U.S. experts vow ‘no cutting corners’ as vaccine tests expandVideo
WASHINGTON — A huge international study of a covid-19 vaccine that aims to work with just one dose is getting underway as top U.S. health officials sought Wednesday to assure a skeptical Congress and public that they can trust any shots the government ultimately approves. Hopes are high that answers...
Restaurant owners sue W.Va. governor over bar closures
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The owners of 12 restaurants and bars sued the governor of West Virginia on Wednesday for indefinitely closing establishments in student-heavy Monongalia County because of the coronavirus. Gov. Jim Justice ordered bars closed there on Sept. 2 after pictures were posted online of college students in Morgantown...
More Pennsylvania inmates accused of fraudulently seeking jobless checks
HARRISBURG — Eighteen inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons and two girlfriends of inmates on the outside have been charged in what authorities describe as a scheme to fraudulently obtain jobless benefits for ineligible prisoners, prosecutors said Wednesday. The 20 sets of charges were announced by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro...
Judge: Eric Trump must testify in New York probe before election
NEW YORK — Eric Trump must testify in a New York investigation into his family’s business practices before the November presidential election, a judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting his lawyers’ claims that his “extreme travel schedule” on the campaign trail warranted a delay. State Judge Arthur Engoron said President Donald Trump’s...
Pence brings law-and-order tour to city where Floyd died
MINNEAPOLIS — Vice President Mike Pence is bringing President Donald Trump’s law-and-order campaign message to Minneapolis on Thursday, showing support for law enforcement in the city where George Floyd’s death after police tried to arrest him sparked angry and sometimes violent protests that spread around the world. Pence and Ivanka...
GOP Senate report on Hunter Biden alleges conflict of interestVideo
WASHINGTON — Two Republican-led Senate committees issued a politically charged report Wednesday alleging that the work Joe Biden’s son did in Ukraine constituted a conflict of interest for the Obama administration at a time when Biden was engaged in Ukraine policy as vice president. But the report also offered no...
Louisville police officers not charged for killing Breonna TaylorVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong, with prosecutors saying Wednesday that two officers who fired their weapons at the Black woman were justified in using force to protect themselves after they...
Deputies searching for man who stole cat blood from clinic
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A man caught on surveillance video is suspected of stealing cat blood from a veterinary clinic in Florida, sheriff’s officials said. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office posted pictures showing the man who walked up to the door of the Anastasia Cat Clinic on Sept. 17....
Pennsylvania adds 898 coronavirus cases, 39 deaths
Pennsylvania reported 39 deaths attributed to covid-19 Wednesday, the highest reported in a single day since 39 were reported June 25. Those deaths bring the state’s total to 8,062, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The state also added 898 new coronavirus cases, bringing that total to 152,544. The...
1st deadly grizzly attack recorded in nation’s largest park
A hunter has been killed by a grizzly bear in Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It’s the first-known grizzly attack death in the nation’s largest national park. Park officials said in a statement that the hunter was killed Sunday, attacked while the hunter and a friend were near...
Man convicted in 1971 slayings of NYC cops granted parole
NEW YORK — A former member of a Black radical group who was convicted in the 1971 killings of two New York City police officers has been granted parole after more than four decades behind bars. Following a hearing earlier this month, the state Board of Parole approved the release...
Bob Woodward’s ‘Rage’ sells 600,000 copies in first week
NEW YORK — Bob Woodward’s “Rage” sold more than 600,000 copies in its first week of publication, continuing a yearlong wave of blockbuster books about President Donald Trump. Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that Woodward’s book will be going into its fourth printing, with total books in print to be...
Lawsuit asks court to force Facebook to ban militias
MADISON, Wis. — Four people filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday demanding that Facebook prevent militias and hate groups from using the site, after a militia group used the platform to draw armed people to protests in Wisconsin last month that left two people dead. Prosecutors have charged 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse...
Democrats propose sweeping bill to curb presidential abuses
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday proposed a sweeping bill to curb presidential abuses, a pitch to voters weeks ahead of Election Day as they try to defeat President Donald Trump, capture the Senate from Republicans and keep their House majority. The legislation, a wide-ranging package of new and revised...
Covering the bases: Fenway Park expected as voting venue
BOSTON — There’s the windup, the pitch — and the vote. Election officials in Boston are expected to approve Fenway Park as an early voting venue when they meet Thursday, after Red Sox owner John Henry offered the storied ballpark for voters hesitant to cast ballots indoors. City officials toured...
Pennsylvania has 27,000 acres of public land that you may not use
The public owns 27,000 acres in Pennsylvania that the public can’t get to and use, according to a new report from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and onX. They are landlocked lands, which the report, The Mid-Atlantic’s Landlocked Public Lands, defines as “public land where there is no permanent, legal...
Pa. Senate passes bill to ensure coroners are told of coronavirus deaths
The day after the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s tally of deaths attributed to covid-19 surpassed 8,000, the state Senate passed a bill to strengthen the role of coroners, who have questioned the accuracy of the counting system. The bill, backed on Tuesday by all Senate Republicans and 10 Democrats, adds...
Facebook: Fake pages from China tried to disrupt U.S. politics
Facebook says it has removed a small network of fake accounts and pages that originated in China and focused on disrupting political activity in the U.S. and several other countries. The U.S.-focused activity was just a “sliver” of the accounts’ overall activity and gained almost no following, Facebook said. Their...
Ginsburg remembered as prophet for justice, American icon
WASHINGTON — With crowds of admirers swelling outside, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was remembered Wednesday at the court by grieving family, colleagues and friends as a prophet for justice who persevered against long odds to become an American icon. The court’s eight justices, masked along with everyone else...
German virus app transmitted 1.2M test results in 100 days
Germany’s coronavirus tracing app has been used to transmit 1.2 million test results from labs to users during its first 100 days, officials said Wednesday. The Corona-Warn-App, downloaded more than 18 million times since its launch in June, was touted by the government as a key tool in the country’s...
Ohio board developing mass protest law enforcement standard
A statewide standard for Ohio police departments to follow when dealing with mass protests could assist small agencies that don’t have experience in handling such demonstrations and give bigger departments the chance to review procedures, according to the head of the state’s criminal justice services office. Anyone watching the news...
Pregnant woman pulls husband to safety after shark attack
MARATHON, Fla. — When a shark attacked her husband during a snorkeling trip in the Florida Keys, his pregnant wife didn’t think twice, jumping out of a boat to pull him to safety, a sheriff’s deputy said. Andrew Eddy, 30, was on a private boat with his wife, Margot Dukes-Eddy...
3 injured by box cutter during fight on Ohio State campus
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A fight on the campus of Ohio State University ended with three students being injured by a box cutter, authorities said. It wasn’t clear what sparked the fight, which was reported around 12:40 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities said one of the injured students was in custody and may...
Sri Lanka to offer livestreams from wildlife parks
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan authorities announced Wednesday that they will offer livestreams from the island nation’s wildlife parks, in a move to help revive a tourism industry that has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic. The government’s Tourism Promotion Bureau said livestreaming will initially cover four national parks...
Orca attacks force Spain to ban yachting off northwest tip
MADRID — Spain has prohibited yachting across 62 miles of its northwestern coast after a number of sailboats have been damaged by orca whales knocking their hulls. Spain’s transport ministry issued the week-long prohibition for the vessels under 49 feet long starting on Tuesday night. It said the area covered...