Amazon’s homeless shelter faces Seattle crisis, criticism
SEATTLE — A homeless shelter built on Amazon’s perfectly manicured urban Seattle campus is a major civic contribution that pushes the company to face the crisis and criticism in the hometown it has rapidly transformed. Believed to be the first homeless shelter built inside a corporate office building, Amazon’s partnership...
Serbia police detain 71 after 4th night of virus protests
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbian police have detained 71 people after clashes during the fourth night of anti-government protests that were initially sparked by the announcement of a new coronavirus lockdown, a senior police official said Saturday. Fourteen policemen were injured in the rioting when hundreds of right-wing demonstrators tried to...
Trump commutes longtime friend Roger Stone’s prison sentence
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime political confidant Roger Stone on Friday, just days before he was set to report to prison. Democrats denounced the move as just another in a series of unprecedented interventions by the president in the nation’s justice system. Stone had...
Attorney not disputing suicide findings in Black man’s death
LOS ANGELES — An attorney for the family of a Black man found hanging from a tree last month in a Southern California city park did not dispute on Friday investigators’ finding that the death was a suicide. The family of Robert Fuller was absorbing the findings and grieving, attorney...
Tensions rise over Detroit police killing of man they say fired first at officers
DETROIT — Detroit police fatally shot a man Friday afternoon while investigating a deadly Fourth of July block party — an incident that quickly escalated and sparked tensions between law enforcement and police brutality protesters. Police Chief James Craig says the victim was an alleged gang member who pulled a...
Ex-West Virginia health chief says cuts hurt virus response
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The former West Virginia public health leader forced out by the governor says decades-old computer systems and cuts to staff over a period of years had made a challenging job even harder during a once-in-a-century pandemic. Republican Gov. Jim Justice demanded Dr. Cathy Slemp’s resignation on June...
Trump undercuts health experts — again — in schools debate
WASHINGTON — The White House seating chart spoke volumes. When the president convened a roundtable this week on how to safely reopen schools with coronavirus cases rising, the seats surrounding him were filled with parents, teachers and top White House officials, including the first and second ladies. But the head...
Ghislaine Maxwell seeks jail release in Epstein abuse case
NEW YORK — British socialite and longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was made a scapegoat for the disgraced financier since he killed himself last summer while he was facing sex abuse charges, her lawyers said in court papers filed Friday seeking her release from jail while she awaits trial....
Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail. Comet Neowise — the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere in a quarter-century — swept within Mercury’s orbit a week ago. Its close proximity...
West Chester becomes 1st Pennsylvania public university to announce online only classes this fall
West Chester University of Pennsylvania became the first public university in the state to announce it will open the fall semester almost entirely online. Located just outside of Philadelphia, West Chester posted an enrollment of 17,700 last fall and is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher...
Trump postpones New Hampshire rally over tropical storm
MIAMI — President Donald Trump is postponing his planned rally Saturday in New Hampshire, the White House said, citing a tropical storm threatening parts of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters traveling to Florida with the president on Friday that the event — slated...
Wisconsin high court gives mixed ruling on partial vetoes
MADISON, Wis. — The conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday overturned three of four partial budget vetoes issued by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, bucking decades of court precedent that upheld the governor’s broad veto powers. However, the justices also upheld one of Evers’ vetoes as well as two made by...
Tropical Storm Fay churns north toward NYC, New England
MIAMI — Rain lashed the New Jersey shore Friday as the fast-moving Tropical Storm Fay churned north on a path expected to soak the New York City region. The storm system was expected to bring 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain, with the possibility of flash...
Russia skeptical about nuclear pact extension prospects
MOSCOW — Russia’s top diplomat said Friday he’s not very optimistic about prospects for an extension of the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control agreement because of Washington’s focus on making China sign up to the pact. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Russia only wants to keep the New START...
Authorities search for ‘Glee’ star Naya Rivera believed to have drowned
Authorities planned Friday to renew the search for “Glee” star Naya Rivera, who is believed to have drowned in a Southern California lake while boating with her 4-year-old son. Rivera, 33, disappeared after renting the pontoon boat for three hours Wednesday afternoon and taking it out on Lake Piru in...
Carnegie Museum of Natural History reopens with world premiere exhibition Dinosaur Armor
With everyone planning their staycations for July and August, it’s always nice to know a local favorite has something new for the family to see. Carnegie Museum of Natural History opened its doors again June 29 with timed ticketing and a new exhibition all about the evolutionary development of body...
What you need to know about Supreme Court ruling over Trump’s tax returns
NEW YORK — The Supreme Court ruled that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. can obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns for a criminal investigation but sent a second request by Congress for the records back to lower courts. Here are some key questions and answers stemming from Thursday’s...
Election experts warn of November disaster
WASHINGTON — After a presidential primary season plagued by long lines, confusion over mail-in voting and malfunctioning equipment, election experts are increasingly concerned about the resiliency of American democracy in the face of a global pandemic. With four months until the presidential election, the litany of unresolved issues could block...
Watchdog details storm of political pressure in Sharpiegate
Political pressure from the White House and a series of “crazy in the middle of the night” texts, emails and phone calls caused top federal weather officials to wrongly admonish a weather office for a tweet that contradicted President Donald Trump about Hurricane Dorian in 2019, an inspector general report...
Biden pledges New Deal-like economic agenda to counter TrumpVideo
DUNMORE, Pa. — Democrat Joe Biden turned his campaign against President Donald Trump toward the economy Thursday, introducing a New Deal-like economic agenda while drawing a sharp contrast with a billionaire incumbent he said has abandoned working-class Americans amid cascading crises. The former vice president presented details of a comprehensive...
Mississippi seeing big coronavirus outbreak in state legislatureVideo
JACKSON, Miss. — Packed elevators and crowded committee rooms. Legislators sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the House and Senate floor. People standing close to each other and talking, sometimes leaning in to whisper, without a mask in sight. Those were common scenes at the Mississippi Capitol in June — a month that...
The Nest co-owner welcomed diners at Jeannette restaurant with friendly nature, flair for decor
Toni Nestico was a familiar, friendly face at The Nest Restaurant in Jeannette, where she served seafood dishes to customers for close to 30 years and was co-owner of the establishment, with her husband. “People loved her,” said her daughter, Alana, who used to wait tables at the restaurant along...
Florida reports highest single-day jump in covid-19 deathsVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Health authorities in Florida reported 120 new deaths from the new coronavirus on Thursday, grimly marking the highest one-day jump yet amid a surge in new infections that continues to befuddle the state’s attempts to contain the outbreak. The number of deaths was the highest since the 113...
Ousted New York prosecutor tells Congress that Attorney General Barr ‘urged’ him to resignVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr was so determined to get the top federal prosecutor leading investigations into President Donald Trump’s allies off the case that he offered multiple cushy jobs for the taking, according to a statement he gave to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Geoffrey Berman,...
West Virginia mail carrier admits attempted election fraud
ELKINS, W.Va. — A West Virginia postal carrier pleaded guilty Thursday to altering mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots. Thomas Cooper entered the plea in federal court in Elkins to attempted election fraud and injury to the mail, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell said in a statement. Cooper was charged in...
