German state suspends AstraZeneca vaccine use for under-60s
BERLIN — The German state of Berlin is again suspending the use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for people under 60 because of reports of blood clots. Berlin’s top health official, Dilek Kalayci, said Tuesday that the decision was taken as a precaution ahead of a meeting of representatives from all...
With ship now freed, a probe into Suez Canal blockage begins
SUEZ, Egypt — Experts boarded the massive container ship Tuesday that had blocked Egypt’s vital Suez Canal and disrupted global trade for nearly a week, seeking answers to a single question that could have billions of dollars in legal repercussions: What went wrong? As convoys of ships again began traveling...
Video shows Asian American woman assaulted on NYC street
NEW YORK — An Asian American woman was attacked by a man who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by, according to surveillance footage released by the New York City Police Department. The 65-year-old woman was walking in midtown Manhattan on Monday afternoon when a man...
White House says private sector should lead on vaccine passportsVideo
White House officials said that the push for vaccine passports should come from the private sector and that the federal government won’t take the lead in creating a centralized document proving vaccination. The U.S. government “is not viewing its role as the place to create a passport, nor a place...
‘Her distinctive laugh still echoes,’ husband of central Pa. woman killed in ‘cowardly’ road rage shooting says
A Lancaster County mother of six who was killed in a “cowardly” road rage shooting in North Carolina last week was on her way to Hilton Head to celebrate her seventh wedding anniversary, her husband said Monday. “Her distinct laugh still echoes in the hearts of everyone she touched,” Ryan...
Arkansas Senate OKs ban on treatments for transgender youth
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Senate on Monday approved banning gender confirming treatments for minors, sending the governor a restriction on transgender youth that has been criticized by medical and child welfare groups. The majority Republican Senate voted 28-7 in favor of the legislation. If the bill is enacted it...
More than a dozen states to open vaccines to all adultsVideo
More than a dozen states will open vaccine eligibility to all adults this week in a major expansion of covid-19 shots for tens of millions of Americans amid a worrisome increase in virus cases and concerns about balancing supply and demand for the vaccines. Meanwhile, the director of the Centers...
Pennsylvania schools to get $4.9B in federal pandemic aid
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania schools will get nearly $5 billion from the federal covid-19 aid package, the Wolf administration announced Monday. School districts must use at least 20% of the money to address learning loss from the pandemic as well as support the “social, emotional, and academic needs of underrepresented students,”...
Sex trafficking crimes brought against Epstein ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell
NEW YORK — Sex trafficking charges and another alleged victim were added to a superseding indictment returned Monday in the criminal case against financier Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend as prosecutors alleged that a conspiracy to sexually abuse girls stretched over a decade. The charges contained in a rewritten indictment returned by...
Some West Virginia schools see spike in coronavirus outbreaks
CHARLESTON — Schools in West Virginia’s capital and surrounding Kanawha County reported the most coronavirus outbreaks since the start of the pandemic on Monday. A total of 41 students and three staff members have been affected by outbreaks across seven schools, according to the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. And in northern...
Capitol riot suspect wore ‘I Was There’ shirt when arrested
Garret Miller didn’t speak to the law enforcement officers who arrested him on charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, but the T-shirt he was wearing at his Dallas home that day sent a clear and possibly incriminating message. Miller’s shirt had a photograph of former President Donald Trump,...
AP sources: SolarWinds hack got emails of top DHS officials
Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Homeland Security and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, The Associated Press has learned. The intelligence value of the hacking of then-acting Secretary Chad...
Police: ‘No idea’ why Maryland man shot 5 people before killing selfVideo
Investigators have “no idea” why a Maryland man fatally shot his parents at their home and gunned down two other people at a convenience store before setting fire to his apartment and killing himself, a police official said Monday. A gun that Joshua Green, 27, used in Sunday’s deadly shooting...
New Mexico sues U.S. over proposed nuclear waste storage plans
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico sued the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday over concerns that the federal agency hasn’t done enough to vet plans for a multibillion-dollar facility to store spent nuclear fuel in the state, arguing that the project would endanger residents, the environment and the economy. New...
Tolls going up on several spans connecting NJ, Pennsylvania
The bistate agency that operates river crossings connecting New Jersey and Pennsylvania announced Monday that it will raise tolls next month and again in 2024, the first such increases in 10 years. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission cited the decline in passenger car traffic and toll revenue caused...
Canadian panel recommends AstraZeneca pause for under 55
TORONTO — Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization is recommending a pause on AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccinations for people under 55 for safety reasons, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Monday. The person confirmed the recommendation on condition on anonymity as they were not authorized to...
Ban on renter evictions during covid-19 pandemic is extended
The Biden administration is extending a federal moratorium on evictions of tenants who have fallen behind on rent during the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday moved to continue the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday. The moratorium is now extended...
CDC director has feeling of ‘impending doom’ amid new covid spike
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made an impassioned plea to Americans Monday not to let their guard down in the fight against covid-19, warning of a potential fourth wave of the virus and saying she has a recurring feeling “of impending doom.” Speaking during a...
Judge orders 3 to trial in plot to kidnap Michigan governor
JACKSON, Mich. — A Michigan judge on Monday ordered three men to stand trial in a plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her coronavirus restrictions. Jackson County District Court Judge Michael Klaeren ruled there was enough evidence and bound over Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico...
How well are covid vaccines working in Americans who got them? CDC releases new data
New research provides “strong evidence” that the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines are capable of preventing infections — both those that cause symptoms and those that don’t — in real-world conditions, that is, outside the controlled laboratory settings where the initial clinical trials took place. The study, conducted by...
U.S. offers $10 million reward for info on Hezbollah operative
WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday offered a $10 million reward for information on a Hezbollah operative who was convicted last year in the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The State Department said the reward will be given to anyone who provides information preventing Salim Jamil...
N.Y. to expand covid-19 vaccine eligibility to those over 30
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state residents over 30 will be eligible for covid-19 vaccinations starting Tuesday, and everyone over 16 will be eligible starting April 6, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. Vaccine eligibility had previously been restricted to people over 50, people in certain job categories and those with...
Wall of Faces project to honor Vietnam casualties nears completion; all Pennsylvania photos found
On March 29, 1973, combat and combat support units withdrew from South Vietnam, and the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 permanently designates that date every year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. It is a time not only to recognize the service of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, but...
Biden boosts offshore wind energy, wants to power 10M homes
The Biden administration is ramping up efforts to sharply increase offshore wind energy along the East Coast, announcing progress on a huge wind farm planned off the New Jersey coast and setting a goal to generate enough power to provide electricity for more than 10 million homes by 2030. Meeting...
Funeral Mass celebrated Monday for slain Colorado officer
DENVER — A Roman Catholic funeral Mass was being celebrated Monday for a Colorado police officer shot and killed after rushing into a supermarket where a gunman had opened fire. The draped casket of Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51, was flanked by six candles during a traditional Latin Mass...
