Queen Elizabeth takes part in first public video callVideo
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II has taken part in her first public video conference call to chat to four carers about the challenges they face looking after people close to them during the coronavirus pandemic. As part of Carers Week in the United Kingdom, the 94-year-old monarch showed once again...
First large covid-19 vaccine test in U.S. on track for JulyVideo
The first experimental covid-19 vaccine in the United States is on track to begin a huge study next month to prove if it really can fend off the coronavirus, its manufacturer announced Thursday — a long-awaited step in the global vaccine race. The vaccine, developed by the U.S. National Institutes...
Stolen Banksy honoring Bataclan victims found in ItalyVideo
L’AQUILA, Italy — Italian authorities on Thursday unveiled a stolen artwork by the British artist Banksy that was painted as a tribute to the victims of the 2015 terror attacks at the Bataclan music hall in Paris. L’Aquila prosecutors said the work was recovered on Wednesday during a search of...
Giant Eagle takes steps ‘to stand up against racism and social injustice’
The Giant Eagle supermarket chain has announced several measures intended “to stand up against racism and social injustice.” Among the moves announced were: • A $350,000 contribution to support social justice causes; • The closure of its Giant Eagle, Market District and GetGo locations Saturday from 7 to 8 a.m....
Jon Ossoff wins Georgia Senate primary; will face Perdue
ATLANTA — Jon Ossoff, a young Georgia media executive known for breaking fundraising records during a 2017 special election loss for a U.S. House seat, beat back a field of Democratic primary opponents to win a spot taking on Republican Sen. David Perdue in November. Ossoff received about 50.5% of...
Jaywalking arrest of 2 black teens in Oklahoma under review
TULSA, Okla. — Authorities in Oklahoma are investigating the arrest of two black teenagers who were accused by white police officers of jaywalking in a Tulsa neighborhood where some areas had patchy sidewalks or no visible footpaths. Tulsa police on Tuesday released two body camera videos of the officers who...
Trump administration proposes sweeping asylum restrictions
SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed sweeping restrictions on asylum, seeking to align a legal framework with the president’s efforts to limit immigration to the United States. The moves are only the latest in a series of measures that Trump has taken to limit asylum — this...
Buffalo adops policing changes after protester is hurt
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo will replace its police Emergency Response Team with a new “Public Protection Unit” following the suspension and arrest of two ERT members seen on video shoving a 75-year-old protester who fell and cracked his head, Mayor Byron Brown said Wednesday. The city also will halt arrests...
Disband the police? Camden already did that
CAMDEN, N.J. — When Gabe Rodriguez started as a rookie cop in this impoverished New Jersey city, his training officer gave him a tip. If a comrade radios for backup, just park your patrol car in a vacant lot and let someone else handle it. The police had given up...
House Speaker Turzai to resign from Legislature effective Monday
Pennsylvania State House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, on Wednesday announced he will resign from the General Assembly effective Monday. Turzai, an abortion opponent, strong proponent of state support for charter and religious schools and the state’s energy industry, did not say what the future holds for him beyond the...
Wolf says he will go to court to uphold his disaster declaration
Gov. Tom Wolf says he’s ready to go to court to defend his disaster declaration. Wolf’s announcement came as state lawmakers ramped up attacks on the validity of the declaration. On Tuesday, they passed a resolution ordering the governor to rescind his June 3 extension of the 90-day disaster declaration...
Man found dead near scene of California deputy’s shooting
PASO ROBLES, Calif. — A man was found fatally shot near where a sheriff’s deputy was wounded Wednesday while responding to a report that a gunman was firing shots at a central California police station, and the two incidents were believed to be connected, authorities said. The shooter has yet...
Gunmen kill more than 100 people in 2 Nigerian villages
LAGOS, Nigeria — Gunmen killed at least 100 people in attacks in northern and northeastern Nigeria, witnesses said on Wednesday. In the first attack, gunmen arrived on motorcycles and in cars to attack the village of Foduma Kolomaiya in northeastern Borno State on Tuesday night, killing whoever stood in their...
