Here’s why it’s hard to make coronavirus vaccines and boost supplies
With demand for covid-19 vaccines outpacing the world’s supplies, a frustrated public and policymakers want to know: How can we get more? A lot more. Right away. The problem: “It’s not like adding more water to the soup,” said vaccine specialist Maria Elena Bottazzi of Baylor College of Medicine. Makers...
Partygoers fined for flouting covid rules on Thai island
BANGKOK, Thailand — More than a hundred participants in a party in a bar on a popular Thai island, including 89 foreigners, received suspended jail terms and fines Thursday for breaking national coronavirus restrictions. Police arrested the 109 partygoers in a raid Tuesday night on the Three Sixty Bar on...
N.C. man hits 2 deer with new car, then he hits $2M in lottery
LELAND, N.C. — An unlucky start to a North Carolina man’s day turned upside down when he discovered he won a $2 million lottery prize hours after hitting two deer with his new car. Anthony Dowe, of Leland, had an accident on his way to work, the North Carolina Education...
Poland: Near-total abortion ban takes effect amid protests
WARSAW, Poland — A near-total ban on abortion has taken effect in Poland and triggered a new round of nationwide protests three months after a top court ruled that the abortion of congenitally damaged fetuses is unconstitutional. Led by a women’s rights group, Women’s Strike, people poured onto the streets...
In Wyoming, Cheney faces blowback for vote to impeach Trump
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — When Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, decided to vote to impeach a president from her own party, she knew she’d cause some waves. She might not have expected the seismic impact at home. But Cheney’s vote against Donald Trump has put her...
New Biden health care orders begin to unspool Trump policies
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to take his first steps to reverse Trump administration health care policies. The White House said Biden plans on Thursday to sign orders on a range of issues including getting more Americans covered and removing curbs on abortion counseling. The most concrete short-term...
‘Sharp decline’ in covid cases among L.A. firefighters after vaccinations
LOS ANGELES — The number of Los Angeles firefighters testing positive for the coronavirus has dropped significantly since the city fire agency began offering its members vaccinations, Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said in a memo to firefighters this week. Terrazas, in a memo dated Tuesday and obtained by The Times,...
Emmett Till’s Chicago home granted city landmark status
CHICAGO — The Chicago South Side home of Emmett Till and his mother — where the boy was living when he was tortured and murdered during a 1955 trip to Mississippi — was granted city landmark status by the City Council on Wednesday as a group seeks to turn it...
Far-right influencer charged in 2016 Clinton voter scheme
NEW YORK — A self-styled far-right propagandist was arrested in Florida on Wednesday on charges he used social media to try to suppress votes for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. A criminal complaint accused 31-year-old Douglass Mackey — known on the internet...
San Francisco to strip Washington, Lincoln from public school namesVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — The names of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and other prominent figures including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California will be removed from 44 San Francisco public schools, a move that stirred debate Wednesday on whether the famously liberal city has taken the national reckoning on America’s racist...
Biden orders sweeping actions to pause drilling and fight climate changeVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Wednesday a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on public lands, one of a slate of executive actions he is taking to demonstrate his commitment to fighting climate change, despite opposition from the fossil fuel industry. The move effectively hit pause on the...
U.S. puts hold on foreign arms sales, including F-35s to United Arab Emirates
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has put a temporary hold on several major foreign arms sales initiated by former President Donald Trump. Officials say that among the deals being paused is a massive $23 billion transfer of stealth F-35 fighters to the United Arab Emirates. That sale and several other...
Amendment to limit governor’s disaster powers passes Pa. Senate a 2nd time
A constitutional amendment designed to limit the governor’s powers to extend emergency disaster declarations could make its way to a voter referendum as early as this spring. State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, a Hempfield Republican and one of Gov. Tom Wolf’s harshest critics, sponsored the proposed amendment that would...
Oklahoma seeking to return $2M worth of hydroxychloroquine
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma attorney general’s office is attempting to return $2 million worth of a malaria drug once touted by former President Donald Trump as an effective treatment for covid-19, a spokesman said Wednesday. Alex Gerszewski, a spokesman for Attorney General Mike Hunter, said Hunter is attempting to...
Pennsylvania Senate OKs $912M pandemic recovery aid bill
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to distribute just over $900 million to aid schools and hospitality-related businesses hit hard by the coronavirus, as well as people struggling to pay rent or utility bills. The bill still requires approval from the state House of Representatives and...
Virus will kill many more, White House projects as briefings resume
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration launched its new level-with-America health briefings Wednesday with a projection that as many as 90,000 more in the U.S. will die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks — a sobering warning as the government strains to improve delivery and injection of vaccines. The...
Pa. voters to get final say on limiting governor disaster powers
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters will likely soon get the final say about whether to limit the governor’s powers during a disaster emergency after a divided state House of Representatives endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday. House members voted 116 to 85 in the latest legislative approval vote. One more vote...
Child sexual abuse lawsuit ‘window’ moves near referendum
HARRISBURG — The state House has given its final approval to a proposal to change the Pennsylvania Constitution to give those who say they were victims of child sexual abuse a retroactive two-year “window” in which to file civil lawsuits, no matter how long ago the alleged abuse occurred. State...
Empty seas: Shark numbers in ‘devastating’ worldwide decline
WASHINGTON — When marine biologist Stuart Sandin talks about sharks, it sounds like he’s describing Jedis of the ocean. “They are terrific predators, fast swimmers and they have amazing senses — they can detect any disturbance in the ocean from great distance,” such as smells or tiny changes in water...
U.S. terrorism alert warns of politically motivated violenceVideo
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the potential for lingering violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election, suggesting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacks. The...
Bernie Sanders’ mittens, memes help raise $1.8M for charity
About those wooly mittens that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders wore to the presidential inauguration, sparking endless quirky memes across social media? They’ve helped to raise $1.8 million in the last five days for charitable organizations in Sanders’ home state of Vermont, the independent senator announced Wednesday. The sum comes from...
Census data for congressional seats still months away
The numbers used for divvying up U.S. congressional seats among the states won’t be ready until the end of April, a Census Bureau official said Wednesday. The new goal for finishing data processing for the apportionment numbers is now April 30, said Kathleen Styles, a top bureau official. The deadline...
Fed stresses its commitment to low rates for the long run
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve pledged on Wednesday to keep its low interest rate policies in place even well after the economy has sustained a recovery from the viral pandemic. The Fed said in a statement after its latest policy meeting that the improvement in the economy and job market...
GOP to stay neutral should Trump run again
NEW YORK — The head of the Republican National Committee on Wednesday declined to encourage former President Donald Trump to run for the White House in 2024, saying the GOP would stay “neutral” in its next presidential primary. In an interview, RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel also described the pro-Trump conspiracy...
White House: 500 million shots needed to vaccinate all over 16
WASHINGTON — White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients says it’s essential that Congress pass President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill to keep the momentum on vaccinations and more testing capacity to contain the virus. Zients says the administration is committed to delivering on Biden’s goal of 100 million shots...
