‘Go in peace’: Pennsylvania church founded in 1800 holds last service
BELLEFONTE — A Pennsylvania church with a 221-year history held its final service and is scheduled to close at the end of the year because of declining membership and attendance. The First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, which is nearly as old as the borough itself, held the final scheduled service...
Fauci: U.S. should consider vaccine mandate for domestic air travel
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Monday the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel, signaling a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed, as covid-19 cases spike. Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief science adviser on the pandemic response,...
2 children killed, 4 injured in South Florida hit-and-run
Two children were killed and another four children were hospitalized with injuries when a car plowed into them and fled the scene in South Florida on Monday, authorities said. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that it was investigating what happened outside an apartment building in...
Major storm dumps snow, closes mountain routes in California
COLFAX, Calif. — A major Christmas weekend storm caused whiteout conditions and closed key highways amid blowing snow in mountains of Northern California and Nevada, with forecasters warning that travel in the Sierra Nevada could be difficult for several days. Authorities near Reno said three people were injured in a...
Sarah Weddington, lawyer who argued Roe v. Wade, dies at 76
DALLAS — Sarah Weddington, a Texas lawyer who as a 26-year-old successfully argued the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court, died Sunday. She was 76. Susan Hays, Weddington’s former student and colleague, said she died in her sleep early Sunday morning at her Austin...
Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s foe of apartheid, dies at 90
JOHANNESBURG — Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning icon, an uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and LGBT rights, died Sunday at 90. South Africans, world leaders and people around the globe mourned the death of the man viewed as the country’s moral conscience....
Federal program offers cash to cover covid-19 funeral costs
BOSTON — When Wanda Olson’s son-in-law died in March after contracting covid-19, she and her daughter had to grapple with more than just their sudden grief. They had to come up with money for a cremation. Even without a funeral, the bill came to nearly $2,000, a hefty sum that...
Covid variant disrupts holiday travel but not shopping
NEWARK, N.J. — The latest covid-19 variant is upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers — but it didn’t do much damage to holiday shopping. Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Sunday, citing staffing problems tied to covid-19, as the nation’s travel woes extended beyond Christmas, with no clear...
Franklin Regional receives grant to expand annual Science Olympiad for elementary, middle-school students
Franklin Regional elementary teachers will be up-sizing their annual Science Olympiad in 2022 with the help of a $2,500 grant from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh. “We were able to establish an elementary and middle school Science Olympiad program in partnership with the SSP,” said fourth grade teacher Megan Melucci....
Russia returns 10K troops to bases after training near Ukraine
The Russian Defense Ministry said more than 10,000 troops would return to their permanent bases in the Southern Military District after more than a month of training in the region, including in areas near the Ukrainian border. The exercises took place throughout the district, including in the Crimea and Rostov...
Florida sets another record for single-day covid case increase
MIAMI — Florida on Christmas Day saw its largest single-day increase of newly reported covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The record breaks the previous one set on Christmas Eve. “Omicron is 10 (times) more potent at causing reinfection than previous variants — protection from prior infection is not as...
Ghislaine Maxwell turns 60 behind bars as verdict looms
Ghislaine Maxwell reached her 60th birthday behind bars Saturday as she awaited the outcome of her sex trafficking trial. The British socialite is scheduled to return to a Manhattan courthouse Monday to await word from a jury entering its third full day of talks after hearing over two dozen witnesses...
Chicago police officer, 50, dies of covid complications
CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer has died of complications from the coronavirus. Jose Huerta, a 50-year-old from the Southwest Side, died of pneumonia from a covid-19 infection Thursday afternoon, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. A police department spokesman declined to comment Saturday, but the Chicago Fraternal...
Florida sets another new record for single-day covid case increase
MIAMI — Florida on Christmas Day saw its largest single-day increase of newly reported covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The record breaks the previous one set on Christmas Eve. “Omicron is 10 more potent at causing reinfection than previous variants — protection from prior infection is not as...
Parts of California get a White Christmas after snowfall
Parts of California are getting a White Christmas after all, with snowfall pounding mountains across the state. Other areas of California, however, saw a wet and rainy Christmas as storms continue to drench the state, causing flash flooding and evacuations in some areas over the holiday period. At Donner Pass...
Flight cancellations drag on as airlines short-staffed
Airlines continued to cancel hundreds of flights Saturday as staffing issues tied to covid-19 disrupted holiday celebrations during one of the busiest travel times of the year. FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted 921 flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. canceled Saturday, up from 690 Friday. Over 200 more flights...
2 Kansas officers shot by suspect, expected to recover
WICHITA, Kan. — Two police officers responding to a domestic violence call in Wichita, Kansas, were shot and wounded in the early hours of Christmas Day, authorities said. Police were called around 1:30 a.m. Saturday for a report of domestic violence at an apartment. Police said that as the two...
Space telescope launched on daring quest to behold 1st stars
The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope rocketed away Saturday on a high-stakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies and scour the universe for hints of life. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope soared from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane...
On Christmas, pope prays for pandemic’s end, peace dialogues
ROME — Pope Francis prayed Saturday for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, using his Christmas Day address to urge health care for all, vaccines for the poor and for dialogue to prevail in resolving the world’s conflicts. Amid a record-setting rise in covid-19 cases in Italy this week, only...
Uber driver charged with raping passenger during Vegas ride
LAS VEGAS — An Uber driver is charged with raping a female passenger who police said fell asleep before waking up as she was attacked during a ride in metro Las Vegas. Dawed Oumer Mekonene, 30, was arrested Tuesday and remained in jail Friday pending a court hearing on charges...
South African minister objects to sale of Mandela’s cell key
JOHANNESBURG — A South African Cabinet minister on Friday urged the cancellation of an upcoming U.S. auction of a key to the Robben Island prison cell where Nelson Mandela, the country’s first Black president, was long jailed for his opposition to apartheid. The key is among Mandela memorabilia being sold...
Judge: Penn State can buy frat house where student fatally hurt
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State can buy a former fraternity house where a student was fatally injured during a night of drinking and hazing, a judge has ruled. Centre County Judge Brian Marshall gave the university and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s national chapter six months to negotiate a deal,...
U.S. to lift travel ban on 8 southern African countries
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year’s Eve, the White House announced Friday. The restrictions, imposed last month, were meant to blunt the spread of the covid omicron variant. The Nov. 29 ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently...
TSA officer saves infant who stopped breathing at airport
NEWARK, N.J. — A security officer leapt over conveyor belt rollers and saved a 2-month-old boy who stopped breathing at a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, newly released video shows. The footage, released Thursday by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, shows TSA officer Cecilia Morales...
U.K. Queen’s Christmas speech set to be particularly personal
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II is expected to offer a particularly personal Christmas Day message to the nation this year after Buckingham Palace released a photo of the monarch recording the speech alongside a picture of her and her husband, who died earlier this year. The image provided by the...
