Renewable energy surges, driven by solar boom and high fuel prices, report finds
BERLIN — The world is set to add a record amount of renewable electricity capacity this year as governments and consumers seek to offset high energy prices and take advantage of a boom in solar power, according to a new report Thursday. The International Energy Agency said high fossil fuel...
U.S. companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs
Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising. The company’s $500,000 donation went in part toward laptops and hot spots...
Jordan’s crown prince weds scion of Saudi family in ceremony packed with stars and symbolismVideo
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s crown prince married the scion of a prominent Saudi family on Thursday in a palace ceremony attended by royals and other VIPs from around the world, as massive crowds gathered across the kingdom to celebrate the region’s newest power couple. The marriage of Crown Prince Hussein,...
LGBTQ+ people flock to Florida for Gay Days festival
ORLANDO, Fla. — Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ people are flocking to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park rides, mingle with costumed performers, dance at all-night parties and lounge poolside at hotels during Gay Days, a decades-long tradition. Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have...
Reports: Prosecutors have tape of Trump discussing holding onto classified doc after leaving officeVideo
WASHINGTON — Justice Department prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of former President Donald Trump from after he left office in which he talks about holding onto a classified Pentagon document related to a potential attack on Iran, according to media reports. CNN first reported that Trump suggested on the...
West Virginia teen sentenced to 80 years for killing mother, sister
NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. — A West Virginia teenager was sentenced to consecutive 40-year prison terms in the fatal shootings of his mother and sister after a judge rejected the defendant’s pleas for a lesser sentence. Connor Crowe pleaded guilty last November to second-degree murder after waiving his right to be...
Shooting in Lebanon kills 3, including 2 children, wounds 4th person
LEBANON — A shooting outside an eastern Pennsylvania home killed three people, two of them children aged 8 and 9, and wounded another person, authorities said. Chief Bret Fisher of the Lebanon police department said officers responded to a city residence shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday after a report of...
2 hurt when small plane crashes into truck on turnpike ramp near Capital City Airport
Two people were hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after a small plane crashed into a utility truck on a Pennsylvania Turnpike exit ramp in Fairview Township. The single-engine aircraft hit the truck around 2:35 p.m., according to Ted Czech with York County’s emergency management office. The truck is believed to have been...
Actor Danny Masterson found guilty of 2 out of 3 counts of rape in retrialVideo
LOS ANGELES — A jury found “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson guilty of two out of three counts of rape Wednesday in a Los Angeles retrial in which the Church of Scientology played a central role. The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating...
3 more GOP governors sending National Guard troops to U.S.-Mexico border
RICHMOND, Va. — The governors of Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina on Wednesday joined a growing list of Republican leaders sending their state National Guard soldiers or other state law enforcement officers to the U.S. border with Mexico. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is considered a possible presidential aspirant,...
GOP walkout in Oregon Senate hits 4th week; uncertain if boycotters will be sanctioned
SALEM, Ore. — The longest-ever walkout in the Oregon Legislature reached its fourth week on Wednesday as the enforceability of a ballot measure that would disqualify the boycotters from immediate reelection appeared in doubt. Senate President Rob Wagner once again tried on Wednesday to convene the Senate, which last met...
Veteran character actor John Beasley, who appeared in the TV drama ‘Everwood,’ dies at 79
OMAHA, Neb. — John Beasley, the veteran character actor who played a kindly school bus driver on the TV drama “Everwood” and appeared in dozens of films dating back to the 1980s, has died. He was 79. Beasley died Tuesday after a “brief and unexpected illness” at a hospital in...
Mike Pence to launch campaign for president in Iowa June 7
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence will officially launch his widely expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week, adding another candidate to the growing GOP field and putting him in direct competition with his former boss. Pence will hold a kickoff event in...
Real-life ‘Fast and Furious’: Car sent flying over tow truck in Georgia
VALDOSTA, Georgia — It looks like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster. A sedan rockets into the air after driving up the ramp of a flatbed tow truck on a Georgia highway. And the whole crash is caught on video by an officer’s body camera. Shocked motorists and law enforcement...
Jaguar recalls I-Pace electric vehicles due to fire risk in batteries, tells owners to park outside
DETROIT — Jaguar is recalling more than 6,000 I-Pace electric SUVs in the U.S. due to the risk of the high-voltage battery catching fire, and it’s telling owners to park them outdoors. The recall is the latest in a series of electric vehicle battery recalls because of the potential for...
Texas governor appoints John Scott as interim attorney general after Paxton impeached
AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday appointed John Scott to temporarily serve as Texas’ attorney general after the House of Representatives voted to impeach Ken Paxton, a Republican, over allegations of misconduct and crimes. The historic impeachment triggered Paxton’s automatic suspension from office pending the outcome of a...
Yeezy shoes are back on sale — months after Adidas cut ties with Kanye West
WASHINGTON — Some of Adidas’ remaining Yeezy shoes are back on sale — months after the German sportswear company cut ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Adidas ended its yearslong partnership with Ye in late October, in light of his anti-Semitic remarks and other harmful behavior....
Teachers leaving their jobs at an accelerating rate in Pennsylvania, new study finds
HARRISBURG — Teachers are leaving their jobs at an accelerating rate in Pennsylvania, amid fears of a nationwide exodus of burned-out teachers and a collapse in enrollment in recruitment programs that is making teachers increasingly difficult to replace. A new analysis by Penn State’s Center for Education Evaluation and Policy...
Ex-Connecticut Democrat, a gambling addict, gets 27 months for stealing covid money
HARTFORD, Conn. — A former Connecticut state representative was sentenced to 27 months in prison Wednesday for stealing more than $1.2 million from the city of West Haven — most of it in federal coronavirus-related aid — and using a good chunk of it to fuel his gambling addiction. “I...
Chris Stewart, 6-term Utah Republican, resigning from Congress
SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart on Wednesday announced plans to resign his Utah seat due to his wife’s illness, triggering a special election to replace him in a reliably Republican district. “I can say with pride that I have been an effective leader for my beloved home...
Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks, CDC says
Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday. Norovirus and salmonella, germs that can cause severe illness, were the most common cause of 800 outbreaks, which...
U.S. safety agency to require auto emergency braking on new vehicles, set tougher standards
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years. Wednesday’s announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration represents the agency’s latest move toward regulating electronic...
U.S., Europe working on voluntary AI code of conduct as calls grow for regulation
LONDON — The United States and Europe are drawing up a voluntary code of conduct for artificial intelligence, a top European Union official said Wednesday, as the developing technology triggers warnings about the risks it poses to humanity and growing calls for regulation. The voluntary code would bridge the gap...
FBI seeking photos, videos to identify suspects in Florida Memorial Day beach shooting
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The FBI is looking for any photos and videos that could help identify suspects in a Memorial Day shooting at a popular Florida beach promenade in which nine people were wounded, including a 1-year-old child. The FBI issued a statement Wednesday asking for people to upload any...
Earth is ‘really quite sick now’ and in danger zone in nearly all ecological ways, study says
Earth has pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into “the danger zone,” not just for an overheating planet that’s losing its natural areas, but for well-being of people living on it, according to a new study. The study looks not just at guardrails for the...
