U.S. begins offering free covid test kits, but doubts persist
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, all Americans can log on to a government website and order free, at-home covid-19 tests. But the White House push may do little to ease the omicron surge, and experts say Washington will have to do a lot more to fix the country’s...
Germany criticizes Czech tycoon’s 257 mph Autobahn rideVideo
BERLIN — Germany’s Transport Ministry has criticized a stunt that saw a Czech millionaire drive his high-powered sportscar along a public highway at speeds of up to 414 kilometers per hour — 257 mph. A video posted online this month shows Radim Passer pushing his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds...
Israel evicts Palestinians from disputed Jerusalem property
JERUSALEM — Israeli police on Wednesday evicted Palestinians from a disputed property in a flashpoint Jerusalem neighborhood and demolished the building, leaving some 15 people homeless on a cold, rainy day in the wake of a tense standoff earlier this week. The predawn demolition took place in Sheikh Jarrah, an...
Security for Arbery death trial cost taxpayers $1.08 million
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The trial of three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery cost local taxpayers $1.08 million for security and other expenses related to the high-profile case, which sometimes drew large crowds to the courthouse but resulted in no violence. Commissioners in coastal Glynn County, Georgia, said...
U.K.’s Johnson defies calls to quit as ouster bid gathers pace
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied calls to resign in a feisty performance Wednesday in Parliament — but it may be too little to prevent a push by his Conservative Party’s lawmakers to oust him over a string of lockdown-flouting government parties. Pressure on the prime minister grew...
New York AG says Trump’s company misled banks, tax officialsVideo
NEW YORK — The New York attorney general’s office late Tuesday told a court its investigators have uncovered evidence that former President Donald Trump’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” asset valuations to get loans and tax benefits. The court filing said state authorities haven’t yet decided whether to bring a...
Pope on prisons: No inmate should ever be deprived of hope
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis issued a plea on behalf of prison inmates Wednesday, saying they should never be deprived of hope and always be given the opportunity to redeem themselves. In remarks at his weekly public audience at the Vatican, Francis told the faithful that “we risk being imprisoned...
Biden to give away 400 million N95 masks starting next week
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans starting next week, now that federal officials are emphasizing their better protection against the omicron variant of covid-19 over cloth face coverings. The White House announced Wednesday that the masks will come from...
U.S., Russia show no sign of relenting ahead of Ukraine talksVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — With critical talks approaching, the United States and Russia on Wednesday showed no sign either will relent from entrenched positions on Ukraine that have raised fears of a Russian invasion and a new war in Europe. Speaking in Kyiv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia...
1 killed, 8 hurt as explosion, fire collapses Bronx homeVideo
NEW YORK — One person was killed and eight other people — including five police officers — were hurt Tuesday in a suspected gas explosion and fire in the Bronx, officials said. The blast happened around 11 a.m. at a home on a block of three-story residences in the borough’s...
Florida Democrat sworn in as newest member of HouseVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida was sworn in as the newest member of the House on Tuesday, filling the seat last held by Alcee Hastings, who died in April of pancreatic cancer. She’ll boost the Democrats’ slender House majority to 222-212, leaving room for no more than...
In unusual move, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis submits redistricting map
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has submitted a proposal to reshape the state’s congressional map and carve up districts held by Black Democrats, as the Republican takes the unusual step of inserting himself into the redistricting process. The proposed congressional map, submitted Sunday on the eve of Martin Luther...
Confusion, lawsuit follow Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin’s order on masksVideo
RICHMOND — Virginia’s new Republican governor was facing pushback from Democratic lawmakers, school districts and a group of parents who sued him Tuesday over an executive order that aims to create an opt-out for classroom mask mandates. The order issued Saturday and set to take effect Monday was among Glenn...
Rudy Giuliani among Trump allies subpoenaed by Jan. 6 panel
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection issued subpoenas Tuesday to Rudy Giuliani and other members of Donald Trump’s post-election legal team who filed multiple lawsuits claiming election fraud that were roundly rejected by the courts but gave rise to the lie that Trump did not really lose...
Michigan Attorney General Nessel: ‘Absolutely’ enough evidence to charge GOP electors
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she believes there’s “absolutely” enough evidence to bring criminal charges against 16 Republicans who signed a certificate falsely claiming to be the state’s presidential electors in December 2020. Nessel, a Democrat and the state’s top law enforcement official, made the comment...
Report: Trump’s bid to overturn Pa. election results foiled by GOP’s ‘hedged’ wording on ‘fake’ elector ballots
Former President Donald Trump’s GOP electors in Pennsylvania weren’t willing to go all the way in the January 2021 bid by the ex-president’s campaign to overturn election results in as many as seven so-called “swing states.” As Lancasteronline reports, the bid in the commonwealth hit a snag because the state’s...
3 officers charged in shooting death of 8-year-old girl outside Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — Three police officers have been charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment after firing their weapons in the direction of a crowd of people exiting a high school football game outside of Philadelphia, killing an 8-year-old girl and injuring three people. A grand jury recommended the charges against the...
Former New York Post editor alleges harassment, retaliation
NEW YORK — A New York Post editor whose departure was announced Tuesday alleged she was fired two months after revealing to an executive that former editor Col Allan had sexually harassed her. The Post said any suggestion of wrongdoing related to Editor-in-Chief Keith Poole’s announcement of Michelle Gotthelf’s exit...
U.K. man admits exploiting worker kept in shed for 40 years
LONDON — A man in northwest England pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to exploiting a vulnerable victim who was found living in a garden shed that had been his home for 40 years. The victim was rescued in October 2018 when officers from the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority searched...
Parents near breaking point as covid-19 exacerbates child-care crisis
Parents are tired. Take nursing assistant Tammi Lewis, who missed weeks of work and $7,800 in wages when her toddler’s child-care classroom in Plymouth, Minn., suffered covid outbreaks. Or Kelsey and Christian Dahlager of St. Paul, Minn., who pay $3,000 a month for child care for their two children —...
Felony charges are 1st in a fatal crash involving Autopilot
California prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against the driver of a Tesla on Autopilot who ran a red light, slammed into another car and killed two people in 2019. The defendant appears to be the first person to be charged with a felony in the United States...
U.S. faces wave of omicron deaths in coming weeks, models say
The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, but covid-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March. The seven-day rolling average for daily new covid-19 deaths in the U.S. has...
White House soft-launches free covid test request website
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home covid-19 tests, a day before the site was scheduled to officially launch. The website, covidtests.gov, now includes a link for Americans to order up four at-home tests per residential address, to be delivered...
Rome villa with Caravaggio ceiling fails to sell, to be reauctioned
A villa in Rome containing the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio went on a court-ordered auction block Tuesday, thanks to an inheritance dispute pitting the heirs of one of Rome’s aristocratic families against their stepmother, a Texas-born princess. Princess Rita Jenrett Boncompagni Ludovisi, formerly known as Rita Carpenter, woke...
Opera singer accepts insanity plea in Mar-a-Lago breach
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Connecticut opera singer who drew fire from law enforcement when she sped through a checkpoint outside then-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida two years ago was found not guilty by reason of insanity Tuesday. Florida prosecutors and Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer accepted Hannah Roemhild’s...
