Appeals court upholds lawsuit by Indiana man released after 34 years
INDIANA — A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling declining to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a man who served more than three decades in prison in the slaying of a teenage girl before his conviction was overturned due to new DNA evidence. The Indiana Gazette reports...
Documents: Federal agents engaged in sex acts with trafficking victims
This project was produced by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, an initiative of the Scripps Howard Foundation. — — — PHOENIX — The women were forced to live and work in filth and near darkness, the federal...
Kennywood extends 2020 season passes through all of 2021
There’s no word on when – or if – Kennywood Park will open this year. But 2020 season pass holders received a little bit of good news when the West Mifflin park announced that this year’s passes would be extended through all of 2021. This hasn't been the year any...
Pennsylvania customs officials seize unapproved medication shipped from Hong Kong
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials seized a shipment of 1,200 capsules of an unapproved medicine shipped from Hong Kong to Pennsylvania. Working out of the Port of Harrisburg, agents seized the Lingua Qingwen capsules en route to an address in Union County, in the central part of the state....
Virus rampages across vast Navajo lands, close-knit families
TUBA CITY, Arizona — The virus arrived on the reservation in early March, when late winter winds were still blowing off the mesas and temperatures at dawn were often barely above freezing. It was carried in from Tucson, doctors say, by a man who had been to a basketball tournament...
Poll: Majority of Americans disapprove of coronavirus protests
A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against restrictions aimed at preventing the spread the coronavirus, according to a new poll that also finds the still-expansive support for such limits — including restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders — has dipped in recent weeks. The new survey from the University of...
Viral video sensation ‘double rainbow guy’ dies at 57
MARIPOSA, Calif. — Paul L. Vasquez, the burly mountain man whose awestruck reaction upon seeing a double rainbow propelled him to internet stardom and turned him into a folk hero, has died in Central California. He was 57. Vasquez, who called himself Yosemitebear on social media, died early Saturday at...
‘Bullseye’ target found at Nashville NAACP president’s home
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville head of the NAACP said a police officer who responded to his home after a bullseye-like target appeared in his front yard dismissed his concerns. Nashville NAACP President Keith Caldwell said in a Facebook post that he found the “bullseye” target on an easel-like holder...
Ohio Gov. DeWine sees risks ‘no matter what we do’ amid reopening
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is acknowledging that there are risks to reopening Ohio’s economy following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he says “it’s really a risk no matter what we do.” The Republican governor dialed into the economic toll the pandemic has had on businesses...
Carnival bookings pile up as cruises are scheduled to resume in AugustVideo
Carnival Cruise Line was swamped with bookings recently when it announced that it would return to the high seas after months of coronavirus lockdown. A representative with Cruise Planners, an American Express travel franchise, told TMZ that cruise bookings increased exponentially when Carnival announced it intends to resume some cruises...
Former Justice Department official says AG Bill Barr ‘twisted’ her words
WASHINGTON —A former career Justice Department official said Attorney General William Barr misused her statements to justify the department’s decision to drop the criminal case against Michael Flynn. Mary B. McCord, the Justice Department official overseeing the early stages of the Russia investigation, said in a New York Times opinion...
Stuck on cruise ships during pandemic, crews beg to go home
MIAMI — Carolina Vásquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body. On the worst night of her encounter with covid-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on...
U.S. coronavirus patients and businesses sue China over outbreak
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Before the coronavirus outbreak, Saundra Andringa-Meuer was a healthy 61-year-old mother of six who never smoked or drank alcohol. Then she became seriously ill with the disease after traveling from her Wisconsin home to help her son move from college in Connecticut. She was hospitalized in...
One dead in S.C. officer-involved shooting
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man was killed in a Saturday shootout with South Carolina police. The shooting occurred early Saturday morning after multiple people called 911 upon hearing gunshots, Greenville police Lt. Alia Paramore said in a news release. When police arrived, they found two men in the back parking...
Pence, task force members isolate after virus exposureVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, joining three of the nation’s top scientists in taking protective steps after possible exposure. An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance...
Vice President Mike Pence self-isolating after aide tests positive for coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence is self-isolating away from the White House following his press secretary’s diagnosis of covid-19 on Friday, said three people familiar with the situation. The vice president didn’t attend a meeting on Saturday with President Donald Trump and top military officials. Pence tested negative for...
Georgia AG requests federal probe in handling of Ahmaud Arbery caseVideo
ATLANTA — Georgia’s attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who authorities say died at the hands of two white men as he ran through a neighborhood. Arbery was killed Feb. 23, 2020. No...
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem tells tribes to open roads, calls Smithfield workers
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told tribes to take down road checkpoints they had set up to keep out unnecessary visitors because of concerns over the coronavirus. The Republican governor said Friday she would take legal action if the tribes didn’t remove the checkpoints in 48...
Sen. Chuck Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets
WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said the VA needs...
N.Y. to require virus testing for nursing home staffersVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York nursing homes must start twice-weekly coronavirus testing for all staffers and will no longer be sent covid-19 patients leaving hospitals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday after facing criticism over the handling of nursing facility outbreaks. New York City is responding to complaints about racial disparities...
U.K. easing some coronavirus lockdown restrictionsVideo
LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a modest easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown Sunday and outlined his government’s roadmap for further lifting restrictions in the coming months. In a televised address, Johnson said people in Britain who can’t work from home, such as those in construction or...
Surfer killed in shark attack was California man, 26
APTOS, Calif. — A surfer killed in a shark attack off a Northern California beach has been identified as a 26-year-old man who lived in the area, officials said. The victim was surfing near Manresa State Beach on the northern end of Monterey Bay on Saturday afternoon when he was...
Penn State virtual commencement features messages from Joe Jonas, Lara Spencer, Trace McSorley
While the Penn State Class of 2020 was not able to hold their graduation on campus, they did get some virtual love from celebrities and high profile alumni. According to the university, a livestream of the ceremony Saturday had 92,000 views from 121 countries. The school awarded more than 15,000...
Approval of new antiviral drug brings hope, confusion
DALLAS — As Raymond Schinazi watched Dr. Anthony Fauci reveal data from a highly anticipated clinical trial late last month, he knew he was witnessing history. Here was Dr. Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, sitting with President Trump at a White House meeting, revealing to reporters a new...
Hopkins expert refutes Trump in Fox appearance: ‘This virus isn’t going to go away’
BALTIMORE — Two days after President Trump broke with health experts and said he believes the coronavirus will go away without a vaccine, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security refuted his claim. “This virus isn’t going to go away,” Dr. Tom Inglesby told Chris Wallace on...
