Tally of missing in Miami-area condo collapse reduced to 128 after audit; death toll up to 20
SURFSIDE, Fla. — The tally of the missing in the Florida condominium collapse was substantially reduced Friday even as the death toll continued to rise. The number of missing was revised from 145 to 128 after duplicate names were eliminated and some people reported missing turned up safe, officials said....
New law requires public meeting agendas be posted online, if possible
Bipartisan support of just about anything is a fairly rare thing nowadays in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recently found one thing they could agree: Local and state government bodies should be as aggressive as possible in publicizing the business they will conduct...
Cargo plane makes emergency landing in ocean off coast of Hawaii; 2 rescued
HONOLULU — A cargo plane made an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii early Friday and both people on board have been rescued. The pilots of the Transair Flight 810 had reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced...
California homicides jump 31% in 2020, most in 13 years
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Homicides in California jumped 31% last year, making it the deadliest year since 2007, and Black people accounted for nearly one-third of all victims as the nation’s most populous state struggled with the coronavirus pandemic and concerns over racial injustice, according to reports released Thursday. The 2,202...
U.S. hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans after nearly 20 years
KABUL, Afghanistan — After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said Friday. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security...
Boy Scouts of America reaches pivotal agreement with victims
DOVER, Del. — The Boy Scouts of America have reached an agreement with attorneys representing some 60,000 victims of child sex abuse in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in the organization’s bankruptcy case. Attorneys for the BSA filed court papers late Thursday outlining a restructuring support agreement,...
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author JD Vance joins U.S. Senate campaign
The venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” officially joined the crowded Republican race for the Ohio U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Rob Portman. JD Vance, whose book was widely seen in 2016 as helping explain Republican Donald Trump’s appeal to struggling white, working-class voters, made the announcement Thursday...
Attorney General Merrick Garland halts federal executions, orders review of protocols
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is halting federal executions after a historic use of capital punishment by the Trump administration, which carried out 13 executions in six months. Attorney General Merrick Garland made the announcement Thursday night, saying he was imposing a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department...
5 injured after building under construction collapses in D.C.Video
WASHINGTON — Five workers were injured Thursday when a building under construction collapsed in the nation’s capital, trapping one man for more than an hour as firefighters worked feverishly to free him from layers of debris. The collapse happened around 3:30 p.m. in the Brightwood Park neighborhood of Washington. Fire...
Wildfire consumes small British Columbia town that hit 121 degreesVideo
LILLOOET, British Columbia — A wildfire that forced people to flee a small town in British Columbia that had set record high temperatures for Canada on three consecutive days burned out of control Thursday as relatives desperately sought information on evacuees. The roughly 1,000 residents of Lytton had to abandon...
Phylicia Rashad draws critics and dismissal calls for defending Bill CosbyVideo
WASHINGTON — Phylicia Rashad has found herself embroiled in controversy after expressing public support for Bill Cosby’s release from prison, with some prominent Black voices calling for her dismissal as dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts. It remains to be seen whether Rashad’s position at Howard is in...
Trump-era law on surprise medical bills advances under Biden
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Thursday began putting in place consumer protections against “surprise” medical bills enacted in bipartisan legislation signed last year by former President Donald Trump. Regulations jointly issued by four federal agencies spell out protections for insured patients against surprise billing in medical emergencies, and unexpected...
State law against municipal plastic bag bans on track to end
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia began the soft rollout Thursday of its ban on retailers giving out plastic bags to customers, while the state’s two-year-old prohibition on such bans is set to expire later this year. The city will not fully enforce the ban until April 1, with steps in between. On...
Mitch McConnell has warned of ‘likely catastrophe’ over U.S. troop pullout in Afghanistan. Will he be proved right?
WASHINGTON — For more than two months, Mitch McConnell has excoriated President Joe Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan as a “hasty abandonment” that will “threaten the U.S. homeland” and lead to a “likely catastrophe.” An accelerated exit that will now pull a significant number of U.S. troops out by this...
Crews cleaning up after Zion National Park flash flood
SPRINGDALE, Utah — Zion National Park officials and business owners in a nearby tourist town were still cleaning up and assessing the damage Thursday from a massive flash flood that ripped through the popular red rock park, sending mud and debris onto streets. No injuries were reported. Tuesday’s flash flood...
Trump Organization, CFO Allen Weisselberg indicted on tax fraud charges
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Trump himself was not charged,...
Whither #MeToo? Chilling effect of Cosby reversal feared
When Indira Henard, director of the DC Rape Crisis Center, received the text message Wednesday, she thought she wasn’t reading her phone correctly. “Indira oh my god,” said the message from a colleague. “Cosby’s walking out of prison.” “I put on the news and there it was, and my heart...
Rescue efforts resume after delay at Florida condo collapse site
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Rescue efforts at the site of a partially collapsed Florida condominium building resumed Thursday evening, about 15 hours after the work was halted out of concern about the stability of the remaining structure, the mayor said. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he did not know why officials...
Picasso kept in Maine house closet for 50 years is sold
AMESBURY, Mass. — A mixed-media painting attributed to Pablo Picasso has been sold after spending 50 years in a closet in a house in Maine. John McInnis Auctioneers, based in Massachusetts, confirmed that the painting entitled “Le Tricorne” sold on Saturday, the Boston Globe reported. The 16 x 16 inch...
Supreme Court upholds Arizona voting restrictions
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld voting restrictions in Arizona in a decision that could make it harder to challenge other voting limits put in place by Republican lawmakers following last year’s elections. The court, by a conservative-majority 6-3 vote, reversed a lower court ruling in deciding that...
McCarthy to GOP: Don’t let Pelosi name you to Jan. 6 riot panel
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has threatened to strip Republicans of committee assignments if they accept an appointment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to join the new select panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a top House GOP aide said Thursday. The warning by McCarthy, R-Calif., underscores...
Monument unveiled to activist, journalist Ida B. Wells
CHICAGO — A monument to journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett was unveiled Wednesday in Chicago. Officially called The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument, the commemoration created by sculptor Richard Hunt was dedicated in the South Side neighborhood where Wells lived out her life. The...
Israel welcomes German leader as ally against antisemitism
JERUSALEM — Israel’s president warmly welcomed his German counterpart on Thursday, praising him as an ally in combatting antisemitism. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to meet with Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and is expected to reiterate Germany’s strong support for Israel. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said that...
Registered sex workers in Germany drop sharply in pandemic
BERLIN — The number of people registered as sex workers with German authorities declined sharply last year as coronavirus restrictions shut brothels for months, official data showed Thursday. Legislation in 2002 legalized and regulated prostitution in Germany, giving sex workers social benefits, and they are now obliged to register. But...
GOP congressman flouts mask rules on airline flight to Texas
WASHINGTON — A Texas congressman who has been an outspoken critic of covid-19 mask mandates went without a mask for at least a portion of a commercial airline flight Tuesday evening, an apparent violation of federal law. Republican Rep. Chip Roy flew from Washington back to his home district in...
