California, Florida, Texas lose House seats with Trump order
ORLANDO, Fla. — If President Donald Trump succeeds in getting immigrants in the country illegally excluded from being counted in the redrawing of U.S. House districts, California, Florida and Texas would end up with one less congressional seat each than if every resident were counted, according to an analysis by...
Hurricane threatens Hawaii with with surf, winds, flooding
HONOLULU — Hawaii geared up on Saturday to face a hurricane that threatened to pummel the islands with dangerous surf, strong winds and flash floods even as residents grappled with escalating numbers of coronavirus cases. Powerful storms are familiar to many in Hawaii who have spent the past several summers...
Jewish groups call for ouster of local NAACP head over anti-Semitic Facebook post
PHILADELPHIA — Jewish leaders expressed outrage Friday and Saturday over an anti-Semitic meme posted on the Facebook page of Rodney Muhammad, president of the Philadelphia NAACP. They called for Muhammad’s removal as head of the local civil rights group. “This vile behavior from a civic leader is incredibly dangerous for...
Civil rights icon John Lewis remembered in his hometown
TROY, Ala. — Civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman John Lewis was remembered Saturday — in the rural Alabama county where his story began — as a humble man who sprang from his family’s farm with a vision that “good trouble” could change the world. The morning service in...
Civil rights group rebuffs member, supports ethnic studies programs
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — The nation’s oldest Latino civil rights organization said Friday it strongly supports Ethnic Studies programs in colleges and won’t participate in the “glorification of historical figures” or defend monuments that eulogize violence like those around Spanish conquistadors. The League of United Latin American Citizens said Ethnic...
Pennsylvania reports 1 million negative virus test results, 13 new deaths
A week after reaching the milestone of 1 million tests administered, the state of Pennsylvania has reported 1 million negative tests for the coronavirus. Saturday’s report shows a total of 1,016,705 tests have come back with negative results for the new virus in the Keystone State. The commonwealth also reported...
Hanna becomes hurricane as it heads toward virus-weary Texas
HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Hanna was upgraded to a hurricane Saturday, moving toward the Texas coast and threatening to bring heavy rain, storm surge and possible tornadoes to a part of the country trying to cope with a surge in coronavirus cases. The storm, which is the first hurricane of...
For racial justice protests, U.S. taps tactical border squads
WASHINGTON — They are the most highly trained members of the Border Patrol, agents who confront drug traffickers along the U.S.-Mexico border and track down dangerous fugitives in rugged terrain. One day this past week, they were in a far difference setting — a city park in Portland, Oregon, looking...
In-store dancing leads to Hawaii visitor quarantine arrest
HONOLULU — Investigators with the Hawaii attorney general’s office arrested a 20-year-old woman after seeing videos of her dancing in a store and dining out when she was supposed to be obeying a traveler quarantine the state mandated to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Anne Salamanca arrived in...
Pro-Trump women’s group seeks to paint message on NYC streets, citing Black Lives Matter murals
NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio can’t allow “Black Lives Matter” to be painted on the street and then reject the message, “Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering Women to Make a Difference!” a new lawsuit argues. A Virginia-based group called “Women for America First” says the city wrongly rejected its...
Police: Fire at Arizona Democratic headquarters was arson
PHOENIX — A fire that destroyed part of the Arizona and Maricopa County Democratic Party headquarters was an act of arson, authorities said Friday. Investigators were gathering surveillance video from nearby buildings after combing the wreckage and concluding the fire was human-caused, authorities said. Nobody was hurt. Police Sgt. Mercedes...
South Texas prepares for Tropical Storm Hanna amid pandemic
HOUSTON — Officials in South Texas, hit by the coronavirus pandemic in recent weeks, said Friday they’re also prepared to handle any challenges from Tropical Storm Hanna, which was headed their way and expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall this weekend. “And don’t feel like since we’ve...
Colorado school gunman gets life with possibility of parole
A teenager who told authorities that he launched a fatal shooting attack on his suburban Denver school last year with a classmate because he wanted them to experience trauma like that he had experienced was sentenced on Friday to life in prison plus 38 years with the possibility of parole...
Choctaw chief chosen to help design new Mississippi flag
JACKSON, Miss. — The chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will help design a new Mississippi state flag that does not include the Confederate battle emblem. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that he is appointing Chief Cyrus Ben and two other people to a nine-member flag commission....
Judge denies Oregon push to limit U.S. agents during arrests
PORTLAND, Ore. — A U.S. judge on Friday denied an order sought by Oregon’s top law enforcement officer to restrict federal agents’ actions when they arrest people during nightly protests that have roiled Portland and pitted local officials against the Trump administration. Demonstrators in the progressive city have taken to...
Trump mocks Portland mayor who was gassed by federal troops
President Donald Trump called Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler “pathetic” after the Oregon politician was gassed by federal troops while standing among protesters outside a courthouse. “He made a fool out of himself. He wanted to be among the people, so he went into the crowd and they knocked the hell...
Body of missing photographer found in western Colorado
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A search and rescue crew on Friday discovered the body of a missing photographer along a hiking trail in western Colorado, authorities said. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the body of Conrad Earnest, 62, was found near Glade Park, south of...
Virtual retreat equips Western Pa. teachers with tools for online education
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools across the nation, it wasn’t just students and parents who were tossed headlong into a brand-new challenge. Many teachers, counselors and principals faced the same dilemma. “All of a sudden, we found ourselves having to write game plans and blueprints for something that...
Wolf calls on General Assembly to raise minimum wage in Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday called on lawmakers to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, which has not been increased in 11 years. The state’s minimum wage was set at $7.25 on July 24, 2009, the last time the federal government raised wages. Prior to that, the minimum wage was...
Iconic Philly cheesesteak shop founder, son face tax charges
PHILADELPHIA — The founder of an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant and one of his sons have been indicted on federal tax evasion and fraud charges for allegedly hiding nearly $8 million in sales over the course of a decade. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s office...
Pennsylvania schools setting in-person teaching rules as pandemic spreads
HARRISBURG — The many Pennsylvania school districts that have not settled on how and when they will restart instruction this fall will be making decisions in the coming weeks, and the pandemic plans that have been produced so far are all over the map. That’s by design, the state education...
U.S. prison populations down 8% amid coronavirus outbreak
RICHMOND, Va. — Stephanie Parris was finishing a two-year prison sentence for a probation violation when she heard she’d be going home three weeks early because of COVID-19. It made her feel bad to leave when she had so few days left at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. She...
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen released from prison again
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer was released Friday after a judge ruled that he had been sent back to prison from home confinement as retaliation for his plan to release a book critical of Trump before November’s election. Michael Cohen walked out of a federal prison...
Pennsylvania reports highest new covid-19 case count in over 2 months
The Pennsylvania Department of Health posted its highest number of new cases of covid-19 in two and a half months on Friday. The day’s report of 1,213 new cases was the highest new daily total since May 10, when 1,295 new cases were counted. The state has amassed a total...
Mandatory masks becoming the rule amid Europe’s virus uptick
ROME — New rules on wearing masks in England came into effect Friday, with people entering shops, banks and supermarkets now required to wear face coverings, while Romania reported a record for daily infections and new cases nearly doubled in France. People in England can be fined as much as...
