Senate votes to confirm Biden pick for D.C. appeals court
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday confirmed the first appellate court judge of President Joe Biden’s tenure, elevating a judge with strong prospects of landing on the president’s short list should a Supreme Court vacancy arise. Senators voted 53-44 to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Court of...
Republicans aim again to block Gov. Wolf’s climate strategy
HARRISBURG — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Legislature are reprising a fight from last year, passing legislation Monday to require Gov. Tom Wolf to go through them if he wants to impose a price on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The bill passed 35-15 in the Senate, a veto-proof majority...
Florida Gov. Desantis signs bill requiring moment for school prayer
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited a South Florida Jewish temple to denounce anti-Semitism and stand with Israel, as the Republican governor cloaked himself in religion Monday while signing a bill into law that would require public schools in his state to set aside at least one minute of...
Texas power grid strained; manager issues weeklong conservation alert
DALLAS — On the cusp of summer, the electric power grid manager for most of Texas on Monday issued its second conservation alert since the deadly February blackout, calling on users to dial back energy consumption through Friday to avert an emergency. The Energy Reliability Council of Texas said many...
Sheriff: Georgia cashier fatally shot after argument over face masks
DECATUR, Ga. — A grocery store cashier in the Atlanta area was killed and two other people were wounded Monday in a shooting that was a result of an argument over wearing face masks in the supermarket, authorities said. DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox said the shooting occurred inside the...
Illinois chemical plant explosion, fires prompt evacuationsVideo
CHICAGO — An explosion at a northern Illinois chemical plant Monday morning sparked massive fires that sent flames and huge plumes of thick black smoke high into the air and debris raining onto the ground, prompting evacuations. After 7 a.m., emergency crews rushed to the scene of the fire near...
U.S. intel report warns of more violence by QAnon followers
WASHINGTON — A new federal intelligence report warns that adherents of QAnon, the conspiracy theory embraced by some in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, could target Democrats and other political opponents for more violence as the movement’s false prophecies don’t come true. Many QAnon followers believe former President...
Pennsylvania Republicans eye referendums to get past vetoes
HARRISBURG — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Legislature are increasingly looking to take a different avenue to write laws, voter referendums, to get around Gov. Tom Wolf and make policy that the Democrat cannot block with his veto pen. On Friday, Republicans unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment to expand Pennsylvania’s existing...
As U.S. covid-19 death toll nears 600,000, racial gaps persist
Jerry Ramos spent his final days in a California hospital, hooked to an oxygen machine with blood clots in his lungs from covid-19, his 3-year-old daughter in his thoughts. “I have to be here to watch my princess grow up,” the Mexican American restaurant worker wrote on Facebook. “My heart...
Biden at NATO: Ready to talk China, Russia and soothe allies
BRUSSELS — President Joe Biden made his entrance at the NATO summit aiming to consult European allies on efforts to counter provocative actions by China and Russia while highlighting the U.S. commitment to the 30-country alliance that was frequently maligned by predecessor Donald Trump. The summit Monday comes as Biden...
Operator says China nuclear plant facing ‘performance issue’
HONG KONG — The French joint operator of a Chinese nuclear plant near Hong Kong said Monday that the plant is dealing with a “performance issue” but is currently operating within safety limits, following a report of a potential radioactive leak. The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant is jointly owned by...
Germany seeks to fine app operators for not policing users
BERLIN — German authorities have launched proceedings against Telegram that could see the messenger app’s operators fined for failing to abide by laws requiring social media sites to police their users’ actions. German magazine Der Spiegel reported over the weekend that officials believe use of the Telegram app has reached...
Police: Car plows into protesters in Minnesota, killing 1
MINNEAPOLIS — A woman was killed and another person was injured after being struck by a car during a protest in Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood where a Black man was fatally shot earlier this month during an arrest attempt, police said Monday. The suspect was pulled from his car by protesters...
Myanmar puts Suu Kyi on trial on charges critics call bogus
BANGKOK — Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial Monday on charges that many observers say are an attempt by the junta that deposed her to eliminate her as a political force, erase the country’s democratic gains and cement the military’s power. Suu Kyi’s prosecution poses yet...
At least one of two suspects is a juvenile in Austin shooting that injured 14Video
AUSTIN, Texas — A suspect arrested in connection with the mass shooting on Austin’s 6th Street that wounded 14 is a juvenile, and authorities Sunday were still considering what charges he will face, officials told the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV. Police and prosecutors have up to 48 hours from the time...
York County judge declines to dismiss charges in body in freezer case
YORK — A Pennsylvania judge declined to dismiss some charges and suppress part of a statement by a woman accused of keeping her maternal grandmother’s remains in a freezer for a decade and a half and continuing to receive the dead woman’s Social Security checks for a portion of that...
Pelosi demands Trump-era attorneys general testify on subpoenasVideo
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded that Trump-era officials testify under oath about the Justice Department’s effort to secretly subpoena data from House Democrats and the news media. Former attorneys general Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions, along with Rod Rosenstein, a former deputy attorney general, must answer to questions about subpoenas...
As covid-19 cases wane, vaccine-lagging areas still see risk
JACKSON, Miss. — New covid-19 cases are declining across the most of the country, even in some states with vaccine-hesitant populations. But almost all states bucking that trend have lower-than-average vaccination rates, and experts warn that relief from the pandemic could be fleeting in regions where few people get inoculated....
AP source: Justice Dept secretly subpoenaed Don McGahn’s records
WASHINGTON — Apple informed former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn and his wife that the Justice Department had subpoenaed information about accounts belonging to them in 2018, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday, days after two House lawmakers disclosed they, too, had their information secretly subpoenaed. It’s...
Israel swears in new coalition, ending Netanyahu’s long rule
JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament on Sunday narrowly approved a new coalition government, ending the historic 12-year rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sending the polarizing leader into the opposition. Naftali Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu turned rival, became prime minister after the 60-59 vote. Promising to try to...
G-7 leaders agree on vaccines, China and taxing corporations
CARBIS BAY, England — Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations staked their claim Sunday to leading the world out of the coronavirus pandemic and crisis, pledging more than 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations, vowing to help developing countries grow while fighting climate change and backing...
Chicago man jumps into Lake Michigan for 365th straight day
CHICAGO — A Chicago bus driver looking for a way to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic jumped into Lake Michigan for a 365th straight day on Saturday. Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake at Montrose Harbor on the city’s North Side last year to relieve stress....
Exodus of election officials raises concerns of partisanship
There is no shortage of job openings for local election officials in Michigan. It’s the same in Pennsylvania. Wisconsin, too. After facing threats and intimidation during the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath, and now the potential of new punishments in certain states, county officials who run elections are quitting...
After G-7, Biden says he’s reestablishing U.S. credibility
NEWQUAY, England — President Joe Biden on Sunday said the United States had restored its presence on the world stage as he used his first overseas trip since taking office to connect with a new generation of leaders from some of the world’s most powerful countries and more closely unite...
Schools across U.S. brace for surge of kindergartners in fall
School districts across the United States are hiring additional teachers in anticipation of what will be one of the largest kindergarten classes ever as enrollment rebounds following the coronavirus pandemic. As they await the arrival next fall of students who sat out the current school year, educators are also bracing...
