Georgia Gov. Kemp to sign bill allowing concealed carry of handguns without a license
ATLANTA — As of Tuesday, most Georgians will be allowed to carry concealed handguns without first getting a license from the state. Making good on a 2018 campaign promise, Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign Senate Bill 319, sometimes referred to as “constitutional carry.” SB 319 would allow a...
Police: 5 children killed, 2 adults injured in Pennsylvania fire
GENESEE — An early morning fire that ripped through a northern Pennsylvania home killed five children and severely injured two adults, authorities said. Fire crews responding to the 3:30 a.m. Monday alarm on Slingerland Road in Genesee Township found the residence engulfed in flames, state police in Potter County said....
Trump weighs in on Pa. governor’s race, naming candidate he’s not endorsing
Former President Donald Trump weighed in on Pennsylvania’s governor’s race Tuesday indicating which of the nine Republican candidates he will not be endorsing. “One person in Pennsylvania who I will not be endorsing is Bill McSwain for governor,” Trump said in a statement. “He was the U.S. attorney who did...
Oklahoma governor signs bill to make abortion illegal
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes it a felony to perform an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, as part of an aggressive push in Republican-led states across the country to scale back abortion rights. The bill,...
Putin vows to press invasion until Russia’s goals are met
KYIV, Ukraine — Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday that Russia’s bloody offensive in Ukraine would continue until its goals are fulfilled and insisted the campaign was going as planned, despite a major withdrawal in the face of stiff Ukrainian opposition and significant losses. Russian troops, thwarted in their push toward Ukraine’s...
Potential far-right victory in France seen as threat to EU
MULHOUSE, France — The thought of an extreme-right leader standing at the helm of the European Union would be abhorrent to most in the 27-nation bloc. But if Emmanuel Macron falters in the April 24 French presidential elections, it might be two weeks away. Experts say a win for far-right...
Japan, Italy to lift defense ties amid China, Russia worries
TOKYO — Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said he and his Italian counterpart agreed Tuesday to step up military cooperation as Japan expands security ties with Europe amid concern about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on Asia. Kishi told reporters that he and Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini...
N.Y. Lt. Gov. Benjamin arrested in campaign donation scheme
NEW YORK — New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, whose seven months in that role has been overshadowed by probes into a previous campaign, was arrested Tuesday in a federal corruption investigation. The Democrat was accused in an indictment of participating in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions from a...
Biden waiving ethanol rule in bid to lower gasoline prices
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is visiting corn-rich Iowa on Tuesday to announce he’ll suspend a federal rule preventing the sale of higher ethanol blend gasoline this summer, as his administration tries to tamp down prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine. Most gasoline sold...
Police focus on van renter in Brooklyn subway shooting probeVideo
NEW YORK — A gunman in a gas mask and construction vest set off a smoke grenade and fired a barrage of at least 33 bullets in a rush-hour subway train, shooting at least 10 people Tuesday, authorities said. Police were scouring the city for the shooter and trying to...
Bill proposal would allow medical marijuana edibles in Pa. dispensaries
Pennsylvania medical cannabis patients currently have access to tinctures, pills, oils, topicals, and dry leaf to vaporize. A new bill will soon be introduced by state Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, to possibly expand those options and allow patients to purchase medical cannabis edibles. Launglin said that 25 other states already...
U.S. orders consular to leave Shanghai amid covid outbreak
BEIJING — The United States has ordered all non-emergency consular staff to leave Shanghai, which is under a tight lockdown to contain a covid-19 surge. The State Department said the order is an upgrade from the “authorized” departure issued last week that made the decision voluntary. The order covers “non-emergency...
Russian activist who said he had been poisoned is detainedVideo
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., who was twice sickened in incidents he suspected were poisonings, has been detained in Moscow by police, another prominent opposition figure said Monday. Ilya Yashin said on Twitter that Kara-Murza was detained Monday near his Moscow residence. It was unclear whether he had been...
Biden aims at ‘ghost gun’ violence with new federal ruleVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday took fresh aim at ghost guns, the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes, as he struggles to break past gun-control opposition to address firearm deaths. Speaking at the White House, Biden highlighted the Justice Department’s...
Former Virginia police officer convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
WASHINGTON — A federal jury on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer of storming the U.S. Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Jurors convicted former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson of all six counts he faced stemming from...
What Trump’s Mehmet Oz endorsement means for the Pennsylvania Senate race
Just how much power does Donald Trump’s endorsement have in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race? The former president, who backed celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz late Saturday in the Republican primary, is undoubtedly the most popular figure in GOP politics. But there’s debate about how much his word sways Republican voters, and...
Trial opens in Florida opioid lawsuit case against Walgreens
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A trial opened Monday in Florida’s opioid epidemic lawsuit against the Walgreens pharmacy chain, which state officials accuse of prioritizing profits over health by improperly dispensing millions of powerful painkillers that caused tens of thousands of deaths. The trial, in Pasco County north of Tampa, comes...
Pennsylvania toddler swept over North Carolina waterfall
SYLVA, N.C. — A 3-year-old Pennsylvania girl was killed after she was swept over Whitewater Falls in North Carolina, a sheriff’s office said. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Nevaeh Jade Newswanger of Denver, Lancaster County, had been visiting the waterfall with family, who are...
Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate amid case surge
Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed covid-19 cases have risen more than...
California utility to pay $55 million for massive wildfires
Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires started by aging Northern California power lines belonging to the nation’s largest utility, prosecutors announced Monday. PG&E does not admit wrongdoing in the two settlements reached with prosecutors for last...
Discovery of radioactive liquid pauses work at U.S. nuke dump
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An area at the U.S. government’s nuclear waste repository in southeastern New Mexico was evacuated over the weekend after workers handling a shipping container discovered a small amount of radioactive liquid inside it. There was no indication of airborne contamination and testing of workers’ hands and feet...
Virginia GOP official accused of racist online post resigns
RICHMOND, Va. — A Republican local elections official in Virginia has resigned, according to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office, after being accused of posting a racist tirade on Facebook. Youngkin and other officials called over the weekend for the resignation of David Dietrich, a member of the electoral board in the...
Judge weighs cameras in next trial over George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota judge will hear arguments Monday on whether to allow live video coverage of the upcoming trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting the murder of George Floyd. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill took the rare step of allowing live audiovisual coverage...
Transgender treatment ban challenged by lawsuit in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Two families with transgender teens and two physicians sued the state of Alabama on Monday to overturn a law that makes it a crime for doctors to treat trans youth under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones to help affirm their gender identity. The lawsuit was filed...
Warsaw takes over Russia-built compound to give to Ukraine
WARSAW — A disputed compound in the Polish capital of Warsaw administered by Russia’s diplomatic mission is being taken over by the city and will be made available to the Ukrainian community, the mayor said Monday. Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was at the site early Monday and said a bailiff had...
