Unprecedented: Northwest heat wave builds, records fallVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Intense. Prolonged. Record-breaking. Unprecedented. Abnormal. Dangerous. That’s how the National Weather Service described the historic heat wave that is hitting the Pacific Northwest, pushing daytime temperatures into the triple digits and breaking all-time high temperature records in places where many residents don’t have air conditioning. Sunday’s forecasted...
Pennsylvania 4-H virtual program to teach kids to curb carbon appetite
People may not always pay attention to how their daily actions impact the environment — but a statewide virtual 4-H program will aim to teach students about how activities as simple as packing a lunch can have environmental consequences. With a program dubbed Curbing Our Carbon Appetite, students will from...
As variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thrown off-stride to reach its covid-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers to persuade unvaccinated people to get a shot. The strategy has the trappings of a political campaign, complete with data...
Bipartisan infrastructure deal back on track after walk-backVideo
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan deal to invest nearly $1 trillion in the nation’s infrastructure appeared to be back on track Sunday after a stark walk-back by President Joe Biden to his earlier insistence that the bill be coupled with an even larger Democrat-backed measure in order to earn his signature....
Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator for Alaska, dies at 91
SEASIDE, Calif. — Mike Gravel, a former U.S. senator from Alaska who read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record and confronted Barack Obama about nuclear weapons during a later presidential run, has died. He was 91. Gravel, who represented Alaska as a Democrat in the Senate from 1969 to...
Alzheimer’s drug stirs hope for patients, worry for doctors
In the weeks since a new Alzheimer’s drug was approved, hopeful patients have bombarded Dr. Alireza Atri with calls and emails about a treatment that has sparked both excitement and skepticism. They want to know if the drug might be right for them. Like many physicians, Atri has no easy...
Before building collapse, $9 million in repairs needed
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nearly three years before an oceanfront building collapsed near Miami, an engineering firm estimated that major repairs the building needed would cost more than $9 million, according to newly released emails. The email from the firm of Morabito Consultants was among a series of documents released...
Families of the missing visit site of Florida condo collapse
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Families of the missing visited the scene of the Florida condo building collapse Sunday as rescuers kept digging through the mound of rubble and clinging to hope that someone could yet be alive somewhere under the broken concrete and twisted metal. The death toll rose by just...
Experts: Impact of Chauvin case on policing yet to be seen
Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin ‘s conviction and lengthy prison sentence in George Floyd’s murder could lead to better police hiring and training, law enforcement experts say. It could spur more effort to build trust among officers and communities. And it might have made the public — and future...
5 die in hot air balloon crash in New Mexico’s largest city
Five people died after a hot air balloon they were riding in hit power lines in New Mexico’s largest city and the gondola crashed to the ground, police said Saturday. The crash happened around 7 a.m. on Albuquerque’s west side, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. No identities have been released,...
Report showed ‘major’ damage before Florida condo collapse
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The ground-floor pool deck of the oceanfront condominium building that collapsed near Miami was resting on a concrete structural slab that had “major structural damage” and needed to be extensively repaired, according to a 2018 engineering report that also uncovered “abundant cracking and spalling” of concrete...
All aboard! 1st post-pandemic cruise ship readies to sail
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The first cruise ship to leave a U.S. port since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a 15-month standstill is preparing to set sail with nearly all vaccinated passengers on board. Celebrity Edge will depart Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 6 p.m. Saturday with the number...
Victims in Miami condo collapse came from around the world
MIAMI — A Filipino-American who loved to play the piano and her Chilean husband lived on the 10th floor of the building. One flight down were Cuban immigrant grandparents who had dreamed of retiring at the beach. And just a week ago, a young Paraguayan arrived to work as a...
Arizona election audit enters new phase as ballot count ends
PHOENIX — Technology consultants hired by Arizona Senate Republicans to probe the 2020 election have finished counting and photographing nearly 2.1 million ballots from Maricopa County. A final report of the findings is still weeks to months away, said Ken Bennett, a former Republican secretary of state working on the...
Explainer: Why some schools in Canada have unmarked graves
TORONTO — Leaders of Indigenous groups in Canada say investigators have found more than 600 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school for Indigenous children, which follows the discovery of 215 bodies at another school last month. The new discovery was at the Marieval Indian Residential School,...
Police: Man who shot Colorado gunman was killed by officer
DENVER — Johnny Hurley was hailed by police as a hero for shooting and killing a gunman they say had killed one officer and expressed hatred for police in a Denver suburb. But when another officer rushed in to respond and saw Hurley holding the suspect’s AR-15, he shot Hurley,...
U.S. government report is inconclusive about UFOs
WASHINGTON — A long-awaited U.S. government report on UFOs released Friday makes at least one thing clear: The truth is still out there. Investigators did not find extraterrestrial links in reviewing 144 sightings of aircraft or other devices apparently flying at mysterious speeds or trajectories. But they drew few other...
Republican lawmakers send Wolf election bill he’s vowed to veto
HARRISBURG — A bill to require voter ID and make a host of other changes to Pennsylvania election law passed the state Senate on Friday on party lines and is on its way to the Democratic governor, who plans to veto it. Senators voted on party lines, 29-21, for the...
Valedictorian’s mic cut during graduation speech while talking about being part of the LGBTQ community
PHILADELPHIA — A South Jersey valedictorian had his microphone cut out and his notes crumpled on stage by his principal during his high school graduation speech when he began to touch on his experience as a member of the LGBTQ community. Bryce Dershem, who graduated from Eastern Regional High School...
Florida officers begin deploying to U.S.-Mexico border
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A contingent of 50 law enforcement officers from Florida began deploying to the Mexican border Friday, as Gov. Ron DeSantis made true on his vow to heed calls from his fellow Republican governors in Arizona and Texas to help bolster patrols along the country’s southern border. DeSantis,...
Driver crashes through fence onto Los Angeles airport
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles International Airport police are investigating a driver who drove through a fence and onto the airfield. The intrusion forced a sudden closure of some of the runways Thursday evening, authorities said. A statement by the Los Angeles Airport Police Division said the car went through...
Rescuers focus on detecting sounds of survivors in rubble of Miami-area condo collapse
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Search and rescue teams worked through the night, encountering rainstorms and small fires in the rubble, hoping to detect any sounds coming from survivors following the collapse of a beachside condominium complex near Miami. The crews, which include some 130 firefighters working in teams, are approaching the...
Justice Department suing Georgia over voting laws
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is suing Georgia over the state’s new election law, alleging Republican state lawmakers rushed through a sweeping overhaul with an intent to deny Black voters equal access to the ballot. “Where we believe the rights of civil rights of Americans have been violated we will...
U.S. to keep about 650 troops in Afghanistan after withdrawal
WASHINGTON — Roughly 650 U.S. troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal, which is set to be largely done in the next two weeks, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. Moreover, several hundred additional American forces...
Pennsylvania mask mandate ends Monday
Pennsylvanians can go maskless starting next week unless it is required by the business or building they’re in. The state mask mandate will expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday as promised, Department of Health officials said Friday. “We are continuing to make progress toward stopping the spread of covid-19 throughout the...
