News category, Page 549

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate approved a bill Wednesday to move up the state’s 2024 primary election by five weeks to March 19, aiming to avoid a conflict with the Jewish holiday of Passover and give voters more of a say in deciding presidential nominees. The bill passed, 45-2, although...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home covid-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases...

UNITED NATIONS — The head of the United Nations warned Wednesday that the “gates of hell” are at hand as climate change intensifies, and top international officials said the world’s leaders still aren’t doing nearly enough to curb pollution of heat-trapping gases. They pleaded with major emitting nations to do...

LIBERTY, Mo. — A white 84-year-old homeowner who is accused of shooting a Black teenager after the high-schooler mistakenly came to his Kansas City home entered a not guilty plea Wednesday, and the judge scheduled his trial for next year. Andrew Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, is charged with first-degree...

BAGLEY TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A woman was rescued Tuesday from an outhouse toilet in northern Michigan while trying to retrieve her Apple Watch. The woman, whose name was not released, lowered herself inside the toilet after dropping the watch at the Department of Natural Resources boat launch at Dixon Lake...

WASHINGTON — House Republicans clashed with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday, accusing him and the Justice Department of the “weaponization” of the department’s work in favor of President Joe Biden ‘s son Hunter. Garland’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee was his first in two years and came at...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama high school band director said Wednesday that he was just “doing my job” when police officers arrested him and shocked him with a stun gun after he refused to immediately stop the band as it played in the bleachers following a football game. Johnny Mims,...

NEW YORK — Researchers have uncovered a simple structure from the Stone Age that may be the oldest evidence yet of early humans building with wood. The construction is basic a pair of overlapping logs, fitted together with a notch. It’s nearly half a million years old and provides a...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Forecasters in Bermuda warned Wednesday of dangerous swells and rip currents as Hurricane Nigel spun through open waters in the northern Atlantic. The Category 1 hurricane was located about 650 miles east-northeast of Bermuda. It had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph and was moving...

Kraft Heinz said Tuesday it’s recalling more than 83,000 cases of individually-wrapped Kraft Singles American processed cheese slices because part of the wrapper could stick to the slice and become a choking hazard. The company, which is based in Chicago and Pittsburgh, said one of its wrapping machines developed a...

NEW YORK — Book bans and attempted bans continue to hit record highs, according to the American Library Association. And the efforts now extend as much to public libraries as school-based libraries. Through the first eights months of 2023, the ALA tracked 695 challenges to library materials and services, compared...

Blood collection organizations say donations are down at least 25% — a trend they’ve been unable to break since the pandemic. The American Red Cross announced a national blood shortage last week upon receiving 30,000 fewer donations than expected in August. That’s a 25% decrease from the 12,500 donations it...

Hunter Biden will plead not guilty to federal firearms charges filed after the collapse of a plea deal in a long-running federal investigation, his lawyers said Tuesday in court documents. Biden is accused of lying about his drug use when he bought a firearm in October 2018, during a period...

COLUMBUS — Seven Ohio school board members are alleging that a Republican-backed overhaul of how the state oversees K-12 education — including decisions on academic standards and school curricula — violates the state’s constitution, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Through changes included in the latest state budget, oversight of...

NEW YORK — The owner of a New York City day care center where a 1-year-old child died after being exposed to fentanyl took steps to cover up her involvement in a sprawling drug operation, even as medics rushed to treat several children in her care who were poisoned by...

PHILADELPHIA — Temple University acting president JoAnne A. Epps died Tuesday shortly after becoming ill on stage during a memorial service, officials said, describing her loss as a gut punch and struggling through emotion as they recalled her nearly four decades of service. Epps was attending a memorial service at...

Pennsylvania will now automatically register voters when they obtain driver’s licenses and official identification cards at state branches of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the new autonomic voter registration for Pennsylvania residents that goes into effect Tuesday. Pennsylvania residents who obtain or renew their driver’s license...

UNITED NATIONS — President Joe Biden made a robust case before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the world must remain united in defending Ukraine against Russian aggression, warning that no nation can be secure if “we allow Ukraine to be carved up” as he tries to rally support...

BOSTON — The family of a 14-year-old girl who allegedly discovered an iPhone taped to the back of a toilet seat on a recent flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Boston said they believe she was targeted by a member of the crew. During the Sept. 2 American Airlines flight 1441,...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on seven people and four companies in China, Russia and Turkey who officials allege are connected with the development of Iran’s drone program. The U.S. accuses Iran of supplying Russia with drones used to bomb Ukrainian civilians as the Kremlin continues its...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Three former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium executives engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity that cost the facility more than $2.2 million, according to an indictment. Tom Stalf, who was the zoo’s president and chief executive officer; ex-Chief Financial Officer Gregory Bell and Peter Fingerhut, its former...

The leader of the United Auto Workers said that a limited strike targeting plants in Missouri, Michigan and Ohio may be expanded if “serious progress” toward an new contract agreement isn’t made by Friday at noon. The UAW for the first time in its history is striking at all three...

LONDON — Hundreds of London police officers are facing dismissal as the department steps up efforts “to root out those who are corrupt” after a series of scandals eroded public trust and a scathing report found it was institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynistic. The Metropolitan Police Service said Tuesday that...