FDA OKs first new ADHD drug in over a decade for children
U.S. regulators have approved the first new drug in over a decade for children with ADHD, which causes inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The Food and Drug Administration late Friday OK’d Qelbree for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children ages 6 to 17. It comes as a capsule that’s taken...
Police: Florida teacher offered $200 for sex with 2-year-old
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida school district fired a teacher shortly after a law enforcement report was released Monday saying he offered to pay for a father’s motel room if he could sexually molest the man’s 2-year-old daughter. Xavier Alexander, a fourth-grade teacher at Grove Park Elementary School in...
‘Not a monk’: Rep. Matt Gaetz says he won’t resign over ‘false’ sex allegations
WASHINGTON — Rep. Matt Gaetz said Monday he will not leave Congress and denied accusations that he had sex with an underage girl, suggesting that he’s being targeted by political foes because he “loathes the swamp.” In a column appearing in the Washington Examiner, a conservative news outlet, the embattled...
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott won’t throw pitch, rebuffing MLB voting-rights stance
AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that he won’t throw the ceremonial first pitch as planned at the Texas Rangers’ home opener — the latest jab in a fight that’s pushing corporate America into the political battle over voting rights. The Republican governor informed the Rangers via a...
Mayor demands to know how teen killed by Chicago cop got gun
CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that she has directed the Chicago Police Department to capture and bring to justice whoever gave a 13-year-old boy the handgun he was carrying last week when he was fatally shot by a police officer. Adam Toledo was shot in the chest after...
Blue Streak, Tumble Bug won’t run at Conneaut Lake Park this year
Conneaut Lake Park is scheduled to reopen over Memorial Day weekend, but some of its iconic rides will be out of operation this season. The Blue Streak and Tumble Bug won’t run this year, according to the Meadville Tribune. “(The Tumble Bug) will not be in use this year, as...
Officials: 2nd breach concern in Florida phosphate reservoir
A drone discovered a possible second breach in a large Florida wastewater reservoir as more pumps were headed to the site to prevent a catastrophic flood, officials said Monday. U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican, toured the area by helicopter Monday and said federal resources were committed to assisting the...
After new voting law, McConnell warns CEOs: ‘Stay out of politics’Video
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says it’s a “big lie” to call the new voting law in Georgia racist and he warned big business to “stay out of politics” after major corporations and even Major League Baseball distanced themselves from the state amid vast public pressure. McConnell particularly...
Car that plunged off California cliff drove through big lot
BODEGA BAY, Calif. — Dozens of people at a popular Northern California coastal overlook watched as an SUV drove through a parking lot without braking and then plunged off a cliff into the rocks below, killing the two women inside, investigators said Monday. The cause of the weekend crash was...
Arkansas governor vetoes transgender youth treatment ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday vetoed legislation that would have made his state the first to ban gender confirming treatments or surgery for transgender youth. The Republican governor rejected legislation that would have prohibited doctors from providing gender confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery...
CDC inquiry sought on HIV outbreak in West Virgina’s largest county
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday submitted a congressional inquiry with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding an HIV outbreak in West Virginia’s largest county. The West Virginia Democrat asked for the inquiry on behalf of the Kanawha County Commission two months after a CDC official warned that...
Female Pa. Republican lawmakers introduce measure to prevent athletes born male from competing in girls’ school sports
A group of female Republican lawmakers on Monday unveiled a bill they said was intended to protect biological girls and women who take part in school sports from competing against athletes who were born male. The proposal, they said, came in response to President Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 executive order...
Vaccine skepticism runs deep among white evangelicals in U.S.
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest evangelical denomination, posted a photo on Facebook last week of him getting the covid-19 vaccine. It drew more than 1,100 comments — many of them voicing admiration for the Rev. J.D. Greear, and many others assailing him. Some of the critics...
Nebraska officials pushing back against ‘vaccine hesitancy’
OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska cleared a path Monday for adults of all ages to sign up for a coronavirus vaccination, but state officials said they’re still trying to overcome “vaccination hesitancy,” especially in some minority communities. Gov. Pete Ricketts said state officials have ramped up their vaccination outreach efforts to...
Israel’s Netanyahu in court as parties weigh in on his fate
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed Monday, with a key witness painting a picture of an image-obsessed Israeli leader forcing a prominent news site to flatter his family and smear his opponents. The testimony came as Netanyahu’s chances of securing another term in office following last month’s...
Southwest pilot accused of indecent exposure during flight
DALLAS — Federal authorities have charged a former Southwest Airlines pilot with indecent exposure for an incident they say occurred during a flight last August. Michael Haak was the pilot in command of the plane during a flight from Philadelphia to Orlando, Fla., according to a one-page filing in federal...
Biden’s big infrastructure plan hits McConnell-GOP blockade
WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress are making the politically brazen bet that it’s more advantageous to oppose President Joe Biden’s ambitious ” Rebuild America” agenda than to lend support for the costly $2.3 trillion undertaking for roads, bridges and other infrastructure investments. Much the way Republicans provided no votes for...
Putin signs law that allows him to serve 2 more terms
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law allowing him to potentially hold onto power until 2036, a move that formalizes constitutional changes endorsed in last year’s popular vote. The July 1 constitutional vote included a provision that reset Putin’s previous terms, allowing him to run for president two...
High court nixes Alex Jones’ appeal in Newtown shooting case
HARTFORD, Conn. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was fighting a Connecticut court sanction in a defamation lawsuit brought by relatives of some of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jones was...
No indication officer in Capitol attack was stabbed, shot
WASHINGTON — A Capitol Police officer killed last week when a man armed with a knife rammed his car into two officers at a barricade outside the Capitol does not appear to have been stabbed, slashed or shot, a police official told the Associated Press on Monday. Officer William “Billy”...
U.K. to ease lockdown next week, will test vaccine passports
LONDON — Britain’s slow but steady march out of a 3½-month lockdown remains on track even as coronavirus cases surge elsewhere in Europe, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday, as he confirmed that businesses from barbers to bookstores will be allowed to reopen next week. Johnson said it’s too soon...
Jailed Kremlin foe Navalny says he has cough, fever amid hunger strike
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has a cough and fever with his hunger strike now in its sixth day, his Instagram account said. Three cellmates of Navalny, 44, have been hospitalized with tuberculosis, a statement posted on his account Monday said. The chief opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin...
Police chief: Derek Chauvin ‘in no way’ should’ve kept George Floyd pinned by the neckVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified Monday in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin that the now-fired officer defied his own training and the department’s mission of compassion when he kept his knee on the neck of George Floyd for more than 9 minutes last spring. “Once Mr....
4.0 magnitude earthquake strikes in Los Angeles area
LOS ANGELES — A 4.0 magnitude earthquake gave the Los Angeles area a jolt before dawn Monday. The 4:44 a.m. quake was centered in the Inglewood area east of Los Angeles International Airport, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It also was relatively deep, at 12 miles. The USGS said light...
Books by Gino, Steinbeck among most objected to in 2020
NEW YORK — The closing of physical libraries because of the pandemic has slowed but not stopped patrons and others from calling for books to be banned or restricted. On Monday, the American Library Association reported more than 270 challenges to books in 2020, from Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”...