Justice Department creating unit focused on domestic terrorism
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is establishing a specialized unit focused on domestic terrorism, the department’s top national security official told lawmakers Tuesday as he described an “elevated” threat from violent extremists in the United States. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, testifying just days after the nation observed the one-year...
How fleeting choices, circumstances doomed 17 in Bronx fire
NEW YORK — It started as just another January morning, the damp chill prompting a family on the third floor of a drafty Bronx apartment tower to run a space heater for extra warmth, as residents had done countless times before. In the moment, that decision hardly deserved a second...
A record 1,101 Florida manatees died in 2021. When will it end?
TAMPA, Fla. — It’s been clear for months that 2021 would be the deadliest year on record for Florida’s manatees. When the death count surpassed 1,000 in November, experts sounded the alarm, fearing the toll the winter months ahead would continue to inflict. The final death count is in —...
Tarnished Gold: Aircraft, fuel key to illegal Amazon mining
BOA VISTA, Brazil — The scorching Amazon sun beats down as a group of agents inspect the body of a black helicopter. Nearby, in the backyard of the federal police headquarters in the city of Boa Vista, sit more than twenty aircraft — all seized. Some bear signs of violent...
Pennsylvania has rules to follow for taking care of your pets in winter
Temperatures this week aren’t expected to climb out of the 20s most days. For dog owners, that means time limits on tying them outside. Under Pennsylvania’s Libre’s Law, dogs may be tied outside for no more than 30 minutes when temperatures are lower than 32 degrees (or higher than 90...
Some escapees pay bribes, cross rivers, risk lives to return to Kim Jong Un’s North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — Not long after nightfall on New Year’s Day, a short, slight man picked a spot along one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world, a quarter-mile from the nearest platoon of soldiers, and scaled a 10-foot-tall wire fence. Warning lights flashed and an alarm...
U.S. announces $308 million in aid for Afghans as crisis grows
WASHINGTON — The White House has announced $308 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, offering new aid to the country as it edges toward a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover nearly five months ago. White House spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement Tuesday that the new aid...
Biden on voting rights passage: ‘I’m tired of being quiet!’Video
WASHINGTON — Pounding his fist for emphasis, President Joe Biden challenged senators on Tuesday to “stand against voter suppression,” urging them to change Senate rules in order to pass voting rights legislation that Republicans are blocking from debate and votes. Biden told a crowd in Atlanta that he’d been having...
Court won’t block entire election ‘investigation’ subpoena
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania court declined Monday to block an entire subpoena to state election officials in what Republican state lawmakers call a “forensic investigation” of 2020’s presidential election, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that Democrats stole the election. But the statewide Commonwealth Court that issued the...
Trump attorneys cite immunity, want Jan. 6 lawsuits tossedVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorneys for former President Donald Trump and his associates argued Monday that incendiary statements by Trump and others last Jan. 6 prior to the Capitol riot were protected speech and in line with their official duties. In response to civil suits running parallel to Congress’ own Jan. 6...
Some health officials letting covid-infected staff stay on the job
Health authorities around the United States are increasingly taking the extraordinary step of allowing nurses and other workers infected with coronavirus to stay on the job if they have mild symptoms or none at all. The move is a reaction to the severe hospital staffing shortages and crushing caseloads that...
Jan. 6 committee: Jim Jordan is ‘material witness’ to investigation
WASHINGTON — The select House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol said Rep. Jim Jordan is a “material witness” to its investigation and is questioning whether former President Donald Trump’s team had a role in convincing the Ohio Republican to conceal what he knows about the...
North Carolina agency asked to look into shooting by deputy
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said Monday that its agents have been asked to look into a fatal shooting involving an off-duty sheriff’s deputy that sparked a local protest. A news release said Fayetteville police Chief Gina Hawkins and the Cumberland County district attorney asked the NCSBI to...
Home covid tests to be covered by insurers starting SaturdayVideo
WASHINGTON — Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home covid-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under...
Michigan sets record for covid hospitalizations amid 4th surge of virus
DETROIT — Michigan on Monday set a record for the highest number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 4,581 adults were hospitalized with confirmed infections, the highest number during the pandemic so far. Monday’s inpatient...
Pennsylvania Farm Show attendance down as ‘people probably nervous about going out’
Every year during the Pennsylvania Farm Show, vendors Ron and Gina Gorski travel to Philadelphia to pick up fresh soft pretzels for their booth. They sell the doughy treats at their Main Line Pretzel stand inside the Main Hall at the Farm Show complex. This year the couple said business...
In 1st, U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patientVideo
A Maryland man is doing well after surgeons and clinicians from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center performed the first successful transplant of a genetically modified pig’s heart Friday to save his life, officials from the health system said Monday. After being...
Pa. House expected to vote on proposed congressional map as redistricting lawsuit looms
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — The state House is expected to vote on a proposed...
U.S. hospitals letting infected staff members stay on the job
Hospitals around the U.S. are increasingly taking the extraordinary step of allowing nurses and other workers infected with the coronavirus to stay on the job if they have mild symptoms or none at all. The move is a reaction to the severe hospital staffing shortages and crushing caseloads that the...
Pilot rescued from wreckage in L.A. moments before train hitsVideo
The pilot of a small plane averted death twice in a span of minutes on Sunday, first when he crash-landed onto railroad tracks, then when Los Angeles police rescued him just before a commuter train smashed into the aircraft. Bodycam video showed the officers working furiously to disentangle the bloodied...
Rare snowy owl soars over Washington, thrills crowds
A snowy owl apparently touring iconic buildings of the nation’s capital is captivating birdwatchers who manage to get a glimpse of the rare, resplendent visitor from the Arctic. Far from its summer breeding grounds in Canada, the snowy owl was first seen on January 3, the day a winter storm...
Tax season begins 2 weeks early due to virus, IRS funding
WASHINGTON — This year’s tax filing season will begin on Jan. 24, 17 days earlier than last year, the Internal Revenue Service announced Monday. The IRS is warning that a resurgence of covid-19 infections on top of less funding authorization from Congress than the Biden administration had requested could make...
Robert Durst, real estate heir convicted of murder, dies
LOS ANGELES — Robert Durst, the wealthy New York real estate heir and failed fugitive who was dogged for decades with suspicion in the disappearance and deaths of those around him before he was convicted of killing his best friend and sentenced to life in prison, has died. He was...
Man who bought gun for Kyle Rittenhouse pleads no contest
MADISON, Wis. — The man who bought an AR-15-style rifle for Kyle Rittenhouse pleaded no contest Monday to a reduced charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in a deal with prosecutors that allows him to avoid prison. Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder accepted Dominick Black’s plea...
Pennsylvania Farm Show’s butter sculpture highlights state’s dairy farmersVideo
The Pennsylvania Farm Show, which runs through Jan. 15 in Harrisburg, highlights the importance of the state’s agriculture industry. And one of the largest segments of that industry is dairy products. So it only makes sense that the show’s massive annual butter sculpture, commissioned by the show and sponsored by...
