Federal fraud trial of Philadelphia councilman, wife ends in mistrial
PHILADELPHIA — The federal fraud trial of a Philadelphia City Council member and his wife in what prosecutors alleged was a “widespread corruption conspiracy” has ended in a mistrial following a jury deadlock. Jurors deliberated for about 25 hours over four days but were unable to reach a verdict in...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushes to end Disney self-government
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asked the Legislature to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, the latest volley in a feud between the governor and the entertainment giant over what critics have dubbed the “Don’t...
Boy, 7, dies after shooting near Erie home
ERIE — A 7-year-old boy injured in a shooting in northwestern Pennsylvania last week died at a Pittsburgh hospital, authorities said. Antonio Yarger Jr. was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh after the shooting Thursday in Erie, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said. Yarger was pronounced dead at...
Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed
The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not appeal a federal district judge’s ruling that ended the nation’s federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary. In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the...
Biden administration moves to ease student loan debt burden
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is taking further steps to ease the burden of student loans, but new actions announced Tuesday were well short of what many Democrats want to see. The Education Department is estimating that the action will provide “immediate debt cancellation for at least 40,000 borrowers” who...
Federal judge allows effort to disqualify Marjorie Greene from ballot to proceed
ATLANTA — A federal judge has denied U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s request to block a challenge of her eligibility to run for a second term in office. That challenge, filed by five voters in Greene’s 14th Congressional District, is slated for a hearing in a Georgia administrative court on...
Late-season storm dumps heavy snow on New York, New EnglandVideo
A late-season storm dumped six inches or more of heavy, wet snow on parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York and northern New England on Tuesday, snapping tree limbs and interrupting power to more than 250,000 customers. In the hard-hit area around Binghamton, N.Y., a travel ban was lifted in the...
South Africa launches relief for Durban flooding; 443 dead
JOHANNESBURG — Declaring a national state of disaster, South Africa has allocated $67 million to help those hit by floods that have killed at least 443 people in the eastern city of Durban and the surrounding KwaZulu-Natal province. Nearly 4,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 40,000 people displaced...
Expert: Gun pressed to Patrick Lyoya’s head when Michigan cop firedVideo
A Michigan police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya after a traffic stop pressed the gun against his head when firing the fatal shot, an expert who performed an independent autopsy for the Black man’s family said Tuesday. Dr. Werner Spitz confirmed what was seen last week on video: Lyoya was...
Video: Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial candidate debateVideo
Trib Total Media, in partnership with Spotlight PA and its founding members, will co-host debates this month featuring candidates for Pennsylvania governor and the state’s open U.S. Senate seat ahead of the spring primary. The gubernatorial debate featured Republican candidates Jake Corman, Joe Gale, Charlie Gerow, Melissa Hart and Nche...
Puzzling outbreak of liver disease in kids spreads to EU, U.S.
LONDON — Health officials say they have detected more cases of a mysterious liver disease in children that was first identified in Britain, with new infections spreading to Europe and the U.S. Last week, British officials reported 74 cases of hepatitis, or liver inflammation, found in children since January. The...
Russia pours in more troops and presses attack in eastern Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the country’s eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories. If successful, the Russian offensive in what is...
Blasts near Kabul schools kill at least 6 civilians, hurt 17
KABUL, Afghanstan — Explosions targeting educational institutions killed at least six people, including students, and injured 17 Tuesday in a mostly Shiite neighborhood of Afghanistan’s capital city, police said. The blasts, which occurred in rapid succession, were being investigated and more casualties were feared, according to Kabul police spokesman Khalid...
Moderna announces step toward updating covid shots for fall
Moderna hopes to offer updated covid-19 boosters in the fall that combine its original vaccine with protection against the omicron variant. On Tuesday, it reported a preliminary hint that such an approach might work. Today’s covid-19 vaccines all are based on the original version of the coronavirus. But the virus...
J&J’s Janssen settles with West Virginia for $99M in opioid lawsuit
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia will receive $99 million in a settlement finalized Monday with Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. over the drugmaker’s role in perpetuating the opioid crisis in the state that has long led the nation in drug overdose deaths. State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said...
Judge orders FBI to produce records on Civil War gold hunt in Pennsylvania
The FBI might not have found any Civil War-era gold at a remote woodland site in Pennsylvania — but it’s definitely got records of the agency’s 2018 dig, and will soon have to turn them over to a father-son pair of treasure hunters. A federal judge has ordered the FBI...
Pa. Senate candidate Dave McCormick earned $22M as hedge fund CEO
Dave McCormick earned more than $22 million last year as CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund, a job he quit to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, according to a financial disclosure form that offered the public its first detailed look at the candidate’s finances. McCormick and his wife...
AP source: Kimberly Guilfoyle meets with Jan. 6 committee
WASHINGTON — Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancée of former President Donald Trump’s eldest son, met with the House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection Monday — more than a month after she abruptly ended a voluntary interview with lawmakers — according to a person familiar with the matter. Guilfoyle, 53, arrived...
Florida education agency rejects math books it claims contain Critical Race Theory
Florida rejected 42 math textbooks publishers wanted to sell to the state’s public schools, claiming the books contained “critical race theory” or other “prohibited topics” and “unsolicited strategies,” the Department of Education said. A news release announcing the move did not say which textbooks — many meant for elementary schools...
Sensors were adjusted on ride where teen fell to death in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — Sensors on a Florida amusement park ride had been adjusted manually to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in a 14-year-old boy not being properly secured before he slipped out and fell to his death, according to an initial report released...
Florida judge voids U.S. mask mandate for planes, other travelVideo
A federal judge in Florida on Monday voided the national mask mandate covering airlines and other public transportation as exceeding the authority of U.S. health officials in their response to the coronavirus pandemic. The mandate, recently extended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, covered a vast array...
Abortion training under threat for med students, residents
Browse any medical dictionary, and before hitting appendectomy and anesthesia, you’ll find abortion. The first two procedures are part of standard physician education. But for many U.S. medical school students and residents who want to learn about abortions, options are scarce. And new restrictions are piling up: Within the past...
Why is Philadelphia requiring masks again today when other cities aren’t?
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s return to indoor masking on Monday has drawn as many different reactions as there are new variants of the coronavirus. Relief among those concerned about the recent rise in cases of covid-19. Grudging acceptance from others. And resentment among those who see the move as overcautious and...
How the test-to-treat pillar of the U.S. covid strategy is failing patients
The federal “test-to-treat” program, announced in March, is meant to reduce covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths by quickly getting antiviral pills to people who test positive. But even as cases rise again, many Americans don’t have access to the program. Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s Lagevrio are both designed to be started...
Alex Jones’ Infowars files for bankruptcy protection
VICTORIA, Texas — Infowars has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as the website’s founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones faces defamation lawsuits over his comments that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. The bankruptcy filing Sunday in Texas puts civil litigation on hold while the business...
