Marcellus Shale Coalition strikes back at grand jury report blasting fracking industry
The trade group representing the unconventional drilling industry fired back at the state attorney general and the grand jury report released last week that blasted the industry and the state departments charged with overseeing it. “The attorney general’s report exhibits a jarring lack of reality as to how shale gas...
Police say Lori Vallow, missing kids’ mom, helped keep their bodies hidden
BOISE, Idaho — Prosecutors say the mother of two children who were found dead in rural Idaho months after they vanished in a bizarre case that captured worldwide attention had conspired with her new husband to hide or destroy the kids’ bodies. The new felony charges against Lori Vallow Daybell...
Arizona faces new closures as hospitals prep for coronavirus surgeVideo
PHOENIX — Arizona hospitals are hiring out-of-state nurses, squeezing in more beds and preparing for the possibility of making life-and-death decisions about how to ration care as they get ready for an expected surge of coronavirus patients in one of the nation’s worst hot spots. Parents, teachers, businesses and their...
Virginia senator vows defense bill fight on foreign election interference
WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee vowed a fight on an annual defense bill Tuesday when Republicans again blocked his legislation requiring political campaigns to report foreign offers of assistance to the FBI. “I fear the Senate is about to fail once again to protect our...
Senate extends small business coronavirus relief program
WASHINGTON — Democrats drove a temporary extension of a popular subsidy program for small businesses through the GOP-controlled Senate late Tuesday, an unexpected development that came as spikes in coronavirus cases in many states are causing renewed shutdowns of bars and other businesses. The move by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin...
Trump’s deference to Putin back under harsh scrutiny after Russian bounty reportsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s deference to Vladimir Putin is back under the microscope amid accusations that he ignored intelligence that Russia offered to pay Taliban militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Democrats returning from a classified briefing at the White House on Tuesday pledged to get to the...
California prison’s 1,080 positive covid-19 cases blamed on corrections officialsVideo
A California prison that had zero covid-19 cases at the end of May has racked up more than 1,000 during June, prompting officials to set up triage tents outside the facility to keep contagious inmates away from the general population. As of Tuesday, 1,080 prisoners at San Quentin State Prison...
With a pen stroke, Mississippi drops Confederate-themed flag
JACKSON, Miss. — With a stroke of the governor’s pen, Mississippi is retiring the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem — a symbol that’s widely condemned as racist. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the historic bill on Tuesday afternoon that takes the 126-year-old state flag...
Inside the body, coronavirus is even more sinister than scientists had realized
The new coronavirus’s reputation for messing with scientists’ assumptions has taken a truly creepy turn. Researchers exploring the interaction between the coronavirus and its hosts have discovered that when the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects a human cell, it sets off a ghoulish transformation. Obeying instructions from the virus, the newly infected...
Delaware governor closes bars at Dewey, Rehoboth beaches; testing of visitors recommendedVideo
Delaware is shuttering bars at its beaches before the July 4 weekend after seeing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, particularly among young people. Gov. John Carney said Tuesday that establishments including those in the area of Dewey, Rehoboth and Lewes beaches must close Friday and remain closed...
Buffalo protester Martin Gugino released from hospital after being shoved by policeVideo
A Buffalo, N.Y., protester who was injured in an incident with police officers during a demonstration against police violence has been released from the hospital on Tuesday, the Buffalo News reports. Martin Gugino, 75, suffered injuries in the June 4 incident and had been hospitalized with a skull fracture, according...
Garrett Rolfe, ex-Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks, granted bond
ATLANTA — A judge on Tuesday ruled that the former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks can be free on bond while his case is pending. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick set a bond of $500,000 for Garrett Rolfe, who faces charges including felony murder in...
Unidentified remains found in same area as body of Fort Hood soldier
AUSTIN, Texas — Investigators are working to determine whether unidentified remains discovered near a field in Killeen, where a Fort Hood soldier was found dead earlier this month, are human. Participants in a vigil for Pvt. Gregory Morales on Saturday found the remains in the same area where his body...
Philadelphia to keep some virus restrictions as cases rise
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia is bringing a halt to its plans to allow indoor dining, bars, gyms and fitness centers to reopen, with officials saying Tuesday that the city is seeing rising case covid-19 counts and could be affected by a growing epidemic elsewhere in the country. The city’s health commissioner,...
Judge temporarily blocks tell-all book by Trump’s niece
A tell-all book by President Donald Trump’s niece cannot be published until a judge decides the merits of claims by the president’s brother that its publication would violate a pact among family members, a judge said Tuesday. New York state Supreme Court Judge Hal B. Greenwald in Poughkeepsie, New York,...
No smoking, drinking or eating as Atlantic City casinos openVideo
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Atlantic City tried Prohibition once before. It worked so well that Nucky Johnson, the legendary politician and racketeer, built a Boardwalk empire immortalized on HBO nearly a century later. It also tried banning smoking, too. That lasted for 20 days as smokers stayed away, sending casino...
Puerto Rico to demand covid-19 test results from passengers
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s governor on Tuesday announced strict new rules for all passengers flying into Puerto Rico in a bid to curb coronavirus cases as officials blame recent outbreaks on those who flew to the U.S. territory and were infected. Starting July 15, all passengers have...
Fauci: U.S. ‘going in wrong direction’ in coronavirus outbreakVideo
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top infectious disease specialist warned Tuesday that the United States could see up to 100,000 new cases per day of the virus that causes covid-19 if the nation does not take steps to control the pandemic. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy...
N.Y. adds states to quarantine list, sends monitors to New York CityVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is urging travelers from eight additional states to self-quarantine for 14 days as it awaits a decision on the reopening of indoor dining in New York City. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Tuesday television interview that he plans to send state police and health...
Supreme Court lifts ban on state aid to religious schooling
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it easier for religious schools to obtain public funds, upholding a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling. The court’s 5-4 ruling, with conservatives in the majority, came in a dispute over a Montana scholarship program for private...
Mellon Foundation grant aims to add low-cost Wi-Fi to high-need communities
As covid-19 cases increase in southwestern Pennsylvania, educators are just one of the groups struggling to see what their future may look like. School districts across the nation are looking at the myriad forms that fall classes could take, and it is just one of the areas R.K. Mellon Foundation...
EU reopens its borders to 14 nations but not to U.S. tourists
BRUSSELS — The European Union announced Tuesday that it will reopen its borders to travelers from 14 countries, but most Americans have been refused entry for at least another two weeks due to soaring coronavirus infections in the U.S. Travelers from other big countries like Russia, Brazil and India will...
Toronto mayor wants masks mandatory, citing U.S. problems
TORONTO — The mayor of Canada’s largest city is asking the Toronto city council to make masks mandatory in public indoor spaces. “You have told us you don’t want to see a repeat of what you see when you turn on your TV and see reports from the United States,”...
Confederate flag losing prominence 155 years after Civil War
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Long a symbol of pride to some and hatred to others, the Confederate battle flag is losing its place of official prominence 155 years after rebellious Southern states lost a war to perpetuate slavery. Mississippi’s Republican-controlled Legislature voted Sunday to remove the Civil War emblem from the...
Vatican prosecutors seize data from St. Peter’s Basilica
ROME — Vatican prosecutors have ordered the seizure of documents and computers from the administrative offices of St. Peter’s Basilica in an apparently new investigation into financial irregularities in the Holy See. The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Francis also named a special commissioner to run the basilica, reorganize its...
