Pa. drug overdose deaths rose in 2020, likely fueled by pandemic, officials say
Overdose deaths in Pennsylvania ticked upward in 2020 after two years of relatively stable numbers, something officials say is likely the ripple effect of a pandemic that caused an influx of stress and isolated people from their support systems. “The uncertain, stressful and isolating nature of the pandemic has caused...
Top ally announces closing of Navalny’s offices amid crackdown
MOSCOW — A top ally of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Thursday that the network of the politician’s offices in Russia is being closed as authorities seek to have it and Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption outlawed as extremist groups. Also on Thursday, Navalny made his first public...
Driver charged with homicide in Georgia crash that killed 6
SUWANEE, Ga. — The driver of a van that crashed and burst into flames on a Georgia interstate has been arrested and charged with six counts of homicide by vehicle, police said Thursday. Six women inside the van were killed and 10 others also in the van were injured in...
N.C. Sheriff: 2 deputies killed, suspect and 2 others dead
BOONE, N.C. — Two deputies were killed and three other people including a suspected gunman were found dead after a lengthy standoff in North Carolina, a sheriff’s office said Thursday. The Watauga County Sheriff’s office said Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox were dispatched to a home in...
Feds raid Rudy Giuliani’s home, office, escalating criminal probe
NEW YORK — Federal agents raided Rudy Giuliani’s Manhattan home and office Wednesday, seizing computers and cellphones in a major escalation of the Justice Department’s investigation into the business dealings of former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. Giuliani, the 76-year-old former New York City mayor once celebrated for his leadership...
Russian military says its troops returned to bases after buildup near Ukraine
MOSCOW — The Russian military said Thursday that its troops have returned to their permanent bases after concluding massive drills near Ukraine that alarmed Western countries. Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the military’s General Staff, said that more than 300,000 troops, nearly one-third of the nation’s 1 million member...
India cases set new global record; millions vote in 1 state
NEW DELHI — India set another global record in new virus cases Thursday, as millions of people in one state cast votes despite rising infections and the country geared up to open its vaccination rollout to all adults amid snags. With 379,257 new infections, India now has reported more than...
In GOP response, Sen. Tim Scott says U.S. isn’t racistVideo
WASHINGTON — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has used the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s address to Congress to vow that “America is not a racist country.” Scott, the only Black Republican senator, seized on Biden’s calls earlier in the evening that passage of major police reform could help...
Biden to the nation, world: ‘America is rising anew’Video
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden declared Wednesday night in his first address to a joint session of Congress that “America is rising anew,” and pointed optimistically to the nation’s emergence from the pandemic as a vital moment to rebuild the U.S. economy and fundamentally transform roles the government plays in...
Deputy killed, another wounded in North Carolina standoffVideo
BOONE, N.C. — A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy has died and another has been wounded in a shooting that prompted a daylong standoff Wednesday that dragged into the night with law enforcement officers surrounding a home, authorities said. The Watauga County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that deputies...
Watch live: President Biden’s address before the joint session of CongressVideo
President Joe Biden is laying out his policy agenda and updating the nation Wednesday in his first address to a joint session of Congress....
A Pa. cheerleader’s profane Snapchat rant lands before the Supreme CourtVideo
PHILADELPHIA — When Brandi Levy learned she’d been relegated to Mahanoy Area High School’s junior varsity cheerleading team in 2017 she did what most teens these days do — turned to social media to vent her frustration. But her profane post on Snapchat — in which the then-14-year-old, middle finger...
Feds release videos of Jan. 6 riot showing police assaultVideo
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities released videos Wednesday showing Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after defending the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, being attacked with a chemical spray as the pro-Trump mob descended on the building. The videos were released after media outlets, including The Associated Press, went to...
New York man linked to Capitol riot convicted of threats to lawmakers
NEW YORK — A social media agitator was convicted Wednesday on federal charges of threatening to kill members of Congress in a verdict that rejected his claims it was harmless rhetoric. A jury found Brendan Hunt guilty at the close of a weeklong trial in federal court in Brooklyn. Hunt,...
U.S. indicts 3 on hate crime charges in death of Ahmaud Arbery
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department brought federal hate crimes charges Wednesday in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, charging a father and son who armed themselves, chased and fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man after spotting him running in their Georgia neighborhood. Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory, were charged along...
Columbus mayor requests federal probe of police forceVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther requested a Department of Justice investigation into the city’s police department Wednesday following a spate of police killings of Black people. While Columbus is committed to reform and has already established a number of “significant” changes in the past few years, the Democratic...
Connecticut becomes 6th state to end religious vaccine exemption
Connecticut will no longer allow a religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care facilities, becoming the sixth state to end that policy. The legislation was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Ned Lamont, hours after the Democratic-controlled Senate passed the bill late Tuesday night. More...
Charges added in 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan governor
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Prosecutors added charges Wednesday against three of six people accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr. and Daniel Harris conspired to use a weapon of mass destruction, namely a plan to blow up a bridge near Whitmer’s second home...
Woman accuses NYC mayoral candidate of sexual misconduct
NEW YORK — A woman who once volunteered for City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer accused him Wednesday of groping her without consent two decades ago. Stringer, a Democrat, denied it and said the two had a consensual relationship. Speaking near Stringer’s Manhattan office, Jean Kim said that in...
Senate votes to reinstate methane rules loosened by Trump
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are moving to reinstate regulations designed to limit potent greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas fields, as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to tackle climate change. The Senate approved a resolution Wednesday that would undo an environmental rollback by President Donald...
Deadly California arrest carries echoes of George Floyd caseVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Police in Alameda, Calif., are under fire over the death of a Hispanic man who was pinned to the ground for more than five minutes in a video-recorded arrest that unfolded the same day a jury in Minneapolis began deliberating in the George Floyd case. Autopsy findings...
Pennsylvania sending covid-19 vaccines to more providers
HARRISBURG — Covid-19 vaccines will be sent to more providers in Pennsylvania, widening the distribution network this week to include doctors, small pharmacies and others as part of its effort to overcome lingering hesitancy among residents who have yet to get the shot. The Health Department said Wednesday it allocated...
California mulls letting adults add parents to health plans
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California could become the only state to let adult children add their parents as dependents to their health insurance plans, a policy proposal aimed at increasing insurance coverage among low-income people living in the country illegally who aren’t eligible for government-funded coverage. Former President Barack Obama’s health...
Astronaut Michael Collins, Apollo 11 pilot, dead of cancer
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday of cancer, his family said. He was 90. Collins was part of the three-man Apollo 11 crew that effectively ended...
Video: Chicago man had gun, back turned when police shot him
CHICAGO — A 22-year-old Chicago man who was fleeing police had his back turned and appeared to drop a gun when an officer fatally shot him late last month, video released Wednesday shows. Chicago’s independent police review board released video and other investigation materials pertaining to the March 31 killing...
