‘Blood on your hands’: Montana lawmaker’s words not unusual
HELENA, Mont. — The swift punishment brought down on Zooey Zephyr, a transgender lawmaker in Montana, began over words that others in American politics have used without hesitation or consequence: saying opponents have “blood” on their hands. The governor of Texas. A GOP congressman in Florida. A city councilwoman in...
Tunisia rounds up migrants at sea in unprecedented numbers
OFF THE COAST OF SFAX, Tunisia — A young man wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with “Dior,” women clutching babies wrapped in blankets, children bundled in winter coats. All gingerly stepped from rickety boats into the sturdy craft of the Tunisian Maritime National Guard — and away from their dreams...
Police say Altoona man killed neighbor, lived with the corpse for 3 days
An Altoona, Blair County, man is under arrest after police say he killed his neighbor and then lived with the corpse for three days. According to WTAJ, police were called to an apartment along Eighth Avenue around 3:49 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a robbery involving Raymond Oechsle Jr.,...
Carolyn Bryant Donham, at center of Emmett Till death, dies
JACKSON, Miss. — The white woman who accused Black teenager Emmett Till of whistling at her — causing his 1955 lynching in Mississippi, which galvanized a generation of activists to rise up in the Civil Rights Movement — has died at 88. Carolyn Bryant Donham died in hospice care Tuesday...
Montana lawmaker fights on during 1st day of exile
HELENA, Mont. — Montana transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr spent her first day in legislative exile Thursday relegated to a bench in a noisy hallway across from a snack bar outside the state House chambers where she is no longer allowed. Zephyr defiantly stayed put even after the Republican House speaker...
What to know about prescription drugs promising weight loss
Obesity is a major and growing problem around the world, but especially in the U.S., where more than 40% of adults and about 20% of children now meet the criteria for what doctors say has become an intractable chronic disease. Rates of the disease have soared in recent decades, spurred...
Earth in hot water? Worries over sudden ocean warming spike
The world’s oceans have suddenly spiked much hotter and well above record levels in the last few weeks, with scientists trying to figure out what it means and whether it forecasts a surge in atmospheric warming. Some researchers think the jump in sea surface temperatures stems from a brewing and...
Pandemic sent high school sex to new low, survey finds
NEW YORK — The first years of the pandemic saw a huge decline in high school students having sex, according to a government survey. Teen sex was already becoming less and less common before covid-19. About three decades ago, more than half of teens said they’d had sex, according to...
U.S. sanctions Russia, Iran entities for detaining Americans
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Thursday sanctioned Russia’s Federal Security Service and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization for wrongfully detaining Americans. It’s the first rollout of new sanctions authorities established last year by President Joe Biden for use against those holding Americans unjustly captive. Still, the sanctions...
Fighters rampage in Darfur city despite Sudan truce
CAIRO — Armed fighters rampaged through a main city in Sudan’s war-ravaged region of Darfur on Thursday, battling each other and looting shops and homes, residents said. The violence came despite a fragile three-day truce between Sudan’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds. The mayhem in the...
Russia denies visit to American reporter in visa retaliation
MOSCOW — Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied a U.S request for a consular visit to Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who is jailed on espionage charges. The ministry said it rejected the request for the May 11 visit in retaliation for the U.S. refusing...
U.S. Navy says Iran seized Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy said Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday amid wider tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program. The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet. Satellite tracking data for the vessel from MarineTraffic.com...
Florida Gov. DeSantis says Disney lawsuit is political
JERUSALEM — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday shrugged off Disney’s lawsuit against him as politically motivated, and said that it was time for the iconic company to stop enjoying favorable treatment in his state. Disney sued DeSantis on Wednesday over the Republican’s appointment of a board of supervisors in...
Powerful new obesity drug poised to upend weight loss care
As a growing number of overweight Americans clamor for Ozempic and Wegovy — drugs touted by celebrities and on TikTok to pare pounds — an even more powerful obesity medicine is poised to upend treatment. Tirzepatide, an Eli Lilly and Co. drug approved to treat type 2 diabetes under the...
China pushes to digitize mines in attempt to make them safer
SHENMU, China — China is using “smart” technology to try to improve its safety record in coal mines, as part of a push by the National Energy Administration to bolster output and stem frequent accidents and collapses. Smart-mine sensors monitor aspects such as gas buildup and flooding or ventilation levels,...
Releasing leak suspect a national security risk, feds say
Federal prosecutors will urge a judge Thursday to keep behind bars a Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents, arguing he may still have access to secret national defense information he could expose. In court papers filed late Wednesday, the Justice Department lawyers said releasing 21-year-old...
Landmark bill in fight against breast cancer headed to Gov. Shapiro’s desk
Landmark legislation is on its way to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk that represents a major step forward in the fight against breast cancer and is a sign that bipartisanship is possible in Pennsylvania’s divided General Assembly. The House on Wednesday voted 200-0 to pass a bill that won unanimous support...
Appeals court rejects Trump effort to block Mike Pence’s testimony
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Wednesday night moved former Vice President Mike Pence closer to appearing before a grand jury investigating efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, rejecting a bid by former President Donald Trump’s lawyers to block the testimony. It was not immediately...
3 teens arrested after Colorado driver killed by thrown rock
GOLDEN, Colo. — Three teenagers have been arrested on first-degree murder charges in connection to the death of a 20-year-old Colorado woman, who was struck by a rock that investigators say was thrown through her windshield while she was driving. Alexa Bartell, of Arvada, was talking on the phone with...
Pa. House passes bill officially recognizing Diwali
The state House nearly unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to officially recognize Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights celebrated in the fall. State Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-McCandless, introduced the bill and celebrated its passing. Venkat is the first Indian-American representative in Pennsylvania state House history. “This legislation is important in...
Judge tosses Devin Nunes’ lawsuit against magazine, says family farm used undocumented labor
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has tossed former California Rep. Devin Nunes’ lawsuit against a journalist and magazine that suggested his family’s Iowa dairy farm knowingly employed undocumented workers. Nunes and his family had sued over a 2018 article that reporter Ryan Lizza wrote for Esquire magazine. For the piece,...
Elizabeth Holmes delays going to prison with another appeal
SAN FRANCISCO — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has avoided starting her more than 11-year prison sentence on Thursday by deploying the same legal maneuver that enabled her co-conspirator in a blood-testing hoax to remain free for an additional month. Holmes’ lawyers on Wednesday informed U.S. District Judge Edward Davila...
We Build The Wall founder sentenced to 4 years in prison
NEW YORK — The co-founder of a fundraising group linked to Steve Bannon that promised to help Donald Trump construct a wall along the southern U.S. border was sentenced to four years and three months in prison on Wednesday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors. Brian Kolfage,...
Gun control measures advance in Pennsylvania state House
HARRISBURG — Democrats advanced four gun-control bills in Pennsylvania’s state House of Representatives on Wednesday after years of a virtual standstill on legislation amid a politically divided government. The bills passed through committees on party lines. They could go before the full House as early as next week. The measures...
Pitt names next dean of university’s School of Arts and Sciences
A nationwide search to find a new dean for the University of Pittsburgh’s largest school has led to an educator already working on campus. Adam K. Leibovich, described by Pitt officials as a prolific scholar and accomplished teacher, will become dean of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and...
