Moderna won’t raise price on covid vaccine after pressure
Moderna said Wednesday it wouldn’t raise the price of its covid-19 vaccine after a public outcry. The about-face comes after the company was harshly criticized for planning to raise the cost of a vaccine dose about 400% — to the $110-to-$130 range. The company said the decision was made because...
1 killed, 3 hurt in shooting at El Paso, Texas shopping mallVideo
EL PASO, Texas — One person was killed and three more were wounded Wednesday in a shooting at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, adding to the dozens of people already killed this year in mass shootings across the United States. El Paso police said hours after the gunfire...
Shapiro criticizes Norfolk Southern’s emergency response to Ohio train derailment
Gov. Josh Shapiro condemned train company Norfolk Southern in a letter this week, alleging the company failed to immediately contact the state after a train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border on Feb. 3. Shapiro said his office plans to take direct action against the company, and added the state legislature...
West Virginia advances campus gun bill despite student alarm
CHARLESTON — West Virginia lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring firearms on state college and university campuses, despite overwhelming opposition from frustrated students who came to the Capitol to testify against it. Some higher education students traveled hours to...
Rep. Matt Gaetz says no charges for him in sex trafficking caseVideo
WASHINGTON — Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican known for his strong support of former President Donald Trump and membership in the arch-conservative Freedom Caucus in the House, said Wednesday that the Justice Department has ended a sex trafficking case with no charges against him. The lawmaker who represents much of...
Split Pennsylvania House set for raucous return next week
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top House Republican on Wednesday warned of chaos when legislators reconvene next week, six weeks after representatives elected a Democrat as House speaker and left Harrisburg without conducting any other business. Republican Minority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County, who quit as state House speaker at the...
Government will hit debt limit as soon as July, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The federal government will run out of cash to pay all its bills sometime between July and September unless the statutory debt limit is lifted, the Congressional Budget Office warned Wednesday. The report by the nonpartisan budget scorekeeper could put pressure on a divided Congress to reach a...
Key developments in the aftermath of Turkey, Syria earthquakes
ANTAKYA, Turkey — The earthquakes that killed more than 39,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria produced more grieving and suffering along with extraordinary rescues and appeals for aid. Here’s a look at key developments Wednesday from the aftermath of the earthquakes: Defying odds after 9 days A woman...
Russia claims minor Ukraine progress; Kyiv readies offensive
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces claimed some battlefield success Wednesday as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine labored to gain momentum almost a year after it began, while Ukraine said it needs another few months to stage its own offensive. The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops broke through two Ukrainian defensive...
FAA head defends safety of U.S. air travel after close calls
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday he has taken steps to avoid a repeat of the technology failure last month that briefly halted all flights nationwide from taking off. Acting FAA administrator Billy Nolen said he has formed a team to review efforts to keep air travel...
Panel backs moving opioid antidote Narcan over the counter
WASHINGTON — The overdose-reversing drug naloxone should be made available over the counter to aid the national response to the opioid crisis, U.S. health advisers said Wednesday. The panel of Food and Drug Administration experts voted unanimously in favor of the switch after a full day of presentations and discussions...
White supremacist gets life sentence for Buffalo supermarket massacreVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday after relatives of his victims confronted him with the pain and rage caused by his racist attack. Anger briefly turned physical at Payton Gendron’s sentencing when...
Skinny robot documents forces eroding Doomsday Glacier
Scientists got their first up-close look at what’s eating away part of Antarctica’s Thwaites ice shelf, nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier because of its massive melt and sea rise potential, and it’s both good and bad news. Using a 13-foot pencil-shaped robot that swam under the grounding line where ice first...
Ukraine admitted into UN fund that supports small farmers
Ukraine’s small-scale farmers, who are playing a critical role in feeding the population during the war, will be eligible for funding through the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development following Ukraine’s induction Wednesday into body, officials said. Small farmers in Ukraine “play a fundamental role in feeding the country” during...
Russian journalist sentenced to 6 years over Ukraine posts
MOSCOW — A Russian journalist was convicted of disparaging the military Wednesday and received a six-year prison sentence, the latest punishment in a relentless crackdown on critics of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. The court in the city of Barnaul in southern Siberia found Maria Ponomarenko guilty of “spreading false information...
U.S. envoy confident Japan will ban LGBTQ discrimination
TOKYO — U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday said he has “full confidence” that the Japanese government will take the necessary steps to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people. Sexual minorities have been campaigning for the government to adopt an anti-discrimination law after an aide to Prime Minister Fumio...
NATO chief eyes bigger defense budgets, hard spending target
BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday urged the 30 member countries to commit to spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense by a set date, as Russia’s war on Ukraine and other threats eat into military spending. NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia...
Police say Pa. nursing home resident, 74, showed child porn to teen visitor
A Lancaster County nursing home resident is facing criminal charges after he befriended a visitor’s child and showed them child pornography he kept on his cellphone, police said. Kenneth F. Kuehne, 74, had hundreds of photos of naked children on his phone when he showed some to a 14-year-old visiting...
Retail sales jump as Americans defy inflation, rate hikes
WASHINGTON — America’s consumers rebounded last month from a weak holiday shopping season by boosting their spending at stores and restaurants at the fastest pace in nearly two years, underscoring the economy’s resilience in the face of higher prices and multiple interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The government...
Thief admits stealing nearly 200,000 chocolate Easter eggs
LONDON — A man who prosecutors said broke into a U.K. industrial park to steal almost 200,000 chocolate Easter eggs has pleaded guilty to theft and criminal damage. Prosecutors said Tuesday that Joby Pool, 32, used a metal grinder to break through a gate at an industrial park in Telford,...
In Trump probe, feds seek to pierce attorney-client privilege
WASHINGTON — Justice Department prosecutors investigating the mishandling of classified documents at Donald Trump’s Florida estate are seeking to pierce the attorney-client privilege and want to again question one of the former president’s lawyers before a grand jury, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday night. The privilege protects...
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she will retire at the end of her current term
LOS ANGELES — Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose groundbreaking political career shattered gender barriers from San Francisco’s City Hall to the corridors of Capitol Hill, said Tuesday she won’t seek reelection in 2024. The senator, who turns 90 in June, is the oldest member of Congress and has faced questions...
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey undergoes prostate cancer surgery
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania underwent surgery for prostate cancer on Tuesday; it was successful and he expects to return to a “normal schedule” after recovery, his office said. “His doctor reports that, as expected, the procedure went well and he confirmed that the Senator should not...
Fraternity president, science student among Michigan State shooting victimsVideo
EAST LANSING, Mich. — One student was a fraternity chapter president. Another was a science student with fond memories of her days as a high-school athlete — and the third was a frequent volunteer who wanted to become a pediatrician. Family and friends mourned the deaths of three Michigan State...
Court nixes Fox News’ bid to end voting tech firm’s lawsuit
NEW YORK — A New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected Fox News’ bid to shut down a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit accusing the network of spreading lies that a voting-technology company helped “steal” the 2020 election from then-U.S. President Donald Trump. A five-judge panel ruled unanimously against the network, host...
