Supreme Court asked to bar punishment for acquitted conduct
WASHINGTON — A jury convicted Dayonta McClinton of robbing a CVS pharmacy but acquitted him of murder. A judge gave McClinton an extra 13 years in prison for the killing anyway. In courtrooms across America, defendants get additional prison time for crimes that juries found they didn’t commit. The Supreme...
Retired pope’s ailing health raises questions of what’s next
ROME — The Vatican has detailed rituals and procedures to follow when a pope dies, but it has not published such rules for a pope emeritus. As a result, official word Wednesday that the health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had worsened prompted questions about what happens if and when...
Florida police officer drags woman into jail, is fired
TAMPA, Fla. — A police officer in Tampa, Fla., who was videotaped dragging a handcuffed woman into jail has been fired, authorities said. An internal investigation determined that former officer Gregory Damon violated department policies during the Nov. 17 incident, the Tampa Police Department announced Tuesday in a news release....
Vatican says retired pope Benedict XVI lucid, stable, but condition ‘serious’
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican said Thursday that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was lucid, conscious and stable, but that his condition remains serious a day after officials revealed that the 95-year-old’s health had deteriorated recently. A statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis asks for continued prayers “to...
U.S. Supreme Court keeps asylum limits in place for now
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is keeping pandemic-era limits on asylum in place for now, dashing hopes of migrants who have been fleeing violence and inequality in Latin America and elsewhere to reach the United States. Tuesday’s ruling preserves a major Trump-era policy that was scheduled to expire under a...
Private emails, encryption app used in discussing Florida’s migrant relocations
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Newly released records from Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed that his public safety czar, Larry Keefe, communicated with a Destin-based contractor hired to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts using a private email account with the call name “Clarice Starling.” They also confirmed that he used an encryption...
Rescuers use kayaks to reach pilot after crash in icy creek
EDGEWATER, Md. — Rescuers used kayaks to reach the pilot of a small airplane that crashed into an icy creek near a Maryland airport and began to sink, state police said. Witnesses told police that moments after the Piper Cherokee took off from Lee Airport in Edgewater on Monday, they...
The Terrible Towel turns 47
On Dec. 27, 1975, The Terrible Towel debuted. It was the creation of legendary sports radio broadcaster Myron Cope, who worked for WTAE — the Pittsburgh Steelers’ flagship station. Cope urged fans in advance of the 1975 AFC Divisional Playoff game — against the Baltimore Colts — to bring a...
Co-leader of Whitmer kidnapping plot gets 16 years in prison
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The co-leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years in prison for conspiring to abduct the Democrat and blow up a bridge to ease an escape. Adam Fox returned to federal court Tuesday, four months after he and...
Pennsylvania certifies election results after recount delay
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top elections official fully certified results from the November vote late last week after recount petitions in some counties had delayed the process, the Department of State said Tuesday. An agency spokesperson said acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman completed certification of all races in the 2022...
First Congress revealed Biden’s generational ambition
WASHINGTON — When he ran for the White House, Joe Biden told voters his presidency would be a bridge to the next generation. His first two years on the job have revealed it to be a much more ambitious venture. As he nears the halfway mark on his first term,...
5 ways to build your credit score in 2023
You’ve got big financial plans for 2023. Maybe they include buying a home or car, or getting a new travel rewards credit card to help pay for your next trip. There’s a key piece of these plans you may not have considered: building your credit score. A better credit score...
Experts share advice about what to do if your flight is canceled
Thousands of travelers were stranded at airports or stuck on hold trying to rebook flights this week as a massive storm snarled travel in the U.S. and Canada. More than 2,800 more flights had already been canceled in the U.S. as of 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to the flight tracking...
Military police to enforce driving ban in snowy Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — State and military police are being sent to keep people from driving in snow-choked Buffalo, officials said Tuesday as the region kept counting fatalities and strove to recover from its deadliest storm in at least two generations. County Executive Mark Poloncarz said police would be positioned at...
Serbs put up new roadblocks as tensions soar in Kosovo
MITROVICA, Kosovo — Serbs on Tuesday erected more roadblocks in northern Kosovo and defied international demands to remove those placed earlier, a day after Serbia put its troops near the border on a high level of combat readiness. The new barriers, made of heavily loaded trucks, were put up overnight...
Russian FM Lavrov: Ukraine must demilitarize or Russia will do it
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday warned that Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demand for “demilitarization” and “denazification,” as well as the removal of the military threat to Russia, otherwise “the Russian army (will) solve the issue.” Sergey Lavrov also accused the West of fueling the war...
Japan to require covid tests for all visitors from China
TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Tuesday that Japan will tighten border controls for covid-19 by requiring tests for all visitors from China starting Friday as a temporary emergency measure against the surging infections there. The announcement comes days after the World Health Organization said it was very...
Pittsburgh among cities impacted by Southwest flight cancellations; DOT to investigate
The U.S. Department of Transportation said it will look into flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines that have left travelers stranded at airports across the country amid an intense winter storm that has killed dozens of people. Many airlines were forced to cancel flights due to the weather, but Southwest was...
New York Rep.-elect George Santos admits lying about career, college
WASHINGTON — Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., admitted Monday that he lied about his job experience and college education during his successful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House. In an interview with the New York Post, Santos said: “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.” He also...
Manhattan man charged in 2 random knife slashing murders
NEW YORK — Two seemingly isolated and random outdoor murders at the height of the holiday season and of the kind New Yorkers have increasingly feared since the pandemic began were blamed by police officials Monday on a city resident with a criminal record. James Essig, chief of detectives for...
4th Washington state electrical substation vandalized
TACOMA, Wash. — A fourth electrical substation was vandalized late on Christmas Day in Washington state, leaving homes in Kapowsin and Graham temporarily without power, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. By 7 a.m. Monday, more than 10,500 Puget Sound Energy customers were without electricity across the region, KOMO-TV...
Judge rejects Kari Lake’s bid to overturn Arizona election
A judge in Arizona rejected a bid by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake to throw out the results of the November election she lost, calling her claims of misconduct by election workers “speculation” that she had failed to prove. During a two-day hearing that ended Thursday, Lake’s attorneys claimed that...
$2.2M federal grant to advance Duquesne’s new college of osteopathic medicine
The first entering class of students at Duquesne University’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine will be outfitted with devices to aid patient examinations in remote areas under an award from the federal government. Money for the portable ultrasound handheld devices is included in a $2.2 million grant to help finance...
Deep freeze breaks pipes, creates water crisis across South
JACKSON, Miss. — Days of freezing temperatures in Deep South areas that usually freeze for only hours are threatening dozens of water systems as burst pipes leak millions of gallons of water. The problems were happening Monday in large, troubled water systems like Jackson, Mississippi, where residents were required over...
China to scrap covid-19 quarantine for incoming passengers
BEIJING — China will drop a COVID-19 quarantine requirement for passengers arriving from abroad starting Jan. 8, the National Health Commission announced Monday in the latest easing of the country’s once-strict virus-control measures. Currently, arriving passengers must quarantine for five days at a hotel, followed by three days at home....
