5 dead, 66 migrants rescued from waters near Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — At least five migrants drowned and another 66 were rescued on Thursday after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near an uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico, officials said. Federal and local authorities were still on the scene searching for...
Attacks in central Mali kill 3 civilians, 15 soldiers
BAMAKO, Mali — At least three civilians and 15 soldiers have been killed in separate attacks in central Mali, the army said, the latest round of attacks as insecurity worsens in the West African nation. Two attacks Wednesday targeted Mali army positions in the center of the country, and the...
U.S. economy shrank 0.9% last quarter, its 2nd straight drop
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of...
JetBlue agrees to buy Spirit for $3.8 billion
JetBlue has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in a deal that would create the nation’s fifth largest airline if approved by U.S. regulators. The agreement Thursday comes a day after Spirit’s attempt to merge with Frontier Airlines fell apart. Spirit had recommended its shareholders approve a lower...
Shell posts record earnings again as energy prices soar
LONDON — Shell posted record profits Thursday for a second straight quarter as the energy giant benefited from soaring prices of oil and natural gas fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine. London-based Shell said it’s second-quarter adjusted earnings — which exclude one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories...
Family sues Sesame Place for alleged racial discriminationVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Philadelphia accusing Sesame Place and its parent company of allowing costumed characters to racially discriminate against Black children, citing an example from June similar to one captured in the recent viral video of a character at the park appearing to dismiss...
Pennsylvania universities reject GOP call to freeze tuition
HARRISBURG — Four Pennsylvania universities said Wednesday they will follow through with tuition increases despite calls from House Republicans to roll back the price hikes. The lawmakers, including Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, the GOP nominee for governor, argue Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Lincoln and Temple are receiving federal funds...
Federal judge tosses Kentucky student’s lawsuits over D.C. encounter
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against five media companies brought by a Kentucky student involved in a 2019 widely viewed encounter with a Native American man at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Nicholas Sandmann, then a 16-year-old student at Covington Catholic High...
Alaska State Troopers: 15-year-old kills 3 siblings, himself
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — A 15-year-old boy shot and killed three siblings at a home near Fairbanks and was found with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, Alaska State Troopers said. The troopers, in a statement, said they received a report of shots being fired on Tuesday afternoon at a Fairbanks home....
Justice Thomas cancels plans to teach at George Washington law school
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has backed out of teaching a seminar at George Washington University’s law school in the nation’s capital, following student protests and the university’s statement of support for the conservative justice’s role on campus. “Justice Thomas informed GW Law that he is unavailable to...
Study casts more doubt on use of high-dose vitamin D pills
More research suggests it’s time to abandon the craze over vitamin D. Taking high doses of “the sunshine vitamin” doesn’t reduce the risk of broken bones in generally healthy older Americans, researchers reported Wednesday. It’s the latest in a string of disappointments about a nutrient once hoped to have wide-ranging...
July 4 parade attack suspect indicted for murder, attempted murder
CHICAGO — The man accused of opening fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack...
Sen. Joe Manchin says he has health, energy, tax deal with Schumer
WASHINGTON — In an unexpected turnabout, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday they had reached an expansive agreement that had eluded them for months on health care, energy and climate issues, taxes on higher earners and corporations and trimming of the federal debt. For months,...
West Virginia man tied to officer’s attack pleads guilty to lesser charges
A West Virginia man initially charged with assaulting a police officer who died after defending the U.S. Capitol from a mob pleaded guilty on Wednesday to misdemeanor offenses that could allow him to avoid more jail time. Another man accused of attacking the officer with bear spray is weighing a...
Former Greensburg-area dentist to testify in trial over wife’s safari death
DENVER — A wealthy dentist accused of shooting and killing his wife in their cabin at the end of an African safari trip testified Wednesday that an unfamiliar shotgun they brought with them to hunt a leopard accidentally went off, wounding her as she hurried to pack early in the...
Should you wait for the omicron booster? Why experts say you should ‘get it now!’
If you’re like most Americans, you’ve gotten your primary doses of a covid-19 vaccine, but you haven’t gotten the recommended booster shots. So if it’s been several months since your last primary dose, you’re probably due for a booster. But the companies behind two of the more popular covid-19 shots,...
Gun manufacturers push back as House lawmakers seek AR-15-style weapons banVideo
WASHINGTON — Assault rifle manufacturers pushed back against Democrats’ assertions that they are partially to blame for a spate of recent U.S. mass shootings that has prompted new legislation to ban AR-15-style weapons. “This is an ultra-deadly weapon engineered to kill enemy soldiers on the battlefield,” House Oversight Committee Chair...
Did Doug Mastriano play a role in Trump’s fake elector plot? Campaign remains silent
Two competing versions of state Sen. Doug Mastriano’s role in Donald Trump’s fake elector scheme emerged this week. Mastriano, now the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, has yet to clear it up. According to a New York Times report Tuesday, Mastriano had been designated as the state’s “point person”...
How a driven prosecutor is building the case to execute Parkland killer: ‘Brick by brick’
MIAMI — When Mike Satz stood up and approached the jury, he did not raise his voice, bellow about justice or dramatically point his finger at the mass murderer seated a few feet away. Instead, the career prosecutor calmly delivered an exhaustive account of Nikolas Cruz’s 2018 rampage through a...
In rare contact, U.S. offers Russia deal for Griner, Whelan
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. In a sharp reversal of previous policy, Blinken also said he expects to speak with his Kremlin counterpart for...
Woman who says she’s Charles Manson’s sister withdraws from dispute over his estate
LOS ANGELES — A woman who claimed to be Charles Manson’s sister has backed out of a dispute over the estate of the cult leader who was responsible for a string of murders across Los Angeles in 1969. L.A. County Superior Court Judge Ruben Garcia granted the withdrawal of the...
Ex-cops Kueng, Thao sentenced for violating Floyd’s rights
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced two former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights to lighter terms than recommended in sentencing guidelines, calling one “truly a rookie officer” and describing the other as “a good police officer, father and husband.”...
Followers of cleric enter Iraqi parliament in show of force
BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Iraqi protesters breached Baghdad’s parliament Wednesday chanting anti-Iran curses in a protest against the selection of a nominee for prime minister by Iran-backed parties. The majority of the protesters were followers of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The demonstrators, all of them men, were seen walking...
What are the 10 most commonly stolen cars in Pa.?
Passenger vehicle thefts in the U.S. rose 8% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to a new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Almost 1 million vehicles were stolen nationwide last year, with full-size pickups accounting for 14% of the vehicles taken. “Used car values are at historical highs,”...
Big pink diamond discovered in Angola, largest in 300 years
JOHANNESBURG — A big pink diamond of 170 carats has been discovered in Angola and is claimed to be the largest such gemstone found in 300 years. Called the “Lulo Rose,” the diamond was found at the Lulo alluvial diamond mine, the mine’s owner, the Lucapa Diamond Company, announced Wednesday...
