Pa. state prison visits suspended amid covid-19 surge, staffing shortages
Citing the impact of the latest covid-19 surge on staffing, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will suspend in-person visits at all state prisons beginning Thursday through Feb. 28. “Staffing levels have been significantly impacted throughout the winter months by the same uptick in covid-19 cases that our communities are experiencing,”...
High court won’t hear pandemic proxy voting dispute
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge from House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to the proxy voting system that Democrats put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic. McCarthy had sought a declaration that proxy voting, an absent representative giving authority for someone in attendance to cast...
Supreme Court to hear challenge to race in college admissions
The conservative-dominated Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to the consideration of race in college admissions, adding another blockbuster case to a term with abortion, guns, religion and covid-19 already on the agenda. The court said it will take up lawsuits claiming that Harvard University, a private...
Michigan high school reopening nearly 2 months after shooting
OXFORD, Mich. — The Michigan high school where four students were fatally shot in late November will reopen Monday for the first time since the attack with the school’s principal declaring that “we are reclaiming our high school back.” Oxford High School students have been attending classes at other buildings...
Sarah Palin’s covid-19 tests delay libel trial against New York Times
NEW YORK — An unvaccinated former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tested positive for covid-19 Monday, forcing a postponement of a trial in her libel lawsuit against The New York Times. The Republican’s positive test was announced in court just as jury selection was set to begin at a federal courthouse...
Several wounded in shooting in German city; gunman dead
BERLIN — A lone gunman wounded several people at a lecture hall in the southwestern German city of Heidelberg on Monday, police said. Police said in a brief statement that the perpetrator was dead, but didn’t give details of how that happened. They had earlier asked people on Twitter to...
Graduation rates dip across U.S. as pandemic stalls progress
High school graduation rates dipped in at least 20 states after the first full school year disrupted by the pandemic, suggesting the coronavirus may have ended nearly two decades of nationwide progress toward getting more students diplomas, an analysis shows. The drops came despite at least some states and educators...
Assange wins 1st stage in effort to appeal U.S. extradition
LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday won the first stage of his effort to overturn a U.K. ruling that opened the door for his extradition to U.S. to stand trial on espionage charges. The High Court in London gave Assange permission to appeal the case to the U.K....
UAE says it intercepted 2 ballistic missiles over Abu Dhabi
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over the skies of Abu Dhabi early Monday, authorities said, the second attack in a week that targeted the Emirati capital. The missile fire further escalates tensions across the Persian Gulf, which...
6 dead at Milwaukee home; homicide investigation underway
MILWAUKEE — Six people were found dead in a Milwaukee home in what police are investigating as multiple homicides, authorities said. Milwaukee police responded about 3:45 p.m. Sunday to assist with a welfare check at the residence where four men and one woman were found dead, Milwaukee Assistant Police Chief...
Central Pa. borough poised to become 1st to repeal LGBTQ protections
A central Pennsylvania borough is poised to become the first municipality to repeal anti-discrimination safeguards that protect residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity. The plan by Chambersburg Borough Council to vote Monday to rescind the anti-discrimination ordinance comes only four months after the borough...
Jan. 6 panel investigates draft plan to seize 2020 ballotsVideo
WASHINGTON — Congressional investigators have spoken with former Attorney General William Barr about a reported draft executive order to use the National Guard to seize ballot boxes after the 2020 election, according to the chairman of a House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. “We’ve had...
U.S. draws down Ukraine embassy presence as war fears mount
WASHINGTON — The State Department on Sunday ordered the families of all American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to leave the country amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion. The department told the dependents of staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv that they must leave the country....
4 killed, 1 hurt in ‘ambush’ shooting at house party near Los AngelesVideo
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Four people were killed and one was wounded when multiple shooters opened fire at a house party near Los Angeles early Sunday, authorities said. Police responded around 1:30 a.m. to reports of shots fired at a home in the city of Inglewood, Mayor James Butts told reporters....
Deaths of Florida’s starving manatees surge amid winter chill
ORLANDO, Fla. — Chilly temperatures are rekindling a manatee die-off in Central Florida’s Indian River. “Winter is here,” said Martine de Wit, a state veterinarian and scientist. Along a Brevard County piece of the Indian River on Thursday, which turned warmer and sunny, a snapshot of the ominous, protracted plight...
Virginia parent accused of misdemeanor for threats to school boardVideo
LURAY, Va. — A Virginia parent has been charged with a misdemeanor for her comments to a local school board weighing whether to align its mask-wearing policy with an executive order by new Gov. Glenn Youngkin that would make masks optional for students. Amelia Ruffner King, 42, of Luray, was...
Yellowstone visits hit record high in 2021, straining staff
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — A record number of visitors flocked to Yellowstone National Park last year despite fewer hotel rooms and campsites being available because of the coronavirus pandemic and construction projects. About 4.86 million visits were tallied in 2021, breaking the prior record set in 2016. It’s a...
Cruise ship changes course after U.S. judge orders seizure
MIAMI — A cruise ship that was supposed to dock in Miami sailed to the Bahamas instead after a U.S. judge granted an order to seize the vessel as part of a lawsuit over unpaid fuel. Cruise trackers show Crystal Symphony currently docked in the Bahamian island of Bimini. Passengers...
Once allies, Stormy Daniels and Avenatti face off at trial
NEW YORK — Stormy Daniels, the porn star who catapulted herself and Michael Avenatti to fame with lawsuits against former President Donald Trump, will have a starring role in court beginning Monday when prosecutors try to prove that the California lawyer cheated her of $300,000 in book proceeds. Her testimony...
Some South Carolina Black Dems want Biden to ‘try a little bit harder’
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden’s run for the Democratic presidential nomination was all but declared dead as he headed to the South Carolina primary in late February 2020. He had finished fifth in New Hampshire and fourth in Iowa. Still, Biden advised skeptics to withhold judgment until a state with...
Pope calls for day of prayer for peace for Ukraine
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday expressed his concern over “rising tensions” in Ukraine that threaten peace, and called for political talks that put at the center “human brotherhood instead of partisan interests.” “I am following with concern the rising tensions that threaten to inflict a new blow to...
Taxpayers face overloaded IRS as filing season opens Monday
WASHINGTON — Count 30-year-old Ethan Miller among that subset of Americans who are actually eager to file their taxes once income tax filing season opens on Monday. The financial planner who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, is looking forward to claiming the new deductions that will come from buying a...
Arizona Democrats censure Sinema over voting rights bill
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is growing increasingly isolated from some of her party’s most influential officials and donors after playing a key role in scuttling voting rights legislation that many Democrats consider essential to preserving democracy. Leaders of the Arizona Democratic Party voted Saturday to censure Sinema, a symbolic condemnation...
Wildfire along California’s Big Sur forces evacuations
A wind-driven wildfire broke out late Friday in the rugged mountains above Big Sur, forcing residents to evacuate from their homes and authorities to shut down a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. The fire started in a canyon and was pushed by 35 mph winds to the sea, jumping the...
Coast along Virginia and the Carolinas gets snow, ice
A layer of ice and a blanket of snow covered coastal areas stretching from South Carolina to Virginia Saturday after a winter weather system brought colder temperatures and precipitation not often seen in the region. Authorities urged drivers to stay off the roads and highways, which forecasters said are slick...
