Trump hasn’t endorsed in Pennsylvania governor’s race, aide says
HARRISBURG — A senior adviser to Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to stress that the former president has made no endorsement of anyone to become governor of Pennsylvania. The statement by the adviser, Jason Miller, comes a day after a Republican state senator who has talked of possibly...
Feds seize 68 big cats from ‘Tiger King Park’ in Oklahoma
THACKERVILLE, Okla. — Federal authorities have seized 68 big cats from an animal park in Oklahoma featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King.” The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that the seizure of the federally protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids and a jaguar as part of a court-approved agreement to resolve...
Pa. health officials celebrate federal pharmacy partnership’s progress in vaccinations
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Alison Beam on Thursday thanked federal pharmacy partners for their help distributing covid vaccine to residents across the state and said the collaboration would continue for the time being. As of May 20, 50% of Pennsylvania’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, and more than 55% of...
Gov. Tom Wolf extends covid-19 disaster declaration, days after votes to curb his powers
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has signed a renewal of the state’s disaster order related to the coronavirus pandemic. The governor announced the renewal Thursday afternoon, just two days after voters approved two measures to curb his powers in disasters. The previous covid-19 disaster order expired Thursday. “Covid-19 vaccinations have increased...
Israel, Hamas agree to cease-fire to end bloody 11-day war
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Thursday, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead. At 2 a.m. local time, just as the...
Pennsylvania terminating vendor that mishandled virus data
Pennsylvania is firing a company that performed covid-19 contact tracing and exposed the private medical information of tens of thousands of residents, according to legislative Republicans who released a statement from the state Health Department on Thursday. Employees of Insight Global used unauthorized Google accounts — readily viewable online —...
Sewickley lawyer joins Pennsylvania’s 2022 Republican gubernatorial primaryVideo
Make it three and counting in the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary after Sewickley lawyer Jason Richey threw his hat into the ring Thursday. Richey, 49, joins a growing field of Republicans, including former Rep. Lou Barletta and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, is expected...
Experts predict busy Atlantic storm season but not like 2020
The Atlantic hurricane season will be busier than normal, but it’s unlikely to be as crazy as 2020’s record-shattering year, meteorologists said Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasted that the hurricane season, which runs from June through November, will see 13 to 20 named storms. Six to 10...
Judge drops murder charges against 2 Mississippi cops
JACKSON, Miss. — A state judge in Mississippi dismissed murder charges Thursday against two police officers accused of body-slamming and beating a Black man. The ruling by Hinds County Judge Faye Peterson ended the trial of former Jackson officers Desmond Barney and Lincoln Lampley, news outlets reported. She said prosecutors...
GOP not budging on infrastructure offer in Biden talks
WASHINGTON— Senate Republicans have not substantially budged off their initial $568 billion infrastructure proposal despite overtures from the White House to work toward a compromise as President Joe Biden tries to strike a bipartisan agreement on his sweeping $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. The lack of any sizable movement beyond the...
U.S. ends use of 2 immigration jails accused of mistreatment
WASHINGTON — A detention facility in Georgia where women claim they were subjected to unwanted medical procedures and a Massachusetts jail that has drawn complaints of inhumane conditions will no longer be used to detain immigrants, the Biden administration said Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security said it would terminate...
Colorado students rebuked for reenacting George Floyd death
DENVER — Leaders in a northern Colorado school district are condemning a social media post in which three high school students — one in blackface — reenacted the death of George Floyd. The photo, which appeared to be originally posted to Snapchat, showed a student in blackface lying on the...
Ohio pandemic unemployment overpayments hit $2.1 billion
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state made about $2.1 billion in unemployment insurance overpayments during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Ohio’s human services agency. That figure includes overpayments that were the result of fraud or errors, Matt Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said Monday. Errors...
Former Pittsburgh mobster, Youngstown mob boss Lenny Strollo dies at age 90
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A former mob boss whose criminal enterprise helped earn Youngstown the name “Crimetown U.S.A” before turning federal witness has died at age 90. The funeral home handling arrangements on Thursday confirmed Lenine “Lenny” Strollo’s death. Authorities accused Strollo of running a criminal enterprise that involved gambling, drugs...
Filing: Ex-Boston mayor knew of abuse claims against top cop
BOSTON — Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was aware of decades-old domestic violence allegations against the city’s now embattled top cop before picking him to lead the department, the police commissioner’s predecessor told a court this week. The statement came in a case brought by Dennis White, who is urging...
Visitation resumes at 5 Pa. state prison facilities
The state Department of Corrections will slowly start phasing in-person visitation back in at five facilities, including SCI-Laurel Highlands, officials said this week. The decision to allow in-person visits at any particular facility is based upon vaccination rates, the percentage of cases among those incarcerated, and the amount of the...
2 reporters detained during protest over Black man’s death
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Police have arrested several people during protests in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, including two journalists who were covering the demonstration the day after a district attorney cleared sheriff’s deputies in the shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr. The two journalists who were arrested Wednesday night work...
Pa. closes in on 10 million covid-19 vaccinations
Pennsylvania has given 9.9 million covid-19 vaccinations as of early Thursday, with about half of state residents 18 or older fully vaccinated, the state said in its daily update. Just over 55% of all Pennsylvania residents have received at least one dose, the health department said. The state is averaging...
Covid-19 vaccines don’t cause sudden hearing loss, study finds
When you administer tens of millions of doses of covid-19 vaccine, you’re bound to get reports of all kinds of side effects. That includes accounts of sudden hearing loss. Doctors at Johns Hopkins University treated some of the people whose hearing suffered in the wake of a covid-19 shot, and...
U.S. jobless claims fall again as some states end extra $300-a-week federal aid
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week — the latest encouraging sign for the rebounding U.S. economy — just as Republican-led states are moving to cut off a federal benefit for the jobless. Twenty-two states, from Texas and Georgia to Ohio and Iowa, plan to begin blocking a...
Nervous workers struggle to adjust to new mask policies
NEW YORK — An abrupt relaxation of mask policies has left workers at some retail and grocery stores reeling as they try to sort out what the new environment means for their own safety and relationship with customers. Kroger, the country’s largest grocery chain, became one of the latest to...
Putin to would-be aggressors: ‘Will knock their teeth out’
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged Thursday that some of the country’s foreign foes dream about biting off pieces of the country’s vast territory, warning that Moscow would “knock their teeth out” if they ever try. In strong remarks during a meeting with officials, the Russian president noted that...
10 seconds of terror: Alaska man survives brown bear mauling
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Allen Minish was alone and surveying land for a real estate agent in a wooded, remote part of Alaska, putting some numbers into his GPS unit when he looked up and saw a large brown bear walking about 30 feet away. “I saw him and he saw...
Court: Faulty breast implant victims should get compensation
PARIS — A French appeal court has ruled that around 2,700 victims of a breast implant scandal are entitled to compensation. The court said that German company TUV Rheinland committed negligence by certifying them as safe. Thursday’s ruling, which might not be final and could go to another higher court,...
U.S., Russia at odds over military activity in the Arctic
REYKJAVIK. Iceland — The Biden administration is leading a campaign against Russian attempts to assert authority over Arctic shipping and reintroduce a military dimension to discussions over international activity in the area. As Russia assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council on Thursday, the U.S. rallied other members to...
