Trump at Rushmore: Jets and fireworks, but masks optional
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When President Donald Trump speaks at the Mount Rushmore national memorial before the first fireworks show there in years, he’ll stand before a crowd of thousands of people who won’t be required to socially distance or wear masks despite the coronavirus pandemic. The event scheduled for...
Jordan Brown sues for wrongful conviction after childhood in prison
A former Lawrence County man is suing a handful of retired state police investigators and officials alleging malicious prosecution after he spent most of his childhood in prison for the shotgun killing of his father’s pregnant fiance before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Jordan Brown was 11 years...
Pennsylvania finishes year $3B behind because of pandemic
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state government finished its fiscal year about 9% short of its initial revenue estimate, a result of the state’s coronavirus-related shutdowns and delayed tax-filing deadlines, the Department of Revenue said Wednesday. The state collected $32.3 billion for the 12 months through Tuesday. That was about $3.2 billion...
Woman dies in South Connellsville mobile home fire
Fire claimed the life of a woman in a mobile home in Fayette County, authorities said. Fire crews were called to the South Connellsville residence shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday and reported heavy smoke and extreme heat. Officials said a woman apparently became trapped in the back bedroom near the...
$175M available soon to Pa. renters, mortgage holders struggling with payments
Applications will be accepted starting Monday for $175 million in assistance for Pennsylvania mortgage holders and renters who are struggling to make payments during the coronavirus pandemic as an end to a moratorium on evictions looms. Residents who have lost a job or saw at least a 30% decrease in...
38 new covid-19 deaths, 636 additional cases reported in Pennsylvania
There were 38 new covid-19 deaths and 636 additional cases reported statewide by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday. The state total is now 87,242 cases with 6,687 deaths; about 633 patients are considered probable cases. According to the Department of Health, the most severe cases are seen in...
Fresh Express recalling bagged salads over possible parasite
The maker of bagged salad products that were distributed to stores in Pennsylvania last month issued a voluntary recall after about 200 people were sickened. Fresh Express is recalling products containing iceberg lettuce, red cabbage and carrots because of a possible parasite that could cause health problems. Products included in...
Seattle cops dismantle ‘occupied’ zone, arrest more than 30Video
SEATTLE — Seattle police turned out in force early Wednesday at the city’s “occupied” protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ encampments and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks. Television images showed police, many in riot...
Fox News’ Ed Henry fired after sexual misconduct allegation
NEW YORK — Fox News on Wednesday fired daytime news anchor Ed Henry after an investigation of sexual misconduct in the workplace. The network said it had received a complaint on June 25 from an attorney about the misconduct. An outside investigator was hired and, based on the results of...
Penn State planning to equip all police officers with body cams at all 22 campuses
Penn State plans to equip all campus police officers with body cams within the next year to “be more transparent and accountable,” according to a news release by the university. Penn State announced Tuesday morning that, after extensive research, it will purchase body cams for every officer — about 150...
Retired pope’s elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, dies at 96
BERLIN — The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at 96. The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Ratzinger lived, said in a statement on his website that...
Poll: About 7 in 10 white evangelicals approve of Trump
NEW YORK — About 7 in 10 white evangelical Protestants approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of his job, according to a new survey — support from a cornerstone of his political base that has remained strong following a polarizing church visit and a Supreme Court ruling on LGBT discrimination...
Pilot killed in fighter jet crash at South Carolina Air Force base
SUMTER, S.C. — A military pilot has died in the crash of a fighter jet during a training mission at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. 20th Fighter Wing Commander Larry Sullivan confirmed the pilot’s death early Wednesday morning. The crash happened on the military base around 11:30 p.m....
Astronauts perform 2nd spacewalk to swap station batteries
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts performed their second spacewalk in under a week Wednesday to replace old batteries outside the International Space Station. Commander Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken ventured out to tackle the big, boxy batteries.. For every two outdated batteries coming out, a new and improved one goes...
UN says Afghan army mistakenly fired mortars that killed 23
KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said its findings indicate the Afghan military had mistakenly fired the mortars this week at a busy market in southern Helmand province that inflicted heavy civilian casualties. According to a statement from the office of the Helmand provincial governor, Gen. Mohammad Yasin,...
Marcellus Shale Coalition strikes back at grand jury report blasting fracking industry
The trade group representing the unconventional drilling industry fired back at the state attorney general and the grand jury report released last week that blasted the industry and the state departments charged with overseeing it. “The attorney general’s report exhibits a jarring lack of reality as to how shale gas...
Police say Lori Vallow, missing kids’ mom, helped keep their bodies hidden
BOISE, Idaho — Prosecutors say the mother of two children who were found dead in rural Idaho months after they vanished in a bizarre case that captured worldwide attention had conspired with her new husband to hide or destroy the kids’ bodies. The new felony charges against Lori Vallow Daybell...
Arizona faces new closures as hospitals prep for coronavirus surgeVideo
PHOENIX — Arizona hospitals are hiring out-of-state nurses, squeezing in more beds and preparing for the possibility of making life-and-death decisions about how to ration care as they get ready for an expected surge of coronavirus patients in one of the nation’s worst hot spots. Parents, teachers, businesses and their...
Virginia senator vows defense bill fight on foreign election interference
WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee vowed a fight on an annual defense bill Tuesday when Republicans again blocked his legislation requiring political campaigns to report foreign offers of assistance to the FBI. “I fear the Senate is about to fail once again to protect our...
Senate extends small business coronavirus relief program
WASHINGTON — Democrats drove a temporary extension of a popular subsidy program for small businesses through the GOP-controlled Senate late Tuesday, an unexpected development that came as spikes in coronavirus cases in many states are causing renewed shutdowns of bars and other businesses. The move by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin...
Trump’s deference to Putin back under harsh scrutiny after Russian bounty reportsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s deference to Vladimir Putin is back under the microscope amid accusations that he ignored intelligence that Russia offered to pay Taliban militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Democrats returning from a classified briefing at the White House on Tuesday pledged to get to the...
California prison’s 1,080 positive covid-19 cases blamed on corrections officialsVideo
A California prison that had zero covid-19 cases at the end of May has racked up more than 1,000 during June, prompting officials to set up triage tents outside the facility to keep contagious inmates away from the general population. As of Tuesday, 1,080 prisoners at San Quentin State Prison...
With a pen stroke, Mississippi drops Confederate-themed flag
JACKSON, Miss. — With a stroke of the governor’s pen, Mississippi is retiring the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem — a symbol that’s widely condemned as racist. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the historic bill on Tuesday afternoon that takes the 126-year-old state flag...
Inside the body, coronavirus is even more sinister than scientists had realized
The new coronavirus’s reputation for messing with scientists’ assumptions has taken a truly creepy turn. Researchers exploring the interaction between the coronavirus and its hosts have discovered that when the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects a human cell, it sets off a ghoulish transformation. Obeying instructions from the virus, the newly infected...
Delaware governor closes bars at Dewey, Rehoboth beaches; testing of visitors recommendedVideo
Delaware is shuttering bars at its beaches before the July 4 weekend after seeing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, particularly among young people. Gov. John Carney said Tuesday that establishments including those in the area of Dewey, Rehoboth and Lewes beaches must close Friday and remain closed...
