Biden picks Regan for EPA nominee, Haaland for interior head
President-elect Joe Biden announced Thursday that he had chosen North Carolina regulator Michael S. Regan as his nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as his pick for interior secretary. Biden said the selections round out what he said would be an experienced climate...
8 nuns die of covid-19 in last week at Wisconsin convent
ELM GROVE, Wis. — Eight nuns living at a retirement home for sisters in suburban Milwaukee died of covid-19 complications in the last week — including four who passed away on the same day — a grim reminder of how quickly the virus can spread in congregate living situations, even...
5 accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer plead not guilty
DETROIT — Federal prosecutors say they have a “large volume of evidence” — so much that they requested an extra 40 days before bringing an indictment — but five of the six men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded not guilty Thursday. The evidence ranges from...
Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine set for OK in U.S. with panel endorsement
WASHINGTON — A government advisory panel endorsed a second covid-19 vaccine Thursday, paving the way for the shot to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation for the vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The FDA...
1,200 Pa. health care workers vaccinated so far for covid-19Video
About 1,200 Pennsylvania health care workers received covid-19 vaccinations over the past three days as more shipments continue to arrive at dozens of hospitals statewide, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said Thursday. No adverse effects have been reported in the 1,205 vaccinations, Levine said. Sixteen of the initial 87...
Cayman Islands jails US college student in coronavirus case
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A U.S. college student and her boyfriend have been sentenced to four months in prison in the Cayman Islands for violating strict covid-19 measures following a recent ruling that will be appealed, their attorney said Thursday. Skylar Mack, 18, of Georgia, and Vanjae Ramgeet, 24,...
U.S. cybersecurity agency warns of ‘grave’ threat from Russian hack
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities expressed increased alarm Thursday about an intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation’s cybersecurity agency warned of a “grave” risk to government and private networks. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said...
Where are the ‘continuity of government’ vaccine doses coming from? No one wants to say
WASHINGTON — Where is the supply of covid-19 vaccines coming from for senior officials across government? No one will say. Days after the White House confirmed that senior officials would receive covid-19 vaccines to help ensure continuity of government, it remains unclear from where those vaccine doses will originate. The...
38 states, including Pennsylvania, file anti-trust lawsuit against Google
DENVER — A group of 38 states filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google on Thursday, alleging that the search giant has an illegal monopoly over the online search market that hurts consumers and advertisers. The lawsuit, announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, was filed in federal court in Washington,...
Pennsylvania reports 224 new coronavirus deaths, adds 9,966 cases
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health on Thursday reported 224 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The death toll for the state stands at 13,392. There have been 1,967 deaths already this month. Of the 224 deaths newly reported, 220 are from December, three are from November and one is from July....
Putin denies involvement in poisoning of Kremlin foe Navalny
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday rejected allegations that the Kremlin was behind the poisoning of his top political foe, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and accused U.S. intelligence agencies of fomenting the claims even as he held out hope for better ties with Washington. Putin also voiced hope...
Shooting becomes homicide probe for Erie police after 13-year-old shot several times dies
An Erie police investigation into the shooting of a 13-year-old boy in what the city’s police chief said appears to have been a targeted attack on Dec. 5 has turned into a homicide probe. Chief Dan Spizarny said Thursday morning that investigators have been told that the boy, identified by...
U.S. jobless claims rise to 885,000 amid resurgence of virus
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose again last week to 885,000 as a resurgence of coronavirus cases threatens the economy’s recovery from its springtime collapse. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of applications increased from 862,000 the previous week. It showed that nine...
French President Macron tests positive for covidVideo
PARIS — France’s Elysee Palace says President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for the coronavirus. It says the president took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared.” The brief statement didn’t say what symptoms Macron experienced, but he would isolate for seven days and continue to work. It...
Russia can’t use its name or flag at next 2 Olympics
GENEVA — Russia will not be able to use its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years after a ruling Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Lausanne-based court halved the four-year ban proposed last year...
Reputed mobster admits assaulting ‘Real Housewives’ hubby
NEWARK, N.J. — A reputed mobster admitted assaulting the then-boyfriend and now husband of a former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member in exchange for a deeply discounted lavish wedding reception. John Perna, 43, of Cedar Grove, N.J., pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of committing a violent...
Close but not yet: Deal near on covid economic aid bill
WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators on the long-delayed $900 billion covid-19 economic relief package worked through a handful of remaining holdups Thursday as they labored to seal a final agreement for more help to businesses and the unemployed and new stimulus payments to most Americans. Top congressional leaders also finally acknowledged...
U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman meets with Taliban on peace talks
KABUL, Afghanistan — The top U.S. general held unannounced talks with Taliban peace negotiators in the Persian Gulf to urge a reduction in violence across Afghanistan, even as senior American officials in Kabul warned that stepped-up Taliban attacks endanger the militant group’s nascent peace negotiations with the Afghan government. Army...
He came to Baltimore from rural Pennsylvania to buy drugs. Now he’s dead and a 13-year-old boy is charged with murder
BALTIMORE — A Pennsylvania man who police said was gunned down by a 13-year-old boy in Southwest Baltimore struggled with addiction and was in the city to buy heroin to bring back home, the man’s family said. Chad Michael Jordan, 40, of Jefferson, Pa., was shot and killed Friday after...
Alaska health care worker hospitalized after receiving covid-19 vaccine
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Juneau health care worker was hospitalized and treated for a serious allergic reaction after receiving the covid-19 vaccine Tuesday, hospital and health officials said Wednesday. The worker felt flush and took an antihistamine around 10 minutes after receiving the vaccine Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. She felt...
‘If not one thing, it’s another’: Storm rolls into Northeast
NEW YORK — A major snowstorm rolled into the Northeast on Wednesday at a key moment in the coronavirus pandemic, days after the start of the U.S. vaccination campaign and in the thick of a virus surge that has throngs of people seeking tests per day. Snow was falling from...
Chicago mayor apologizes to woman for wrongful police raid
CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologized Wednesday to a social worker whose home was wrongly raided by police officers who did not allow the woman to put on any clothes before handcuffing her. A civilian review board is investigating the 2019 incident at Anjanette Young’s home of which Chicago’s...
Texas oilman’s Ansel Adams photo gets $988,000 at auction
DALLAS — A West Texas oilman’s mural-sized print of an Ansel Adams photo has sold for nearly $1 million at an auction. Sotheby’s New York, the auction house, said Tuesday that “The Grand Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming” sold for $988,000, a record price for...
IS widow convicted in Charlie Hebdo, kosher market attacks
PARIS — The fugitive widow of an Islamic State gunman and a man described as his logistician were convicted Wednesday of terrorism charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison in the trial of 14 people linked to the January 2015 Paris attacks against the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper and...
As covid-19 surges, Pennsylvania colleges urged to delay students’ return
Citing “an alarming increase in covid-19 cases” and yet another surge expected to peak in January, Pennsylvania acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega on Wednesday urged colleges and universities to delay the start of their spring semester. Ortega also suggested colleges and universities use virtual instruction as much as possible....
