Biden raises record $383 million in September
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden raised $383 million for his election effort in September, a record-breaking sum that eclipses the unprecedented fundraising from the previous month. The haul, announced Wednesday night, leaves him with $432 million in the bank just weeks before the Nov. 3 election. He raised...
Postal Service agrees to reverse service changes
HELENA, Mont. — The U.S. Postal Service agreed Wednesday to reverse changes that slowed mail service nationwide, settling a lawsuit filed by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock during a pandemic that is expected to force many more people to vote by mail. The lawsuit filed against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and...
Jury finds Nebraska woman guilty of dismembering Tinder date
LEXINGTON, Neb.— A jury found a woman guilty Wednesday of the killing another woman who disappeared after a Tinder date and whose dismembered remains were later found in trash bags along rural Nebraska roads. Jurors took less than four hours to find Bailey Boswell, 26, guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy...
Facebook, Twitter seek to keep Hunter Biden report from going viral amid disinformation crackdown
After heavy criticism over the way they let misinformation run wild on their platforms in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, social media companies gradually have been adopting stronger policies to stem the spread of misinformation. For the first time, Facebook and Twitter deployed those policies Wednesday against a...
Fierce wind fans Rockies wildfires, new evacuations orderedVideo
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Strong wind fanned two Rocky Mountain wildfires Wednesday, prompting new evacuation orders as one of them spread toward communities that lie outside Rocky Mountain National Park. Cool autumn weather had been helping firefighters in their efforts to quell the Mullen Fire in southeastern Wyoming and northern Colorado...
NBC faces backlash over scheduling its Trump town hall against ABC’s Biden eventVideo
NBC News is sticking with its plan to air a live televised town hall on Thursday night with President Trump, competing directly against ABC’s event with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The news division will have Trump answer questions from “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie and a group of voters in...
Ohio voter registration hits near record, led by Democratic surge
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nearly 8.1 million Ohioans are signed up to vote in the November election, a near record, the latest figures from the state elections chief show. The presidential battleground state has never seen more registered voters, other than in 2008, when Democrat Barack Obama faced Republican John McCain....
First lady: Barron Trump tested positive for covid, no symptoms
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump says her 14-year-old son, Barron, had tested positive for the coronavirus but has since tested negative. The White House initially said he had tested negative, after both of his parents tested positive earlier this month. The first lady said Wednesday that subsequent testing showed Barron had...
California braces for renewed fire threat from windy weather
SAN FRANCISCO — Dry, windy weather posed an extreme wildfire risk Wednesday in Northern California, where massive blazes already have destroyed hundreds of homes and killed or injured dozens of people. The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for extreme fire danger from 5 a.m. through Friday morning. With...
Prosecutor says police justified in fatal Lancaster shooting
A police officer acted appropriately last month in shooting to death a Lancaster man who was wielding a knife at the officer and chasing him after his sister called 911 for help, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said there will not be criminal charges for...
White woman charged in racist NYC run-in made a 2nd 911 call
NEW YORK — Amy Cooper, the white woman charged with filing a false police report for calling 911 during a dispute with a Black man in New York’s Central Park in May, made a second, previously unreported call in which she falsely claimed the man had “tried to assault her,”...
France to restore state of health emergency after 3 monthsVideo
PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron announced that 18 million French citizens in nine regions, including in Paris, will have a curfew starting Saturday through Dec. 1. He also reinstated the state of health emergency for the country, which ended three months ago. The 9 p.m. curfew is aimed at limiting...
Earth breaks September heat record, may reach warmest year
Earth sweltered to a record hot September last month, with U.S. climate officials saying there’s nearly a two-to-one chance that 2020 will end up as the globe’s hottest year on record. Boosted by human-caused climate change, global temperatures averaged 60.75 degrees (15.97 Celsius) last month, edging out 2015 and 2016...
Pa. health officials aim to avoid shutdown despite covid uptick
A recent uptick in covid-19 cases and a likely cold-weather resurgence of the virus will not lead to another state shutdown, Pennsylvania health leaders said Wednesday. Instead, current mitigation measures and increased testing will be used to combat the spread as cool weather drives people indoors. “We have no plans...
Pennsylvania high court to settle voter signatures fight
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court granted a request Wednesday from the state’s top elections official to take up the question of whether counties should count mail-in ballots when a voter’s signature doesn’t necessarily match the one on their registration. In its brief order, the state Supreme Court said it will...
Pennsylvania tops 1,000 coronavirus cases for 9th straight day
Pennsylvania reported 1,276 new coronavirus cases and 27 deaths on Wednesday, marking the ninth straight day with more than a thousand cases. Those new additions bring respective totals to 175,922 cases and 8,411 deaths since the first cases were reported in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The...
Attacks by suspected jihadists kill 22 in central Mali
BAMAKO, Mali — Suspected Islamic extremists have carried out a series of attacks in central Mali killing at least 22 people, a spokesman for Mali’s defense minister said Wednesday. The attacks were the deadliest in Mali since an Aug. 18 military coup overthrew the country’s democratically elected president. Ten civilians...
Pope apologizes for keeping distance as virus cases spike
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis apologized to the faithful Wednesday for not being able to greet them and shake their hands as Italy posted a record spike in coronavirus infections that is threatening to once again spiral out of control. Instead of wading into the crowd to embrace the sick...
St. Louis couple who waved guns at protest plead not guilty
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple celebrated in some circles and vilified in others for waving guns at protesters marching on their private street pleaded not guilty to two felony charges at a brief hearing Wednesday. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both attorneys in their early 60s, were...
Fighting in swing states, Trump also forced to play defense
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is being forced to play Electoral College defense with a trip to Iowa, a state he won handily in 2016 but where Democrat Joe Biden is making a late push before the Nov. 3 vote. Trump’s heavy travel this week, including a rally Wednesday in...
Federal judge extends Virginia voter registration deadline
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal judge has extended the deadline for registering to vote in Virginia by 48 hours after the state’s online voter registration system went down because of an accidentally severed cable. Wednesday’s order by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. in Richmond is an effort to...
NBC sets Trump town hall, Biden to appear on ABC
NEW YORK — NBC News agreed to put President Donald Trump before voters in a town hall event on Thursday after the president submitted to an independent coronavirus test with the results reviewed by Dr. Anthony Fauci. The announcement Wednesday sets up dueling town halls with Democratic opponent Joe Biden...
Barrett tells doubtful Dems she’d keep open mind on court
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is presenting herself in her final round of confirmation questioning as a judge with deeply held personal and religious beliefs but vowing to keep an “open mind” on cases. Senate Republicans are championing her conservative approach to the law as doubtful Democrats...
Watch live: Day 3 of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett hearingVideo
Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett continue for the third day on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Tuesday’s session lasted nearly 12 hours. Barrett declined to voice an opinion on potential election-related litigation involving President Donald Trump or presidential transition of power. She also said she didn’t view...
Northern Ireland shuts schools; Liverpool slams revelers
LONDON — Northern Ireland on Wednesday introduced the tightest covid-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom, closing schools, pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of the virus. The move came as England’s new three-tiered system of restrictions took effect, with the northwestern city of Liverpool facing the most severe measures....
