Senate votes to overturn mask mandate on airplanes, transit
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday voted 57-40 to overturn a federal requirement that passengers on U.S. airplanes and other modes of public transportation wear masks. The Congressional Review Act measure, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is the latest salvo in a fight between congressional Republicans and the Biden...
Poll: Most in U.S. say they’d go back to wearing masks if covid cases rise again
Now that it’s two years into the pandemic, most living in the United States aren’t as worried about the health risks covid-19 poses compared with the last several months — but they say they’d wear face masks if needed, according to a new poll. In fact, 3 in 4 U.S....
2 Fox News journalists killed in Ukraine, underscoring dangersVideo
NEW YORK — A veteran videographer and a 24-year-old Ukrainian journalist working for Fox News were both killed when their vehicle came under fire outside of Kyiv, the network said on Tuesday. Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, and Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova were traveling Monday in Horenka with Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall,...
Doug Emhoff tests positive for covid-19, VP Kamala Harris still negative
WASHINGTON — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff has tested positive for covid-19, the White House announced Tuesday. Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative, but is curtailing her schedule as a result of her husband’s positive test. Harris spokesperson Sabrina Singh said Harris would not participate in a planned Equal Pay Day...
20,000 evacuate besieged port in Ukraine as Kyiv is hit
KYIV, Ukraine — An estimated 20,000 civilians fled Mariupol by way of a humanitarian corridor Tuesday in the biggest evacuation yet from the besieged Ukrainian port city, while Russian forces stepped up their bombardment of Kyiv, smashing apartments, a subway station and other civilian sites. On the diplomatic front, a...
Merger of 6 Pennsylvania state universities gets OK by accrediting body
Pennsylvania’s state university system can proceed with plans to merge six of its 14 universities into two new entities under a decision announced Tuesday by its accrediting body. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education announced on its website the decision, which was one of the last significant hurdles for...
Senate approves bill to make daylight saving time permanentVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year. The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. But the bill still needs approval...
Man suspected of stalking, killing homeless people arrestedVideo
WASHINGTON — A man suspected of stalking and shooting homeless people asleep on the streets of New York City and Washington, D.C., was arrested early Tuesday. Police said at least two people were killed and three others wounded in the attacks. The suspect, Gerald Brevard, 30, was arrested in Washington...
Lawmakers send Texas-styled abortion bill to Idaho governorVideo
BOISE — Legislation aimed at banning abortions in Idaho after six weeks of pregnancy by allowing potential family members to sue a doctor who performs one headed to the governor. The House voted 51-14 late Monday with no Democratic support to approve the legislation modeled after a Texas law that...
Proud Boys leader charged in Jan. 6 plot jailed until trial
MIAMI — A leader in the far-right Proud Boys extremist group will remain jailed until his trial on charges that he remotely led a plot to stop Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory. In a Miami courtroom Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis cited the danger that...
Drug task force head accused of taking $200K in seized cash
HARRISBURG — The fired head of Lancaster County’s drug task force was charged Tuesday with stealing more than $200,000 in money seized or forfeited by court orders during drug investigations over a six-year period. State prosecutors filed charges against John E. Burkhart, 56, of theft and tampering with evidence and...
Ukraine war may lead to rethinking of U.S. defense of Europe
WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and his push to upend the broader security order in Europe may lead to a historic shift in American thinking about defense of the continent. Depending on how far Putin goes, this could mean a buildup of U.S. military power in...
Paleontologists discover new San Diego saber-toothed catlike species
SAN DIEGO — A newly discovered saber-toothed catlike predator that hunted in the forests and coastal areas of this region 42 million years ago has been given the name Diegoaelurus, or “San Diego’s cat,” the San Diego Natural History Museum announced Tuesday. The discovery of Diegoaelurus — which is now...
Saharan dust storm covers Spain, spreads out across Europe
A huge dust storm swirling over Europe from the Sahara desert made it hard to breathe in large parts of Spain for a second straight day on Wednesday and gave cleaning crews extra work as far away as Paris, London and Belgrade to remove the film of dirt falling on...
Russia steps up bombardment of Kyiv, civilians flee Mariupol
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia stepped up its bombardment of Kyiv on Tuesday, smashing apartments and a subway station, while civilians in 2,000 cars fled Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor in what was believed to be the biggest evacuation yet from the desperately besieged seaport. On the diplomatic front, another round...
Man wanted in stabbing at New York’s MoMA arrested in Philly
PHILADELPHIA — A man suspected of stabbing two workers at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and making threats regarding former President Donald Trump was arrested at a Philadelphia bus terminal early Tuesday after setting his hotel room on fire, police said. Gary Cabana, 60, had been sought by police...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill ending conceal carry permit mandate
COLUMBUS — Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law Monday a measure that will make a concealed weapons permit optional for anyone legally allowed to carry a gun and eliminate the requirement that individuals “promptly” notify police officers that they are carrying a concealed weapon. Ohio’s GOP-controlled Legislature passed the...
Anti-war activist interrupts live Russian state TV news showVideo
A live evening news program on Russia’s main state television channel was interrupted Monday by a person who walked into the studio holding a poster protesting the war in Ukraine. An anchor was speaking during the newscast when a woman appeared on camera behind her holding a sign with the...
Bid underway to refloat cargo ship aground in Chesapeake Bay
BALTIMORE — Efforts were underway Monday to refloat a container vessel that ran aground in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard said. There were no reports of injuries, pollution or damage to the 1,000-foot ship, which grounded Sunday evening, the agency said. The ship, called...
Mississippi governor signs law limiting race in classroom lessons
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill Monday to limit how race can be discussed in classrooms, and it became law immediately. “Contrary to what some critics may claim, this bill in no way, in no shape and in no form prohibits the teaching of history,” Republican...
Book challenges are becoming more frequent, driven in part by social media
The time, thought and effort that English teachers and librarians put into their work is not random, says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director for the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “They have college degrees, they care very deeply about the work they do, and to suggest that the objections of...
Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Thomas, admits to attending Trump’s Jan. 6 rally
The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged for the first time that she attended former President Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021, but insisted she did not join the attack on the Capitol that followed it. Ginni Thomas, a prominent conservative activist in her own right, attended the...
Chicago-area dad faces gun charge after boy accidentally shot, killed mom
CHICAGO — The father of a 3-year-old boy who accidentally shot his mother to death in a Chicago suburb over the weekend is facing a misdemeanor gun charge, the community’s police chief said Monday. Dolton Police Chief Robert Collins Jr. said Romell Watson, 23, who was detained after the shooting,...
The super PAC hammering Mehmet Oz as a RINO is getting money from longtime Democratic donors
PHILADELPHIA — Wealthy investors and executives supporting Republican Senate candidate David McCormick have helped flood Pennsylvania’s airwaves with ads accusing GOP rival Mehmet Oz of being too liberal, a RINO — Republican In Name Only. But some of those same donors have also supported some of the most liberal Democrats...
Julian Assange denied permission to appeal by U.K.’s top court
LONDON — Britain’s top court on Monday refused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the U.S. to face spying charges. The court said it refused because the case “didn’t raise an arguable point of law.” Assange, 50, has sought for years to...
