Texas House OKs bill to ban plant-based foods from using ‘meat’ and ‘beef’ on labels
AUSTIN, Texas — Plant-based and other meatless products could be accused of misleading consumers under a bill approved in the Texas House on Monday. Texas is the latest state to debate measures that would prohibit foods that don’t contain animal products from using words like “meat” or “beef” in their...
Austrian convicted of intentionally giving ex-wife covid
BERLIN — A man in Austria has been convicted of intentionally infecting his ex-wife with the coronavirus by coughing at her. A spokesman for the Linz regional court said Tuesday that the 63-year-old was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for three years. Judges had convicted the man Monday of attempted...
Medicare requires nursing homes to report covid vaccinations
WASHINGTON — Medicare will require nursing homes to report covid-19 vaccination rates for residents and staff, the government said Tuesday. Officials hope to nudge facilities to keep giving shots as the worst ravages of the pandemic ease, but the danger of a rebound still lurks. “We’re hoping to drive increased...
Pa. Senate bill would give parents option of having child repeat grade
Allowing parents to hold back their child from being promoted to the next grade in 2021-22 due to learning loss during the covid-19 pandemic is now on track for consideration by the full Pennsylvania Senate. The Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to advance this legislation that also gives parents of...
McDonald’s coffee cups will promote covid-19 vaccine awareness
McDonald’s restaurants have partnered with the Biden administration to promote awareness of the covid-19 vaccine. This summer, customers will see McCafé cups and McDelivery seal stickers that feature the national “We Can Do This” campaign created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the website, vaccines.gov. McDonald’s...
U.S. job openings soar to highest level on record
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted a record number of available jobs in March, illustrating starkly the desperation of businesses seeking to find new workers as the economy expands. Yet total job gains increased only modestly, according to a Labor Department report issued Tuesday. The figures come after the April jobs...
Pipeline officials hope most service will be back by weekend
WASHINGTON — Hit by a cyberattack, the operator of a major U.S. fuel pipeline said it hopes to have services mostly restored by the end of the week as the FBI and administration officials identified the culprits as a gang of criminal hackers. U.S. officials sought to soothe concerns about...
Florida teacher gets 15 years for recording naked girls
TAMPA, Fla. — A 52-year-old teacher was sentenced to 15 years in prison for secretly recording videos of students as they changed clothes in his fashion design classroom at a Florida high school. Mark William Ackett also must remain a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. “There’s...
Poll: Most in U.S. who remain unvaccinated need convincing
Fewer Americans are reluctant to get a covid-19 vaccine than just a few months ago, but questions about side effects and how the shots were tested still hold some back, according to a new poll that highlights the challenges at a pivotal moment in the U.S. vaccination campaign. Just 11%...
Biden: 1 million sign up for health care during special enrollment
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that 1 million Americans had signed up for health insurance under “Obamacare” during a special enrollment period for those needing coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. Biden reopened the HealthCare.gov insurance markets in February for a special six-month sign-up opportunity. “Health care is a...
Pope creates lay ministry to boost supply of faith teachers
ROME —Pope Francis on Tuesday formally created a new lay ministry to encourage greater participation of secular women and men in the teaching of the Catholic faith, especially in places where priests are in short supply. The new law creating the lay ministry of catechists officially recognizes for the universal...
Iran rejects U.S. claim that speedboats sparked encounter
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday rejected the U.S. Navy’s claim that fast-approaching Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz sparked a tense encounter in the already sensitive region. The Guard’s website, sepahnews.com, published a statement Tuesday saying Americans were guilty of using “false narratives and unprofessional...
Gaza militants, children among 24 dead as Israel hits Hamas
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza early Tuesday, hitting the high-rise home of a Hamas field commander and two border tunnels dug by militants, as Hamas and other armed groups fired dozens of rockets toward Israel. The escalation in the conflict was sparked by weeks...
1.4B but no more? China’s population growth closer to zero
BEIJING — China’s population growth is falling closer to zero, government data showed Tuesday, adding to strains on an aging society with a shrinking workforce as fewer couples have children. The population rose by 72 million over the past 10 years to 1.411 billion in 2020, the National Bureau of...
Inside Arizona’s election audit, GOP fraud fantasies live on
PHOENIX — On the floor of Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where NBA stars like Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan once dunked basketballs and Hulk Hogan wrestled King Kong Bundy, 46 tables are arrayed in neat rows, each with a Lazy Susan in the middle. Seated at the tables are several dozen...
Pfizer covid-19 shot expanded to U.S. children as young as 12Video
Covid-19 vaccines finally are headed for more kids as U.S. regulators on Monday expanded use of Pfizer’s shot to those as young as 12, sparking a race to protect middle and high school students before they head back to class in the fall. Shots could begin as soon as a...
Republicans in Maine eye 5-year mandatory covid-19 shot ban
PORTLAND, Maine — A proposal from a group of Maine Republicans to ban mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for five years is up for consideration by a legislative committee this week. The lawmakers, led by Rep. Tracy Quint of Hodgdon, have based their proposal in part on the theory that coronavirus vaccines...
1 killed, suspect caught in shooting at U.S. customs office in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — A man was fatally shot Monday outside a U.S. Customs and Immigration Services building in central Florida, and a suspect was taken into custody, authorities said. The shooting happened in an office park in south Orlando, police said. A man and a woman were entering the immigration...
Colorado police seek motive in party shooting that left 7 deadVideo
DENVER — A shooting at a birthday party inside a trailer park home in Colorado Springs that killed six people before the gunman took his own life stunned a state weary of gun violence just weeks after another Colorado mass shooting killed 10 people. Police on Monday were investigating what...
Jeffrey Epstein prosecution and perks were proper, Florida investigation finds
MIAMI — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has cleared Palm Beach state prosecutors and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office of any wrongdoing in connection with the lack of criminal prosecution and liberal jail privileges received by sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. FDLE investigators found no evidence that Barry Krischer, who...
FAA seeks fines against more misbehaving airline passengersVideo
Federal officials said Monday they are pursuing civil penalties against two more passengers for interfering with airline crews, the latest in a surge of such cases in recent months. The Federal Aviation Administration said it is continuing to take a zero-tolerance stance against unruly passengers. The most recent cases involve...
Confidence grows that covid-19 vaccines hold their own against variants
Confidence is growing that covid-19 vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. are holding their own against the coronavirus variants now in circulation. “Everything we’ve seen with the variants should provide marked reassurance, as far as the protection that is afforded by vaccines — particularly the vaccines that we have...
High school graduations: With covid-19 restrictions set to end, some schools are changing plans
The coronavirus pandemic almost took out all the pomp and circumstance out of graduation again this year. Now, with covid-19 mitigation efforts about to end, some schools are scrambling to change graduation plans in the hopes of giving seniors as traditional a commencement as possible. Some schools are allowing more...
GOP readies blitz against Democrats’ voting rights bill
WASHINGTON — Republicans are preparing to launch an all-out assault on sweeping voting rights legislation, forcing Democrats to take dozens of politically difficult votes during a committee hearing that will spotlight the increasingly charged national debate over access to the ballot. The bill, as written, would bring about the largest...
Retired Army colonel announces run against Liz Cheney
GILLETTE, Wyo. — A retired U.S. Army colonel from California says he will challenge Liz Cheney in next year’s Republican U.S. House primary in Wyoming. Denton Knapp, of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., said he plans to move back to Gillette, where he graduated from high school in 1983, the Gillette News...
