Storms moving eastward, leave trail of damage in Deep South
Storms that left splintered homes and broken trees across Alabama and Mississippi moved into Georgia and Florida on Thursday, rousing residents with early morning warnings as forecasters said the threat of dangerous weather would move up the south Atlantic seaboard. About 20,000 homes and business were without power and the...
EU agency: AstraZeneca vaccine safe, will add clot warning
The European Union’s drug regulatory agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine doesn’t increase the overall risk of blood clots and that the benefits of using it outweigh the risks, paving the way for European countries to resume dispensing the shots. Several European nations, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain,...
U.S. schools prepare summer of learning to help kids catch up
After a dreary year spent largely at home in front of the computer, many U.S. children could be looking at summer school — and that’s just what many parents want. Although the last place most kids want to spend summer is in a classroom, experts say that after a year...
White supremacist propaganda surged in 2020, report says
NEW YORK — White supremacist propaganda reached alarming levels across the U.S. in 2020, according to a new report that the Anti-Defamation League provided to The Associated Press. There were 5,125 cases of racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ and other hateful messages spread through physical flyers, stickers, banners and posters, according to...
Bill would make daylight saving time permanent in Pennsylvania
If some Pennsylvania lawmakers get their way, you won’t need to remember the phrase “spring forward, fall back.” Lawmakers are pushing a bill that urges Congress to authorize states to make daylight saving time apply year-round. The House State Government Committee approved the bill on Wednesday. The bill, which passed...
Italy honors covid dead with living monument on anniversary
ROME — Italy inaugurated a living monument to its covid-19 dead Thursday as it marked the anniversary of one of the most haunting moments of the pandemic: when Bergamo’s death toll reached such heights that an army convoy had to transport coffins out because its cemeteries and crematoriums were full....
China ‘deeply concerned’ about anti-Asian violence in U.S.
BEIJING — China called on the U.S. to take measures to stem violence against people of Asian heritage after eight people were killed at Atlanta-area massage parlors. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Thursday that violence against Asians in the U.S. was “outrageous and distressing,” leaving China “deeply concerned.” American...
Divided House OKs Dems’ bill helping Dreamer immigrants
WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to unlatch a gateway to citizenship for young Dreamers and immigrants who have fled war or natural disasters abroad, giving Democrats a win in the year’s first vote on an issue that once again faces a steep uphill climb in Congress. On a near...
France set to unveil new restrictions amid covid-19 spike
PARIS — France is set to announce new coronavirus restrictions on Thursday, including a potential lockdown in the Paris region and in the north of the country, as the number of covid-19 patients in intensive care units spikes. “We will make the decisions we need to make,” French President Emmanuel...
Putin cites ills in U.S. society after Biden’s killer remark
President Vladimir Putin responded Thursday to President Joe Biden’s description of him as a killer by citing America’s past and present troubles, from slavery and the slaughter of Native Americans to racial injustice. Biden was asked in an interview this week whether he thought Putin was a killer, and he...
Biden agrees Putin is a killer, says he’ll pay price for meddling
President Joe Biden agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer,” and said in an interview with ABC News on Wednesday that Russia would pay for alleged interference in U.S. elections. His comments, recorded Tuesday, came the same day as a U.S. intelligence community report that said Putin ordered...
Ohio attorney general sues Biden administration over federal pandemic relief law
The Ohio attorney general is taking the Biden administration to court over federal “American Rescue Plan.” A.G. Dave Yost is suing the administration over rules in the stimulus bill that prevent states from using the billions of dollars in funding for tax cuts, Cleveland.com reported Wednesday. Yost told Cleveland.com that...
For Biden, questions about N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo grow harder to ignore
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden’s relentless effort to avoid the day-to-day distractions of the political world is being put to the test by the growing calls for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. Throughout the campaign and during his first two months in office, Biden’s team installed zealous...
States sue Biden in bid to revive Keystone XL pipeline
BILLINGS, Mont. — Attorneys general from 21 states on Wednesday sued to to overturn President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. Led by Ken Paxton of Texas and Austin Knudsen of Montana, the states said Biden had overstepped his authority when he revoked the...
Republicans seize on immigration as border crossings surge
WASHINGTON — Delegation trips to the border. Apocalyptic warnings. A flurry of press conferences. Republicans still divided over former President Donald Trump’s legacy are seizing on his signature campaign issue, turning their focus to immigration as they try to regain the political upper hand. Faced with President Joe Biden’s early...
Trump’s taxes in hand, Manhattan DA’s probe heats up
NEW YORK — With former President Donald Trump’s tax returns finally in hand, a team of New York prosecutors led by a newly hired former mob-buster is sending out fresh subpoenas and meeting face-to-face with key witnesses, scrutinizing Trump’s business practices in granular detail. Amid the swirl of activity, the...
IRS will delay tax filing due date until May
The Internal Revenue Service is delaying the traditional tax filing deadline from April 15 until May 17, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. The IRS and Treasury Department didn’t immediately comment Wednesday or provide further details. But the committee confirmed and applauded the move, which provides added time...
Pennsylvania sets out to tackle disparities highlighted by pandemic
Health and social services officials hope a data-driven approach — one focused not on equality, but equity – will help begin to move the life-expectancy needle higher in some of Pennsylvania’s most disparate areas. The goal of the region-based coalitions, called Regional Accountable Health Councils, is in essence to lift...
Police investigate suspect’s motive in Atlanta-area killings
ATLANTA — A white gunman accused of killing eight people, most of them women of Asian descent, at three Atlanta-area massage parlors was charged with murder Wednesday in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community that’s increasingly been targeted during the coronavirus pandemic. Robert Aaron Long, 21,...
Iran’s final report on Ukraine jet crash blames human error
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — After a yearlong investigation, Iran’s civil aviation agency on Wednesday released its final report on the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane that killed 176 people last year, revealing no new details about the shootdown that has provoked outrage from affected countries and concerns from...
Millions across Southeast bracing for potential tornadoes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Hundreds of schools, covid-19 vaccination clinics, businesses and more shut down across the Deep South on Wednesday as forecasters warned of waves of severe weather including massive tornadoes, downpours and hail the size of tennis balls. While nearly 16 million people in the Southeast could see powerful...
Experts: Virus surge in Europe a cautionary tale for U.S.
Optimism is spreading in the U.S. as covid-19 deaths plummet and states ease restrictions and open vaccinations to younger adults. But across Europe, dread is setting in with another wave of infections that is closing schools and cafes and bringing new lockdowns. The pandemic’s diverging paths on the two continents...
2 jurors dropped from Derek Chauvin trial after $27M settlement
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge on Wednesday dismissed two jurors who had been seated for the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer accused in George Floyd’s death over concerns they had been tainted by the city’s announcement of a $27 million settlement with Floyd’s family. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill...
Indiana attorney general defends governor’s mask order power
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s attorney general’s office vigorously defended Gov. Eric Holcomb’s emergency powers in response to a restaurant’s lawsuit challenging his order that masks must be worn inside restaurants to stem the spread of the coronavirus. That defense of Holcomb’s action comes even though Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, who...
Senate confirms Katherine Tai as Biden’s top trade envoy
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Katherine Tai as the top U.S. trade envoy in an overwhelming bipartisan vote on Wednesday . She will be the first Asian American and first woman of color to hold the position. Tai is considered a problem-solving pragmatist, and her nomination by President Joe Biden...
