Senate OKs landmark gun violence bill, House passage is next
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday easily approved a bipartisan gun violence bill that seemed unthinkable just a month ago, clearing the way for final congressional approval of what will be lawmakers’ most far-reaching response in decades to the nation’s run of brutal mass shootings. After years of GOP procedural...
Nancy Pelosi’s husband charged with DUI in California
NAPA, Calif. — Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was charged Thursday with driving under the influence in connection with a crash he was in last month. Paul Pelosi, 82, was arrested following the May 28 crash in Napa County, north of San Francisco, after...
FBI: Naval reservist said he stormed Capitol with Proud Boys
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Naval reservist who was assigned to an agency that operates spy satellites told an undercover FBI agent that he stormed the U.S. Capitol with members of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group and has espoused anti-government and antisemitic ideologies, federal authorities said in court records unsealed...
Covid vaccines saved 20M lives in 1st year, scientists say
Nearly 20 million lives were saved by covid-19 vaccines during their first year, but even more deaths could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been reached, researchers reported Thursday. On Dec. 8, 2020, a retired shop clerk in England received the first shot in what would...
Jan. 6 panel hears of Trump’s pressure on Justice DepartmentVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump hounded the Justice Department to pursue his false election fraud claims, striving in vain to enlist top law enforcement officials in his desperate bid to stay in power and hosting a dramatic Oval Office showdown in which he weighed replacing the agency’s leader with a more...
Publix supermarkets not offering covid vaccine to young kids
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida-based Publix grocery store chain is not offering the covid-19 vaccine to children younger than 5 but has not explained its decision. The supermarket chain with 1,288 stores in seven Southern states was instrumental in distributing the vaccine when it was initially released. Its website...
6 die in crash of Vietnam-era helicopter in West VirginiaVideo
LOGAN, W.Va. — A Vietnam-era helicopter showcased in action movies crashed on a rural West Virginia road, killing all six people on board, during an annual reunion for helicopter enthusiasts. The Federal Aviation Administration said the Bell UH-1B “Huey” helicopter crashed along Route 17 in Logan County about 5 p.m....
Feds search Trump-era official’s home, subpoena GOP leaders
WASHINGTON — Federal agents searched a former top Justice Department official’s home and seized records from key Republicans in at least five states linked to Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, in what were clear signs that authorities are ramping up their investigation of associates of the former...
European Union makes Ukraine a candidate for EU membership
BRUSSELS — The European Union has agreed to make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, setting in motion a potentially yearslong process that could pull the embattled country further away from Russia’s influence and bind it more closely to the West. Ukraine applied for EU membership less than a week...
Russians advance on war’s front line in eastern Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — The Russian military extended its grip on territory in eastern Ukraine as it seeks to cut supply lines and encircle frontline Ukrainian forces, while the Ukrainian military announced Thursday the arrival of powerful U.S. multiple-launch rocket systems it hopes will offer a battlefield advantage. Ukrainian forces withdrew...
Afghans bury dead, dig for survivors of devastating quake
GAYAN, Afghanistan — Villagers rushed to bury the dead Thursday and dug by hand through the rubble of their homes in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan that state media reported killed 1,000 people. Residents appeared to be largely on their own to deal with the...
FDA bans Juul e-cigarettes tied to teen vaping surge
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials on Thursday ordered Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the U.S. market, the latest blow to the embattled company widely blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping. The action is part of a sweeping effort by the Food and Drug Administration to...
Supreme Court rules out suing police for Miranda violations
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that law enforcement officers can’t be sued when they violate the rights of criminal suspects by failing to provide the familiar Miranda warning before questioning them. The justices ruled 6-3 in favor of a sheriff’s deputy who was sued after he failed...
Supreme Court expands gun rights, with nation dividedVideo
WASHINGTON — In a major expansion of gun rights after a series of mass shootings, the Supreme Court said Thursday that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense, a ruling likely to lead to more people legally armed. The decision came out as Congress and states...
Offshore wind boosted as Biden, East Coast governors team up
WASHINGTON — The White House is launching a formal partnership with 11 East Coast governors to boost the growing offshore wind industry, a key element of President Joe Biden’s plan for climate change. Biden and other top administration officials will meet with governors and labor leaders Thursday at the White...
1/6 panel to hear of Trump’s pressure on Justice Department
WASHINGTON — The Jan. 6 committee will hear from former Justice Department officials who faced down a relentless pressure campaign from Donald Trump over the 2020 presidential election results while suppressing a bizarre challenge from within their own ranks. The hearing Thursday will bring attention to a memorably turbulent stretch...
Fewer Americans file for jobless aid
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week as the U.S. job market remains robust despite four-decade high inflation and a myriad of other economic pressures. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending June 18 fell to 229,000, a decline of 2,000 from the previous week, the...
Feds: Ghislaine Maxwell deserves at least 30 years in prison
NEW YORK — British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell should spend at least 30 years in prison for her role in the sexual abuse of teenage girls over a 10-year period by her onetime boyfriend, financier Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors said Wednesday in written arguments. Prosecutors said she should serve between 30 years...
Reports: Multiple people killed in helicopter crash in West Virginia
LOGAN, W.Va. — Multiple people were killed when a helicopter crashed Wednesday in West Virginia, according to news outlets. The identities were not confirmed, but Ray Bryant, chief of operations for Logan Emergency Management, told WSAZ-TV they were not local residents. The helicopter was based at the Logan airport and...
John Fettterman lands major endorsement from National Education Association
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman landed a key endorsement on Wednesday from the National Education Association with the “strong support” of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. “John Fetterman is a proven leader on education issues in Pennsylvania,” Rich Askey, president of the PSEA, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said...
Uvalde school police Chief Pete Arredondo on leave after mass shooting
UVALDE, Texas — The Uvalde school district’s police chief was put on leave Wednesday following allegations that he erred in his response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell said that he put...
Former West Virginia lawmaker gets 3 months in Jan. 6 riot
A former West Virginia lawmaker who livestreamed himself on Facebook storming the U.S. Capitol and cheering on what he described as a “revolution” was sentenced Wednesday to three months in prison. Derrick Evans, 37, who pleaded guilty to a felony civil disorder charge, told the judge that he regrets his...
GOP Senator Ron Johnson wanted to intervene for Trump on Jan. 6Video
WASHINGTON — Ron Johnson, a staunch ally of Donald Trump and the most vulnerable Senate Republican, attempted to intervene on the former president’s behalf just moments before Congress met to certify the election results on Jan. 6, 2021, the House panel investigating the attack on the Capitol that day revealed...
Murder conviction overturned in Georgia hot car death caseVideo
ATLANTA — Georgia’s highest court on Wednesday overturned the murder and child cruelty convictions against a man whose toddler son died after he left him in a hot car for hours, saying the jury saw evidence that was “extremely and unfairly prejudicial.” Justin Ross Harris, 41, was convicted in November...
‘Blue slip’ problem hangs up veterans toxic exposure bill
WASHINGTON — A Senate-passed bill to expand health care and disability benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits or other toxic substances during their service has run into a constitutional objection from the House. The bill, which would make it easier for veterans to access benefits by presuming that certain...
