At least 20 dead, 600 wounded in Equatorial Guinea blasts
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — A series of explosions at a military barracks in Equatorial Guinea killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 600 others on Sunday, authorities said. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said the explosion at 4 p.m. local time was due to the “negligent handling of dynamite”...
Swiss narrowly back proposal to ban face coverings in publicVideo
Swiss voters narrowly approved on Sunday a proposal to ban face coverings, both the niqabs and burqas worn by a few Muslim women in the country and the ski masks and bandannas used by protesters. The measure will outlaw covering one’s face in public places such as restaurants, sports stadiums,...
GOP pushes bills to allow social media ‘censorship’ lawsuits
Republican state lawmakers are pushing for social media giants to face costly lawsuits for policing content on their websites, taking aim at a federal law that prevents internet companies from being sued for removing posts. GOP politicians in roughly two dozen states have introduced bills that would allow for civil...
Rosedale Tech to host weekly ‘Women in the Trades’ events throughout March
Greensburg native Melody Carranza found herself frustrated after opting for a career in the medical field. “Once I realized that wasn’t for me, I started looking at other options,” Carranza said. Similarly, Raelee Nicholson of Charleroi was “in the process of following a traditional four-year path with offers to multiple...
Vaccine site overrun after false rumors said all could come
FLORIDA CITY, Fla. — A Florida vaccination site had so few eligible takers Saturday that is started inoculating any adult who wanted a shot rather than let the vaccine on hand go to waste. Word spread and on Sunday the Florida City site was overwhelmed, particularly after local state Sen....
Calls grow for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to quit from top New York lawmakers
ALBANY, N.Y. — The two top Democrats in New York’s legislature withdrew their support for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday amid mounting allegations of sexual harassment and undercounting covid-19 deaths in nursing homes. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins became the first senior Democrat in the state to say the three-term...
George Floyd’s cause of death, ex-cop’s force will be keys at trial
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis police officer was swiftly fired and charged with murder after bystander video showed him pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck, ignoring the Black man’s cries that he couldn’t breathe. But even with that powerful footage, legal experts say the case isn’t a slam dunk. Jury...
Workers worry about safety, stress as states ease mask rules
JACKSON, Mississippi — Leo Carney worries that bigger crowds and mask-less diners could endanger workers at the Biloxi, Mississippi, seafood restaurant where he manages the kitchen. Maribel Cornejo, who earns $9.85 an hour as a McDonald’s cook in Houston, can’t afford to get sick and frets co-workers will become more...
U.S. states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans
BILLINGS, Mont. — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air. Wolf hunting policies in some states are taking an aggressive turn, as Republican lawmakers and conservative hunting groups push to curb their numbers and propose tactics shunned by many wildlife managers. In Montana,...
Where Islamic State once ruled, pope calls on Christians to forgive, rebuild
QARAQOSH, Iraq — Pope Francis urged Iraq’s Christians on Sunday to forgive the injustices committed against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild as he visited the wrecked shells of churches and met ecstatic crowds in the community’s historic heartland, which was nearly erased by the Islamic State group’s horrific...
Casting a wide intrusion net: Dozens burned with single hack
BOSTON — The SolarWinds hacking campaign blamed on Russian spies and the “grave threat” it poses to U.S. national security are widely known. A very different — and no less alarming — coordinated series of intrusions also detected in December has gotten considerably less public attention. Nimble, highly skilled criminal...
Biden marking ‘Bloody Sunday’ by signing voting rights order
WASHINGTON — A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access. His plan was being announced...
Another ex-aide calls Cuomo’s office conduct inappropriate
NEW YORK — Another woman who worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo is describing conduct she felt was inappropriate for the workplace. Ana Liss, 35, told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Saturday that when she worked as a policy aide to the governor between 2013 and 2015, Cuomo...
Dolce&Gabbana seeks over $600M damages from 2 U.S. bloggers
MILAN — The Milan fashion house Dolce&Gabbana has filed a defamation suit in an Italian court seeking over $600 million in damages from two U.S. fashion bloggers who reposted anti-Asian comments attributed to one of the designers that led to a boycott by Asian consumers. The suit was filed in...
U.S. gives hope to previously denied asylum seekers in camp
MEXICO CITY — In a camp at the U.S.-Mexico border, some asylum seekers were told by officials that the U.S. government may reopen their cases and they would eventually be able to enter the U.S. to wait out the asylum process. The new opening for people previously denied came as...
Hundreds in Stockholm protest Sweden’s covid restrictions
STOCKHOLM — Swedish police on Saturday dispersed hundreds of people who had gathered in central Stockholm to protest coronavirus restrictions set by the Swedish government. Swedish authorities said the demonstration — the first major protest against the country’s coronavirus restrictions — was illegal as it was held without permission. Stockholm...
Arizona lifts capacity limits; 19% vaccinated
PHOENIX — One day after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted capacity restrictions at restaurants, gyms and other businesses, the state reported 1,735 confirmed coronavirus cases. Arizona doesn’t have a statewide mask mandate. With 54 more confirmed deaths on Saturday, the totals rose to 825,119 cases and 16,323 deaths. The number...
1 year after covid hit Pa: nearly 1 million cases, more than 24,000 deaths
Pennsylvania health officials on Saturday reported 2,789 new coronavirus cases, exactly one year after the virus was first discovered in the Keystone State. Two people were reported quarantined on March 6, 2020 in the eastern part of the state after they were presumed positive to have contracted covid-19. Saturday’s data...
Pope, top Iraq Shiite cleric deliver message of coexistence
PLAINS OF UR, Iraq — Pope Francis walked through a narrow alley in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf for a historic meeting with the country’s top Shiite cleric Saturday, and together they delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence in a country still reeling from back-to-back conflicts over the past...
Poet Amanda Gorman says she was racially profiled near her home
NEW YORK — Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who captured hearts at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, posted to social media that she was followed home by a security guard who demanded to know where she lived because she “looked suspicious.” “I showed my keys & buzzed myself into...
Biden, Dems prevail as Senate OKs $1.9T virus relief bill
WASHINGTON — An exhausted Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill Saturday as President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums. After laboring all night on a mountain of amendments — nearly...
Highlights: What’s changed in the Senate’s virus relief bill
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats came out with their version of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. A look at some of the major changes in the bill now being considered by the Senate versus what passed the House last week. Who gets a check? President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats...
Senate Dems strike jobless aid deal, relief bill OK in sight
WASHINGTON — Senate leaders and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin struck a deal late Friday over emergency jobless benefits, breaking a nine-hour logjam that had stalled the party’s showpiece $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill. The compromise, announced by the West Virginia lawmaker and a Democratic aide, seemed to clear the...
Trump offers early endorsement for loyal S.C. governor
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s bid for a second full term in 2022, continuing their yearslong alliance in a move to strengthen ties with the early-voting state that Trump won twice. In a statement through his Save America PAC, Trump...
California to let Major League Baseball, Disneyland reopen
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California on Friday lifted some coronavirus restrictions on outdoor sports and entertainment venues, clearing the way for fans to attend games on Major League Baseball’s opening day and for theme parks like Disneyland to reopen for the first time in more than a year. The rules take...
