Latest on coronavirus: Pennsylvania up to 22 cases; March Madness called off; Wolf closes eastern Pa. schools
The eastern part of Pennsylvania continues to see an increase in presumed coronavirus cases, according to the state Department of Health. Pennsylvania has 20 presumed positive cases of the virus and two confirmed cases as of Thursday. The highest number of cases — 13 — is in Montgomery County, a...
Amid coronavirus precautions, Tokyo Olympic flame is lit in Greece
ATHENS, Greece — The flame for the Tokyo Olympics was lit Thursday at the birthplace of the ancient games in a pared-down ceremony because of the coronavirus. Standing in front of the ruined Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia, a Greek actress playing the part of a pagan priestess used...
Trump’s ban on travel from Europe escalates pain for airlines
President Donald Trump’s decision Wednesday to impose a 30-day ban on most Europeans entering the United States is the latest calamity for airlines already reeling from falling bookings and cancelled reservations as people try to avoid contracting the coronavirus. The ban, to begin at midnight Friday, won’t apply to Americans...
NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade postponed due to coronavirus
NEW YORK — The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been postponed for the first time in its 258-year history because of coronavirus concerns, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday. The postponement of the parade on March 17 adds to the roster of events and holidays upended around...
Senate committee delays subpoena related to Burisma, Biden
WASHINGTON — Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson said he is postponing a committee vote to subpoena a witness linked to the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings when former Vice President Joe Biden’s son served on its board. The decision is a reversal from Johnson’s announcement last week that he...
Trump suspends travel from Europe to U.S. for 30 daysVideo
WASHINGTON — Taking drastic action Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced he is cutting off travel from Europe to the U.S. and moving to ease the economic cost of a viral pandemic that is roiling global financial markets and disrupting the daily lives of Americans. Trump made the announcement that he...
Lawyer: Chelsea Manning attempts suicide in Virginia jail
WASHINGTON — A lawyer for Chelsea Manning said Wednesday that the former intelligence analyst tried to take her own life Wednesday, but was transported to a hospital where she is recovering. Manning has been in jail since May 2019 for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. She...
It’s cloudy with a chance of iron rain at hot, faraway planet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — At one hot, faraway world, it’s always cloudy with a chance of iron rain. That’s the otherworldly forecast from Swiss and other European astronomers who have detected clouds full of iron droplets at a hot Jupiterlike planet 390 light-years away. This mega planet is so hot...
AP sources: Feds wiretap former DEA supervisor in leak probe
MIAMI — Federal investigators took the unusual step of wiretapping a retired supervisor in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Miami office as part of an inquiry into whether sensitive case information was leaked to attorneys for suspected drug traffickers in Colombia, current and former law enforcement officials told The Associated...
Inside a massive DEA raid targeting a drug cartel
CHANTILLY, Va. — In the darkness, team members suit up quietly, putting on their helmets and tactical gear. Federal agents lug battering rams, bolt cutters and heavy weaponry by foot up a hill on a residential California street that’s softly aglow from street lamps. Then the agents turn onto the...
As coronavirus shuts schools, experts debate if that curbs spread
As families across the United States scramble to care for children sent home from schools closed because of the coronavirus, experts disagree on whether such closures protect kids — or even the community. The question of whether to close schools in not a no-brainer, said Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at...
Congress acts to limit Trump on military action in Iran
WASHINGTON — Defying a veto threat, Congress has approved a bipartisan measure to limit President Donald Trump’s authority to launch military operations against Iran. The House gave final legislative approval to the measure Wednesday, 227-186, sending it to Trump. The president has promised to veto the war powers resolution, warning...
Sanders not dropping out but where does he go from here?Video
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Bernie Sanders is vowing to press ahead with his presidential campaign at least long enough to debate Joe Biden this weekend, even while acknowledging his deficit in the Democratic race may be insurmountable. The Vermont senator on Wednesday offered no further details on what his campaign may...
Afghans set to release 1,500 Taliban; U.S. wants less violenceVideo
KABUL, Afghanistan — After a series of delays, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree early Wednesday promising to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture to get intra-Afghan negotiations started. A recent peace deal signed between the United States and the Taliban called for the release of up...
WHO officially declares coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic
ROME — Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and slow government responses, the World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic but also said it’s not too late for countries to act. By reversing course and using the charged word “pandemic” that it had...
France, Spain honor hundreds of terrorism victims, vow unity
PARIS — The president of France and the king of Spain paid homage Wednesday to victims of terrorism in a special ceremony prompted by attacks that hit both their countries and changed Europe’s security posture. France’s Emmanuel Macron and Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia led a ceremony on Trocadero...
Down syndrome abortion ban is going before a federal court
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal court in Cincinnati will hear complex legal arguments Wednesday for and against Ohio’s Down syndrome abortion ban in a case viewed as pivotal in the national debate over the procedure. Attorneys for the government contend in legal filings that the sidelined 2017 law does not...
Family of man convicted of Lockerbie bombing can appeal
LONDON — Scotland’s criminal appeals body said Wednesday that the family of a Libyan man jailed for the 1988 bombing of an American airliner over the town of Lockerbie can launch a posthumous appeal against his conviction. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission said the family of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is...
Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years for sexual assaults
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault, a sight the disgraced Hollywood mogul’s multitude of accusers thought they would never see. Weinstein, who has been accused of violating scores of women, was convicted last month of raping a once-aspiring...
Nuclear waste cleanup efforts in Washington could be delayed
RICHLAND, Wash. — The Department of Energy has announced priority plans for environmental cleanup nationwide and indicates a slower process for the decommissioned nuclear site in Washington state, a report said. The focus at the Hanford Site will be to start treating waste at the $17 billion vitrification plant, but...
Bucks County confirms 1st cases of coronavirus, bumping Pennsylvania total to 16
Cases of the new coronavirus crept into a new county in Pennsylvania as Penn State, the University of Pennsylvania and at least a dozen other schools are moving classes online and St. Patrick’s Day parades in Philadelphia, Scranton and Pittsburgh were canceled. Bucks County, in suburban Philadelphia, confirmed its first...
Penn State moves to online-only classes over coronavirus concerns
Penn State, along with several other Pennsylvania universities, will cancel in-person classes and move to online instruction over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19. Officials announced Wednesday that Penn State will start remote learning for all classes at every campus location beginning March 16 through April...
Police shooting leads to tension, protests in North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. — A police shooting that wounded a suspect during a foot chase in Raleigh, N.C., sparked protests early Wednesday from hundreds who demanded answers and burned a flag outside the governor’s mansion. Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said officers responded to a 911 call Tuesday evening reporting a man...
Russia passes bill allowing Putin to stay in power past 2024
MOSCOW — The Russian parliament approved a sweeping constitutional reform in the third and final reading Wednesday, a move that will allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power for another 12 years after his current term ends in 2024. The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, endorsed a set...
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones arrested on DWI charges in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was arrested in Texas on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated after his wife called police to their house over an argument, according to court records released Tuesday. The Infowars founder was booked into an Austin jail shortly after midnight and released...
