Baseless Wayfair child-trafficking theory spreads online
CHICAGO — The baseless conspiracy theory took off after an anonymous user posed a bizarre question in an internet chatroom: What if retail giant Wayfair is using pricey storage cabinets to traffic children? Self-proclaimed internet sleuths quickly responded by matching up the names of Wayfair products to those of missing...
U.S. counts 342 child inflammatory syndrome cases
ATLANTA — An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the most recent count shows 342 U.S. children and teens have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to covid-19 infections. Dr. Ermias Belay presented the data Thursday during a CDC online call for physicians. Belay says that...
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission post on International Snake Day draws viewers to post more snakes
In celebrating International Snake Day on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission posted a photo of a Northern ring-neck snake, which caused readers to post their own photos of timber rattlesnakes and more. Wishing everyone “Happy World Snake Day,” the Fish and Boat Commission issued multiple posts on the...
Columbus statue to remain on Ohio Statehouse grounds for at least 5 more years
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A statue of Christopher Columbus will not be removed from in front of the Ohio Statehouse until at least 2025, officials said Thursday. The 9-foot-tall, copper statue of Columbus will remain erected in front of the Statehouse in the largest city that bears the explorer’s name until...
U.K., U.S., Canada accuse Russia of hacking coronavirus vaccine trialsVideo
LONDON — Britain, the United States and Canada accused Russian hackers on Thursday of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a coronavirus vaccine, warning scientists and pharmaceutical companies to be alert for suspicious activity. Intelligence agencies in the three nations alleged that the hacking group APT29, also known as...
Experts say Twitter breach troubling, undermines trust
HONG KONG — A breach in Twitter’s security that allowed hackers to break into the accounts of leaders and technology moguls is one of the worst attacks in recent years and may shake trust in a platform politicians and CEOs use to communicate with the public, experts said Thursday. The...
Nonprofit has recruited 31,000 volunteers willing to undergo human challenge covid-19 vaccination trial
A grassroots group of scientists and researchers has brought together more than 31,000 volunteers worldwide — including from Western Pennsylvania — who are willing to take part in a human challenge trial to test potential covid-19 vaccines. A human challenge trial in this case would involve participants being administered a...
USA Today: Peter Navarro’s anti-Fauci column didn’t meet standards
NEW YORK — USA Today says that a column that the newspaper solicited and published from presidential trade adviser Peter Navarro criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci was misleading and did not meet fact-checking standards. The newspaper explained the decision in a note by Bill Sternberg, editorial page editor, attached to the...
From masks to buses to recess, Pa. unveils guidance for schools finalizing reopening plans
State officials released a slew of recommendations Thursday regarding how Pennsylvania schools can safely reopen in the fall, addressing everything from lunch and recess to busing and extracurricular activities. Whether in-person classes resume will be left to each individual school district, all of which have been charged with creating a...
Trump’s grand GOP convention plans shrink as virus surgesVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s plans for a grand convention keep shrinking. The Republican National Committee announced Thursday that it is sharply restricting attendance on three of the four nights of its convention in Jacksonville, Fla., next month. As the GOP looks for ways to move forward while coronavirus cases...
Brazil nears 2 million coronavirus cases, with 75,000 dead
SAO PAULO — A thousand deaths a day. Since late May, three months after Brazil’s first reported case of the coronavirus, it has recorded more than 1,000 daily deaths on average in a gruesome plateau that has yet to tilt downward. The country hit at least 75,000 confirmed deaths Wednesday...
Mosquitoes flying free as health departments focus on coronavirus
Bug spray, swollen welts, citronella. It’s mosquito season. And in a normal year, the health department serving Ohio’s Delaware County would be setting out more than 90 mosquito traps a week — black tubs of stagnant water with nets designed to ensnare the little buggers. But this year, because of...
