NSA: Russian agents have been hacking major email program
BOSTON — The National Security Agency says the same Russian military hacking group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election and unleashed a devastating malware attack the following year has been exploiting a major email server program since last August or earlier. The timing of the agency’s advisory Thursday was...
Arkansas hits new 1-day record in coronavirus cases, 5 more deaths
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas reached another one-day record for new coronavirus cases on Thursday, a spike health officials said was driven by the state’s northwest region. The Health Department said at least 6,538 people tested positive for the virus that causes covid-19, an increase over the 6,277 reported Wednesday. The...
Lindsey Graham urges older judges to retire so GOP can fill openings
WASHINGTON — Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is publicly urging federal judges in their mid-60s or older to step aside so President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans can fill the vacancies with conservative jurists. Graham’s comments, in an interview Thursday with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt,...
Pennsylvania House virus notification dispute mirrors growing divide in state politics
The growing divide in the Pennsylvania Legislature loomed large this week with the news that a Republican House member’s coronavirus diagnosis was not shared with Democrats. House Democrats say they were stunned to learn Wednesday that state Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin County, was diagnosed with covid-19 on May 20. Political...
Cancer, coronavirus are a dangerous mix, new studies find
New research shows how dangerous the coronavirus is for current and former cancer patients. Those who developed covid-19 were much more likely to die within a month than people without cancer who got it, two studies found. They are the largest reports on people with both diseases in the United...
Police: Connecticut man wanted in 2 slayings surrendered peacefullyVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — A college student wanted in connection with two killings in Connecticut was taken into custody when he walked out of a wooded area in Maryland and surrendered peacefully to officers who had their guns drawn, ending six days on the run in several states and providing some...
VA Secretary Robert Wilkie grilled on Nazi grave markers at military cemeteries
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie on Thursday wouldn’t commit to removing three headstones containing swastikas and messages honoring Adolf Hitler from the graves of German prisoners of war, frustrating House lawmakers. Wilkie said he wanted to work with members of Congress to put such anti-Semitic and racist imagery...
National Guard called to respond to Minneapolis violenceVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in the National Guard on Thursday as looting broke out in St. Paul and a wounded Minneapolis braced for more violence after rioting over the death of a handcuffed black man in police custody reduced parts of one neighborhood to a smoking shambles....
‘Sorry, no masks allowed:’ Texas bar defies coronavirus guidance
AUSTIN, Texas — “No masks allowed.” That’s the new rule an Elgin, Texas, bar is asking its patrons to follow, defying the covid-19 guidance set by county, state and federal leaders. This week, a sign was posted outside the Liberty Tree Tavern in downtown Elgin as the bar navigates reopening...
Trump’s fossil fuel agenda gets pushback from federal judges
BILLINGS, Mont. — Federal courts have delivered a string of rebukes to the Trump administration over what they found were failures to protect the environment and address climate change as it promotes fossil fuel interests and the extraction of natural resources from public lands. Judges have ruled administration officials ignored...
Flood of mail-in ballots spurs fight to change deadlines for Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Some county and state officials are warning that a flood of mailed-in ballots in Pennsylvania — fueled by fears of in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic — will create problems in the primary election on Tuesday that must be fixed before they cause a disaster in this battleground...
Flood of mail-in ballots spurs fight in Pa. to change deadlines
HARRISBURG — Some county and state officials are warning that a flood of mailed-in ballots in Pennsylvania — fueled by fears of in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic — will create problems in Tuesday’s primary election that must be fixed before they cause a disaster in this battleground state in...
Legislature sends bills on coronavirus aid, $25B budget to Gov. Wolf
HARRISBURG — A piecemeal, no-new-taxes $25.8 billion budget headed to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk Thursday, as did legislation to distribute about $2.6 billion in emergency federal coronavirus aid to counties, nursing homes and wide range of other causes. Both won speedy approval in the Republican-controlled Legislature. The budget measure was...
Trump escalating war on Twitter, social media protectionsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump escalated his war on social media companies Thursday, signing an executive order challenging the liability protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. Still, the move appears to be more about politics than substance, as the president aims to rally...
Stimulus payments in form of debit card cause confusion across country
As the IRS encourages Americans to be on the lookout for scams related to federal coronavirus stimulus money, the agency is sending millions of people their money in the form of a debit card. The prepaid card was sent to 4 million people who did not provide their banking information...
Pennsylvania adds 625 coronavirus cases; total passes 70,000
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 108 new deaths and 625 additional cases of the coronavirus. The state has now had 70,042 total cases and 5,373 deaths. Deaths have been recorded in 54 of the state’s 67 counties, and every county has had a positive case. More than...
Election HQ: Information on primary races in Western Pa.
Primary election day in Western Pennsylvania is Tuesday, June 2. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and voters are asked to wear a mask and practice social distancing inside polling places because of the coronavirus pandemic. In Allegheny County, your polling place might not be where it...
Pittsburgh’s Mon Incline turns 150 years old
Here’s one birthday celebrant that can do its own drive-by parade. One of Pittsburgh’s most iconic symbols — the Monongahela Incline — has turned 150 years old. (And it doesn’t look a day over 125!) The city’s first funicular — the technical name for an inclined transit system powered by...
Fires, looting rock Minneapolis after man’s death in police custody; 1 deadVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Fires burned and looters struck Thursday after violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody rocked a Minneapolis neighborhood for a second straight night, with damage stretching for miles across the city and Mayor Jacob Frey appealing to the governor to activate the National...
41 million Americans have lost jobs since coronavirus hit, but layoffs slowVideo
WASHINGTON — The coronavirus crisis threw at least 2.1 million Americans out of work last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country, stoking fears Thursday that the scourge is doing deep and potentially long-lasting damage to the U.S. economy. Amid a few glimmers of hope, most of...
Stolen car recovered with 1-year-old in back seat
PHILADELPHIA — Police were searching for a suspect Thursday after recovering a car that was stolen with a 1-year-old in the back seat. The child’s mother had put her son in a child seat with the vehicle running when she ran back into the house to get an item that...
South Korea coronavirus cases make biggest jump in 50 days
South Korea on Thursday reported its biggest jump in coronavirus cases in more than 50 days, a huge setback that could erase some of its hard-won gains. Health officials warned that the resurgence is getting harder to track and social distancing and other steps need to be taken. The Korea...
College student wanted in 2 Connecticut slayings is capturedVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — A college student sought by police as a suspect in a crime spree including two slayings in Connecticut has been captured, Connecticut State Police said Wednesday night. Peter Manfredonia, 23, had been the subject of a six-day search involving several police agencies and the FBI. He was...
West Virginia governor calls for more testing as prison coronavirus cases rise
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday said he wants widespread coronavirus testing at all the state’s correctional facilities as cases continue to rise inside a rural prison. At least 102 inmates and eight staffers at the Huttonsville Correctional Center in Randolph County have tested positive for the...
Texas court: Coronavirus fear alone not enough for mail balloting
AUSTIN — Texas officials fighting to block widespread mail-in voting during the pandemic claimed victory after the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday that a lack of immunity to the coronavirus doesn’t qualify someone to cast a ballot by mail. The decision was unanimous by the Texas Supreme Court, which is...
