Nigeria confirms 1st case of new virus in sub-Saharan AfricaVideo
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerian authorities on Friday reported the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa as the outbreak spread to a region with some of the world’s weakest health systems. The health commissioner for Lagos, Africa’s largest city with more than 20 million people, said an...
Vatican task force offers help to church on abuse prevention
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is launching a task force of experts to help Catholic dioceses and religious orders develop guidelines to handle cases of sexual abuse by clergy and tend to survivors. The initiative was proposed last year during Pope Francis’ summit on preventing abuse. It was considered necessary...
Southwest Greensburg woman had heart of gold, killer card-playing instincts
If David and Patrick Leonard got into trouble, they could expect to revisit it later in the week. “My father was a long-distance truck driver,” said David Leonard of Greensburg. “One thing I always remember is, if we got into trouble, my mother took care of it, but you got...
Mexico confirms first 2 cases of coronavirus
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s assistant health secretary announced Friday that the country now has two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. Hugo Lopez-Gatell said one of the patients is in Mexico City and the other in the northern state of Sinaloa. While a second test is still pending on that...
White House hopefuls target Trump on coronavirus response
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Democratic White House hopefuls are seizing on President Donald Trump’s delayed response to the coronavirus outbreak, calling it the latest evidence of his incompetence and warning that the crisis may only deepen as a result. But some experts and Democrats warn that the candidates risk exacerbating a...
California is abnormally dry after low-precipitation winter
SAN FRANCISCO — A dry beginning of the year has left most of California abnormally parched, as officials brace for the possibility of an early and more intense wildfire season amid record-breaking temperatures. Drought has expanded from just under 10% of the state last week to nearly a quarter, mainly...
Ex-Phoenix area sheriff declares victory despite court loss
PHOENIX (AP) — Former Phoenix-area Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost a bid to erase his criminal conviction for disobeying a 2011 court order, but claimed victory Thursday after an appeal’s court said the verdict no longer has any legal consequence because of President Donald Trump’s pardon. The 9th Circuit Court of...
Grandfather, Navy vet among 5 victims of Wisconsin shooting
The five men who were killed by a co-worker at a Milwaukee brewery include an electrician, a Navy veteran, a father of two small children, a fisherman and a grandfather who is being remembered as someone who “always put his family’s needs before his own.” Authorities said the five men...
Warren still dogged by past claims of indigenous ancestry
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Cherokee citizens are calling on Elizabeth Warren to publicly disavow a family story of indigenous heritage as a way to dissuade others from making false claims they say often romanticize Native Americans. The topic has haunted the Massachusetts senator since even before she announced she would seek...
New coronavirus case escalates US response
VACAVILLE, Calif. — Public health officials were retracing the steps of a Northern California woman on Thursday believed to be the first person in the U.S. to contract the highly contagious coronavirus without traveling internationally or being in close contact with anyone who had it. The diagnosis, confirmed Wednesday, marks...
Mississippi man gets death sentence for multiple killings
MAGNOLIA, Miss. — A Mississippi man was given four death sentences by a jury on Thursday, hours after he spoke in court and blamed the devil for his actions the night eight people were shot to death. Willie Cory Godbolt, 37, was convicted Tuesday of the May 2017 slayings of...
Pence’s handling of 2015 HIV outbreak gets new scrutiny
INDIANAPOLIS — President Donald Trump’s choice of Vice President Mike Pence to oversee the nation’s response to the new coronavirus threat is bringing renewed scrutiny to the former governor’s handling of an HIV outbreak in southern Indiana when he was governor. Pence reluctantly agreed to authorize a needle exchange program...
Guam residents compensated for war atrocities decades later
HAGATÑA, Guam — For Antonina Palomo Cross, Japan’s occupation of Guam started with terror at church. The then-7-year-old was attending Catholic services with her family when the 1941 invasion began, setting off bomb blasts, sirens and screams. It ended with her family surrendering their home and eventually carrying the dead...
Milwaukee police search house in wake of brewery shooting
MILWAUKEE — Police searched a home on Milwaukee’s north side Thursday as they hunted for clues about why an employee at one of the nation’s largest breweries gunned down five co-workers before taking his own life. The house, a one-story home with a massive jungle-gym in the backyard, was roped...
Congress eyes billions in funding to fight coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill negotiations on emergency spending to combat the coronavirus outbreak are likely to produce a bill that’s double or even triple the $2.5 billion plan requested by President Donald Trump just days ago. Lawmakers and aides involved in the talks say they are proceeding well and are...
Michigan settles lawsuit over teen abuse in prison for $80M
DETROIT — The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $80 million to settle a class-action lawsuit on behalf of male teens who said they were sexually harassed or assaulted in prison while housed with adults, officials said Thursday. The deal closes years of litigation. The lawsuit accused the Corrections...
Former Baltimore mayor sentenced to 3 years in book scheme
BALTIMORE — The disgraced former mayor of Baltimore was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday for arranging fraudulent sales of her self-published children’s books to nonprofits and foundations to promote her political career and fund her run for the city’s highest office. Catherine Pugh spoke through tears for...
Ex-Pennsylvania lawmaker Mike Folmer pleads guilty in child porn case
LEBANON — A former Pennsylvania state lawmaker charged last fall with possession of child pornography pleaded guilty Thursday. Mike Folmer entered a guilty plea in Lebanon County Court to three counts of possessing child porn and one count of criminal use of a communications facility for having items on his...
Ex-Pennsylvania lawmaker pleads guilty in child porn case
LEBANON — A former Pennsylvania state lawmaker charged last fall with possession of child pornography pleaded guilty Thursday. Mike Folmer entered a guilty plea in Lebanon County Court to three counts of possessing child porn and one count of criminal use of a communications facility for having items on his...
Child psychologist indicted on child pornography charges
DAYTON, Ohio — An Ohio child psychologist who once wrote a weekly parenting column has been indicted on 145 counts related to downloading child pornography, authorities said Thursday. Gregory Ramey, 70, of Beavercreek in southwest Ohio, was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on Wednesday and surrendered to authorities...
U.S. House passes bill to help eradicate invasive swamp rodent
WASHINGTON — A measure to grant funding to try to eradicate the invasive rodents called nutria has passed the U.S. House with the help of a large, stuffed specimen. California Rep. Josh Harder brought the taxidermied nutria he calls Nellie to the House floor Wednesday ahead of a vote that...
CDC infographic ranks which beards, mustaches interfere with face masks
As people worry about current COVID-19 outbreaks around the world, a three-year-old graphic illustrating the effectiveness of wearing a mask with facial hair has begun to spread across social media and appear on at least one late-night comedy show. In November 2017 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...
Study: Drivers are jerks to pedestrians, but rich drivers are the worst
If you are a pedestrian, you know one thing: Drivers aren’t usually your friend. Even within the designated white lines, getting across a busy street can be a monster task against those behind the wheel. Well, researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, set out to see just how...
Stolen hearse carrying casket recovered after freeway chase
LOS ANGELES — It has all the hallmarks of an only-in-Los Angeles crime: A thief stole a hearse — with a body inside — that went on a wild ride, ending with a chase and a crash on a busy freeway. Authorities say they found the body undisturbed inside a...
Ocasio-Cortez, Miranda use star power to promote NYC censusVideo
“Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is joining U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a public service announcement aimed at getting New Yorkers of all backgrounds, including immigrants, to participate in the once-a-decade head count. The PSA unveiled Thursday on social media begins with Ocasio-Cortez speaking in front of a classroom of students...
