Americans want Biden to be tougher on Russia: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden meets with key allies in Brussels to coordinate a stronger response to Russia’s monthlong assault on Ukraine, a new poll shows Americans have yet to rally around his leadership. Concern about Russia has swelled and support for a major U.S. role in the conflict...
Ukrainian president to press Biden, NATO for more support
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy called on people worldwide to gather in public Thursday to show support for his embattled country as U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders met for talks focused on pressuring Russia to end the invasion that is entering its second month. “Come...
Biden seeks new sanctions, help for Ukrainians in EuropeVideo
BRUSSELS — As war rages on in Ukraine, President Joe Biden will huddle with key allies in Brussels and Warsaw this week to talk through plans for imposing punishing new sanctions on Russia and dealing with an extraordinary humanitarian crisis, while developing a consensus on how they would respond if...
Suit filed over threat to ban Native Americans from South Dakota hotel
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Wednesday outside a federal courthouse in a South Dakota city to cheer the filing of a federal lawsuit over a hotel owner’s pledge to ban Native Americans from the property. The protesters held a rally and prayer meeting in a Rapid City...
Ex-prosecutor: Trump ‘guilty of numerous felony violations’
NEW YORK — A prosecutor who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last month said in his resignation letter that he believes the former president is “guilty of numerous felony violations” and he disagreed with the Manhattan district attorney’s decision not to seek an indictment....
Deer are leaping to their deaths in northwest Pennsylvania
It’s raining deer in a small northwestern Pennsylvania town, and residents say that’s disgusting and dangerous. Approximately 25 whitetail deer have leaped to their deaths from the U.S. 219 bypass that runs through the town of Johnsonburg, Elk County, in recent years, according to a recent report by WJAC-TV of...
Bail denied for Montgomery County woman in crash that killed Pa. state troopers, man
PHILADELPHIA — A judge has denied bail to a woman charged with third-degree murder in an early morning crash on a Philadelphia interstate that claimed the lives of two Pennsylvania troopers and a civilian. Jayana Tanae Webb, 21, of Eagleville was ordered held pending an April 5 hearing on charges...
Trump rescinds Mo Brooks endorsement in Senate race in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday rescinded his endorsement of U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in Alabama’s Republican primary for Senate, dealing a major blow to the congressman’s campaign. In a statement, Trump cited Brooks’ languishing performance in the race and his attempt to move Republicans beyond Trump’s...
Russians destroy Chernobyl radiation monitoring laboratory, Ukraine says
LVIV, Ukraine — Russian military forces have destroyed a new laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that among other things works to improve management of radioactive waste, the Ukrainian state agency responsible for the Chernobyl exclusion zone said Tuesday. The Russian military seized the decommissioned plant at the beginning...
Pennsylvania liquor board reverses decision on CBD edibles
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Wednesday reversed decisions from last year and said it will not allow beer and wine licensees to sell edible products containing the marijuana extract called CBD. The decision to rescind the approval was made at the request of the state Department of...
High court won’t say whether Clarence Thomas remains hospitalized
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court declined to say Wednesday whether 73-year-old Justice Clarence Thomas remains in the hospital, though he had been expected to be released by Tuesday evening. The court said Sunday that Thomas had been admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington on Friday after experiencing “flu-like symptoms,”...
Supreme Court tosses Wisconsin legislative voting maps
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out Wisconsin state legislative maps that were preferred by the state’s Democratic governor and selected by Wisconsin’s top court, making it unclear what the boundaries will be for the fall election. But while the justices in an unsigned opinion threw out voting...
WVU suspends fraternity related to hazing, reprimands 3 others
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University has suspended Delta Chi fraternity in connection with a hazing incident, the school said. The fraternity’s international headquarters also removed its recognition of the local chapter, WVU said. The university suspension is for three years. The hazing incident was reported in February. The chapter...
Oklahoma House passes Texas-style bill to ban all abortions
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma House late Tuesday passed a bill that would prohibit doctors from performing abortions in the state, one of several anti-abortion bills working its way to the Republican governor — who has indicated he’ll sign it. The ban on abortions would be enforced through private civil...
U.S. finds Russian troops have committed war crimes in Ukraine
The Biden administration on Wednesday made a formal determination that Russian troops have committed war crimes in Ukraine and said it would work with others to prosecute offenders, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the U.S. government assesses that members...
Taliban cancels higher education for girls despite pledges
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools Wednesday to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community. The surprising decision, confirmed by a Taliban official, is bound to disrupt efforts by the...
Moderna says its low-dose covid shots work for kids under 6
Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers, the company announced Wednesday — and if regulators agree it could mean a chance to finally start vaccinating the littlest kids by summer. Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two...
Girl survives tornado that lifted house, dropped it onto street
The tornado that ripped through the New Orleans suburb of Arabi lifted one house into the air and dropped it onto the middle of a street with a family of three inside. Neighbors said the parents of a girl climbed out of the wreckage screaming frantically for help. Their daughter...
Ketanji Brown Jackson appears headed for confirmation despite GOP darts
WASHINGTON — Federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced down a barrage of Republican questioning Wednesday about her sentencing of criminal defendants, as her history-making bid to join the Supreme Court veered from lofty constitutional questions to attacks on her motivations on the bench. In her final day of Senate questioning,...
NATO: 7,000 to 15,000 Russian troops dead in Ukraine
NATO estimated on Wednesday that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of fighting in Ukraine, where the country’s defenders have put up stiffer-than-expected resistance and denied Moscow the lightning victory it hoped for. A senior NATO military official said the estimate was based on information...
Madeleine Albright, 1st female U.S. secretary of state, dies
Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state, has died of cancer, her family said Wednesday. She was 84. President Bill Clinton chose Albright as America’s top diplomat in 1996, and she served in that capacity for the last four years of the Clinton administration. She had previously been...
Sen. Bob Casey tests positive for covid-19
U.S. Senator Bob Casey, D-Scranton, has tested positive for covid-19, but said he is not experiencing symptoms. In a tweet posted Tuesday night, Casey said it was during regular testing that he received his positive result. Although he is grateful to be asymptomatic, he said he will isolate for five...
Woman charged in shoving death of Broadway singing coach, 87
NEW YORK — A 26-year-old woman charged in the death of an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach hurled an epithet at her before shoving her to the ground and walking away while the older woman lay bleeding on the sidewalk, prosecutors said at an arraignment Tuesday. Lauren Pazienza, of Port Jefferson,...
Hillary Clinton tests positive for covid; Bill quarantining
NEW YORK — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she has tested positive for covid-19 with “mild” symptoms. On social media, the former Democratic presidential candidate said she was “feeling fine” and that former President Bill Clinton had tested negative and was quarantining until their household was fully...
Scientists worry virus variant may push up covid cases in U.S.Video
With coronavirus cases rising in parts of Europe and Asia, scientists worry that an extra-contagious version of the omicron variant may soon push cases up in the United States too. Experts are also keeping their eyes on another mutant: a rare delta-omicron hybrid that they say doesn’t pose much of...