Category Archives: Pennsylvania

Trump calls FBI, DoJ ‘vicious monsters’ in first rally since Mar-a-Lago search

Posted on by

Former president also calls Joe Biden’s Philadelphia address the ‘most vicious, hateful, divisive speech’

Speaking in Pennsylvania on Saturday, at his first rally since the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago for top-secret material taken from the White House and since Joe Biden used a primetime address to warn that Republicans were assaulting US democracy, Donald Trump lashed out.

The former president said: “The FBI and the justice department have become vicious monsters, controlled by radical-left scoundrels, lawyers and the media, who tell them what to do.”

Continue reading...

How an alligator became an emotional support animal: ‘They said it was a midlife crisis’

Posted on by

Joseph Henney’s main companion is not an ordinary alligator. ‘He tries to comfort people and is famous for his hugs’

Joseph Henney, 69, grew up on a farm in the same area of Dover, Pennsylvania he lives in now. From a young age, Henney was surrounded by a wide range of animals, such as cattle, coyotes, snakes and hogs, which makes owning a pet alligator perhaps the least surprising thing about him.

But Henney’s gator companion Wally is not an ordinary pet – he’s an official emotional support animal and one that is now somewhat famous after video of Henney and Wally walking together in Philadelphia’s Love Park went viral and triggered a slew of news headlines.

Continue reading...

Dr Oz campaign draws ire over unsavory remarks on Democratic rival’s stroke

Posted on by

The Republican candidate’s aide said John Fetterman would not have suffered had he ‘ever eaten a vegetable in his life’

John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Pennsylvania, might not have had a stroke if he “had ever eaten a vegetable in his life”, an aide to the Republican candidate, Mehmet Oz, said on Tuesday in a strikingly nasty moment in an already bitter contest.

The statement, to Business Insider, came in response to Fetterman’s mockery of a video in which Oz complains about the price of crudités while mangling the names of two Pennsylvania grocery stores.

Continue reading...

Wendy’s pulls lettuce from sandwiches in three states amid E coli outbreak

Posted on by

CDC is trying to determine whether romaine lettuce is the source of an outbreak that has sickened 37 people

The fast-food chain Wendy’s says it is pulling lettuce from sandwiches in its restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania after people eating them there reported falling ill.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday it is trying to determine whether romaine lettuce in Wendy’s sandwiches is the source of an E coli outbreak that has sickened over 30 people – and whether romaine used by the chain was also served or sold at other businesses.

Continue reading...

Two Pennsylvania judges ordered to pay $200m to kids-for-cash scandal victims

Posted on by

Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan accepted $2.8m in illegal payments to send children to for-profit jails

Two Pennsylvania judges who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks were ordered to pay more than $200m to hundreds who fell victim to their crimes.

US district judge Christopher Conner awarded $106m in compensatory damages and $100m in punitive damages to nearly 300 people in a long-running civil suit against the judges, writing the plaintiffs are “the tragic human casualties of a scandal of epic proportions”.

Continue reading...

One dead and 17 injured after car plows into crowd at Pennsylvania event

Posted on by

Crash happened at fund-raiser for victims of fire that killed 10 on 5 August as suspect then went on to kill his mother, police say

One person died and another 17 people were injured when a car plowed into a crowd gathered at a Pennsylvania bar Saturday evening for a fundraiser benefiting families devastated by a house fire that killed 10 earlier this month, according to authorities.

The driver was arrested shortly afterward in connection with the beating death of his mother nearby, police added.

Continue reading...

Pennsylvania house fire kills seven adults and three children

Posted on by

Criminal investigation is under way, authorities say, and one of the firefighters discovered the house belonged to relatives

Seven adults and three children are confirmed dead after a house fire early on Friday, Pennsylvania state police said in a news release. In a shocking and tragic twist one of the firefighters responding to the blaze discovered the house belonged to his relatives, many of whom are now among the dead.

A criminal investigation is under way, authorities said. The children who died in the fire were aged five, six and seven.

Continue reading...

