China reports major drop in new virus cases; 143 new deaths
BEIJING — China reported 2,641 new virus cases Saturday as it escalates measures to contain the outbreak and reassure an anxious public. The figure is a major drop from the higher numbers in recent days since a broader diagnostic method was implemented. The number of new deaths rose slightly to...
No handshakes: Viral outbreak spooks Asian places of worship
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — In a popular Catholic church in the Philippines, nearly half of the pews were empty for Sunday Mass. The few hundred worshippers who showed up were asked to refrain from shaking others’ hands or holding them during prayers to prevent the spread of the virus that...
Angry protests in Mexico after woman’s gruesome killing
MEXICO CITY — Angry demonstrations broke out in Mexico City on Friday as hundreds of women protested the gruesome slaying and mutilation of a young woman, a case that has come to personify outrage over the rising incidence of gender-related killings, or femicides. In the morning, dozens of protesters spray-painted...
Ohio wants to put Lake Erie on a new, strict pollution diet
TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio wants to put Lake Erie on a new, stricter pollution diet to fight back against the toxic algae blooms that have flourished for more than a decade, environmental regulators said Thursday. The state intends to establish a plan to reduce runoff that’s feeding the outbreaks by...
Feds: Florida doctor stole $26M to fund political ambition
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida vascular surgeon bilked the government and health insurers of more than $26 million to possibly finance his political ambitions in his native country of Ghana, federal authorities said. Earlier this month, a federal grand jury unsealed a 58-count indictment alleging that Dr. Moses deGraft-Johnson falsely...
Anti-abortion group flips views on new Georgia senator
MARIETTA, Ga. — An influential anti-abortion group is backing Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia in her November special election, only months after opposing her appointment to the post. Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said Friday that her initial concerns were based on information “from the rumor universe”...
De Blasio endorses former 2020 rival Sanders for president
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is endorsing Bernie Sanders for president, a move that puts de Blasio in a position to become a leading voice in opposition to Sanders’ newest rival, Mike Bloomberg, his predecessor in leading the nation’s largest city. De Blasio, an unabashed...
In Nevada, Klobuchar’s shifts on immigration under scrutiny
LAS VEGAS — Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar says she no longer believes English should be the national language of the U.S., disavowing a vote she took more than a decade ago as she tries to build support in a state where Hispanics make up a critical constituency. Campaigning in...
ICE plans to deploy more resources in sanctuary cities
LOS ANGELES — Federal immigration officials confirmed Friday that border agents and officers, including those in tactical units, will be deployed in Los Angeles and other so-called sanctuary cities to assist in the arrests of immigrants in the country illegally. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman confirmed details of...
Appeals court deals blow to Trump’s Medicaid work rules
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s effort to remake Medicaid by requiring low-income people to work for health care suffered a serious setback Friday when a federal appeals court ruled it goes beyond what’s allowed by law. The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for...
Official says U.S., Taliban reach Afghanistan truce agreement
MUNICH — The United States and the Taliban have reached agreement on a temporary truce that will take effect in the coming days and, if successfully completed, will lead to a formal cease-fire, the start of peace negotiations between all Afghan sides next month and the ultimate withdrawal of American...
Investigators target sexual abuse cover-ups among Jehovah’s Witnesses
Brian Chase listened carefully from his Tucson, Ariz., home in July as an investigator from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office introduced himself over the phone. After some idle chitchat, the investigator asked: Was Chase familiar with the office’s 2018 grand jury report, which showed that priests had sexually abused thousands...
Florida ‘red flag’ gun law used 3,500 times since Parkland
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A 23-year-old man who posted on Facebook, “I don’t know why I don’t go on a killing spree.” A West Palm Beach couple who shot up their home while high on cocaine. A 31-year-old Gulf Coast man who pointed a semiautomatic rifle at a motorcyclist. All...
New Banksy piece appears on birthday of house owner where artwork appeared
That Banksy is at it again. A new work from the anonymous artist showed up on the side of house in Bristol, United Kingdom, on Feb. 13. It was confirmed Feb. 14 as a Banksy piece on his website and Instagram. The new work depicts a girl with a slingshot...
Chicago teacher removed during probe of ‘go back’ anthem row
CHICAGO — A Chicago teacher accused of telling a Hispanic student she should go back to her own country after she refused to stand for the national anthem has been removed from the classroom while district officials investigate, the school’s principal said. Students at Senn High School on the city’s...
U.S. murder suspect went undetected in Italy for 2 weeks
ROME — An American woman wanted over her husband’s 2002 murder was able to stay at the Rome hotel where she was arrested for nearly two weeks before an international arrest warrant turned up in the system identifying her as a murder suspect, Italian police said Friday. Beverly McCallum, 59,...
Evidence in trash can links dead neighbor to missing S.C. girlVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Investigators found a man dead inside his South Carolina home shortly after finding an item from a missing 6-year-old girl inside his trash can, authorities said. Faye Marie Swetlik disappeared Monday while playing in her front yard after getting off the school bus, investigators said. Her death...
Tom Wolf’s scholarship proposal targets low- and middle-income students at Pa. state schools
It’s a far cry from “free college for all” — or even “tuition-free public college” — but Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed Nellie Bly Scholarship echoes facets of those proposals. The idea for the new scholarship is included in Wolf’s state budget proposal. He said it would help low- and middle-income...
Man forced woman to be getaway driver after he robbed a bank on their 1st date
A Massachusetts woman will have to wait five years on the off chance she wants a second date. Christopher Castillo, 33, was sentenced this week to three years in state prison and two years in county corrections after pleading guilty to robbery and tangling with police during a 2016 first...
Newlonsburg students will transform into ‘Kids of Steel’ for Pittsburgh marathon weekendVideo
Newlonsburg Elementary kindergarten student Penny Ryan is really just excited to see her father’s office in Downtown Pittsburgh on May 2. That she and her brother will run with the Kids of Steel group in the Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh Kids Marathon during the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend is more...
Rush Limbaugh draws bipartisan criticism for Pete Buttigieg remarksVideo
WASHINGTON — Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh drew bipartisan criticism Thursday for saying the country won’t elect Pete Buttigieg president because he’s been “kissing his husband” on stage after debates. Limbaugh’s comments came eight days after President Donald Trump awarded him the nation’s top civilian honor during the State...
Greene County prosecutor fights child welfare agency over drug testing him
HARRISBURG — A lawyer who was recently sworn in as district attorney in southwestern Pennsylvania wants the state Supreme Court to rule that county child welfare officials investigating complaints about him do not have legal authority to compel him to take a drug test. David J. Russo, Greene County’s top...
Gisele Fetterman dressed in Carnival costume creates testy debate
A bit of a storm brewed across the Keystone State earlier this week — courtesy of Twitter — after Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman tweeted a photo of his wife, Gisele, suited-and-booted (not really) in a Carnival costume. “Waiting on confirmation from our PA Historian, gonna go out on a...
North Dakota, tribes reach settlement over voter ID lawsuit
BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota reached a proposed settlement agreement Thursday with American Indians who sued over the state’s voter ID laws requiring residents to provide a street address, arguing they are a form of voter suppression. American Indians argue that such addresses are not always evident on reservations. Many...
Warren Buffett’s son helps Colombia kick cocaine curse
TIBU, Colombia — With Colombian military snipers in position, Howard Buffett descends from a helicopter and trudges through the wet grass in steel-toe boots chewed through by his dog’s teeth. Waiting under a tin-roofed shack is a small group of coca farmers. They’ve never heard of multi-billionaire investor Warren Buffett,...
