Last of singing McGuire Sisters dies in Vegas; Phyllis, 89
LAS VEGAS — Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving member of the three singing McGuire Sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, has died. She was 89. The lead singer and younger sister of Dorothy and Christine McGuire died on Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Palm Eastern...
Records show Casey Anthony is starting investigation firm
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — State records show that Casey Anthony has filed documents to start a private investigation firm in South Florida. Anthony, who was acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, nine years ago, filed the paperwork with the Florida Division of Corporations in mid-December. The limited liability...
Sen. David Perdue quarantines for coronavirus exposure ahead of Georgia runoff
ATLANTA — Republican Sen. David Perdue was forced into quarantine Thursday in the home stretch of Georgia’s high-stakes Senate runoffs, disclosing just five days before the election that he had been exposed to a campaign worker infected with the coronavirus. Perdue’s campaign did not say how long he plans to...
Wisconsin hospital worker arrested for spoiled coronavirus vaccine dosesVideo
MADISON, Wis. — Authorities arrested a suburban Milwaukee pharmacist Thursday suspected of deliberately ruining hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine by removing them from refrigeration for two nights. The arrest marks another setback in what has been a slower, messier start to vaccinate Americans than public health officials had expected....
West Virginia health clinic mistakenly injects dozens with antibody treatment instead of coronavirus vaccineVideo
The West Virginia National Guard claims it mistakenly injected 42 people with Regeneron Antibody instead of a Moderna coronavirus vaccine. The National Guard admitted the mistake on Wednesday when the antibody treatment was administered at a clinic hosted by the Boone County Health Department staff. Guard officials said medical experts...
Dick Thornburgh, ex-Pa. governor and U.S. attorney general, diesVideo
Dick Thornburgh, who as Pennsylvania governor won plaudits for his cool handling of the 1979 Three Mile Island crisis and as U.S. attorney general restored credibility to a Justice Department hurt by the Iran-Contra scandal, has died. He was 88. Thornburgh died Thursday morning at a retirement community facility outside...
No charges for Maryland police in death of ‘boogaloo’ movement martyr
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland prosecutors have ruled out criminal charges against any police officers in the shooting death of a man whose family says he was sleeping in his bed next to his girlfriend when police opened fire, an attorney for the family said Thursday. Howard County State’s Attorney...
For pregnant and nursing women, risks of covid-19 probably outweigh risk of vaccine, experts say
Although there’s very little data on how pregnant and nursing mothers will respond to a covid-19 vaccine, professional organizations and individual doctors say the benefits are very likely to outweigh the risks. Pregnant women appear to have the same chance of catching covid-19 as everyone else. But they might fare...
Gettysburg elementary teacher accused of child sexual abuse
GETTYSBURG — A second-grade public school teacher in Gettysburg has been charged with sexually abusing a child, and the state police are asking for tips if anyone believes there may be other victims. Vincent Paul Marfia, 40, a resident of Littlestown, was arraigned Thursday on charges that include involuntary deviate...
Race to vaccinate millions in U.S. off to slow, messy start
Terry Beth Hadler was so eager to get a lifesaving covid-19 vaccination that the 69-year-old piano teacher stood in line overnight in a parking lot with hundreds of other senior citizens. She wouldn’t do it again. Hadler said that she waited 14 hours and that a brawl nearly erupted before...
Pennsylvania records 640,000 covid-19 cases, nearly 16,000 deaths in 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 8,992 additional coronavirus cases and 306 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, closing the year with 640,325 cases and 15,978 deaths since the pandemic began here in March. December recorded the highest number of cases for the year: 278,861. November had 153,437 recorded...
Butter sculpture contest, ag tours among new virtual features of 2021 PA Farm ShowVideo
The state Department of Agriculture has a suggestion for using butter left over from holiday baking. Keystone State residents 5 or older are invited to enter “Butter Up!” — a new contest that is part of this year’s virtual Pennsylvania Farm Show, set for Jan. 9-16. Because of pandemic-related restrictions,...
