Governor softens order over jailed Texas hair salon ownerVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday removed jail as a punishment for violating his coronavirus restrictions following outcry by conservatives over a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for refusing to keep her business closed. In a swift reversal of his own rules, Abbott said his...
South African brewer says it may dump 400 million bottles of beer
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South African Breweries, one of the world’s largest brewers, says it may have to destroy 400 million bottles of beer as a result of the country’s ban on alcohol sales that is part of its lockdown measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. South...
Indianapolis police officer fatally strikes pregnant woman
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis police officer on his way to work struck and killed a pregnant woman who was walking on an expressway ramp, police said Thursday. Officer Jonathon Henderson, a 22-year veteran, struck the woman about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The accident happened as he traveled on the...
Face masks make a political statement in era of coronavirus
WASHINGTON — The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus. While not yet as loaded as a “Make America Great Again” hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for...
Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage in Florida Panhandle
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Firefighters in the Florida Panhandle have been battling wildfires that forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes, and a stretch of Interstate 10 remained closed in both directions Thursday morning due to smoke, authorities said. A more than 575-acre fire in Walton County prompted about...
Trucker charged in serial killings faces scrutiny across U.S.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Investigators from multiple states were looking Thursday into whether a long-haul trucker from Iowa who’s implicated in at least three women’s slayings in the 1990s could be responsible for other unsolved homicides. Officers arrested Clark Perry Baldwin, 58, in Waterloo on Wednesday after new DNA evidence...
California doom: Staggering $54 billion budget deficit loomsVideo
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will have a budget shortfall of $54.3 billion because of the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced Thursday, a stunning reversal for a state that had a $21 billion surplus a year ago. The state has been under a mandatory stay-at-home...
Deadline near to sign up for free Penn State Extension online courses
Mother’s Day is the final day to register for more than 50 online courses Penn State Extension is offering to the public at no cost, to help families and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Topics of the courses, which normally require a fee, include healthy meals, food safety, gardening tips,...
Unemployment benefits now available for self-employed Pennsylvanians
Self-employed Pennsylvanians who are out of work because of coronavirus can file for unemployment benefits now that the state’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance system is fully operational, according to the Department of Labor and Industry. The department launched the first phase of the system last month, which allowed people to file...
Police: 2 McDonald’s workers shot over dining area closure
OKLAHOMA CITY — Two McDonald’s employees in Oklahoma City were shot and wounded by a customer who was angry that the restaurant’s dining area was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, police said. A female suspect was in custody after the Wednesday night shooting, but police have not yet released...
Gunman sought after 3 dead in string of Houston shootings
HOUSTON — Police searched early Thursday for a man suspected of fatally shooting three men during the span of less than an hour at separate locations in Houston. The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Joshua Kelsey, was believed to be driving a car that was stolen from the scene of the...
Spain daily virus death toll trends downwardVideo
MADRID — Spain is maintaining its positive evolution of its coronavirus outbreak a day after its government succeeded in securing parliamentary support for a new two-week extension of its lockdown measures despite losing some important support from political rivals. Spanish health authorities reported about 200 new fatalities on Thursday, taking...
Outer Banks set to reopen to visitorsVideo
Three counties on North Carolina’s tourist-reliant Outer Banks announced plans Wednesday to lift coronavirus-related visitor restrictions, although they warned of the need to continue to practice social distancing amid the ongoing pandemic. In a joint statement, officials in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties said restrictions on entry for visitors will...
Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg out of hospital after gallstone treatment
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from a Baltimore hospital Wednesday after being treated for a gall bladder condition. “She is doing well and glad to be home,” the Supreme Court’s public information office said in a statement. Ginsburg, 87, was in the hospital to be treated for...
California to get $247M refund as masks face delivery delay
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will get a $247 million refund amid delayed delivery of protective masks it ordered under a deal with a Chinese manufacturer. The N95 respirator masks, made in China by electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, failed to meet an April 30 certification deadline from the National Institute for...
Dallas salon owner jailed for defying virus shutdown order
DALLAS — Texas’ Republican governor and top law enforcement officer Wednesday came to the defense of a Dallas hair salon owner who was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of the governor’s restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Shelley Luther was booked in the Dallas...
Study shows why Dems should be cautious of Biden’s polling lead
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton famously lost to President Trump in 2016 despite winning more votes because she underperformed in key states in the Electoral College. But a new study released Wednesday quantifies exactly how many votes the former Democratic presidential nominee “wasted” — and warns Democrats they might be doomed...
Georgia family demands arrests 2 months after son fatally shotVideo
SAVANNAH, Ga. — The parents of a black man slain in a pursuit by two white men armed with guns called for immediate arrests Wednesday as they faced the prospect of waiting a month or longer before a Georgia grand jury could consider bringing charges. A swelling outcry over the...
Federal court bans ‘church’ from selling bleach as miracle covid-19 cure
BRADENTON, Fla. — A Bradenton organization that peddles drinking industrial-grade bleach as a cure for 95% of the world’s known illnesses — including HIV/AIDS, autism, Alzheimer’s, leukemia and, most recently, covid-19 — was openly defiant after a federal court issued a temporary restraining order on the sale of its products....
Trump holds firm on bid to ask Supreme Court to end 2010 health care lawVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration would not alter its call for the Supreme Court to strike down the 2010 health care law. “We want to terminate health care under Obamacare,” Trump told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office. He said Republicans hoped to replace the...
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey accused of firing scientists who say he shouldn’t reopen the stateVideo
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is being accused by health experts of firing scientists who warned him of reopening the state from threats of coronavirus too soon. Ducey, a Republican, recently extended his stay-at-home order until May 15, but on the day before President Trump visited the state and toured a...
Senate bill would mandate safety protocols for Pennsylvania nursing homes
Long-term care facilities that have become the epicenter of Pennsylvania’s covid-19 fatalities would be subject to new safety protocols during emergency disaster declarations under a measure state Sen. Kim Ward is promoting. Pennsylvania has recorded 3,106 deaths from covid-19, with about two thirds of those coming from 495 nursing homes...
Agency finds private border wall violates Rio Grande treaty
HOUSTON — A construction firm promoted by President Donald Trump to build his signature border wall violated American treaty obligations with a private border fence next to the river separating Texas and Mexico, a U.S. agency has found. The International Boundary and Water Commission found that Fisher Industries’ 3-mile (4.8...
Lawsuit on behalf of Missouri meat plant workers dismissed
O’FALLON, Mo. — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of employees at a rural Missouri meatpacking facility, ruling that oversight of how the plant adheres to guidance aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus falls to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, not the courts. U.S....
Polish ruling coalition postpones presidential vote
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s ruling party leader and a partner in the governing coalition announced an agreement late Wednesday to postpone Sunday’s presidential election, saying a new date will be chosen later. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the ruling Law and Justice party, and Jaroslaw Gowin, leader of a small party...
