Trump’s faith outreach aims to cast Democrats as the enemy
President Trump’s reelection campaign is courting religious voters in part by seeking to portray Democrats as a threat to religious freedom — a pitch amplified by disputes over the issue during the coronavirus pandemic. During a recent event outside Atlanta hosted by the campaign’s evangelical outreach effort, Christian surrogates touted...
Ruling renews fairness debate in Boston Marathon bomber case
“Boston Strong” remains a “vibrant” rallying cry more than seven years after the marathon bombing killed three people and injured more than 260, a federal appeals court noted as it threw out the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. But even as the ruling opened old wounds, it raised familiar questions...
Texas city commissioner killed in gun battle with police
MISSION, Texas — A Texas city commissioner was fatally shot in an exchange of gunfire with police and a sheriff’s deputy who responded to a domestic disturbance call at his home, authorities said. Officers who responded late Thursday at Sullivan City Commissioner Gabriel Salinas’ home in Mission found his 39-year-old...
‘Murder hornet’ captured in trap for first time in Washington state
Nearly two months after the “murder hornet” invaded Washington, state officials have managed to capture one of the massive insects in a trap for the first time. Scientists have been working to capture the invasive Asian giant hornets, which are more than 2 inches long, in a bid to prevent...
House Dems urge Pentagon to reverse policy banning LGBTQ Pride, Native Nations flags
More than two dozen House Democrats are demanding the reinstatement of LGBTQ Pride and Sovereign Native Nations flags on military installations — and an explicit ban on the Confederate Flag. In a letter sent Friday to Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, 34 lawmakers argued a new policy he issued...
Thousands protest in Berlin against coronavirus restrictions
BERLIN — Thousands protested Germany’s coronavirus restrictions Saturday in a Berlin demonstration marking what organizers called “the end of the pandemic” — a declaration that comes just as authorities are voicing increasing concerns about an uptick in new infections. With few masks in sight, a dense crowd marched through downtown...
Negotiators report progress in covid-19 aid talks
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers participating in rare weekend talks on a huge coronavirus relief measure reported progress Saturday, as political pressure mounts to restore a newly expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen. “This was the longest meeting we had, and it was more productive than...
Arizona congressman tests positive for virus; 2nd this week
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee said Saturday he tested positive for the coronavirus days after he sat close to another member of the panel, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, who also tested positive. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said in a statement he has the virus but,...
Pennsylvania reports 888 coronavirus cases, 15 deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 888 new positive cases of covid-19 and 15 deaths on Saturday. The new cases bring the state’s total to 112,936, with all 67 counties having reported cases, and 7,204 deaths. The state health department reported increases in deaths related to covid-19 in only nine...
Joe Biden nears final decision on his vice presidential choice
WASHINGTON — As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals. The campaign hasn’t finalized a date for naming a running mate, but three people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans said a public...
Hurricane Isaias lashes Bahamas while Florida battens down
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Isaias ripped shingles off roofs and blew over trees as it carved its way through the Bahamas early Saturday and headed toward the Florida coast, where officials in Miami said they were closing beaches, marinas and parks. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez said Friday that...
Portland protest strives for peace as U.S. forces drawn down
PORTLAND, Ore. — More than a thousand people showed up in downtown Portland early Saturday to peacefully protest, about three days after the announcement that the presence of U.S. agents there would be reduced — a deal that Oregon officials hope will continue to ease tensions as the city tries...
Trump says he’ll act to ban TikTok in U.S. as soon as Saturday
NEW YORK — President Trump said he will take action as soon as Saturday to ban TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned video app that has been a source of national security and censorship concerns. Trump’s comments were made after published reports that the administration is planning to order China’s ByteDance to...
Engel subpoenas Pompeo for records on Biden’s role in Ukraine
NEW YORK — The Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for State Department records already given to Republican-led Senate committees that are trying to tie former Vice President Joe Biden to wrongdoing in Ukraine. “Secretary Pompeo has turned the State Department into...
Trump’s Twitter blocking is center of new free speech lawsuit
NEW YORK — President Trump was accused of continuing to block critics from his Twitter account two years after a judge said silencing detractors on the social media platform was a violation of the First Amendment. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf...
Study: Children of all ages susceptible to coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Children of all ages are susceptible to the coronavirus, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that warned youngsters “might play an important role” in spreading the disease. The study released Friday comes amid an increasingly tense debate in the U.S. about reopening...
Coronavirus cases in California surpass 500,000 in troubling milestone
LOS ANGELES — The number of confirmed covid-19 cases in California surpassed 500,000 Friday, a troubling milestone that caps more than a month of surging outbreaks across the state. Covid-19 cases have been spiking since late May as California reopened the economy and people got back to routines. Deaths and...
Marine vehicle deep under sea, complicating rescue search
SAN DIEGO — A military seafaring assault vehicle that sank off the coast of Southern California is under hundreds feet of water, beyond the reach of divers and complicating rescue efforts for eight missing troops, officials said Friday. Still the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. David Berger, said the search was...
Midair collision kills state legislator, 6 others in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Seven people, including an Alaska state lawmaker, died Friday when two small airplanes collided in midair near the airport in Soldotna, a small community on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. Alaska State Troopers said state Rep. Gary Knopp, 67, of Kenai was the sole occupant of one plane. The...
California officials report first virus death of a child
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California health officials reported the state’s first coronavirus death of a child Friday as the statewide death total surpassed 9,000, saying the victim was a teenager who had other health conditions. The teenager’s death occurred in the Central Valley, but officials at the state Department of Public...
U.S. astronauts pack up for rare splashdown in SpaceX capsule
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two U.S. astronauts about to make the first splashdown return in 45 years said Friday they’ll have seasick bags ready to use if needed. SpaceX and NASA plan to bring Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken back Sunday afternoon in the company’s Dragon capsule, aiming for the...
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ‘doing well’ after checking out of hospital
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from a Manhattan hospital Friday and is “doing well” at home, according to a spokeswoman. The 87-year-old justice, who’s been in and out of hospitals all year, was discharged from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on the Upper East Side after undergoing...
Pennsylvania to cover cost of stamps for ballots in election
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania will foot the cost of postage for voters to mail in ballots in November’s general election, officials said Friday, a move that Gov. Tom Wolf has made a priority as the coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly fueled high interest in voting by mail under a new state law. The...
Pennsylvania cancels vehicle auction due to covid-19
Pennsylvania officials announced Friday that the commonwealth’s Aug. 11 vehicle auction is canceled as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. The auction was set to be held at Manheim Keystone Pennsylvania Auto Auction in Grantville. It was the fourth of six vehicle auctions slated for 2020. The next is scheduled...
U.S. officials seek limits on ‘habitat’ for imperiled species
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration is proposing to define what land and water can be declared as “habitat” for imperiled plants and animals — potentially excluding areas that species could use in the future. The proposal to be announced Friday and obtained in advance by The Associated Press would...
