Federal probe focuses on discarded Trump ballots in Luzerne County
A federal investigation into irregularities with mail-in ballots at the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections has turned up discarded ballots that were cast for President Donald Trump, U.S. Attorney David J. Freed said Thursday. In a prepared statement, Freed said FBI agents and Pennsylvania State Police who began investigating “potential...
Pennsylvania reports 853 new coronavirus cases, 17 deaths
Pennsylvania on Thursday reported 853 new cases of covid-19, with 796 of those confirmed and 57 reported as probable. The total number of cases reported in the state has now reached 153,397, according to the Department of Health. The state’s 7-day average is 782 cases and the daily positivity rate...
Officials plead for calm amid anger over Breonna Taylor case
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Authorities pleaded for calm while activists vowed to fight on Thursday in Kentucky’s largest city, where a gunman wounded two police officers during anguished protests following the decision not to charge officers for killing Breonna Taylor. Outrage over a grand jury’s failure to bring homicide charges against...
Post office defends on claims that cuts threaten election
PHILADELPHIA — Lawyers for the U.S. Postal Service were in court Thursday to defend accusations that service cuts are slowing down the mail and threatening the integrity of the presidential election. The latest hearing on the issue took place in federal court in Philadelphia, where the attorneys general from six...
Crash drops Cleveland highway sign onto pickup; 1 person dead
CLEVELAND — A dump truck struck the base of a sign on a Cleveland highway during the morning commute Thursday, causing the sign to fall on a passing pickup truck and kill one person in the pickup, authorities said, The Ohio State Highway Patrol said the crash happened around 8:30...
Court convicts 12 over tennis-playing protest at Swiss bank
GENEVA — A Swiss appeals court on Thursday convicted a dozen environmental activists who took part in a rogue tennis match inside a Lausanne branch of Credit Suisse to protest the Swiss bank’s links to the petrochemicals sector. Overturning a lower court’s acquittal in January, the appeals court in Renens,...
Kenosha shooter’s defense portrays him as ‘American patriot’
The way lawyers for Kyle Rittenhouse tell it, he wasn’t just a scared teenager acting in self-defense when he shot to death two Kenosha, Wisconsin, protesters. He was a courageous defender of liberty, a patriot exercising his right to bear arms amid rioting in the streets. “A 17-year-old citizen is...
Trump pays respects to late Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump paid respects to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Thursday morning, just two days before he announces his nominee to replace her on the high court. The president and first lady Melania Trump — both wearing masks — stood silently at the top...
Records: Mail delivery lags behind targets as election nears
The slice of Michigan that covers Detroit, its suburbs and towns dependent on the auto industry is coveted political terrain in one of this year’s most important presidential swing states. It also has another distinction as home to one of the worst-performing U.S. Postal Service districts in the country. In...
Chinese company says coronavirus vaccine ready by early 2021
BEIJING — A Chinese pharmaceutical company said Thursday the coronavirus vaccine it is developing should be ready by early 2021 for distribution worldwide, including the United States. Yin Weidong, the CEO of SinoVac, vowed to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell CoronaVac in the United States...
3 accused of creating ‘man cave’ under Grand Central station
NEW YORK — Three railroad workers have been suspended for turning a storage room under New York’s Grand Central Terminal into an unauthorized “man cave” with a television, a refrigerator, a microwave and a futon couch, officials said Thursday. A Metropolitan Transportation Authority investigation found that managers at Metro-North Railroad...
Earthquake measuring 4.2 shakes Turkish megacity of Istanbul
ISTANBUL — An earthquake measuring magnitude 4.2 hit near Istanbul on Thursday, a Turkish government agency reported. There was no immediate report of damage or casualties. The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said the quake was centered in the Sea of Marmara, off the town of Marmaraereglisi. It struck at...
In Breonna Taylor case, limits of law overcome calls for justice
“Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” became a rallying cry this summer, emblazoned on T-shirts worn by celebrities and sports stars while protesters filled the streets demanding police accountability. In the end, none of the officers were charged with Taylor’s killing, although one was indicted for shooting into a...
Trump-appointed judges under an election-year political lens
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, a Trump administration appointee who bucked the president’s conservative base by blocking a Tennessee law that restricts mail-in voting, had an announcement to make before wrapping up his decision: it had nothing to do with politics. The declaration dropped as lower-court judges,...
Rejecting Trump, both parties’ leaders see orderly electionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election drew swift blowback Thursday from both parties in Congress, and lawmakers were already turning to unprecedented steps to ensure he can’t ignore the vote of the people. Congressional leaders, including Senate...
As virus surges, critics say U.K. hasn’t learned from mistakes
LONDON — Britain bungled its response to the coronavirus the first time around. Now many scientists fear it’s about to do it again. The virus is on the rise once more in the U.K., which has recorded almost 42,000 COVID-19 deaths, with confirmed infections at their highest level since May....
Vietnamese police to investigate condom recycling factory
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnamese police said they will investigate a factory that was found recycling about 320,000 used condoms for resale, local media reported Thursday. Following a tip from a local resident, Binh Duong provincial market inspectors over the weekend raided a factory near Ho Chi Minh City where they...
What are ‘naked ballots’ and why they could determine the presidential election outcome in Pa.
HARRISBURG — Democrats are launching a digital ad targeting Pennsylvanians voting by mail to explain how to correctly fill out and return the ballots, hoping to avert worried predictions that 100,000 votes or more could be invalidated because the ballots aren’t put in the proper envelope. The so-called naked ballots...
New poll shows Biden still leading, but little change in presidential race among Pennsylvania voters
Nearly a month into the official 2020 general election campaign, with their camps moving full steam ahead and frequent rallies in Pennsylvania, President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have done little to move the needle among Keystone State voters, a new poll shows. A Franklin & Marshall College...
Report: ‘Distressed’ Dr. Deborah Birx questions her future on the coronavirus taskforceVideo
A “distressed” Dr. Deborah Birx is wondering how long she can remain on the White House’s coronavirus taskforce, according to a report Wednesday from CNN. Birx has told aides and friends she is discouraged with the direction of the task force and has described the nation’s response to the covid-19...
Louisville police say 2 officers shot, wounded amid protestVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville police say two officers have been shot amid protests in Louisville over a lack of charges in the Breonna Taylor case. Police say a suspect is in custody. Police Chief Robert Schroeder said one officer is alert and stable and the other officer is in surgery...
Trump won’t commit to peaceful transfer of power if he losesVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday again declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election. “We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said at a news conference, responding to a question about whether he’d commit to a peaceful...
South Dakota reports single-day high for covid-19 infections
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota on Wednesday reported 445 new cases of covid-19, the highest number in a single day since the pandemic started. The state has seen the nation’s second-highest number of new cases per capita over the last two weeks. The rolling average of daily new cases...
Missouri governor, opponent of mandatory masks, has covid-19
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican who has steadfastly refused to require residents to wear masks, tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said Wednesday. Parson was tested after his wife, Teresa, tested positive earlier in the day. Teresa Parson had experienced mild symptoms, including a...
Florida seeks investigation on Michael Bloomberg’s donation on voting
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s attorney general asked state and federal law enforcement on Wednesday to investigate possible election law violations after billionaire and former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg helped raise more than $16 million for Florida felons to pay their debts so they can vote in the presidential election. Attorney...
