U.S. will regulate nursing home staffing for 1st time, but proposal lower than many advocates hoped
NEW YORK — The federal government will, for the first time, dictate staffing levels at nursing homes, the Biden administration said Friday, responding to systemic problems bared by mass covid deaths. While such regulation has been sought for decades by allies of older adults and those with disabilities, the proposed...
From strikes to new union contracts, Labor Day’s organizing roots are especially visible this year
NEW YORK — Labor Day is right around the corner, along with the big sales and barbecues that come with it. But the activist roots of the holiday are especially visible this year as unions challenge how workers are treated — from Hollywood to the auto production lines of Detroit....
U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in August in sign of a still-resilient labor market
WASHINGTON — The nation’s employers added 187,000 jobs in August, evidence of a slowing but still-resilient labor market despite the high interest rates the Federal Reserve has imposed. The job growth marked an increase from July’s revised gain of 157,000 but still pointed to a moderating pace of hiring compared...
Pa. to end state funding for anti-abortion counseling centers
HARRISBURG — For nearly 30 years, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania have approved millions of taxpayer dollars for an anti-abortion program. Now the state’s new governor plans to end the contract as the organization that distributes those funds and other groups like it gain attention since the overturning of...
Man convicted of killing girlfriend escapes Pa. prison
WEST CHESTER — A man recently convicted of murder in Pennsylvania for the fatal stabbing his ex-girlfriend remained at large Friday, a day after he escaped from a county jail. Danelo Cavalcante, 34, is also wanted in his native Brazil in a separate slaying and is considered an extremely dangerous...
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell can continue with his work schedule, congressional physician says
WASHINGTON — The attending physician to Congress said Thursday that he had cleared Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to continue with his planned schedule after evaluating an incident in which McConnell appeared to freeze up at an event in Kentucky. But the health episode — his second in public this...
CCAC to offer free courses in computer information technology
The Community College of Allegheny County will offer free, for-credit courses in computer information technology starting next week at its Homewood-Brushton Center. The menu of 12- and 14-week, in-person courses have two start dates: next Tuesday and on Sept. 18, officials said Thursday. Costs for tuition, fees and textbooks are...
Elon Musk says X, formerly Twitter, will have voice and video calls, updates privacy policy
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk said Thursday that his social network X, formerly known as Twitter, will give users the ability to make voice and video calls on the platform. Musk, who has a history of making proclamations about coming features and policies that have not always come to fruition,...
Squeezing in one last summer trip over Labor Day weekend? Expect crowded airports and full flights
DALLAS — By some measures, air travelers have enjoyed a less stressful summer than last year, but canceled flights remain elevated as airlines face their last big test of the prime vacation season: Labor Day weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that this will be the third busiest holiday weekend...
Texas high court allows law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors to take effect
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court allowed a new state law banning gender-affirming care for minors to take effect Friday, setting up Texas to be the most populous state with such restrictions on transgender children. Legal advocates who sued on behalf of the families and doctors, including the American...
Canada issues U.S. travel advisory warning LGBTQ+ community about laws that may affect them
TORONTO — Canada this week updated its travel advisory to the U.S., warning members of the LGBTQ+ community that some American states have enacted laws that may affect them. The country’s Global Affairs department did not specify which states, but is advising travelers to check the local laws for their...
Election workers have gotten death threats and warnings they will be lynched, the U.S. government says
WASHINGTON — More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a Justice Department unit trying to stem the tide of violent and graphic threats against people who count and secure the vote. Government employees are being bombarded with threats even in normally quiet periods...
Ex-Proud Boys organizer sentenced to 17 years in prison for plot to keep Trump in power
WASHINGTON — A former organizer of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Thursday to 17 years in prison for spearheading an attack on the U.S. Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election. Federal prosecutors had...
Some U.S. airports strive to make flying more inclusive for those with dementia
PHOENIX — Andrea Nissen is trying to prepare her 65-year-old husband, who has Alzheimer’s disease, for a solo flight from Arizona to Oklahoma to visit family. She worries about travelers and airport officials misinterpreting his forgetfulness or habit of getting in people’s personal space, and feels guilty about not being...
McConnell’s latest freeze-up incident highlights seniority of Congress
WASHINGTON — Wednesday’s incident in which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had difficulty speaking in a public setting comes at a time of heightened concern about the health and ages of U.S. political leaders. But the Kentucky Republican is not even among the 10 oldest members of the current Congress....
Groups seek to use Constitution’s ‘insurrection’ clause to block Trump from 2024 ballots
As former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the Republican presidential primary, some liberal groups and a growing number of legal experts contend that a rarely used clause of the Constitution prevents him from being president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The 14th Amendment bars...
Texas AG Ken Paxton pursued perks beyond impeachment allegations, ex-staffers say
AUSTIN, Texas — Unexplained Caribbean and European trips that cost taxpayers more than $90,000. A $600 sports coat paid for by an event organizer. A $45 office Christmas cake taken as his own. These are among the perks that Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ‘s former employees say he...
Train slams into a group of workers on the tracks at an Italian station, killing 5
ROME — A speeding out-of-service train slammed into a group of workers doing nighttime track maintenance in northern Italy on Thursday, killing five of them, authorities said. The crash occurred shortly after midnight at a station in Brandizzo, a town in Italy’s Piedmont region. Piedmont Gov. Alberto Cirio provided the...
North Korea says it simulated nuclear attacks on South Korea and rehearsed occupation of its rival
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it’s also been rehearsing an occupation of its rival’s territory in the event of conflict. Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them...
Building fire in Johannesburg leaves at least 73 dead, many homeless, authorities say
JOHANNESBURG — A nighttime fire ripped through a rundown five-story building in Johannesburg that was occupied by homeless people and squatters, leaving at least 73 people dead early Thursday, emergency services in South Africa’s biggest city said. Some of the people living in a maze of shacks and other makeshift...
Tropical Storm Idalia descends on North Carolina after pounding Florida, Georgia, South Carolina
PERRY, Fla. — Tropical Storm Idalia descended on the Carolinas on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, leaving a trail of flooding and destruction throughout the Southeast that stretched back to its landfall as a hurricane in Florida. Rescue and repair efforts continued in the areas the...
Bodies of 3 U.S. Marines killed in Australian aircraft crash retrieved from crash site
CANBERRA, Australia — The bodies of three U.S. Marines killed in a tiltrotor aircraft crash during a training exercise in Australia were retrieved from the crash scene while another Marine remained in critical condition, the Marine Corps said Tuesday. Those killed were from Illinois, Virginia and Colorado. The Marine V-22B...
Alex Murdaugh loses prison phone privileges after lawyer records phone call for documentary
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has lost his phone privileges and his prison tablet computer after his lawyer recorded him reading his journal entries on a call for a documentary about his case, South Carolina Corrections Department officials said Wednesday. Prison policy prohibits inmates from talking to the...
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell appears to freeze up againVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday, weeks after he had a similar episode in Washington. According to video from a local news station, the 81-year-old McConnell was...
Revelers hurl tomatoes at each other as streets are awash in red pulp in Spanish town’s Tomatina party
BUÑOL, Spain — Some 15,000 people, including many tourists, pasted each other with tomatoes Wednesday as Spain’s annual Tomatina street battle took place in the eastern town of Buñol. Workers on trucks tipped 120 tons of overripe tomatoes into the main street of the town for participants to throw. The...
