Soldiers repel rebels at Central African Republic capital
BANGUI, Central African Republic — Security forces in Central African Republic repelled attacks by rebels trying to seize the capital early Wednesday after intense fighting on the city’s outskirts, officials said. The rebels are protesting the re-election on Dec. 27 of President Faustin-Archange Touadera. Following the Jan. 4 announcement of...
YouTube suspends Trump’s channel for at least a week
HONG KONG — YouTube has suspended U.S. President Donald Trump’s channel for at least a week amid concerns over “ongoing potential for violence,” making it the latest platform to limit the president’s online activities. The Google-owned platform said it removed content that was uploaded on January 12 from the Donald...
Mega Millions jackpot rises to $750 million after no winner
DES MOINES, Iowa — Lottery players will have a shot Friday night at the fifth-largest jackpot in U.S. history after no tickets matched all the numbers in the latest Mega Millions drawing. The jackpot for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions was $625 million and lottery officials say it’s rising to an...
Trump on verge of 2nd impeachment after Capitol siege
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time in an unprecedented House vote Wednesday, a week after he encouraged a mob of loyalists to “fight like hell” against election results just before they stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly siege. While...
U.S. carries out its 1st execution of female inmate since 1953
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — A Kansas woman was executed Wednesday for strangling an expectant mother in Missouri and cutting the baby from her womb, the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put to death a female inmate. Lisa Montgomery, 52, was pronounced dead at 1:31...
Franklin Regional students sign petition requesting more support from district
Franklin Regional school officials are asking for feedback from students about this year’s educational model, a few days after a Change.org petition titled “Franklin Regional Students Need Support” garnered more than 1,000 signatures online. High school Principal Ron Suvak said students would receive a form on Tuesday “seeking feedback on...
Group of House Republicans, led by Pa. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, wants Trump censured
WASHINGTON — A group of moderate House Republicans has introduced a resolution to censure President Donald Trump for his role in last week’s attack at the Capitol and for “attempting to unlawfully overturn the 2020 presidential election.” The group, led by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County, said in a...
House members to be screened for weapons when entering chamber
WASHINGTON — Magnetometers have been installed outside the House floor for the first time ever, the latest fallout from last week’s violent attack on the Capitol in which insurrectionists breached both the House and Senate chambers. “Effective immediately, all persons, including members, are required to undergo security screening when entering...
House urges Mike Pence to help oust Trump; impeachment next
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House rushed ahead Tuesday toward impeaching President Donald Trump for the deadly Capitol attack, taking time only to try to persuade his vice president to push him out first. Trump showed no remorse, blaming impeachment itself for the “tremendous anger” in America. Already scheduled to leave...
U.S. prosecutors weighing sedition charges in Capitol riotVideo
WASHINGTON — The FBI warned law enforcement agencies ahead of last week’s breach of the U.S. Capitol about the potential for extremist-driven violence and prosecutors are now weighing sedition charges against at least some of the Trump loyalists who stormed the building, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The statements by FBI...
Trump’s grip on GOP loosens as No. 3 Republican Liz Cheney backs impeachment
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump denied responsibility for the U.S. Capitol riot that left five people dead and the FBI vowed to prosecute hundreds of his supporters who took part in the attack, the No. 3 House GOP leader announced she was voting for impeachment. It marked the starkest...
New York City man arrested on Capitol riot charges freed on $100K bondVideo
NEW YORK — The son of a New York City judge who was arrested by the FBI on charges that he was among the protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol was ordered Tuesday by a different judge to stay away from Washington. Aaron Mostofsky, 34, was picked up at his...
Trump’s long-favored banks pull away from him amid fallout from Capitol riotVideo
Two of Donald Trump’s favored banks are pulling away from the billionaire president in the wake of last week’s deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. Deutsche Bank AG has decided to refrain from further business with Trump and his company, said a person with knowledge of the matter, asking not...
New Pa. websites promote restaurants and show violators of covid measures
New interactive dashboards announced Tuesday by state officials allow users to find open Pennsylvania restaurants, which are offering takeout and those accused of violating covid-19 mitigation measures. The Covid Inspection Dashboard allows users to search restaurants by name, county, city or ZIP code. The dashboard lists whether any violations have...
FBI says it sent stark warning to law enforcement about Capitol ‘war’Video
WASHINGTON — The FBI warned law enforcement agencies ahead of last week’s breach of the U.S. Capitol about the potential for extremist-driven violence, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, contradicting earlier statements that they were caught off guard by the assault by supporters of President Donald Trump. Nearly a week after...
Michigan plans to charge ex-Gov. Rick Snyder in Flint water scandal
DETROIT — Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority Black city with lead-contaminated water and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014-15, The...
IRS gets more relief payments out after delays
The IRS said that after initial problems, it is getting more of the second round of relief payments to taxpayers. The government began distributing the payments, worth $600 per eligible adult and dependent, at the end of December. However, many people who filed their taxes with an online preparation service...
Pandemic has imperiled plans to retrieve Titanic’s radio
NORFOLK, Va. — Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is threatening a company’s controversial plans to retrieve and exhibit the radio that had broadcast distress calls from the sinking Titanic, according to a court filing made by the firm. The company, RMS Titanic Inc., said Monday that its revenues plummeted after...
Chuck Norris manager says actor was not at U.S. Capitol riot
NEW YORK — Chuck Norris’ managers says the “Walker, Texas Ranger” star was not present at last week’s deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. A photo of a man resembling Norris apparently with a member of the mob began trending online. “This is not Chuck Norris,” Norris manager Erik Kritzer...
French police detain 7 in probe of teacher’s beheading
LE PECQ, France — French anti-terrorism police on Tuesday detained seven people suspected of having communicated via social media with the killer of a schoolteacher whose beheading last year reopened debate about France’s cherished rights of expression, a judicial official said. The teacher, Samuel Paty, was killed Oct. 16 outside...
Irish PM says ‘perverse’ morality drove unwed mothers’ homes
LONDON — Ireland’s prime minister said Tuesday that the country must “face up to the full truth of our past,” as a long-awaited report recounted decades of harm done by church-run homes for unmarried women and their babies, where thousands of infants died. Micheal Martin said young women and their...
U.S. high court to hear case on virus relief for tribes
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that centers on who gets a share of $8 billion in federal coronavirus relief allocated for Native American tribes. Lower courts split on whether Alaska Native corporations, which own most Native land in the state under a 1971 settlement,...
Mega Millions $625M jackpot largest in nearly 2 years
DES MOINES, Iowa — Lottery players will have a shot Tuesday night at the eighth-largest jackpot in U.S. history due to months without a winner of the big prize. The Mega Millions $625 million jackpot is the largest lottery prize in nearly two years. The big prize for Powerball, the...
Another record decline reported in U.S. cancer death rate
NEW YORK — Researchers on Tuesday reported another record one-year decline in the U.S. cancer death rate, a drop they attribute to success against lung cancer. The overall cancer death rate has been falling since 1991. From 2017 to 2018, it fell 2.4%, according to an American Cancer Society report,...
Pa. sets record for 7-day covid death total
With 227 additional covid deaths reported Tuesday in the state, Pennsylvania has set a record. The newly reported coronavirus-related deaths bring the seven-day death total to 1,534, a record for that statistic, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Of the newly reported deaths, 143 are from January, 82 are...