Ex-judge says push to dismiss Flynn case is abuse of power
WASHINGTON — A former federal judge appointed to review the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss criminal charges against President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn said there was evidence of a “gross abuse” of prosecutorial power and that the request should be denied. Former U.S. District Judge John...
‘Stop the pain,’ a brother of George Floyd tells Congress
WASHINGTON — Philonise Floyd challenged Congress on Wednesday to “stop the pain” so that his brother George wouldn’t be just “another name” on a growing list of those killed during interactions with police. Floyd’s appearance before a House hearing came a day after funeral services for his bother, the 46-year-old...
Facing electoral headwinds, Trump brings back his 2016 team
As anyone who has ever heard him speak knows, President Donald Trump loves to relive 2016. He recycles old attack lines once aimed at Hillary Clinton. He recounts the drama of election night, complete with impersonations of stunned news anchors putting state after state (Pennsylvania! Wisconsin!) in the Republican’s column....
Minneapolis police chief takes on union, promises reform
The Minneapolis Police Department will withdraw from police union contract negotiations, Chief Medaria Arradondo said Wednesday as he announced the first steps in what he said would be transformational reforms to the agency in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Arradondo said a thorough review of the contract is planned....
Police: Officer shot, wounded man with box cutter in Philadelphia
An officer shot and wounded a man officials said was armed with a box cutter in north Philadelphia, police said. Police said the female officer was at a property in the city’s Olney section when a 22-year-old man attacked her with a box cutter. The officer tried to get away...
Westmoreland adds 6 new covid-19 cases, no new deaths
Westmoreland County on Wednesday had six new covid-19 cases, bringing the total number to 473, according to Pennsylvania health officials. No new deaths from the virus were reported in Westmoreland. State officials continued to report 38 deaths, while county coroner Kenneth Bacha reports 32 deaths as of May 7. Bacha...
Pennsylvania reports 410 additional covid-19 cases, 48 more deaths
Pennsylvania officials on Wednesday reported 48 more covid-19 deaths and 410 additional cases, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 76,846, according to health officials. A total of 6,062 people have died from the virus. Approximately 5,837 of the total cases are from health care workers. There are 631...
Strange case of 2 kids who vanished in Idaho takes grim turnVideo
BOISE, Idaho — It was the extended family who grew suspicious first, and then at their urging, local police: Seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and his 17-year-old sister Tylee Ryan hadn’t been seen in far too long, and their mother wouldn’t give a straight answer about where they were. Soon strangers...
Eastern Pennsylvania fireworks explosion kills 1, injures another
COOPERSBURG — The explosion of two tractor-trailers filled with fireworks, killing one person and injuring another, is under investigation, officials said Wednesday. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents joined state investigators at the scene in eastern Pennsylvania to comb through the trailers and a building that were destroyed by the...
U.S. military rethinking links to Confederate Army symbols
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is rethinking its traditional connection to Confederate Army symbols, mindful of their divisiveness at a time the nation is wrestling with questions of race after the death of George Floyd in police hands. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, both former Army...
Confederate monument in Virginia covered with trash bagsVideo
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Protesters in Portsmouth, Va., covered a Confederate monument in the city with trash bags and sheets Wednesday, several hours after the city’s council members had a meeting to figure out ways to relocate it. A white sheet that read “BLM” covered the fence in front of the...
Russia detains managers of plant that spilled fuel in ArcticVideo
MOSCOW — Russian authorities have detained three top managers of an Arctic power plant that leaked 20,000 tons of diesel fuel into the ecologically fragile region. Plant director Pavel Smirnov, chief engineer Alexei Stepanov and his deputy, Yuri Kuznetsov, have been detained on suspicion of violating environmental regulations, the spokeswoman...