Iowa drug kingpin who killed 5 people in 1993 to be executed
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A ruthless Iowa meth kingpin who killed five people, including two young girls, in 1993 to thwart his prosecution for drug trafficking is set to become the third federal inmate to be executed this week. Dustin Honken, 52, would become the first Iowa defendant to be...
Florida reports record 156 deaths, plus near-high for new coronavirus cases
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida got a nasty one-two punch of coronavirus news on Thursday: The state reported 156 more deaths and 13,965 more covid-19 cases. The state has never reported more fatalities on a daily pandemic report before, and there’s only been one other day with more infections. Also...
Pa. veterans’ clubs try to keep doors open after coronavirus shutdown
Two of Pennsylvania’s largest veterans’ organizations — Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion — say they remain committed to serving their local communities throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic, despite enduring financial strain. The nonprofits are required to spend 60 percent of their small games of chance funds on...
Pennsylvania draws closer to 100,000 total coronavirus cases
Pennsylvania inched closer to 100,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday, with 781 additional positive test results reported. That brings the state’s total number of cases to 98,446. The state’s department of health also reported 16 additional deaths, bringing the total attributed to covid-19 to 6,973. In the past seven days, between...
Target, Kohl’s, CVS latest to require masks in all stores
Target, Kohl’s and CVS have now added themselves to the list of stores requiring customers to wear a mask while shopping there. Target and CVS joined in on Thursday, while Kohl’s announced their news Wednesday. USA Today reports Target’s mask requirement will go into effect Aug. 1. The policy does...
Allegheny County reports 140 new coronavirus cases; health officials reviewing restrictions
Reported coronavirus cases in Allegheny County dropped Thursday for the second day in a row after hitting a record earlier this week. The county on Thursday reported 140 new coronavirus cases, 12 new hospitalizations and one death. The county had its highest reported number Tuesday with 331, followed by 246...
No servers, no tables: Israeli cafe is pandemic-friendly
TEL AVIV, Israel — As restaurants worldwide struggle to stay open in the coronavirus era, a new Tel Aviv noodle chain offers a pandemic-friendly approach: meals on the go with no human contact. Fast food cafeterias where customers ordered from vending machines, known as automats, once flourished in New York...
Clashes resume on volatile Armenian-Azerbaijani border
YEREVAN, Armenia — Clashes resumed between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on the South Caucasus nations’ shared border Thursday morning, with both sides blaming each other for attacks that continue the worst outbreak of hostilities in years. Armenia’s Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijani forces of trying to infiltrate the country. Ministry spokeswoman...
U.S. executes 2nd man in a week; lawyers said he had dementia
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The United States on Thursday carried out its second federal execution this week, killing by lethal injection a Kansas man whose lawyers contended he had dementia and was unfit to be executed. Wesley Ira Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre...
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp explicitly voids mask orders in 15 localities
ATLANTA — Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp is explicitly banning Georgia’s cities and counties from ordering people to wear masks in public places. He voided orders on Wednesday that at least 15 local governments across the state had adopted even though Kemp had earlier said cities and counties had no power...
Trump shakes up campaign after mishaps, replacing Brad Parscale
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump shook up his campaign staff Wednesday, replacing campaign manager Brad Parscale with veteran GOP operative Bill Stepien. Trump and Parscale’s relationship had been strained since a Tulsa, Okla., rally that drew a dismal crowd, infuriating the president. The president’s poll numbers have also been sinking...
Brazil’s Bolsonaro gets new positive coronavirus test result
SAO PAULO — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday he has tested positive for the new coronavirus for a second time, following his July 7 announcement that he had covid-19. “I did the test yesterday, and at night the result came back that I am still positive for coronavirus,” Bolsonaro...
New pressure on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, once hailed for coronavirus action
COLUMBUS — Early during the coronavirus outbreak, Ohio’s Republican governor appeared prophetic with his decisive steps to ban spectators from a sports expo, shut down all schools before any other state and put a stop to the presidential primary. Since then, Gov. Mike DeWine has backtracked away from a statewide...
