Record delta wave hits kids, raises fear as nation’s schools open
The day before he was supposed to start fourth grade, Francisco Rosales was admitted to a Dallas hospital with covid-19, struggling to breathe, with dangerously low oxygen levels and an uncertain outcome. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, thought his frightened mother, Yessica Gonzalez. Francisco was normally healthy and...
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert discloses husband’s work for energy firm
DENVER — Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert’s husband made $478,000 last year working as a consultant for an energy firm, information that was not disclosed during Boebert’s congressional campaign and only reported in her financial disclosure forms filed this week. In paperwork filed with the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the...
Kind acts accentuated slain Chicago officer’s brief careerVideo
CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer who was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop was remembered Thursday for a brief career marked by compassion; for her fellow officers, a one-year-old gunshot victim she sped to a hospital, and the stray dogs she ferried to an animal shelter in her...
2 dead, 20 missing in North Carolina county flooded by Fred
RALEIGH, N.C. — Authorities combing areas of North Carolina flooded by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred said Thursday that two people have been found dead and about 20 were unaccounted for. Meanwhile, Fred — now a post-tropical cyclone — was pushing through New York and New England with drenching...
GOP senator’s plan to issue Pennsylvania election subpoenas ‘stopped’
HARRISBURG — A backer of former President Donald Trump’s effort to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election suggested Thursday that fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blocking his efforts. In a video posted Thursday on Facebook, state Sen. Doug Mastriano did not name names,...
Franklin Regional prepares to open doors to new primary, intermediate elementary schoolsVideo
Teacher, administrator and staff comments about Franklin Regional’s new elementary campus largely center around a similar theme: possibilities. From new large-group instruction areas to creative media centers to little “pocket” areas where small groups can meet, collaborate or receive additional learning support, new educational opportunities are scattered throughout both the...
U.S. to erase student debt for those with severe disabilities
The Biden administration announced Thursday it will automatically erase student loan debt for more than 300,000 Americans with severe disabilities that leave them unable to earn significant incomes. The move will wipe out more than $5.8 billion in debt, according to the Education Department, and it marks the start of...
Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near CapitolVideo
WASHINGTON — A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the Capitol surrendered to law enforcement after an hourslong standoff Thursday that prompted a massive police response and the evacuations of government buildings and businesses in the area. Police did not immediately know whether there...
Biden was not handcuffed by Trump’s Taliban deal
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump’s administration signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February 2020, he optimistically proclaimed that “we think we’ll be successful in the end.” His secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, asserted that the administration was “seizing the best opportunity for peace in a generation.” Eighteen...
Appeals court upholds Texas law to ban abortion procedure
NEW ORLEANS — A Texas law outlawing an abortion method commonly used to end second-trimester pregnancies was upheld Wednesday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The 2017 law in question has never been enforced. It seeks to prohibit the use of forceps to remove a fetus from the...
German on trial for killing 5, injuring 18 in car rampage
BERLIN — A 51-year-old man has gone on trial in Germany for a vehicle rampage that killed five people in the western city of Trier last year. The defendant, a local resident identified only as Bernd W. due to German privacy laws, was indicted on five counts of murder and...
How AI-powered tech landed man in jail with scant evidence
CHICAGO — Michael Williams’ wife pleaded with him to remember their fishing trips with the grandchildren, how he used to braid her hair, anything to jar him back to his world outside the concrete walls of Cook County Jail. His three daily calls to her had become a lifeline, but...
Gulf Coast’s beloved ‘Redneck Riviera’ now a virus hotspot
GULF SHORES, Ala. — Tourists and servers alike dance atop tables and in the aisles at one restaurant on the “Redneck Riviera,” a beloved stretch of towns along the northern Gulf Coast where beaches, bars and stores are packed. Yet just a few miles away, a hospital is running out...
Afghans protest Taliban in emerging challenge to their rule
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan protesters defied the Taliban for a second day Thursday, waving their national flag in scattered demonstrations that were met with renewed violence by the militants who are facing growing challenges to their rule. A U.N. official warned of dire food shortages in this nation of 38...
Oregon hospitals near breaking point as covid-19 surges
PORTLAND, Ore. — Just 41 intensive care unit beds were available in Oregon on Wednesday as covid-19 cases continue to climb and hospitals near capacity in a state that was once viewed as a pandemic success story. Oregon, which earlier had among the lowest cases per capita, is now shattering...
Authorities: Woman, granddaughter dead in shooting at Indiana automotive plant
FRANKFORT, Ind. — A woman and her granddaughter were fatally shot Wednesday when a gunman opened fire outside a central Indiana automotive plant where the women worked, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office said. The shooting happened around 4:15 p.m. during a shift change in the parking lot of the NHK...
EPA bans pesticide linked to health problems in children
The Biden administration said Wednesday it was banning use of chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide long targeted by environmentalists, on food crops because it poses risks to children and farm workers. The Environmental Protection Agency acted after a federal appeals court ordered the government in April to determine quickly whether...
Big bird on water is mystery, but town calls it just ducky
BELFAST, Maine — The sudden appearance of a giant rubber duck in a Maine harbor is a whimsical whodunit that’s defied sleuths so far. The yellow waterfowl emblazoned with the word “joy” appeared in Belfast Harbor over the weekend, and it’s a mystery who put it there. Harbor Master Katherine...
Pennsylvania may use taxpayer dollars for major golf events
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania officials have held out the potential for taxpayer-paid subsidies to help entice the U.S. Golf Association to bring more Opens and elite amateur events to two courses in the state, a news organization reported. The USGA last week announced that it will bring nine more Opens for...
Kushner pal Ken Kurson hit with state charges months after Trump pardon
NEW YORK — A newspaper editor friend of former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was hit Wednesday with state cyberstalking charges in New York, seven months after Trump pardoned him in a similar federal case just before leaving office. Manhattan prosecutors accused Ken Kurson, the New York Observer’s editor...
Bucks County police chief hit by shotgun blast; in good condition
YARDLEY — Authorities say a suburban Philadelphia borough police chief was shot while assisting parole officers on a visit to a condominium unit, but he was reported in good condition. Lower Makefield Police Chief Ken Coluzzi told reporters Wednesday that Chief Joseph Kelly III of the Yardley police department was...
Georgia board to review Fulton County election problems, takeover possible
ATLANTA — Georgia’s State Election Board on Wednesday took a step toward a possible eventual takeover of elections in the state’s most populous county under a process outlined in the state’s sweeping new voting law. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a bipartisan, three-person review panel to investigate the...
Federal government to require vaccines for nursing home staff
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against covid-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. President Biden will announce the move Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for ways...
Pennsylvania teachers union: Schools should require masks
Pennsylvania’s largest teachers union on Wednesday urged K-12 schools to require masks in school buildings, a measure that state officials are encouraging but not mandating. The Pennsylvania State Education Association cited the threat of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which is spiking infections and hospitalizations across the...
U.S. health officials call for booster shots against covid-19Video
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials Wednesday announced plans to dispense covid-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and signs that the vaccines’ effectiveness is slipping. The plan, as outlined by the chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
