fully vaccinated people. “The likelihood of your getting a severe outcome of the infection is very...
Florida breaks record for covid-19 hospitalizationsVideo
ORLANDO — A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations, as the number of patients in hospitals because of covid-19 once again broke through the 10,000-person threshold. The Sunshine State had 10,207...
Forecasters confirm 9 tornadoes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — The National Weather Service has confirmed a ninth tornado that struck during storms last week in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Forecasters said Sunday that an EF-1 tornado with peak wind up to 90 mph appeared in the Weisenberg Township area of Lehigh County during storms on...
Myanmar military extends emergency, promises vote in 2 years
BANGKOK — Six months after seizing power from the elected government, Myanmar’s military leader on Sunday declared himself prime minister and said he would lead the country under the extended state of emergency until elections are held in about two years. “We must create conditions to hold a free and...
Pennsylvania man sentenced to 2 life terms in 2019 double murder, arson
EASTON — A man prosecutors said baked and took cookies to the home of a 97-year-old bedridden woman before killing her and her adult son and setting fire to their eastern Pennsylvania home has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Drew Rose, 39, of Bethlehem pleaded...
Hamas re-elects Ismail Haniyeh as supreme leader
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Islamic militant group Hamas on Sunday said it has re-elected its supreme leader. Ismail Haniyeh, who has been living in exile for the past two years, was given a new four-year term by the Shura Council, the Islamic group’s top decision-making body. He was...
Senators hope to wrap up draft of infrastructure bill Sunday
WASHINGTON — The Senate will reconvene in a rare weekend session on Sunday as negotiators work on the text of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. Despite the delays, two senators predicted that the text would be released within the day and the bill passed by the end of the...
Kim’s sister warns S. Korea-U.S. military drills will rekindle tensions
SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned Sunday that next month’s annual military drills between South Korean and U.S. troops will undermine prospects for better ties between the Koreas, just days after the rivals reopened their long-dormant communication channels. Kim Yo Jong’s...
Police: 10 shot in Queens by 2 men who fled on mopeds
NEW YORK — Two men strode up to a crowd outside a barbershop in the New York City borough of Queens and opened fire, wounding 10 people before fleeing on mopeds, police said Sunday morning. The shooting in the borough’s Corona neighborhood took place just before 11 p.m. Saturday. The...
Crowds defy ban to protest coronavirus measures in Berlin
BERLIN — Hundreds of people turned out in Berlin on Sunday to protest the German government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite a ban on the gatherings, leading to arrests and clashes with police. Local authorities banned several different protests registered for this weekend, including one from the Stuttgart-based Querdenker movement, which expected...
19 bodies reburied amid protests in search for Tulsa victims
TULSA, Okla. — The bodies of 19 people exhumed from a Tulsa cemetery during a search for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre were reburied during a closed ceremony, despite objections from protesters outside the cemetery. “This is totally disgusting and disrespectful that those are our family members and...
French police clash with anti-virus pass protesters in Paris
PARIS — Thousands of people protested France’s special virus pass by marching through Paris and other French cities on Saturday. Most demonstrations were peaceful but some in Paris clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas. Some 3,000 security forces deployed around the French capital for a third weekend of...