Judge orders Michael Cohen released from prison after DOJ ‘retaliation’ over his Trump bookVideo
NEW YORK — A Manhattan federal judge ordered Thursday that Michael Cohen must be released from prison because the Department of Justice threw him back behind bars in an act of “retaliation” over his forthcoming tell-all book about President Donald Trump. In a virtual court hearing, Judge Alvin Hellerstein said...
FDA recalling some hand sanitizers over methanol risk
Careful what hand sanitizer you choose. The Food and Drug Administration said this month that it has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizers that contain methanol but are listed as containing ethanol, or ethyl alcohol. Methanol, or wood alcohol, can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and can...
Pennsylvania reports 962 new coronavirus cases, 16 additional deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 962 new coronavirus cases statewide and 16 additional deaths. The state’s total now sits at 104,358 cases and 7,079 deaths attributed to covid-19. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram The number of tests administered within the last seven days is 147,837, with 5,731 cases...
Murrysville company will help test systems for lunar lander
In the summer of 2021, Pittsburgh tech company Astrobotic plans to launch an unmanned lunar landing mission after being awarded a contract by NASA. But before that can happen, someone needs to make sure all of the lander’s systems are functioning correctly and working in concert with one another. That’s...
Wildfire in Greece rages for 2nd day, more homes evacuated
ATHENS, Greece — Firefighters and water-dropping aircraft were fighting for a second day Thursday to contain a large wildfire in southern Greece that forced evacuations and a night-long battle to save homes. The Fire Service said the blaze to the east of the southern town of Corinth was in full...
Chief U.K. negotiator says ‘gaps’ remain in Brexit talksVideo
LONDON — Negotiators working to establish new trade relations between Britain and the European Union admitted Thursday there was a long way to go despite progress being made in the complex talks. In comments delivered at the end of the latest round of talks, Chief U.K. negotiator David Frost said...
White House drops payroll tax cut as GOP unveils virus aid
WASHINGTON — The White House has dropped a bid to cut Social Security payroll taxes as Republicans unveil a $1 trillion covid-19 rescue package on Thursday, ceding to opposition to the idea among top Senate allies. “It won’t be in the base bill,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking on...
China cites ‘malicious slander’ as Houston consulate closes
BEIJING — China said Thursday that “malicious slander” is behind an order by the U.S. government to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, maintaining that its officials never operated outside ordinary diplomatic rules. Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the move against the consulate, the first one China opened in...
Saudi king, 84, undergoes surgery to remove gallbladder
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman underwent a successful surgery that removed his gallbladder, the kingdom said Thursday, just days after being admitted to the hospital over an inflammation of the organ. Surgeons at Riyadh’s King Faisal Specialist Hospital operated on the king, the state-run Saudi Press...
1.4 million seek jobless aid, first increase since MarchVideo
WASHINGTON — The number of laid-off Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since the pandemic struck in March, evidence of the deepening economic pain the outbreak is causing to the economy. The rise in weekly jobless claims to 1.4 million underscores the outsize role the...
German court convicts former concentration camp guard, 93
BERLIN — A German court on Thursday convicted a 93-year-old former SS private of being an accessory to murder at the Stutthof concentration camp, where he served as a guard in the final months of World War II. He was given a two-year suspended sentence. Bruno Dey was convicted of...
South Africa sees ‘huge discrepancy’ in virus, total deaths
JOHANNESBURG — The South African Medical Research Council is reporting a “huge discrepancy” between the country’s confirmed covid-19 deaths and the number of excess deaths from natural causes, while Africa’s top health official says the virus is spreading there “like wildfire.” The new report, which came out late Wednesday, shows...
Biden, Obama pair in socially distanced video to decry TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden is releasing a video of his first in-person meeting with Barack Obama since the coronavirus outbreak began, enlisting the former president to help slam his successor’s response to the pandemic. Snippets offered by Biden’s campaign showed the pair wearing masks while arriving at an office, then...
Reports: White House complex cafeteria worker tests positive for covid-19
A cafeteria worker in the White House complex that caters to President Trump’s staffers has tested positive for the coronavirus, but the risk of transmission is considered to be low, according to multiple reports. The eatery is in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, according to NBC News. A report from...
Florida governor wants schools to reopen, offers flexibilityVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis strongly emphasized the need to reopen schools in a rare address Wednesday, saying that keeping them closed will lead to depression, social isolation and a higher dropout rate, but acknowledged that parents should be able to keep children at home if they fear...
Officials: Fort Hood soldier believed to have drowned
BELTON, Texas — Authorities said Wednesday that a Fort Hood soldier found dead last week near the Texas Army base where he was stationed is believed to have drowned, according to the Bell County Sheriff’s Department. A preliminary autopsy shows the cause of death of Pvt. Mejhor Morta, 26, to...
FBI links killing of California lawyer to suspect in deadly attack on New Jersey judge’s familyVideo
LOS ANGELES — Federal investigators have unspecified evidence linking the killing of a men’s rights lawyer in California to the suspect in the ambush shooting of a federal judge’s family in New Jersey, authorities said Wednesday. The evidence allegedly connects Roy Den Hollander, another men’s rights attorney who was found...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejects GOP colleague’s apology in verbal spat
WASHINGTON — A Republican congressman offered an apology Wednesday for the “abrupt manner” he used in a verbal confrontation with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but denied aiming a sexist slur at her. Ocasio-Cortez rejected her colleague’s words, saying they were “not an apology” and what she heard was a vulgar slur....
House votes to remove Confederate statues from CapitolVideo
WASHINGTON — The House has approved a bill to remove statues of Robert E. Lee and other Confederate leaders from the U.S. Capitol, as well as a bust of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the author of the 1857 Dred Scott decision that declared African Americans couldn’t be citizens. Besides...
Ex-officer charged in George Floyd’s death faces tax evasion counts
MINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd was charged Wednesday with multiple felony counts of tax evasion. Derek Chauvin and his wife, Kellie May Chauvin, were each charged in Washington County with six counts of filing false or fraudulent tax returns...
Democrats press McConnell on coronavirus aid, but some in GOP revoltVideo
WASHINGTON — Despite disarray in the Republican ranks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed Wednesday to unveil a draft covid-19 aid package as the White House resists Democratic demands for more virus testing, state funding and housing eviction protections. Key GOP senators revolted over the emerging effort as the price...
Ohio joins Pennsylvania in statewide mask mandate
Effective Thursday, it will take more than a trip across the Ohio state line for Pennsylvanians seeking to escape orders requiring face masks in public places. Ohio will join Pennsylvania in having a statewide mask mandate. One day after President Trump took to the airwaves endorsing masks and conceding that...
Protesters in Harrisburg rally against mask mandates, Gov. Wolf’s coronavirus restrictions
HARRISBURG — No more masks. No more restrictions. And, they said, no more tyranny. That was the rally cry of several hundred people who gathered Wednesday on the Capitol steps, calling for Gov. Tom Wolf to lift all coronavirus-related restrictions. Organizers called the “Pennsylvania Assemble for Freedom” event a gathering...
Florida sheriff: 2 brothers, girlfriend arrested in triple homicide
FROSTPROOF, Fla. — Two brothers and a woman have been arrested in connection with the “massacre” of three best friends who set out on a fishing trip at a central Florida lake last week, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday. One of the suspects, Tony “TJ” Wiggins, 26, had...
Trump deploys more federal agents under ‘law-and-order’ pushVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will send federal agents to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to help combat rising crime, expanding the administration’s intervention into local enforcement as he runs for reelection under a “law-and-order” mantle. Using the same alarmist language he has employed to describe...
