‘Nazi’ protests held over the weekend condemned in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — More than a dozen self-proclaimed Nazis yelled antisemitic slogans outside a Florida shopping plaza and waved a swastika flag from a highway overpass before authorities broke them up over the weekend. The demonstrators, wearing Nazi garb, protested Saturday at an intersection near the University of Central Florida...
Moderna announces full U.S. approval for its covid vaccine
WASHINGTON — Moderna announced Monday that U.S. health regulators granted full approval to its covid-19 vaccine, a shot that’s been given to tens of millions of Americans since its emergency authorization over a year ago. The action by the Food and Drug Administration means the agency has completed the same...
Chicago synagogue, businesses vandalized over weekend
CHICAGO — A synagogue and an affiliated Jewish school in Chicago were vandalized over the weekend with swastika images and antisemitic graffiti, officials said. The incidents occurred Sunday at the FREE Synagogue and Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School. “We’ll get through it,” Rabbi Levi Notik told WFLD-TV. “I want...
Georgia DA investigating Trump asks FBI for security help
ATLANTA — The prosecutor who’s investigating whether Donald Trump and others broke the law by trying to pressure Georgia officials to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election victory is asking the FBI for security help after the former president railed against prosecutors investigating him. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on...
WHO says it’s probing alleged racism, abuse by top director
GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization says an investigation is underway into alleged reports that the U.N. health agency’s top official in the Western Pacific engaged in racist, unethical and abusive behavior, following a report last week by The Associated Press. At a meeting of the WHO’s...
Judge rejects plea deal for man who killed Ahmaud Arbery
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A federal judge rejected a plea agreement Monday that would have averted a hate crimes trial for the man convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery’s parents denounced the proposed deal for Travis McMichael, with mother Wanda Cooper-Jones and father Marcus Arbery emotionally asking the judge to reject...
Myanmar authorities arrest dozens ahead of planned protests
BANGKOK — Security forces in Myanmar have arrested dozens of people in a preemptive move to suppress plans for a nationwide strike on the one-year anniversary of the army’s seizure of power. Opponents of military rule in the country have called for a “Silent Strike” on Tuesday that is intended...
Source of carbon monoxide at Ohio hotel sought; 11 go to hospital
MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Authorities are trying to find the source of carbon monoxide at an Ohio hotel that sent at least 11 people, more than half of them children, to a hospital. Marysville Fire Chief Jay Riley told the Columbus Dispatch that everyone who was hospitalized had been in the...
Senators move closer to deal on Russian sanctions billVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators are close to agreeing on a Russia sanctions bill that could include penalties even if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t send troops into Ukraine, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said. Lawmakers will be briefed this week by Biden administration officials, including military leaders, on the standoff...
Miss USA winner Cheslie Kryst jumps to her death from Midtown Manhattan luxury high-rise
NEW YORK — A former Miss USA beauty pageant winner jumped to her death from her luxury Midtown high-rise apartment building Sunday, police said. Cheslie Kryst, who was crowned Miss USA in 2019, jumped from a common area on the 29th floor of the 60-floor building at 350 W. 42nd...
O’Connor: Rebuilding Forbes Avenue bridge could take 2 years, more than $10M
Declarations of emergency from Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Gov. Tom Wolf could help fast-track federal and state money to help pay for the cleanup and construction of the Forbes Avenue bridge over Fern Hollow in Frick Park. How quickly the process will move along is uncertain, but constructing a...
Ottawa police investigating some anti-vaccine protesters
OTTAWA, Ontario — Police in Canada’s capital said Sunday they are investigating possible criminal charges after anti-vaccine protesters urinated on the National War Memorial, danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and used the statue of Canadian hero Terry Fox to display an anti-vaccine statement. Thousands of protesters gathered...
GOP lawmakers call out Trump on pardons for Jan. 6 riotersVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham forcefully disagreed with former President Donald Trump for saying he might pardon people convicted in the U.S. Capitol riot if reelected, saying they should be jailed “and get the book thrown at them.” Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu...
It got so cold in Florida, iguanas fell from trees
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A cold snap in Florida is different than in other places. We put on heavy coats when it’s 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). No blizzard conditions here in the Sunshine State, but we have our issues as well when the thermometer drops. The National Weather...
After the blizzard, the East Coast digs out under sunny skyVideo
BOSTON — The sun shone down on much of the East Coast on Sunday, a day after a vicious nor’easter brought blizzard conditions to many areas, and left more than 100,000 customers without power for a stretch that could last into Monday. Winds that had gusted to more than 80...
Northern Ireland marks 50 years since Bloody Sunday
LONDON — Hundreds of people gathered Sunday in Northern Ireland to mark 50 years since “Bloody Sunday,” one of the deadliest days in the conflict known as The Troubles. Thirteen people were killed and 15 others injured when British soldiers fired on civil rights protesters on Jan. 30, 1972, in...
Trump dangles prospect of pardons for Jan. 6 defendants
CONROE, Texas — Former President Donald Trump is dangling the prospect of pardons for supporters who participated in the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol if he returns to the White House. “If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6th fairly,”...
Trump facing legal, political headwinds as he eyes comeback
CONROE, Texas — As he prepared to tee off at one of his Florida golf courses, a fellow player introduced Donald Trump as the “45th president of the United States.” “45th and 47th,” Trump responded matter-of-factly, before hitting his drive. The quip — a moment of levity on the links...
Housework or sleep? Study says it depends when you were born
When Gen Xer Amy Rottier went shopping for her young children two decades ago, she drove to a mall and browsed for what she needed. Her millennial daughter, Helen, who is studying for a doctorate and doesn’t have children, buys anything she needs with a click on her iPad. The...
$426 million Mega Millions lottery ticket sold in California
LOS ANGELES — A single ticket sold in Southern California matched all six numbers and was the lucky winner of the $426 million Mega Millions jackpot prize. The winning numbers drawn Friday night were 3, 16, 25, 44 and 55. The Mega ball was 13, the California State Lottery said....
GOP’s Hutchinson tells fellow governors to shun 2020 vote fraud claims
WASHINGTON — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that elected officials shouldn’t focus on untrue claims about the 2020 election and instead look ahead. Speaking at the National Governors Association winter meeting on Saturday, Hutchinson rejected unsubstantiated claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 election that have been made by former...
Charges: Nurses made $1.5 million off fake vaccination cards
AMITYVILLE, N.Y. — Two nurses on Long Island are accused of forging covid-19 vaccination cards and pocketing more than $1.5 million from the scheme, prosecutors and police said. Julie DeVuono, the owner of Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare in Amityville, and her employee, Marissa Urraro, are both charged with felony forgery,...
Virginia Republicans push for changes in marijuana law
RICHMOND, Va. — Newly empowered Republican lawmakers in Virginia who opposed legalizing simple possession of marijuana say they don’t want to scrap the law, but they do want to make significant changes. Those changes could include moving up the start date for retail sales and getting rid of a provision...
Pennsylvania Democrats deadlock on endorsing in Senate race
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party committee members deadlocked Saturday in suburban Harrisburg on a vote to endorse in the party’s hotly contested primary race for U.S. Senate, giving Conor Lamb by far the most votes, but not enough for the party’s backing. Winning an endorsement was a high hurdle to...
Italy’s 80-year-old president wins vote to stay for 2nd term
ROME — Italian President Sergio Mattarella has been elected to a second seven-year term as the country’s head of state, ending days of political impasse as party leaders struggled to pick his successor. Earlier on Saturday, lawmakers entreated Mattarella, 80, who had said he didn’t want a second mandate, to...
