France to restore state of health emergency after 3 monthsVideo
PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron announced that 18 million French citizens in nine regions, including in Paris, will have a curfew starting Saturday through Dec. 1. He also reinstated the state of health emergency for the country, which ended three months ago. The 9 p.m. curfew is aimed at limiting...
Earth breaks September heat record, may reach warmest year
Earth sweltered to a record hot September last month, with U.S. climate officials saying there’s nearly a two-to-one chance that 2020 will end up as the globe’s hottest year on record. Boosted by human-caused climate change, global temperatures averaged 60.75 degrees (15.97 Celsius) last month, edging out 2015 and 2016...
Pa. health officials aim to avoid shutdown despite covid uptick
A recent uptick in covid-19 cases and a likely cold-weather resurgence of the virus will not lead to another state shutdown, Pennsylvania health leaders said Wednesday. Instead, current mitigation measures and increased testing will be used to combat the spread as cool weather drives people indoors. “We have no plans...
Pennsylvania high court to settle voter signatures fight
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court granted a request Wednesday from the state’s top elections official to take up the question of whether counties should count mail-in ballots when a voter’s signature doesn’t necessarily match the one on their registration. In its brief order, the state Supreme Court said it will...
Pennsylvania tops 1,000 coronavirus cases for 9th straight day
Pennsylvania reported 1,276 new coronavirus cases and 27 deaths on Wednesday, marking the ninth straight day with more than a thousand cases. Those new additions bring respective totals to 175,922 cases and 8,411 deaths since the first cases were reported in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The...
Attacks by suspected jihadists kill 22 in central Mali
BAMAKO, Mali — Suspected Islamic extremists have carried out a series of attacks in central Mali killing at least 22 people, a spokesman for Mali’s defense minister said Wednesday. The attacks were the deadliest in Mali since an Aug. 18 military coup overthrew the country’s democratically elected president. Ten civilians...
Pope apologizes for keeping distance as virus cases spike
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis apologized to the faithful Wednesday for not being able to greet them and shake their hands as Italy posted a record spike in coronavirus infections that is threatening to once again spiral out of control. Instead of wading into the crowd to embrace the sick...
St. Louis couple who waved guns at protest plead not guilty
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple celebrated in some circles and vilified in others for waving guns at protesters marching on their private street pleaded not guilty to two felony charges at a brief hearing Wednesday. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both attorneys in their early 60s, were...
Fighting in swing states, Trump also forced to play defense
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is being forced to play Electoral College defense with a trip to Iowa, a state he won handily in 2016 but where Democrat Joe Biden is making a late push before the Nov. 3 vote. Trump’s heavy travel this week, including a rally Wednesday in...
Federal judge extends Virginia voter registration deadline
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal judge has extended the deadline for registering to vote in Virginia by 48 hours after the state’s online voter registration system went down because of an accidentally severed cable. Wednesday’s order by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. in Richmond is an effort to...
NBC sets Trump town hall, Biden to appear on ABC
NEW YORK — NBC News agreed to put President Donald Trump before voters in a town hall event on Thursday after the president submitted to an independent coronavirus test with the results reviewed by Dr. Anthony Fauci. The announcement Wednesday sets up dueling town halls with Democratic opponent Joe Biden...
Barrett tells doubtful Dems she’d keep open mind on court
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is presenting herself in her final round of confirmation questioning as a judge with deeply held personal and religious beliefs but vowing to keep an “open mind” on cases. Senate Republicans are championing her conservative approach to the law as doubtful Democrats...
Watch live: Day 3 of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett hearingVideo
Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett continue for the third day on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Tuesday’s session lasted nearly 12 hours. Barrett declined to voice an opinion on potential election-related litigation involving President Donald Trump or presidential transition of power. She also said she didn’t view...
Northern Ireland shuts schools; Liverpool slams revelers
LONDON — Northern Ireland on Wednesday introduced the tightest covid-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom, closing schools, pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of the virus. The move came as England’s new three-tiered system of restrictions took effect, with the northwestern city of Liverpool facing the most severe measures....
Effort to bar LGBTQ discrimination moves ahead in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. — A ballot drive has turned in more than 483,000 signatures for an initiative to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in Michigan by amending the state’s civil rights law. If election officials determine roughly 340,000 are valid, the bill would be placed before the Republican-led Legislature, where similar...
Worker suspended for flying Trump flag from government truck
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida municipal worker was suspended without pay for flying a flag supporting President Donald Trump’s re-election from his government truck. Palm Beach County suspended construction project specialist Randall Williams for five days for violating its rules against engaging in political activity during work hours....
California inmate charged in 1981 death of W. Virginia woman
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Authorities said a California inmate has been indicted in the shooting of a West Virginia school teacher whose body was found the night before her wedding in 1981. Earl James Robbins, 64, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Cynthia Miller, news outlets...
Vatican trial for sex abuse in pope’s youth seminary opens
VATICAN CITY — A trial opened Wednesday in the Vatican’s criminal tribunal for two priests, one accused of sexually abusing an altar boy in the Vatican’s youth seminary and the other of covering it up. The charges read aloud in the courtroom marked the first time the Vatican had publicly...
5 takeaways from 2nd day of Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — It was a very 2020 Supreme Court confirmation hearing Tuesday, as Amy Coney Barrett fielded her first round of questions on socially divisive issues from socially distanced members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senate Republicans have said they want to hold a floor vote on Barrett’s nomination by...
President Trump swoops into Johnstown for rally as Election Day grows closerVideo
Chants of “four more years” greeted President Trump as he emerged from Air Force One at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport on Tuesday evening, just days after declaring himself cured of covid-19. The enthusiastic crowd, estimated at anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 strong, was still streaming into the airport...
Supreme Court temporarily halts census in latest twist of 2020 count
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stopped the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident from continuing through the end of October. President Donald Trump’s administration had asked the nation’s high court to suspend a district court’s order permitting the 2020 census to continue through the end of the month. The...
Possible safety issue spurs pause of Eli Lilly’s covid-19 antibody study
Independent monitors have paused enrollment in a study testing the covid-19 antiviral drug remdesivir plus an experimental antibody therapy being developed by Eli Lilly that’s similar to a treatment President Trump recently received. Lilly confirmed Tuesday that the study had been paused “out of an abundance of caution” and said...
Despite coronavirus fears, Texas sends most voters to the pollsVideo
HOUSTON — Early voting began Tuesday with long lines in Texas, one of the few places in the U.S. not allowing widespread mail balloting during the pandemic, and Jill Biden rallied supporters across the red state that Democrats are no longer writing off. Texas is one of just five states...
WWII bomb explodes underwater in Poland, no injuriesVideo
WARSAW — A British World War II bomb exploded while being made safe underwater by navy demolition specialists Tuesday in northwestern Poland. No one was injured. The 5.4-ton Tallboy bomb was found in September 2019 beneath a waterway leading to the port of Szczecin during work to deepen the passage....
Mitch McConnell slates October revote on GOP covid relief plan
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he’s scheduling a procedural vote on a GOP covid-19 relief bill next week, saying aid to hard-hit businesses shouldn’t be held up by gridlock involving other aid proposals. The Kentucky Republican says the first item of Senate business when the chamber returns...
