Dominion Voting Systems sues ‘MyPillow Guy’ for $1.3 billionVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit Monday against the founder and CEO of Minnesota-based MyPillow, saying that Mike Lindell falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia alleges that Lindell ignored repeated...
Police say N.Y. man killed by exploding gender reveal device
LIBERTY, N.Y. — An expectant father was killed when a device he was building for a gender reveal party exploded, police in New York said Monday. Christopher Pekny, 28, was assembling a device for his child’s gender reveal party in the Catskills town of Liberty when it exploded just before...
We might need to keep wearing masks into 2022 to defeat covidVideo
Despite a sharp decline in coronavirus cases and continued success with covid-19 vaccines, it’s looking likely we will still be wearing masks for some time to come. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s coronavirus czar, said it’s possible masks could be needed until 2022. “I want it to keep going down...
2 giraffes in Kenya park electrocuted by power linesVideo
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s wildlife agency says two giraffes were electrocuted Sunday when they walked into low-lying electric power transmission lines that pass through the Soysambu Conservancy in western Kenya. Trizer Mwakinya, head of communications at the Kenya Wildlife Service, said Monday that workers from the Kenya Power and Lighting...
People who wear glasses less likely to catch covid, new study suggests
People who wear glasses could be up to three times less likely to get coronavirus, according to a new study conducted in India. The preliminary study suggests that glass-wearers may have the extra protection because they tend to touch their eyes less frequently than most people. “Touching and rubbing of...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calls pro-LGBTQ Equality Act an ‘attack’ on God, people of faith
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is declaring war on the Equality Act, calling the effort to defend LGBTQ rights an attack on people of faith. The Georgia Republican says the act will force Christians to approve abortions and would treat transgender people the same as those born as a boy or...
Repeal of Virginia’s death penalty headed to governor’s desk
RICHMOND, Va. — State lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a bill that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people in its history than any other. The legislation repealing the death penalty now heads to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who...
Penn State student reports sexual assault in East Halls, the 7th there since August
Another Penn State student has reported a sexual assault in East Halls, where mostly freshmen reside, making it the seventh such incident there since August. Overall, it is the 11th forcible sex offense reported on campus since August. It is the second this spring, since students started returning to campus...
U.K. data: Covid-19 vaccines sharply cut hospitalizations
LONDON — Two U.K. studies released Monday showed that covid-19 vaccination programs are contributing to a sharp drop in hospitalizations, boosting hopes that the shots will work as well in the real world as they have in carefully controlled studies. Preliminary results from a study in Scotland found that the...
Court to take up Trump immigration, abortion referral rules
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it will take up challenges to controversial Trump administration policies affecting family-planning clinics and immigrants, even though the Biden administration has announced it is reviewing them. The justices agreed to hear appeals over the Trump policy that keeps taxpayer-funded clinics from referring women...
Pennsylvania’s new covid cases drop to lowest levels in 4 months
The number of new coronavirus cases reported Monday in Pennsylvania by the state’s Department of Health has not been so low since late October. Health officials added 3,427 new cases of covid-19, with 2,583 confirmed through PCR tests and 844 listed as probable. The two-day report brings the number of...
Customs inspectors find cocaine-coated corn flakes in Ohio
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Customs authorities in Ohio say they intercepted a shipment of cereal earlier this month with a special frosting — cocaine. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Cincinnati reported finding 44 pounds of cocaine-coated cornflakes that had been shipped from South America to a Hong Kong home....
Bone cancer survivor to join billionaire on SpaceX flight
After beating bone cancer, Hayley Arceneaux figures rocketing into orbit on SpaceX’s first private flight should be a piece of cosmic cake. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital announced Monday that the 29-year-old physician assistant — a former patient hired last spring — will launch later this year alongside a billionaire...
139-year-old house rolls to new San Francisco address
After 139 years at 807 Franklin St. in San Francisco, a two-story Victorian house has a new address. The green home with large windows and a brown front door was loaded onto giant dollies and moved Sunday to a location six blocks away. Onlookers lined the sidewalks to snap photos...
Alaska woman using outhouse attacked by bear, from below
An Alaska woman had the scare of a lifetime when using an outhouse in the backcountry and she was attacked by a bear, from below. “I got out there and sat down on the toilet and immediately something bit my butt right as I sat down,” Shannon Stevens told The...
Supreme Court rejects Trump’s last bid to shield his finances from New York prosecutorsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for New York prosecutors to obtain eight years of financial records from the accountants and bankers of former President Donald Trump as part of a criminal fraud and tax investigation involving him and the Trump Organization. Trump faces possible criminal...
Boeing: 777s with engine that blew apart should be grounded
Boeing has recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after takeoff from Denver this weekend, and most carriers that fly those planes said they would temporarily pull them from service. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of...
Scotland vaccinations lead to sharp drop in covid hospitalizations
Scotland’s covid-19 vaccination program has led to a sharp drop in hospitalizations, researchers said Monday, boosting hopes that the shots will work as well in the real world as they have in carefully controlled studies. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine reduced hospital admissions by up to 94% four weeks after people received...
National Spelling Bee to return in mostly virtual format
The Scripps National Spelling Bee will return this year in a mostly virtual format, with the in-person competition limited to a dozen finalists who will gather on an ESPN campus at Walt Disney World in Florida, Scripps announced Monday. Last year’s bee was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the...
William says hospitalized grandfather Prince Philip is ‘OK’
LONDON — Prince William said Monday that his grandfather, Prince Philip, is “OK” as the 99-year-old royal consort remains under in a hospital for rest and observation. William was asked about Philip when he visited a coronavirus vaccination center in eastern England. “Yes, he’s OK, they’re keeping an eye on...
China urges U.S. to lift trade restrictions, stop interference
BEIJING — China’s top diplomat called Monday for new U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s comments at a Foreign Ministry forum on...
Germany reopens some schools amid fears pandemic may rebound
BERLIN — Elementary students in more than half of Germany’s 16 states returned to school Monday after more than two months at home, the first major relaxation of the country’s pandemic measures since before Christmas. Kindergartens also reopened their doors for preschool children, giving much-anticipated relief to stressed parents trying...
Italian ambassador killed in Congo while in UN convoy
KINSHASA, Congo — The Italian ambassador to Congo and an Italian carabineri police officer were killed Monday during an attack on a U.N. convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups, the Foreign Ministry and local people said. The ambush on the World Food Program convoy that...
Penn State Thon raises more than $10 million to combat pediatric cancer
Despite a pandemic and mostly virtual yearlong fundraising efforts, the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon raised $10,638,078.62 million to combat pediatric cancer. Nearly 600 dancers participated from their homes in the first-ever virtual Thon, the world’s largest student-run philanthropy. Normally, dancers would stand for a full 46 hours from Friday...
Filing: Proud Boys member considering plea in Capitol breach
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Rochester man identified as a member of the Proud Boys who allegedly smashed a window at the Capitol on Jan. 6 to allow rioters inside is considering a guilty plea, according to a recent court filing. A recent filing by Dominic Pezzola’s attorney said Pezzola accepts...
