Florida Walmart shopper charged with pulling gun during mask dispute
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— A Florida man is facing felony charges for pointing a gun at another Walmart shopper who had told him to wear a mask, officials said Thursday. Vincent Scavetta, 28, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and improper exhibition of a firearm after surrendering Wednesday to...
John Lewis to lie in state at the Capitol next week
WASHINGTON — Rep. John Lewis will lie in state at the Capitol next week, with the public viewing extended over two days and moved outdoors to allow for social distancing and public health precautions because of covid-19, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday. The Georgia...
Florida lawmaker tests positive amid 173 coronavirus deathsVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A second Florida lawmaker said Thursday he has tested positive for the coronavirus as the state reached a new milestone with 173 reported coronavirus deaths and pushed the total number of cases in the state past 389,000. State Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican who represents the...
Judge orders release of Jeffrey Epstein records in Ghislaine Maxwell case
A federal judge in New York on Thursday ordered the unsealing of key documents from a settled civil lawsuit involving Ghislaine Maxwell and victims alleging sex abuse and trafficking by the late Jeffrey Epstein. Senior District Judge Loretta Preska ruled from the bench in a telephonic hearing that the public...
Dearth of blockbusters amid outbreak again delays AMC theater reopenings
With Major League Baseball and the NBA resuming play — albeit with coronavirus testing and safety protocols and without fans in the stands — Americans are getting back a small slice of normalcy and something to occupy their minds other than daily covid-19 case counts. But cases are again spiking...
Pennsylvania’s rate of covid-19 testing among lowest in country, data show
The percentage of Pennsylvanians being tested for covid-19 is among the lowest rates in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The Commonwealth came in 47th out of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with 8,244 tests performed per 100,000 people, the...
Trump calls off Florida segment of GOP National ConventionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s hopes to salvage a four-night celebration for his reelection campaign have been thwarted by spiking coronavirus cases across the Sun Belt, with the president announcing Thursday that he was calling off the public events of the Republican National Convention scheduled to be held in Florida....
Congress defies Trump veto threat on Confederate base names
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday joined the House in defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump to approve defense legislation that would remove the names of Confederate officers from American military bases such as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning. The Senate approved the annual policy measure, 86-14, a...
Pepcid as a coronavirus remedy? Trump administration’s $21M gamble fizzled
A nearly $21 million government-funded study to see if a popular, over-the-counter heartburn medication could be a covid-19 remedy has fizzled amid allegations of conflicts of interest and scientific misconduct, according to interviews, a whistleblower complaint and internal government records obtained by The Associated Press. In mid-April, the Trump administration...
Lawsuit alleges former Cardinal McCarrick, others abused youth at beach house
A new lawsuit alleges former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and several other clerics sexually abused a teenage boy at a New Jersey beach house in the 1980s. The suit filed this week in state Superior Court in New Jersey claims the youth, who is not named, was first abused...
Gov. Wolf on open records bill he intends to veto: ‘I would have voted for it too’
Gov. Tom Wolf this week said that he would have backed legislation that aims to require his administration to process Right-to-Know Law requests during emergency declarations if he were a lawmaker. Yet the Democrat still plans, later this week, to veto the legislation that lawmakers recently unanimously approved in both...
AOC admonishes Rep. Ted Yoho in fiery speech on House floor: ‘I am someone’s daughter’Video
WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s outrage over a Republican lawmaker’s verbal assault broadened into an extraordinary moment on the House floor Thursday as she and other Democrats assailed a sexist culture of “accepting violence and violent language against women” whose adherents include President Donald Trump. A day after rejecting an...
Watchdog to review conduct of federal agents in Portland, D.C.Video
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department inspector general said Thursday that it will conduct a review of the conduct of federal agents who responded to unrest in Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C., following concerns from members of Congress and the public. The watchdog investigation will examine use-of-force allegations in Portland, where...
PennDOT adds 3rd gender identity option for non-binary drivers
Pennsylvanians who identify as non-binary can now make that designation on their driver’s licenses or ID card, and anyone wishing to change that designation can do so without a physician’s or social worker’s signature. Having only male and female as designations “was not meeting the needs of our customers,” PennDOT...
Pa. sees 1st West Nile case of the year in Potter County
Pennsylvania recorded its first probable human case of West Nile Virus this year, according to state health officials. A resident of Potter County was tested for the virus, with samples sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. The state recorded seven cases of West Nile in...
Pennsylvania school openings hinge on case counts, Health Secretary Rachel Levine warns
HARRISBURG — Every region of Pennsylvania has seen an increase in the rate of positive coronavirus cases and failing to stop that could jeopardize the reopening of schools for the fall semester, the state’s top health official said Thursday. In addition, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the majority of counties...
WHO chief upbraids Pompeo over ‘unacceptable’ allegations
GENEVA — The director-general of the World Health Organization has upbraided U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making “untrue and unacceptable” allegations, responding to media reports saying Pompeo had claimed the health agency chief was “bought” by China. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted WHO was focusing on “saving lives”...
Judge won’t silence anyone in Epstein-related prosecution
NEW YORK — The judge presiding over the criminal sex abuse case against Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, refused Thursday to ban prosecutors or lawyers for alleged victims from commenting publicly. U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan said in a written order that she expects anyone involved in the case...
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...
