Joe Biden is beating Trump big in Pennsylvania. Will anything change that?Video
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania was supposed to be a dogfight in this year’s presidential race. Decided by less than 1 percentage point in 2016 and crucial to the electoral math for both President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, both parties began the year prepared for a scrap to the finish. But...
Couple wears swastika masks to intimidate shoppers at Minnesota WalmartVideo
MARSHALL, Minn. — A couple in Minnesota wore red face masks emblazoned with swastikas to a Walmart in a video posted on social media. Police were called Saturday to the Walmart in Marshall, in the southwest part of the state, on a report that two shoppers were wearing the mask...
Police, protesters clash in violent weekend across U.S.
ATLANTA — Protests took a violent turn in several U.S. cities over the weekend with demonstrators squaring off against federal agents outside a courthouse in Portland, Ore., forcing police in Seattle to retreat into a station house, and setting fire to vehicles in California and Virginia. A protest against police...
More than 2 dozen New Jersey lifeguards test positive for coronavirus
HARVEY CEDARS, N.J. — More than two dozen lifeguards from two New Jersey beach towns have tested positive for the coronavirus after having been together socially, authorities said. Officials said the lifeguards are from Harvey Cedars and Surf City, neighboring boroughs on Long Beach Island. Mayor Jonathan Oldham of Harvey...
DA: Man charged in slayings of wife, mother-in-law
ELKINS PARK — A man has been charged in the shooting deaths of his wife and mother-in-law in a home near Philadelphia in which two small children were also present, authorities said. The Montgomery County district attorney’s office said Sunday police called to a Cheltenham Township home shortly after noon...
Florida surpasses New York in coronavirus cases, adds 9,300
ORLANDO — Florida surpassed New York over the weekend as the state with the second-most coronavirus cases in the U.S., as more than 9,300 new cases were reported in the Sunshine State on Sunday, accompanied by an additional 78 new deaths. Florida’s 423,855 coronavirus cases as of Sunday were surpassed...
Portland protesters breach fence around federal courthouseVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Authorities declared a riot early Sunday in Portland, Ore., where protesters breached a fence surrounding the city’s federal courthouse building where U.S. agents have been stationed. Police described via Twitter the “violent conduct of people downtown” as creating a “grave risk of public alarm.” Police demanded people...
Mexico says death toll rose 55% for March-June amid outbreak
Mexico is raising its estimate for the death toll for about two-thirds of the country by 55% between mid-March and late June following the coronavirus outbreak, according to health officials. The Latin American nation said in 20 out of 32 states alone, fatalities from covid-19 and other causes increased by...
Body of civil rights icon John Lewis crosses Selma bridgeVideo
SELMA, Ala. — The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., for the final time Sunday as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon. The bridge became a landmark in the fight for racial justice when Lewis and other civil rights marchers were beaten...
White House pushes narrow virus aid; Pelosi blasts GOP delay
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday assailed Republican “disarray” over a new pandemic relief package as the White House suggested a narrower effort might be necessary, at least for now. The California Democrat panned the Trump administration’s desire to trim an expiring temporary federal unemployment benefit from $600...
Pennsylvania reports 800 new coronavirus cases, 4 new deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 800 new cases of covid-19 and four new deaths in the state on Sunday. The new data brings the total cases to 107,425 with a death toll of 7,118. Sunday’s report of 800 cases comes after the state had reported back-to-back days (Friday and...
Everywhere and nowhere: The many layers of ‘cancel culture’
NEW YORK — So you’ve probably read a lot about “cancel culture.” Or know about a new poll that shows a plurality of Americans disapproving of it. Or you may have heard about a letter in Harper’s Magazine condemning censorship and intolerance. But can you say exactly what “cancel culture”...
AP-NORC poll: U.S. course at record low, Trump sinks on coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — With the November election 100 days away, more Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction than at any previous point in Donald Trump’s presidency, putting the incumbent in a perilous position as his reelection bid against Democrat Joe Biden enters a pivotal stretch. A new...
Tropical Storm Hanna drenches South Texas amid virus crisisVideo
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A day after roaring ashore as a hurricane, Hanna lashed the Texas Gulf Coast on Sunday with high winds and drenching rains that destroyed boats, flooded streets and knocked out power across a region already reeling from a surge in coronavirus cases. Downgraded to a tropical...
Police declare riot at Seattle protests, make arrests
SEATTLE — Seattle police declared a riot Saturday following large demonstrations in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and deployed flash bangs and pepper spray to try to clear an area near where weeks earlier people had set up an “occupied protest zone” that stretched for several blocks. Via Twitter, police...
Kanye West tweets apology to wife Kim Kardashian hours after boasting he can beat Biden
Kanye West is still in with his potential future first lady. In an active day on social media, the 43-year-old hip-hop star offered a mea culpa to Kim Kardashian mere hours after proclaiming he could still win the presidency. “I would like to apologize to my wife Kim for going...
Virus-weary Texas hit by Category 1 Hurricane Hanna
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Hurricane Hanna roared ashore onto the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, bringing winds that lashed the shoreline with rain and storm surge, and even threatening to bring possible tornadoes to a part of the country trying to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases. The first...
Mnuchin: Virus aid package soon, $1,200 checks by August
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that Republicans were set to roll out the next covid-19 aid package Monday and assured there was backing from the White House after he and President Trump’s top aide met to salvage the $1 trillion proposal that floundered only days before. Mnuchin...
North Korea puts Kaesong city on lockdown over virus concerns
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea says it has placed the city of Kaesong near the border with South Korea under lockdown over coronavirus concerns. The North’s Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday the measure was taken Friday afternoon after it found a person with suspected covid-19 symptoms in the...
Virginia panel recommends Lee statue removal at U.S. Capitol
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia panel has recommended Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s statue in the U.S. Capitol be replaced with another yet-to-be named Virginian amid national discussions about removing controversial symbols. The eight-member Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol voted unanimously Friday to take down the...
3 dead after small plane crashes into Utah neighborhood
WEST JORDAN, Utah — Three people including a 9-month-old are dead and multiple people injured after a small airplane crashed in a Salt Lake City suburb Saturday, authorities said. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a Piper PA-32 with six people on board had taken off from South Valley Regional...
Sinclair pulls show where Fauci conspiracy theory is aired
NEW YORK — The Sinclair Broadcast Group said Saturday it is pulling from the air an edition of its “America This Week” program that discusses a conspiracy theory involving Dr. Anthony Fauci and the coronavirus. Sinclair spokesman Michael Padovano said Sinclair hopes to add context and other viewpoints and still...
John Roberts’ latest deciding vote spurs wrath of conservatives
The latest Supreme Court vote cast by Chief Justice John Roberts, rejecting an effort by a Nevada church to ease limits on attendance at its services during the coronavirus pandemic, was condemned by conservative lawmakers. Roberts was the decider late Friday, joining the court’s liberals in a 5-4 vote against...
Florida overtakes New York in total covid-19 cases, CDC says
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida jumped ahead of New York in confirmed cases of covid-19 according to the CDC’s data, after the Sunshine State reported another 12,199 infections Saturday. The state says 414,511 people have been diagnosed, placing it No. 2 in the nation and now in front of New...
Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Ossoff quarantines after wife positive for virus
ATLANTA — Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff is in isolation as is his wife, who contracted covid-19, Ossoff confirmed Saturday. Ossoff, 33, said his wife, Dr. Alisha Kramer, has mild coronavirus symptoms and that he’s showing symptoms, too. He said he was tested Saturday and is awaiting results while...