Pennsylvania fugitive driving stolen van as he continues to elude capture

Danelo Cavalcante who escaped prison over a week ago has slipped out of the search area and changed his appearance, police say

Authorities say an escaped murderer who has eluded capture since breaking out of a south-eastern Pennsylvania prison a week and a half ago has apparently slipped out of the search area, changed his appearance and is now being sought in a stolen vehicle.

Pennsylvania state police said in a statement on Sunday that Danelo Souza Cavalcante was seen overnight near Phoenixville in northern Chester county, more than 20 miles (32km) north-east of the area that until now has been the focus of the search.

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Flamingos spotted as far north as Ohio after being blown off course by Idalia

Sightings of birds, which appear to have come from Yucatán in Mexico, reported in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and the Carolinas

Flamingos have been spotted as far north in the US as Ohio and Pennsylvania in recent days, after they were blown off course by the powerful Hurricane Idalia that hit Florida late last month, experts say.

The distinctive birds have been reported in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, also in Texas and further north from their typical habitats, in Kentucky and even Ohio, Jerry Lorenz, the state director of Audubon Florida, told CNN. They were also seen in Franklin county in southern Pennsylvania on Thursday, NPR reported.

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House explosion in Pennsylvania kills five and destroys three structures

Three people taken to hospital – one in critical condition – as authorities investigate cause of explosion in community of Plum

Five people were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said on Sunday.

The police chief of the community of Plum, Lanny Conley, said the bodies of four adults and one adolescent were recovered after the blast shortly before 10.30am on Saturday.

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Body of girl found in river believed to be of toddler lost in Pennsylvania flooding

Body found near where two-year-old Matilda Sheils was carried away as search continues for her nine-month-old brother, Conrad

The body of a young girl was recovered Friday in the Delaware River and was believed to be a two-year-old who was one of two children swept away from their family’s vehicle by a flash flood last weekend, authorities said.

The body was found in the early evening near a Philadelphia wastewater treatment plant about 30 miles (50km) from where Matilda Sheils was carried away, authorities said in a nighttime news conference.

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At least three killed and four missing after flash floods in Pennsylvania

Torrential rainstorm swept through township in south-eastern Pennsylvania, killing several and leaving behind a slew of damage

At least three people have been killed by a sudden flash flood in Pennsylvania while four others remain missing.

On Saturday evening, flash floods as a result of a torrential rainstorm swept through Upper Makefield township in south-eastern Pennsylvania, killing several and leaving behind a slew of damage including submerged buildings.

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Floods, tornadoes, heat: more extreme weather predicted across US

Over a third of Americans under extreme heat warnings as Vermont, still recovering from historic flooding, prepares for more storms

The US is bracing for more extreme weather from coast to coast, with a heatwave hitting California, tornados in the midwest and the east expecting more rain as it continues to reel from historic flooding.

Residents of Vermont, still suffering from an onslaught of dangerous weather in recent days, are preparing for another round of severe storms in the area beginning as early as Thursday night.

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Pennsylvania authorities warn of ‘very dangerous’ inmate escaped from jail

Michael Burham broke out of jail where he was being held on arson and burglary charges and was suspect in murder investigation

Authorities were searching on Saturday for an inmate described by police as “very dangerous” who escaped from a jail in north-western Pennsylvania using bed sheets, officials said.

Michael Burham was last seen wearing a blue denim coat from the jail, white and orange pants, and orange shoes, Warren police said late on Friday.

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Biden decries gun violence as shootings across US mar Fourth of July festivities

At least 15 people shot dead across the country in mass shootings so far on the holiday weekend celebrating the US’s independence

A long holiday weekend of bloodshed has intensified after a heavily armed gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia on the eve of Fourth of July celebrations, in yet another mass shooting in the US, killing five people and wounding two boys before surrendering to the police.

Across the country, Texas was entering the holiday to news that another shooting had killed three people, in Fort Worth, occurring just before midnight amid a gathering in a parking lot that also wounded eight.

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Pennsylvania’s ‘road to hell’ reopens after fire-induced bridge collapse

Biden hails ‘proud union workers’ for speedy reopening after stretch of I-95 collapsed following tanker fire earlier in June

Pennsylvania’s “road to hell” reopened on Friday less than two weeks after a tanker fire caused traffic misery for millions.

Joe Biden praised engineers, laborers and “many other proud union workers” for fulfilling his promise to “move heaven and earth” to reopen a busy stretch of the I-95 east coast interstate artery that had been closed since it collapsed in the incident earlier this month.

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Poor air quality returns to US north-east from Canada wildfires

New York City, parts of Pennsylvania and Baltimore all issued warnings as 421 wildfires continue to burn up north

Poor air quality returned to the north-east US on Sunday, although it was nowhere near as bad as the heavy haze that recently shrouded the region and triggered global headlines as wind-borne smoke from raging Canadian wildfires caused orange skies, thick smog and record-setting pollutant levels.

