Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse criticized for telling students China is to blame for covid-19
FREMONT, Neb. — U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse’s attempt at humor during a speech at a Nebraska high school’s online commencement — which included jokes about students’ fitness and psychologists and also blamed China for the coronavirus outbreak — drew strong criticism. The Republican senator’s speech on Saturday was panned by...
Ohio governor vows action if establishments don’t restrain crowds
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said officials will do “whatever we have to do” to enforce social distancing and other protective measures if bars and restaurants fail to restrain crowds as the state eases coronavirus measures. DeWine said he had seen images of a packed Columbus restaurant-bar over...
Investigators open criminal probe into Los Angeles explosionVideo
LOS ANGELES — Police and fire investigators launched a criminal probe Sunday into the cause of an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles that sent firefighters running for their lives. Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s major crimes division were working with the city Fire...
Gov. Cuomo takes coronavirus test in bid to encourage New Yorkers to do sameVideo
NEW YORK — Claiming some New Yorkers are reluctant to seek coronavirus tests, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday took one himself on live national television. “There is a general proclivity where … some people just don’t like to go to the doctor and don’t like to get tested,” he said...
In Detroit, New York City, kindness comes one slice of pizza at a timeVideo
NEW YORK — Before the pandemic, Shalinder Singh spent Sundays at his gurdwara, helping serve a community meal for 300 people or more at the Sikh place of worship in suburban Detroit. Now, he’s all about pizza. Singh and his family have paid for and delivered hundreds of pies to...
Kelly Loeffler’s campaign hoped for a reset. But senator’s stocks came under new scrutiny
WASHINGTON — Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s campaign was seeking a reset after a rocky first few months in the Republican’s tenure as a Georgia senator. Instead, an FBI investigation of a fellow senator suddenly placed Loeffler’s own stock sales front and center again. Even before that development, several high-placed Republicans had...
Coronavirus vaccine within a year is ‘far from a sure thing,’ expert warnsVideo
WASHINGTON — A coronavirus vaccine by year’s end is possible, but not something to “bank on,” a leading public health expert warned Sunday as the Trump administration continued to push for swift business reopenings in a bid to revive the battered U.S. economy. Aides to President Donald Trump have touted...
California homeless quarantine in hotels, more rooms needed
LOS ANGELES — Anxiety mounted every time someone at the homeless shelter sneezed or residents got too close. For Matthew Padilla, a 34-year-old with a pacemaker and asthma, catching the novel coronavirus would likely mean death. So he jumped at the chance to move into a hotel room for free...
Woman dies after car crashes into Butler County convenience store
A car slammed into a convenience store in Butler County, killing one woman and injuring two others, authorities said. The car was traveling down Dwellington Drive in Middlesex Township when it crashed into a closed store at the CoGo’s at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday, police in Butler County said. One...
U.S. health secretary won’t criticize over crowded bars, beaches
WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is declining to criticize local leaders amid images of crowded bars and boardwalks in areas where coronavirus restrictions are being lifted. Azar told CNN in an interview Sunday that “the president has left it up to states to know their local...
U.S. military’s mystery space plane rockets back toward orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The U.S. military’s mystery space plane rocketed toward orbit again Sunday, this time with an extra load of science experiments. It’s the sixth flight of an X-37B, a solar-powered plane that’s flown by remote control without a crew. Officials aren’t saying how long the spacecraft will...
Law enforcement ties, long delay complicate Ahmaud Arbery case
ATLANTA — There was an abundance of evidence when officers arrived at the scene on a February afternoon in coastal Georgia: A man, apparently unarmed, lying on the street, soaked in blood. The suspected shooter, a shotgun, eyewitnesses. And video of the incident. But no arrests were made in the...
Joe Biden’s VP search puts spotlight on how long he’ll serve
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden has longed to win the White House for more than three decades. If he finally makes it there after November’s election, he’s already talking about leaving. In an effort to ease concerns about his age, the 77-year-old presumptive Democratic nominee has said he wouldn’t seek reelection...
Tropical Storm Arthur crawls closer to North Carolina coast
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Arthur crawled closer to the North Carolina coast on Sunday evening, amid threats of some minor flooding and rough seas as the system moves off the Southeast seaboard. Arthur formed Saturday in waters off Florida, marking the sixth straight year that a named storm has developed...
Fire, explosion in Los Angeles injures 10 firefighters
LOS ANGELES — An explosion in downtown Los Angeles injured 10 firefighters Saturday, and more than 200 others rushed to the scene as the flames spread to several buildings. The condition of the injured was not immediately known. News helicopters showed dozens of fire trucks at the scene. As firefighters...
Michigan residents flock to Ohio to enjoy state’s reopening
TOLEDO, Ohio — For the first time in months, Nawal Hamade enjoyed a salon pedicure Friday, although she had to leave Michigan to get it. “It feels amazing,” said Hamade of the pampering she received at Espres Nails and Spa salon in Toledo. “It feels like getting back to normal.”...
Hundreds demand justice for Arbery at Georgia rally
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Justice for Ahmaud Arbery, a black man killed during a pursuit by a white man and his son in Georgia, isn’t just prison time for his killers — it’s changes in a local justice system that never charged them with a crime, rallygoers said Saturday. Hundreds of...
Anti-Semitic incidents reached record high in America last year, report says
A record number of anti-Semitic incidents were documented across the nation last year, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League. The anti-hate organization recorded 2,107 anti-Semitic incidents, the highest count since it began tracking incidents in 1979. This also marked a 12% increase from the 1,879 incidents recorded in...
S.C. family reunited with dog a year after he was stolen, police say
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Diesel is back with his family after almost a year apart, according to Sumter police. Diesel, a Labrador pit bull mix with a long tail and brown spots, was the family dog of Tiffaney Capell and her daughter. He went missing in June 2019, according to the...
Tropical depression forms, storm watch issued for North Carolina
MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center said Saturday a low-pressure system just off the coast of east-central Florida has become a tropical depression and a tropical storm watch has been issued for a portion of the North Carolina coast. In a 5 p.m. update, meteorologists said the storm is about...
Reopening the economy doesn’t necessarily mean people are opening wallets
Suzann Ordile spent her time and money on restaurants and entertainment before the coronavirus disrupted life in the Philadelphia region and across the world. In a typical week, the Newtown lawyer ordered takeout twice, saw a couple shows with her wife and dined near a theater in Princeton. She squeezed...
Barack Obama criticizes virus response in online graduation speech
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama on Saturday criticized some officials overseeing the coronavirus response, telling college graduates in an online commencement address that the pandemic shows many officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.” Obama spoke on “Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition,” a two-hour livestreaming event for...
Bosnians protest Mass in Sarajevo for Nazi-allied soldiers
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Thousands of Bosnians, many wearing masks, demonstrated Saturday against a Mass in Sarajevo for Croatia’s Nazi-allied soldiers and civilians killed by partisan forces at the end of World War II. The Mass in Sarajevo was a replacement for a controversial annual gathering usually held in Bleiburg, Austria,...
Google antitrust lawsuit being drafted by US Justice Department, source says
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department is drafting a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google, accusing the internet giant of violating antitrust laws, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department has been investigating Google for nearly a year over whether the company is thwarting competition in the...
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says car and race tracks in New York can reopen with no fans
ALBANY, N.Y. — In another step toward reopening its economy going into the summer, New York will allow horse racing tracks and Watkins Glen International car track to reopen with the coronavirus outbreak easing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday. But the Democrat was quick to add a caveat: “No...
