EU regulator OKs Pfizer vaccine booster for 18 and older
AMSTERDAM — The European Union’s drug regulator gave its backing Monday to administering booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine for people 18 and older. The European Medicines Agency said the booster doses “may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and...
Treasury to shift rental assistance to places with demand
The Treasury Department on Monday announced plans to start reallocating the billions of dollars in federal rental assistance in a bid to get more money into the hands of tenants facing eviction. The plan is a response to the slow distribution of rental assistance in many parts of the country....
Penn State professors will protest university’s covid policies in a unique way this week
More than 50 Penn State professors — mostly from University Park — will protest several university-related covid policies this week by holding a “Teach-Out(side),” where classes will be moved to the safer outdoors and away from their usual locations. The protest, organized by the faculty-based group Coalition for a Just...
Week in pictures: Sept. 28-Oct. 3, 2021
Here’s a selection of images that caught our eye in the past week from Tribune-Review photographers....
Nurse fatally shoots co-worker at Philadelphia hospital
PHILADELPHIA — A nurse at a Philadelphia hospital fatally shot his co-worker early Monday morning, fled the scene and was shot in a gunfight with police that wounded two officers, authorities said. The 55-year-old nurse was wearing scrubs when he shot his co-worker on the ninth floor of Thomas Jefferson...
Henrietta Lacks’ estate sues company over use of her cells
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The estate of Henrietta Lacks sued a biotechnology company on Monday, accusing it of selling cells that doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took from the Black woman in 1951 without her knowledge or consent as part of a “a racially unjust medical system.” The estate’s federal...
U.K. eases travel rules but upsets nations not on list
LONDON — Simplified international travel rules took effect Monday in the U.K., easing quarantine and testing requirements for fully vaccinated travelers from more than 50 countries, and the Conservative government vowed it will seek to regularly expand the rules to more nations. Still, the rules have sparked anger from many...
2 win medicine Nobel for showing how we react to heat, touch
STOCKHOLM — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for their discoveries into how the human body perceives temperature and touch, revelations that could lead to new ways of treating pain or even heart disease. Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian separately identified receptors in the skin as...
William Shatner will fly to space aboard Blue Origin rocketVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Captain Kirk is rocketing into space next week — boldly going where no other sci-fi stars have gone. Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, announced Monday that “Star Trek” actor William Shatner will blast off Oct. 12 from West Texas. “Yes, it’s true; I’m going...
Covid vaccine mandate takes effect for NYC teachers, staff
NEW YORK — New York City teachers and other school staff members were all supposed to be vaccinated against covid-19 when the bell rang Monday morning in one of the first school district mandates in the country requiring employees to be inoculated against the coronavirus. Mayor Bill de Blasio gave...
Ship’s anchor among possible causes of California oil spillVideo
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Officials investigating one of California’s largest oil spills are looking into whether a ship’s anchor may have struck a pipeline on the ocean floor, causing a major leak of crude into coastal waters and fouling beaches, authorities said Monday. The head of the company that operates...
Eligible for a covid-19 booster? Here’s how to get one in Pa.
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. Anywhere from one to two million Pennsylvania adults are now eligible for a covid-19 booster, and state officials say it should...
Embattled Pa. teacher pension fund subpoenaed by SEC over ‘compensation and gifts’ to staff
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has widened the federal scrutiny of Pennsylvania’s mammoth public school pension plan, demanding...
Threatened Swedish artist Lars Vilks reportedly dead in road accident
STOCKHOLM — The Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had lived under police protection since his 2007 sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog’s body brought death threats, died from a traffic accident Sunday, Swedish news media reported. The accident reportedly involved a truck colliding with a civilian police car...
U.S. urges China to halt ‘provocative’ flybys near Taiwan
The U.S. on Sunday called on China to halt its “provocative” pressure on Taiwan after a record number of daily incursions by Chinese warplanes, saying the military actions are destabilizing and risk leading to “miscalculations.” “The U.S. commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace...
Ex-Facebook manager alleges social network fed Capitol riotVideo
Facebook prematurely turned off safeguards designed to thwart misinformation and rabble rousing after Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in last year’s elections in a moneymaking move that a company whistleblower alleges contributed to the deadly Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol. The whistleblower, former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen,...
3rd victim dies after angry co-worker’s rampage in Florida
DAVENPORT, Fla. — Authorities said Sunday a third victim has died following a violent attack where an angry electrician wielding a knife and baseball bat killed three co-workers and injured another at the Florida home they shared. Polk County Sheriff’s officials said electrician Shaun Runyon got into the argument with...
Covid-19 cases in Idaho children have ‘skyrocketed.’ That could affect hospitals, care
BOISE, Idaho — Adult intensive care unit beds at many Idaho hospitals are past capacity, a result of a covid-19 surge that caused crisis standards of care to be implemented statewide. What could complicate that already delicate situation is that infections among children have been soaring, meaning pediatric wards are...
Connecticut doctor turns in license after allegedly distributing false vaccine exemptions
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Durham doctor surrendered her medical license Friday morning amid accusations that she distributed fraudulent covid-19 vaccine and mask exemptions. After receiving an anonymous tip this summer, the Connecticut Department of Public Health had been investigating the physician, Dr. Sue McIntosh, for mailing exemption notes to anyone...
Fauci says U.S. is turning the corner on covid surgeVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is turning the corner on the most recent surge in covid-19 cases and more people need to get vaccinated to keep infections on a declining trend, infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci said. Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said that while the full...
Russia hits record number of daily covid-19 deaths
MOSCOW — Russia on Sunday reported a record daily death toll from covid-19, the fifth time in a week that deaths have hit a new high. The national coronavirus task force said 890 deaths were recorded over the past day, exceeding the 887 reported on Friday. The task force also...
Leaked records open a ‘Pandora’ box of financial secretsVideo
Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century, according to a review of nearly 12 million files obtained from 14 different firms located around the world. The...
Major oil spill off Southern California fouls beachesVideo
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands. At least 126,000 gallons of oil spilled into the waters off Orange County, according...
Bomb at Kabul mosque kills 5 civilians, Taliban says
KABUL, Afghanistan — At least five civilians were killed in a bomb blast at the entrance to a Kabul mosque Sunday, a Taliban official said, describing the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since U.S. forces left at the end of August. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but...
Virus surge hits New England despite high vaccination rates
Despite having the highest vaccination rates in the country, there are constant reminders for most New England states of just how vicious the delta variant of covid-19 is. Hospitals across the region are seeing full intensive care units and staff shortages are starting to affect care. Public officials are pleading...
