Franklin County 13-year-old arrested in 9-year-old brother’s death
WAYNESBORO — State police say a 13-year-old will face a criminal homicide charge in the shooting death of his 9-year-old brother in a home in central Pennsylvania. State police in Franklin County said troopers were called to the Waynesboro home at about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday. The victim was taken to...
Lawsuit: Pennsylvania lifers should have chance at parole
Three women and three men serving life sentences in Pennsylvania prisons sued the state Board of Probation and Parole on Wednesday, alleging the state’s refusal to allow a chance at parole to those serving life sentences is tantamount to a death sentence. The lawsuit challenges a provision in the state’s...
‘Grasping for anything’: Desperation science slows hunt for coronavirus drugs
Desperate to solve the deadly conundrum of covid-19, the world is clamoring for fast answers and solutions from a research system not built for haste. The ironic, and perhaps tragic, result: Scientific shortcuts have slowed understanding of the disease and delayed the ability to find out which drugs help, hurt...
Firearms background checks, purchase denials on rise in Pennsylvania in 2020
Pennsylvania State Police processed about 22% more background checks for firearm purchases so far in 2020 compared to last year. The state’s instant check system also denied 41% more applicants through the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2019, according to police statistics. Gun...
Germany laments U.S. exit from WHO, says EU seeks to reform it
GENEVA — Germany’s health minister on Wednesday lamented the formal U.S. notification of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization as a “setback for international cooperation” and said Europe would work to reform the U.N. health agency. The comments from German Health Minister Jens Spahn epitomized concerns in Europe over...
Supreme Court: Some employers can refuse to offer free birth control
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Trump administration rules allowing some employers to decline to provide contraceptive coverage on religious or moral grounds, which could leave more than 70,000 women without cost-free birth control. The high court ruled 7-2 for the administration, which made a policy change to...
Mary Kay Letourneau, teacher jailed for raping student, dies
SEATTLE — Mary Kay Letourneau, a teacher who married her former sixth-grade student after she was convicted of raping him in a case that drew international headlines, has died. She was 58. Her lawyer David Gehrke told multiple news outlets Letourneau died Tuesday of cancer. He did not immediately return...
In risky bid, Trump stokes racial rancor to motivate voters
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump is wielding America’s racial tensions as a reelection weapon, fiercely denouncing the racial justice movement on a near-daily basis with language stoking white resentment and aiming to drive his supporters to the polls. The incendiary discourse is alarming many in his own party and...
U.S. general sees smaller but enduring troop presence in Iraq
WASHINGTON — Six months after a deadly American airstrike in Baghdad enraged Iraqis and fueled demands to send all U.S. troops home, the top U.S. general for the Middle East is talking optimistically about keeping a smaller but enduring military presence there. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S....
Trump pushes state, local leaders to reopen schools in fall
President Donald Trump launched an all-out effort pressing state and local officials to reopen schools this fall, arguing that some are keeping schools closed not because of the risks from the coronavirus pandemic but for political reasons. “They think it’s going to be good for them politically, so they keep...
Chief Justice Roberts was hospitalized overnight after head injury in June
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts was hospitalized overnight last month for an injury he suffered to his forehead after falling while walking for exercise, a U.S. Supreme Court spokeswoman said. Roberts’ doctors believe the fall was because of lightheadedness caused by dehydration and have ruled out a seizure, spokeswoman...
Breonna Taylor’s family argues police had no cause for raidVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville police called off a warrant search of Breonna Taylor’s apartment after a drug suspect was located elsewhere, but then went ahead with the deadly raid to look for other suspects with no connection to Taylor, her family says in a new court filing. Taylor, a emergency...
Lightning strike leaves 2 men dead, 2 people injured in Bradford County
GRANVILLE — Severe thunderstorms sparked lightning that struck four people in a northern Pennsylvania community, killing two men and injuring two other people, authorities said. The strike occurred around 2 p.m. Monday in Granville. The Bradford County Coroner’s office said all four victims were struck while they were under a...
Texas passes 10,000 confirmed new coronavirus cases in single dayVideo
AUSTIN — Texas surpassed 10,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day Tuesday for the first time, crossing a sobering milestone rarely seen since the pandemic first hit the U.S. in March. The record high of 10,028 new cases in Texas served as another alarming new measure of the swift...
New rules: Foreign students must leave U.S. if classes go online
International students will be forced to leave the United States or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued by federal immigration authorities. The guidelines, issued Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even...
Democrats: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ coronavirus inaction cost Floridian livesVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida’s Democratic congressional delegation blasted Gov. Ron DeSantis’ response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying Tuesday that his refusal to issue statewide orders requiring masks and impose tougher restrictions on businesses has caused unneeded deaths and spread the disease. They called on the Republican governor to close...
Arkansas reports largest spike in coronavirus hospitalizations
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas on Tuesday reported its largest one-day increase in hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, even as the state’s new virus cases decreased. The Department of Health reported 369 people hospitalized in the state because of covid-19, the illness caused by the virus, an increase of 32 since...
U.S. notifies UN of withdrawal from World Health OrganizationVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, although the pullout won’t take effect until next year, meaning it could be rescinded under a new administration or if circumstances change. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential...
Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler objects to WNBA’s social justice plans
NEW YORK — Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler is not in favor of the WNBA’s social justice plans and has sent a letter to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert objecting to the league’s initiatives to honor the Black Lives Matter movement. Loeffler, who is also a Republican U.S. senator running for re-election...
U.S. general skeptical that bounties led to troops’ deaths
WASHINGTON — The top U.S. general for the Middle East said Tuesday that the intelligence suggesting that Russia may have paid Taliban militants to kill American troops in Afghanistan was worrisome, but he is not convinced that any bounties resulted in U.S. military deaths. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of...
EPA approves use of Lysol disinfectant as first to kill coronavirus on surfacesVideo
The Environmental Protection Agency has given its first approval of disinfectants that kill covid-19 on non-porous surfaces. Lysol Disinfectant Spray and Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist meet the EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the ongoing pandemic, based on laboratory testing that found both products kill...
Mitch McConnell eyes coronavirus aid as evictions, benefits cuts loom
WASHINGTON — An eviction moratorium is lifting. Extra unemployment benefits are ending. Parents are being called to work, but schools are struggling to reopen for fall as the covid-19 crisis shows no signs of easing. With Congress bracing for the next coronavirus aid package, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,...
Betsy DeVos rejects part-time reopening for schools amid pandemicVideo
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday assailed plans by some local districts to offer in-person instruction only a few days a week and said schools must be “fully operational” even amid the coronavirus pandemic. Anything less, she says, would fail students and taxpayers. DeVos made the comments during a call...
Pompeo: U.S. ‘looking at’ banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTokVideo
The United States government is “looking at” banning Chinese social media apps such as TikTok, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Pompeo made the comment Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” “With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cellphones, I can assure you the United States...
Pennsylvania lowers minimum contributions for college savings plans
In the category of “every dollar counts and you have to start somewhere,’ Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella this week announced his office is reducing the minimum contribution to the state’s 529 college savings programs to $10. The 529 guaranteed savings program, which allows families to bank college credits for the...