On Sunday morning, a smoke plume moved across New York City, leaving the air quality index in the city at 103 and categorized as “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, particularly for those with heart or lung problems.

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At a glance: what you need to know about Canada wildfires and smoky US skies

Hazy skies hung over north-eastern US a day after the midwest received a similar alert from the Environmental Protection Agency

Canada is dealing with a series of intense wildfires that have spread from the western provinces to Quebec, with hundreds of forest fires burning. Wind has carried smoke from the fires southward, triggering air-quality alerts throughout the United States.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday issued a poor air-quality alert for New England, a day after parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota received a similar advisory. Last week, US officials as far south as Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania reported being affected by the wildfires.

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‘I still hate politics’: Gisele Barreto Fetterman, wife of US senator, hits out

Wife of Democratic Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman adds US political scene is ‘mean’ in interview with MSNBC

Gisele Barreto Fetterman, married to a former mayor and lieutenant governor who is now a US senator, regrets how “mean” the US political scene has become, saying: “I still hate politics.”

The wife of the Democratic Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman was speaking to MSNBC in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

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No goodbye for Toodles after poodle revived with Narcan following overdose

Emergency veterinarians in Philadelphia save dog’s life after suspected accidental drug overdose

A poodle in Pennsylvania called Toodles was successfully revived with Narcan after an apparent accidental drug overdose, local animal welfare experts said.

The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said they received a call last week from Blue Pearl Emergency Animal Hospital in Philadelphia saying a dog was brought to them showing symptoms of an overdose.

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Pennsylvania woman pulled from blast at chocolate factory recalls smelling gas

Patricia Borges, who was burned and broke several bones in the explosion, is angry RM Palmer didn’t evacuate the building

A woman pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says her arm caught fire as flames engulfed the building – and then she fell through the floor into a vat of liquid chocolate.

The dark liquid extinguished her blazing arm, but Patricia Borges wound up breaking her collarbone and both of her heels. She would spend the next nine hours screaming for help and waiting for rescue as firefighters battled the inferno and choppers thumped overhead at the RM Palmer factory.

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Philadelphians rush to buy bottled water despite officials claiming water is safe after spill

Residents show skepticism to officials insisting tap water is uncontaminated after chemical spill in the Delaware River

Residents in Philadelphia and nearby have been buying bottled water after a chemical spill upstream in the Delaware River in neighboring Bucks county, despite officials latest advisory insisting tap water was safe to drink at least up to midnight Monday.

The concerns came after a leak late Friday evening at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township spilled between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of a water-based latex finishing solution into the river, Bucks county health officials said Sunday.

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Explosion destroys Pennsylvania chocolate factory, killing five

Nine people injured in blast at West Reading plant known for manufacturing chocolate Easter bunnies

A powerful explosion at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory known for manufacturing chocolate Easter bunnies has killed five, injured nine, and left six others missing, according to one state agency.

The deadly blast also left the facility 60 miles north-west of Philadelphia obliterated a little more than two weeks before Easter. The cause of the explosion remained under investigation on Saturday morning, but officials have said they believe it may have resulted from a gas leak, WPVI reported, and warned residents to stay away from the area.

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Man arrested in Pennsylvania after explosive allegedly found in check-in bag

Security discovered device during screening and suspect was apprehended after he left Lehigh Valley airport

A man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked on to a Florida-bound flight at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, federal authorities said.

Marc Muffley, 40, is charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft, according to a criminal complaint.

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Mars Wrigley fined after two workers tumbled into chocolate tank last year

Federal workplace authorities fined the popular Pennsylvania candy factory $14,500 and categorized citation as ‘serious’

US federal workplace authorities have fined a popular Pennsylvania candy factory more than $14,500 after two of its employees fell into a large tub of chocolate last year.

In a scene that seemingly could have come straight out of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, two workers last June landed in the tub at the Mars Wrigley factory in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Neither of the two workers had any injuries when the sticky situation unfolded as they did maintenance work and tumbled into a tank that was partially filled with chocolate.

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US senator John Fetterman hospitalised after feeling ‘lightheaded’

Democrat who suffered a stroke while campaigning last year is in good spirits, says spokesperson

US senator John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during his election campaign last year, was hospitalised after feeling lightheaded while attending a Senate Democratic event, his office said.

Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement issued on Wednesday night: “Towards the end of the Senate Democratic retreat today, Senator John Fetterman began feeling lightheaded. He left and called his staff, who picked him up and drove him to the George Washington university hospital.”

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Pennsylvania boy, 9, becomes one of the youngest ever high school graduates

David Balogun, who loves science and computer programming, receives diploma after taking remote classes

A nine-year-old boy from Pennsylvania who loves science and computer programming has become one of the youngest ever high school graduates, and he has already started accumulating some credits toward his college degree.

David Balogun recently received a diploma from Reach cyber charter school – based in his state’s capital of Harrisburg – after taking classes remotely from his family home in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, the local television station WGAL reported Saturday.

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