Feds say no taxpayer money for safer drug-smoking pipes
WASHINGTON — Following outrage on the political right, the Biden administration said Wednesday that a grant program to help prevent additional harm to people who use illicit drugs will not pay for safer pipes to smoke crack or meth. “No federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement...
Capitol rioter draped in Confederate flag pleads guilty
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A Maryland man who was draped in a Confederate flag when he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to joining the attack as a mob disrupted Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election as president. Matthew Ryan Miller, 23, sprayed a...
E-scooter bill would clear way for more Pennsylvania cities to join Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh last year became the first city in Pennsylvania to legalize low-speed electric scooters and, as part of a two-year pilot, Spin e-scooters became available to rent for use on city streets. Now, a bill moving through the state Senate would allow select Pennsylvania cities, including Greensburg and New Kensington,...
Ukraine-Russia crisis: What to know about the fears of war
BRUSSELS — High-stakes diplomacy and military maneuvering continued Wednesday as Britain launched its own diplomatic effort to help avert a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. No breakthrough in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia is in sight so far, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions remain as opaque as ever....
Canadian provinces lift covid restrictions, protests remain
TORONTO — A rapidly growing list of Canadian provinces moved to lift their covid-19 restrictions as protesters decrying virus precautions kept up the pressure with truck blockades Wednesday in the capital and at key U.S. border crossings, including the economically vital bridge to Detroit. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Prince Edward...
As even Dem states ease, Biden begins rethinking covid rules
WASHINGTON — With even Democratic states moving to roll back mask mandates, the White House said Wednesday it is beginning to prepare for a less-restrictive phase of the national covid response amid growing impatience to ease up and turn toward post-pandemic normalcy. White House covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said officials...
Capitol Police denies baseless claim its officers spy on GOP
WASHINGTON — A year after the Jan. 6 insurrection, U.S. Capitol Police officers are facing increasingly heated and baseless allegations from House Republicans that the department’s officers are operating as politically driven spies. The rhetoric is complicating the force’s effort to win back public confidence. The latest tumult occurred Tuesday,...
Ex-candidate sentenced to year in prison for death threats
DOVER, Del. — A former Delaware political candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nominations for governor and U.S. Senate has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of mailing threats to a lawyer who represented his wife in a divorce case. Michael Protack was...
Tens of thousands of bees stolen from grocery store’s central Pa. headquarters
The Giant Company has put out an alert to other beekeepers in the region after the recent theft of three beehives and their colonies from their corporate headquarters. The hives contained colonies of approximately 60,000 bees, and were taken from the company’s headquarters on the Harrisburg Pike in Carlisle some...
1 juror dismissed from federal trial in George Floyd killing
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The judge overseeing the federal trial of three former officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights dismissed a juror Wednesday because his son is ill. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson replaced the juror in the trial of J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao...
Christian revival at school prompts student walkout in W.Va.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Between calculus and European history classes at a West Virginia public high school, 16-year-old Cameron Mays and his classmates were told by their teacher to go to an evangelical Christian revival assembly. When students arrived at the event in the school’s auditorium, they were instructed to close...
Sweden ends covid testing as pandemic restrictions lifted
STOCKHOLM — Sweden has halted wide-scale testing for covid-19 even among people showing symptoms of an infection, putting an end to the mobile city-square tent sites, drive-in swab centers and home-delivered tests that became ubiquitous during the pandemic and provided essential data for tracking its spread. The move puts the...
Denmark’s queen and Spain’s king test positive for coronavirus
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The queen of Denmark and the king of Spain both tested positive for the coronavirus despite being vaccinated, their respective royal houses announced Wednesday. Denmark’s Queen Margrethe, 82, has mild covid-19 symptoms and has isolated herself in the Copenhagen palace where she lives, the palace said. Margrethe...
Can you get long covid after an infection with omicron?
Can you get long covid after an infection with omicron? It’s too early to know for sure, but many doctors believe it’s possible to have long-term effects from the omicron variant of the virus. Long covid is usually diagnosed many weeks after a bout with covid-19. Any long-lasting effects typically...
House OKs bill easing budget strains on Postal Service
WASHINGTON — Congress would lift onerous budget requirements that have helped push the Postal Service deeply into debt and would require it to continue delivering mail six days per week under bipartisan legislation the House approved Tuesday. The election-year bill, coming at a time of widespread complaints about slower mail...
Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers apologizes for cursing at Democrat over masksVideo
WASHINGTON — A senior Republican lawmaker apologized late Tuesday for using an expletive when Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty asked him to put his mask on while in the Capitol. The confrontation was just the latest dust-up in the House over mask-wearing, which many Republicans have refused to do. Earlier Tuesday,...
Los Angeles nun, 80, gets prison for $835,000 school theft to fund gambling habit
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles nun and school principal who stole more than $800,000 to pay for a gambling habit was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, admitted to stealing the money from 2008 to 2018 while she was principal at St. James...
Mitch McConnell rebukes RNC, calls Jan. 6 ‘violent insurrection’Video
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is criticizing the Republican National Committee for censuring two House GOP lawmakers investigating the “violent insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, saying it’s not the party’s job to police the views of lawmakers. As former President Donald Trump has downplayed the attack by his...
Doug Emhoff whisked out of event following reported bomb threatVideo
WASHINGTON — Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, was whisked out of an event Tuesday at a Washington high school by Secret Service agents following an apparent bomb threat. Emhoff was at Dunbar High School for an event in commemoration of Black History Month. He was in...
West Virginia coach files complaint against police in basketball scuffle
BECKLEY, W.Va. — A high school coach has filed a complaint alleging two West Virginia State Police troopers used excessive force when detaining him after a scuffle at a girls basketball game. Eugene “Gene” Nabors, an assistant coach of the Woodrow Wilson High School girls basketball team in Beckley, filed...
Texts: Michigan mom of alleged school shooter joked about gunVideo
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — A day before four students were killed at a Michigan school, the mother of the teenager charged with carrying out the mass shooting sent him a text message asking if he had showed teachers a “pic of your new gun,” an investigator testified Tuesday. The text...
Justice Department announces $3.6B crypto seizure, 2 arrests
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced Tuesday its largest-ever financial seizure — more than $3.5 billion — and the arrests of a New York couple accused of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen from the 2016 hack of a virtual currency exchange. Federal law enforcement officials said...
Covid-19 protests threaten border trade between Canada, U.S.
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadian lawmakers expressed increasing worry Tuesday about the economic effects of disruptive demonstrations after the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada became partially blocked by truckers protesting vaccine mandates and other covid-19 restrictions. The blockade at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, prevented...
Money on the table: child credit cash available via tax returns
The Biden administration wants families with children to know that there is roughly $193 billion waiting for them — all they need to do is file their taxes to claim it. That estimated total is what remains of the expanded child tax credit, and the administration is concerned that some...
Wisconsin GOP looks to block abortions if heartbeat detected
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans pushed ahead Tuesday with a Texas-style abortion ban, holding a hearing on legislation that would prohibit abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The bill would prohibit anyone from performing or attempting to perform an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is present unless the pregnant...
