U.S. marks 9/11 anniversary at tributes shadowed by virus
NEW YORK — Americans commemorated 9/11 Friday as another national crisis reconfigured memorial ceremonies, dividing some victims’ families over coronavirus safety precautions, and a presidential campaign carved a path through the observances. In New York, victims’ relatives gathered Friday morning for split-screen remembrances at the World Trade Center’s Sept. 11...
Ex-cops blame one another, seek own trials in George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys for four former Minneapolis officers charged in the death of George Floyd say that each client should get his own trial, as the officers try to diminish their roles in the Black man’s death by pointing fingers at one another. Prosecutors say all four officers should be...
10 dead in massive Northern California wildfireVideo
GRIDLEY, Calif. — A Northern California wildfire became the state’s deadliest of the year Thursday when authorities announced seven more deaths, bringing the total to 10 and there was the unnerving prospect the toll would climb as searchers looked for 16 missing people. Butte County sheriff’s deputies and detectives found...
Trump revels in packed Michigan crowd amid Woodward book falloutVideo
FREELAND, Mich. — Reeling from another crisis of his own making, President Donald Trump tried to refocus attention on his Democratic rival Thursday at a rally in battleground Michigan as he pushed to move past revelations that he purposefully played down the danger of the coronavirus last winter. But the...
Ukrainian church leader who said covid-19 was ‘God’s punishment’ for gay marriage tests positveVideo
A preeminent religious leader in Ukraine who blamed the coronavirus pandemic on same-sex marriage has tested positive for covid-19. Patriarch Filaret, leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kiev Patriarchate, was hospitalized and diagnosed with the disease last week, the church said. The church confirmed the Patriarch “showed a positive result...
Report: Trump administration has secretly withheld millions from FDNY 9/11 health program
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has secretly siphoned nearly $4 million away from a program that tracks and treats FDNY firefighters and medics suffering from 9/11-related illnesses, the New York Daily News has learned. The Treasury Department started withholding parts of payments — nearly four years ago — meant to...
Judges: Trump can’t exclude people from district drawings
NEW YORK — Saying the president had exceeded his authority, a panel of three federal judges on Thursday blocked an order from President Donald Trump that tried to exclude people in the country illegally from being counted when congressional districts are redrawn. The federal judges in New York, in granting...
Pentagon rescinding order to shutter Stars and Stripes newspaperVideo
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is rescinding its order to shut down the military’s independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes, in the wake of a tweet late last week by President Donald Trump vowing to continue funding the paper. In an email to Stripes’ publisher Max Lederer, Army Col. Paul Haverstick...
Money for $300 unemployment boost to run out after 6 weeks
The temporary $300-a-week unemployment insurance boost implemented by President Donald Trump is about to end, with no extension in sight. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday in an email to The Associated Press that it has distributed $30 billion of the $44 billion it had set aside for the...
Gov. Wolf pledges $15M to bridge digital divide among Pennsylvania students
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday committed $15 million in federal coronavirus aid money toward helping schools provide adequate, reliable broadband internet access to students who might otherwise struggle with remote learning. Wolf said the pandemic has forced schools to “rethink and rework how to provide instruction to students who are...
Connecticut police chief hit with federal charges of rigging his hiring
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The police chief of Connecticut’s largest city was arrested Thursday on federal charges that he teamed with Bridgeport’s personnel director to rig the hiring process to make sure he would get his job. Federal prosecutors in New York and FBI officials in Connecticut announced the arrest of...
Russian hackers target U.S. campaigns, parties, Microsoft says
BOSTON — The same Russian military intelligence outfit that hacked the Democrats in 2016 has attempted similar intrusions into the computer systems of more than 200 organizations including political parties and consultants, Microsoft said Thursday. Those efforts appear to be part of a broader increase in targeting of U.S. political...
U.S. will end current health screening of some travelers
WASHINGTON — The United States plans to end enhanced health screening of travelers from certain countries next week, and those visitors will no longer be funneled through 15 large U.S. airports. Those requirements were imposed in January to prevent the spread of covid-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
Lawsuit: EPA fails to enforce Chesapeake Bay pollution caps
NORFOLK, Va. — The Environmental Protection Agency has failed to ensure that Pennsylvania and New York are doing enough to reduce pollution that flows from farms and cities into the Chesapeake Bay, according to a lawsuit filed on Thursday. The federal suit was brought by the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation...
Republican coronavirus relief bill blocked in SenateVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected Republicans’ latest coronavirus relief proposal Thursday, though Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may have strengthened their hand in bipartisan negotiations with a display of GOP unity. The vote to end debate on the roughly $650 billion package was 52-47, falling short of the necessary 60 votes....
How architect Paul Murdoch designed a 9/11 memorial that literally sings in Shanksville
When Paul Murdoch received the commission to design the Flight 93 National Memorial in 2005, he never imagined the job’s final stages would be taken up with figuring out how to build a massive — and massively complex — musical instrument. The memorial marks the site in Western Pennsylvania where...
In a year of social distancing, coronavirus alters Sept. 11 remembrancesVideo
NEW YORK — In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even the commemoration of 9/11 could not escape unchanged. The 19th anniversary of the terror attacks will be marked by dueling ceremonies at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza and a corner near the World Trade...
Rarely have so many Californians been exposed to such gloomy, unhealthy air
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Shrouded in near darkness, beneath a gloomy, orange sky, Fabian Rios worked to repair a fire hydrant late Wednesday morning. Working alongside the headlights of his truck, the Bay Area utility employee said the lack of light wasn’t troubling him. “The real problem is the ash...
Older Black Americans more likely to die from covid-19 than any other group
Old. Chronically ill. Black. People who fit this description are more likely to die from covid-19 than any other group in the country. They are perishing quietly, out of sight, in homes and apartment buildings, senior housing complexes, nursing homes and hospitals, disproportionately poor, frail and ill, after enduring a...
Pennsylvania reports 587 new covid-19 cases, 15 new deaths
Pennsylvania reported 587 new covid-19 cases Thursday, according to the state Department of Health. In addition, 15 new coronavirus-related deaths were reported. Of the state’s newly reported deaths, one is from April, five are from August and nine are from September. The state’s case count rises to 141,877 and death...
Ohio mother gets 25-year term for leaving her 2 dead babies in cars
TOLEDO, Ohio — The mother of two infants whose remains were left in separate abandoned cars was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Jenna Cisneros had pleaded no contest last month to charges of involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice. Her husband is also charged...
Huge fire breaks out at Beirut port a month after explosion
BEIRUT — A huge fire broke out at Beirut’s port Thursday, raising new panic among residents still struggling with the traumatic effects of the catastrophic explosion at the same site last month. Some sought safety in closed bathrooms or threw open their windows to guard against shattering glass in case...
U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 884,000 seek jobless aid
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs are stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy. The latest figure released by the Labor Department Thursday still far exceeds the number...
Texas fugitive wanted in Georgia deputy shooting captured
DALTON, Ga. — A Texas fugitive who fled into the woods in Georgia after shooting at an officer who pulled him over has been captured, authorities said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation tweeted that Dalton Potter was in custody after authorities surrounded him late Wednesday following another shooting outside the...
California wildfires growing bigger, moving faster than ever
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When it comes to California wildfires, it now takes days, not decades, to produce what had been seen as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Last weekend, a fire burning in California’s Sierra National Forest exploded in size, trapping hundreds of Labor Day holiday campers who could only be rescued...
