Haiti gang leader threatens to kill kidnapped missionaries
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that police say is holding 17 members of a kidnapped missionary group is seen in a video released Thursday saying he will kill them if he doesn’t get what he’s demanding. The video posted on social media shows Wilson Joseph...
U.S. blocks tomato imports from Mexican farm over labor abuses
WASHINGTON — The U.S. ordered a halt Thursday to imports of tomatoes from a Mexican farming company and its subsidiaries for what officials said was abusive treatment of workers that amounts to forced labor. Customs and Border Protection issued an order to detain shipments from Agropecuarios Tom, based in the...
California proposes new oil drilling ban near neighborhoods
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s oil and gas regulator on Thursday proposed that the state ban new oil drilling within 3,200 feet of schools, homes and hospitals to protect public health in what would be the nation’s largest buffer zone between oil wells and communities. It’s the latest effort by Democratic...
Fla. Gov. DeSantis to convene legislature to fight vaccine mandates
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he will call state lawmakers back to work early to pass legislation to combat coronavirus vaccine mandates enacted by businesses. The Republican governor didn’t specify a starting date for the special session of the GOP-controlled statehouse in November. “At the...
Expert panel takes up complicated covid booster questions
WASHINGTON — Influential government advisers are deciding Thursday how best to expand the nation’s covid-19 booster campaign, including whether and when it’s OK to “mix and match” brands for the extra dose. The advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are slated to discuss who should get extra...
John Fetterman has raised $9.3M this year in Senate bid, dwarfing Democratic and GOP rivals
John Fetterman’s campaign war chest is dwarfing the coffers of his opponents early in the race for U.S. Senate. Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s Democratic lieutenant governor and former Braddock mayor, has outraised and outspent every other candidate in the crowded field vying to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, records show. From...
U.S. unemployment claims fall to new pandemic low of 290,000
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a new low point since the pandemic erupted, evidence that layoffs are declining as companies hold onto workers. Unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 290,000 last week, the third straight drop, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s...
Big changes in White House ideas to pay for $2 trillion plan
SCRANTON — In an abrupt change, the White House is floating new plans to pay for parts of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social services and climate change package, shelving a proposed big increase in corporate tax rates though also adding a new billionaires’ tax on the investment gains of...
Rare coin made in Colonial New England could fetch $300,000
An extraordinarily rare coin with a face value of just pennies when it was minted in mid-17th century New England could sell for the equivalent of about $300,000 when it’s put up for auction in London next month. The silver one shilling coin made in Boston in 1652 — considered...
Report: Trump golf club under new criminal probe over taxes
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times. The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National...
Charges unlikely for riders who saw Philadelphia train rape
PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors pursuing the case against a man accused of raping a woman on a commuter train last week don’t anticipate charging fellow passengers for not intervening, a spokesperson for the suburban Philadelphia district attorney said. “It’s still an open investigation, but there is no expectation at this time...
Russians to stay off work for a week as coronavirus deaths riseVideo
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered most Russians to stay off work for a week starting later this month amid rising covid-19 infections and deaths, and he strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated. The government coronavirus task force reported 1,028 deaths in the past 24 hours, the...
‘The stakes are enormous:’ Steve Bannon case tests Congress’ powerVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is expected to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress. It’s up to the Justice Department, and the courts, to determine what happens next. As lawmakers ready a vote on Thursday to send a contempt referral to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, there’s considerable...
FDA approves mixing covid vaccines; backs Moderna, J&J boosters
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Wednesday signed off on extending covid-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially. The Food and Drug Administration’s decisions mark a...
Fox News’ Cavuto tests positive for covid-19, urges vaccines
LOS ANGELES — Fox News Channel anchor Neil Cavuto tested positive for covid-19, which he said was surprising but made him grateful that he was vaccinated. Cavuto, who learned of the test results after Monday’s episode of “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” wasn’t on the air Tuesday. “While I’m somewhat...
Senate GOP again blocks Democrats’ election billVideo
WASHINGTON — For the third time this year, Senate Democrats on Wednesday tried to pass broad elections legislation that they tout as a powerful counterweight to new voting restrictions in the states. Once again, Republicans blocked them. But amid the stalemate, there are signs that Democrats are making headway in...
Here’s what you need to know about the White House plan to vaccinate children
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced plans to get young children vaccinated against covid-19, a move health officials say will help curb the pandemic, save lives and stabilize the economy. “We’re completing the operational planning to ensure vaccinations for kids ages 5 through 11 are available, easy and...
Officials: Items linked to Brian Laundrie, potential remains foundVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Potential human remains were found Wednesday in a Florida wilderness area along with items believed to belong to Brian Laundrie, whose girlfriend, Gabby Petito, was found slain after he returned home alone from their cross-country road trip, according to the FBI. Michael McPherson, chief of the...
Flooding in Venice worsens off-season amid climate change
After Venice suffered the second-worst flood in its history in November 2019, it was inundated with four more exceptional tides within six weeks, shocking Venetians and triggering fears about the worsening impact of climate change. The repeated invasion of brackish lagoon water into St. Mark’s Basilica this summer is a...
Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 2018 Parkland school massacre
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering 17 people during a rampage at his former high school in Parkland, Fla., leaving a jury to decide whether he will be executed for one of the nation’s deadliest school shootings. Relatives of the victims who sat in the...
Penn State expands employee vaccine mandate to 6 branch campuses
Penn State is extending a covid-19 vaccination mandate to all faculty and staff at University Park to six of its regional campuses. The mandate is an effort to comply with President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring federal contractors to vaccinate employees. Penn State has a number of contracts and research...
Pig-to-human transplants come a step closer with new test
Scientists temporarily attached a pig’s kidney to a human body and watched it begin to work, a small step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants. Pigs have been the most recent research focus to address the organ shortage, but among the hurdles: A...
White House details plans to vaccinate children age 5-11Video
WASHINGTON — Children ages 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for elementary school youngsters in a...
New York City requiring vaccine for cops, firefighters, city workers
NEW YORK — New York City will require its entire municipal workforce to be vaccinated against covid-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, an ultimatum that ensures a fight with some unions representing employees, including police officers and firefighters, who have refused the shots....
Tiny wrists in cuffs: How police use force against children
CHICAGO — Royal Smart remembers every detail: the feeling of the handcuffs on his wrists. The panic as he was led outside into the cold March darkness, arms raised, to face a wall of police officers pointing their guns. He was 8 years old. Neither he nor anyone else at...
