Authorities identify Conneaut Lake drowning victim
CONNEAUT LAKE — An Erie woman fell into Conneaut Lake from the rear of boat Sunday afternoon and drowned, according to the Crawford County Coroner’s Office. The body of Kourtney Deese, 30, was recovered at 12:05 a.m. today by scuba divers off Oakland Beach/Morning Shores at Conneaut Lake. Deese’s death...
Trump-connected lobbyists reap windfall in federal coronavirus aid
WASHINGTON — Forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump’s own ethics policy, according to a report. The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either...
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, exposed to coronavirus, joined Trump on jetVideo
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Shortly after fireworks above Mount Rushmore disappeared into the night sky on Friday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem accompanied President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One despite having had close contact with Trump’s son’s girlfriend, who had tested positive for coronavirus. Trump has been in a...
White woman charged as a result of racist Central Park confrontation
NEW YORK — A white woman who called the police during a videotaped dispute with a Black man over walking her dog without a leash in Central Park was charged Monday with filing a false police report. In May, Amy Cooper drew widespread condemnation for frantically calling 911 to claim...
White woman charged after racist Central Park confrontation
NEW YORK — A white woman who called the police during a videotaped dispute with a Black man over walking her dog without a leash in Central Park was charged Monday with filing a false police report. In May, Amy Cooper drew widespread condemnation for frantically calling 911 to claim...
Ghislaine Maxwell moved to New York for Epstein-related sex abuse chargesVideo
NEW YORK — Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred Monday to New York to face charges that she recruited women and girls, one as young as 14, for him to sexually abuse, the Bureau of Prisons said. Prosecutors have asked a judge to schedule a Friday court appearance...
Nearly 100K in Pennsylvania got federal coronavirus loans so far
HARRISBURG — The Treasury Department on Monday released the names of more than 26,000 businesses or organizations based in Pennsylvania that received funds from a federal program intended to support the economy as states shut down to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The Treasury only identified borrowers that got...
State police seize $5.7 million worth of drugs in past 3 months
Pennsylvania State Police seized more crack cocaine in the past three months than they did in the 12 months prior, according to data released Monday. The 13.07 pounds of crack cocaine seized by state troopers from April 1 to June 30 far outweighs the 9.5 pounds picked up by troopers...
World’s longest-surviving conjoined twin brothers die at 68
DAYTON, Ohio — The world’s longest-surviving conjoined twins died July 4 at the age of 68. Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, of Beavercreek, Ohio, were born joined at the abdomen Oct. 28, 1951. In 2014, the brothers earned the distinction of being the world’s oldest set of conjoined twins shortly before...
Chicago’s July 4th weekend ends with 17 dead, 70 wounded
CHICAGO — One of Chicago’s bloodiest holiday weekends in memory ended with 17 people fatally shot, including a 7-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, and 70 more wounded, despite a concerted effort to quell the violence with an additional 1,200 police officers on the streets. The violence was far worse...
Treasury names 650K small businesses receiving govt loans
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department on Monday released the names of more than 650,000 companies that received funds from the government’s small business lending program, a massive effort intended to support the economy as states shut down in April to contain the viral outbreak. Treasury identified just a fraction of...
Judge orders Dakota Access pipeline shut down pending reviewVideo
FARGO, N.D. — A judge on Monday ordered the Dakota Access pipeline shut down for additional environmental review more than three years after it began pumping oil — handing a victory to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and delivering a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken public health...
Ohio man fires gun after firework set off, prompts SWAT standoff
DAYTON, Ohio — A man angry that a firework exploded near his apartment complex shot at the man who set it off, authorities said, sparking a standoff that lasted for several hours. The shooting in Dayton occurred early Monday. The shots struck a car but did not hit any people,...
Little to celebrate in Pamplona with no running of the bulls
PAMPLONA, Spain — Residents in Spain’s northern city of Pamplona dressed up Monday in white clothes and traditional red scarves to mark what should have been the start of their annual San Fermín festival, which was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Known for its races with bulls...
$10,000 reward offered in Atlanta killing of 8-year-old girlVideo
ATLANTA — The shooting death of an 8-year-old girl in Atlanta prompted a $10,000 reward for information as authorities searched Monday for at least two people who opened fire on the car she was riding in near a flashpoint of recent protests. Police identified the girl killed Saturday night as...
Israel announces successful launch of new spy satellite
JERUSALEM — Israel announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite Monday that will help it monitor Iran’s nuclear activities as the Israeli foreign minister hinted that his country may have been behind a fire that damaged an Iranian nuclear site last week. The “Ofek 16” satellite gives Israel...
Trump’s leadership is tested in time of fear, pandemic
WASHINGTON — Not long after noon on Feb. 6, President Donald Trump strode into the elegant East Room of the White House. The night before, his impeachment trial had ended with acquittal in the Republican-controlled Senate. It was time to gloat and settle scores. “It was evil,” Trump said of...
Frederick Douglass statue vandalized in Rochester, N.Y., park
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the anniversary of one of his most famous speeches, delivered in that city in 1852. Police said the statue of Douglass was taken on Sunday from Maplewood Park, a site along the Underground...
Trump’s views — bleak about the U.S., rosy about coronavirus — put Republicans on the spotVideo
WASHINGTON — White House surrogates and GOP lawmakers struggled Sunday to defend President Donald Trump after he spent the Fourth of July holiday weekend denigrating the racial-justice movement galvanized by George Floyd’s killing and playing down a deadly pandemic by claiming that 99% of coronavirus cases are “completely harmless.” In...
Californians avoid holiday crowds as coronavirus cases surgeVideo
LOS ANGELES — Californians mostly heeded warnings to stay away from beaches and other public spaces during the long weekend as state officials urged social distancing amid a spike in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. Many communities canceled July 4 fireworks shows and other annual festivities, changes that appeared to successfully...
Lawyer: Remains of missing Texas soldier Vanessa Guillén identified
DALLAS — Army investigators have identified the body of a soldier who vanished more than two months ago from a base in Texas, according to a lawyer for the soldier’s family. Remains found last week buried near Fort Hood belong to Spc. Vanessa Guillén and Army officials informed her family...
5 West Virginia residents killed in South Carolina accident
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Five West Virginia residents were killed in a multi-vehicle collision on Interstate 26 in South Carolina, a coroner said. Orangeburg County Coroner Samuetta Marshall said the victims died of blunt force trauma in the crash Thursday near Orangeburg. They were identified as Justin Cooper, 39, and Michael...
West Virginia has biggest 2-day jump in positive coronavirus cases
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia has experienced its biggest two-day jump in confirmed coronavirus cases, according to health statistics released Sunday. The Department of Health and Human Resources website showed an increase of 76 positive cases on Sunday and 118 on Saturday. West Virginia has seen a 16% jump in...
Coronavirus fear prompts Mexican town to block road from U.S. border
MEXICO CITY — Residents of the town of Sonoyta, across from Lukeville, Ariz., briefly blocked the main road leading south from the U.S. border over the weekend over fears of coronavirus outbreaks. Arizona has seen a major upsurge in infections and there were worries about intensified contagion during the July...
Third highest single-day total, 10,059, pushes Florida past 200,000 covid-19 casesVideo
MIAMI — It took three months, from early March to June 22, for Florida to cross 100,000 new confirmed covid-19 cases. It took less than two weeks for the state to go from 100,000 to 200,000 cases — and the positive test rate keeps rising. The 10,059 confirmed new novel...