Covid-19 dominates annual list of banished words, terms
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — Even as vaccines are being rolled out to battle coronavirus, wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula say they want to kick any trace of it from the English language. “Covid-19” and “social distancing” are thrown in with “we’re all in this...
Nashville bombing spotlights vulnerable voice, data networks
The Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville led to phone and data service outages and disruptions over hundreds of miles in the southern U.S., raising new concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. communications. The blast seriously damaged a key AT&T network facility, an important hub that provides local wireless, internet...
Security firms say suspicious object on oil tanker off Iraq
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sailors involved in transferring fuel oil from an Iraqi tanker in the Persian Gulf to another vessel owned by a shipping company traded in the U.S. discovered a “suspicious object” they fear could be a mine, authorities said Thursday. The discovery comes amid heightened tensions...
Man called most prolific serial killer in U.S. history dies
LOS ANGELES — The man authorities say was the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, with nearly 60 confirmed victims, died Wednesday in California. He was 80. Samuel Little, who had diabetes, heart trouble and other ailments, died at a California hospital, according to the state Department of Corrections...
No reason given for Trump cutting short his Florida vacation
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is cutting short his Florida vacation and returning to Washington on Thursday, one day earlier than expected for reasons the White House didn’t explain. The White House announced the abrupt change in the president’s schedule late Wednesday, hours after Sen. Josh Hawley,...
Bodies pile up, patient care falters as covid-19 devastates LA County hospitals
Los Angeles County’s healthcare system was buckling Wednesday under the unprecedented surge of covid-19 patients, with bodies piling up at morgues and medical professionals resorting to increasingly desperate measures as they brace for conditions to worsen in the coming weeks. With hospitals overwhelmed by patients and no outlet valve available,...
China OKs 1st homegrown vaccine as covid-19 surges globally
China authorized its first homegrown covid-19 vaccine for general use Thursday, adding another shot that could see wide use in poorer countries as the virus surges back around the globe. The Sinopharm vaccine had already been given to groups such as health care professionals and essential workers under emergency-use guidelines...
9 simple ways to troubleshoot your furnace before calling a repair technician
Brrrrr. There is nothing worse than waking up in a freezing house in the middle of a cold winter’s night — except maybe, knowing you’ll have a big, expensive furnace bill to pay later that day! But don’t fret. With a few do-it-yourself tips, you might be able to avoid...
Minneapolis to release bodycam video in fatal shootingVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Police in Minneapolis said they would release body camera video on Thursday from a traffic stop that ended with a man shot dead, the city’s first police-involved death since George Floyd died while being restrained by officers in May. Police said the man was a suspect in a...
Bomb-sniffing dogs? Check. Times Square crowd? Not this year
NEW YORK — New York City police turned to familiar tactics ahead of Thursday’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, deploying bomb-sniffing dogs and sand-filled sanitation trucks intended to guard against explosions. But the department’s playbook this year includes an unusual mandate: preventing crowds of any size from gathering in Times Square....
Back pain causes pope to skip Vatican New Year’s ceremonies
VATICAN CITY — A back condition has forced Pope Francis to skip New Year’s ceremonies at St. Peter’s Basilica, a Vatican spokesman said Thursday. Francis was suffering from “painful sciatica” and could not preside at an hour-long, year-end prayer service Thursday evening, spokesman Matteo Bruni said. The pope also won’t...
New Year brings final U.K.-EU Brexit split
LONDON — Like a separated couple still living together, Britain and the European Union spent 2020 wrangling and wondering whether they can still be friends. On Thursday, the U.K. is finally moving out. At 11 p.m. London time — midnight in Brussels — Britain will economically and practically leave the...
Sluggish vaccine campaign raises specter of U.S. dysfunctionVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials acknowledged that a covid-19 immunization campaign is crawling out of the starting gate, raising the prospect that the nation’s all-in bet on vaccines could be afflicted by the same dysfunction that hobbled other measures to contain the pandemic. Only about 2.7 million Americans had been...
