Ohio paint plant explosion and fire kill 1, hurt 8; cause unclearVideo
COLUMBUS — An explosion and fire rocked a paint manufacturer early Thursday in Ohio’s capital, killing one person and injuring eight others. Some of the injured were able to get out of the Yenkin-Majestic Paint plant in Columbus, authorities said. Others were rescued and taken to the hospital. All of...
Background checks no longer required for Tennessee gunowners
NASHVILLE — Tennessee has become the latest state to allow most adults 21 and older carry handguns without first clearing a background check and training after Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed the measure into law. “I signed constitutional carry today because it shouldn’t be hard for law-abiding Tennesseans to...
Pennsylvania promises quicker, easier jobless claims system
HARRISBURG — After a year of frustration over long waits for checks, jammed phone lines and confusing online filing procedures, Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry is promising a much quicker and easier unemployment compensation claims filing system in two months. The new system, scheduled to launch on June 8,...
State College construction firm accused of stealing $20 million from workers
HARRISBURG — A major Pennsylvania construction contractor was charged Thursday with stealing tens of millions of dollars from its own workers by systematically violating state and federal prevailing wage laws on taxpayer-funded public infrastructure projects. Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. of State College, a 70-year-old company that booked $1.7 billion in...
Gaetz associate working toward plea deal with prosecutors
ORLANDO, Fla. — An associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz’s is working toward a plea deal with federal prosecutors investigating a sex trafficking operation, potentially escalating the legal and political jeopardy facing the Florida congressman. The revelation that a political ally of Gaetz’s, Joel Greenberg, is seeking to strike a plea...
Number of kids alone at U.S.-Mexico border hits all-time high
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March, authorities said Thursday, the largest monthly number ever recorded and a major test for President Joe Biden as he reverses many of his predecessor’s hardline immigration tactics. A complex mix of factors...
Pennsylvania sees rise in covid cases, hospitalizations
Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania continue to rise overall, while cases in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties remain cautiously steady according to the latest data available from the state. Hospitalizations also continue to be a concern as the numbers rise. The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 4,746 additional cases; the...
Derek Chauvin kept knee on neck for 3 1/2 minutes after George Floyd drew last breath, expert saysVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — A medical expert testified Thursday that George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen as Derek Chauvin, a now-fired Minneapolis police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck and then held that position for more than three minutes after Floyd drew his last breath. Dr. Martin Tobin, a Chicago physician...
Australia halts AstraZeneca vaccine for most people under 50
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia on Thursday become the latest country to restrict use of the AstraZeneca vaccine by recommending that it not be given to people under age 50. The announcement came after Australian drug regulators held a series of urgent meetings earlier in the day. The recommendation came after...
Authorities: NFL player Phillip Adams killed 5, then himself
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Former NFL player Phillip Adams fatally shot five people, including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren before killing himself early Thursday. York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told a news conference that investigators had not yet determined a motive for Wednesday’s mass shooting. “There’s...
Students lead U.S. push for fuller Black history education
TRENTON, N.J. — Ebele Azikiwe was in the sixth grade last year when February came and it was time to learn about Black history again. She was, by then, familiar with the curriculum: Rosa Parks, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a discussion on slavery. Just like the year...
Biden seems ready to extend U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it. Biden has inched so close to the deadline that...
Hawaii vacation of 3 friends from Carnegie Mellon ended in death
HONOLULU — A Hawaii vacation for three tourists from the East Coast turned deadly once one of them became “psychotically” drunk, his friend testified Wednesday. Alexander Germany-Wald of Montclair, N.J., testified at a preliminary hearing for his college buddy, Benjamin Fleming of Pittsburgh, who is charged with murder in the...
New Jersey man charged with assaulting cops at Jan. 6 riot
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday and charged with assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. A criminal affidavit prepared by the FBI in support of the charges alleged that video and still photos showed Christopher Quaglin, wearing an American flag-themed...
Biden making new moves on guns, including naming ATF boss
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, in his first gun control measures since taking office, announced a half-dozen executive actions Thursday aimed at addressing a proliferation of gun violence across the nation that he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment.” “The idea that we have so many people dying every...
Ex-Northeastern, Penn State track coach charged with nude photo schemeVideo
BOSTON — A former track and field coach at Boston’s Northeastern University was arrested Wednesday and charged with using bogus social media accounts to try to trick female student-athletes into sending him nude photos of themselves, prosecutors said. Steve Waithe, 28, of Chicago, is accused of creating fake social media...
U.K. advises limiting AstraZeneca in under-30s amid clot worryVideo
LONDON — British authorities recommended Wednesday that the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine not be given to adults under 30 where possible because of strengthening evidence that the shot may be linked to rare blood clots. The recommendation came as regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union emphasized that the...
Pennsylvania pension system officials disclose federal probe
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system disclosed Tuesday that it is dealing with a federal investigation, although officials atop the $64 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System have yet to publicly disclose the nature or scope of the inquiry. In addition, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is on the...
Brazil’s Bolsonaro ignores calls for lockdown to slow covid deathsVideo
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday there would be “no national lockdown,” ignoring growing calls from health experts a day after the nation saw its highest number of covid-19 deaths in 24 hours since the pandemic began. Brazil’s Health Ministry registered 4,195 deaths on Tuesday,...
Former Vice President Mike Pence memoir set for 2023 release
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence has a book deal. His autobiography, currently untitled, is scheduled to come out in 2023. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to tell the story of my life in public service to the American people, from serving in Congress, to the...
Trump favorite Sean Parnell is ‘99% sure’ he’s running for U.S. Senate
PHILADELPHIA — Sean Parnell, a decorated combat veteran and favorite of former President Donald Trump, is all but certain to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, according to a Republican official who spoke with Parnell this week. “He said he was 99% sure this is what he was going to...
Georgia lawmaker Park Cannon won’t face charges for voting bill protestVideo
ATLANTA — The Georgia lawmaker who was arrested after knocking on the door of the governor’s office as he made televised comments in support of the sweeping, controversial new election law he’d just signed will not be charged, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Rep. Park Cannon, an Atlanta Democrat, was arrested...
State House advances 2-year child sex abuse lawsuit window
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House approved a bill Wednesday to establish a two-year window for civil claims over childhood sexual abuse, part of a belt-and-suspenders approach that also includes a potential constitutional amendment. The proposal was sent to the state Senate by a vote of 149 to 52, two weeks...
Biden open to compromise on infrastructure, but not inaction
President Joe Biden drew a red line on his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, saying he is open to compromise on how to pay for the package but inaction is unacceptable. The president turned fiery in an afternoon speech, saying that the United States is failing to build, invest and...
Tiger Woods was driving about 85 mph when he crashed SUV near LA
Tiger Woods was driving nearly 90 mph — twice the posted speed limit — on a downhill stretch of road when he lost control of an SUV outside Los Angeles and crashed in a wreck that left the golf superstar seriously injured, authorities said Wednesday. Sheriff Alex Villanueva blamed the...