Republican went to son’s same-sex wedding days after voting against equal marriage rights

Posted on by

Glenn Thompson voted against Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right to have a same-sex marriage into federal law

Representative Glenn Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican, attended his son’s same-sex wedding days after the lawmaker voted against a bill that would codify the right to have a same-sex marriage into federal law.

Thompson was one of 157 Republicans who voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which passed the US House last week. On Friday, he attended his son’s wedding.

Continue reading...

North-eastern US braces for record-breaking heat

Posted on by

One heat-related death reported in New York while authorities in Philadelphia extend health emergency declaration

Residents in the north-east US braced for potentially record-breaking temperatures on Sunday as a near-week-long hot spell continued, prompting officials to warn of dangerous heat.

At least one heat-related death, in New York, was reported. Around the region, athletic events were shortened or postponed and cities opened cooling centers and even turned to buses to offer relief from the heat.

Continue reading...

‘Out of a horror movie’: Pennsylvania officer shoots snake around man’s neck

Posted on by

Officer was able to fire one shot that injured 15ft reptile because its midportion, not head, was around the victim’s neck

A police officer in Pennsylvania fatally shot a 15ft snake in the head on Wednesday as it was coiled around a man’s neck while he was in cardiac arrest.

Just after 2 pm, two officers from the Upper Macungie Township police department responded to a call that a male with a snake wrapped around his neck.

Continue reading...

Workers rescued after tumbling into vat of chocolate at Mars Wrigley factory

Posted on by

The pair were carrying out maintenance work on the partially filled tank at the plant in Pennsylvania

Two people were rescued after they somehow fell into a partially filled chocolate tank while doing maintenance work at a candy factory in Pennsylvania.

The incident at the Mars Wrigley plant in Elizabethtown occurred shortly before 2pm on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Pennsylvania Republican primary conceded to Trump-backed Mehmet Oz

Posted on by

Two weeks after the election, David McCormick acknowledged that the statewide recount will not make up the deficit of votes

David McCormick has conceded the Republican primary in Pennsylvania for US Senate to the celebrity heart surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz, ending his campaign more than two weeks after the election as he acknowledged an ongoing statewide recount wouldn’t give him enough votes to make up the deficit.

McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, said on Friday evening that he had called Oz to concede.

Continue reading...

Shapiro: ‘Dangerous’ Republican rival Mastriano could override will of voters

Posted on by

Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania governor says if Mastriano wins he could wield power to choose his own slate of electors and overturn presidential election results

Josh Shapiro, who was nominated this week as the Democrats’ candidate for governor in the electorally critical state of Pennsylvania, has accused his Republican rival of intending to override the democratic will of voters and pick his own winners in future elections.

Shapiro launched his attack on Doug Mastriano in an interview on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. He called Mastriano, a far-right state senator, “dangerous and divisive” and warned that were he to become Pennsylvania’s governor he could wield power to choose his own slate of presidential electors as a means of overturning the results of the 2024 presidential election.

Continue reading...

US primary elections: Dr Oz tied with McCormick in test of Trump’s influence on Republicans – live

Posted on by

Joe Biden will welcome the prime minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson, and the president of Finland Sauli Niinistö to Washington tomorrow.

It will be a very visual symbol of US support for those two European, Russia-adjacent nations joining the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato).

Continue reading...

John Fetterman, Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate, suffers stroke

Posted on by

Lieutenant governor and frontrunner in Democratic primary says he’s recovering and insists ‘campaign isn’t slowing down one bit’

John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and frontrunner in the state’s Democratic US Senate primary, suffered a stroke Friday, and is recovering, he said in a statement.

“On Friday, I wasn’t feeling well, so I went to the hospital to get checked out. I didn’t want to go – I didn’t think I had to – but Gisele insisted, and as usual, she was right,” Fetterman said in a statement posted to Twitter, referring to his wife. “I hadn’t been feeling well, but was so focused on the campaign that I ignored the signs and just kept going.”

Continue reading...

US rocked by three separate mass shootings over Easter weekend

Posted on by

Two teenage boys killed in Pittsburgh in one of at least three shootings over the weekend, including two in South Carolina

Two teenage boys were killed and eight other people were wounded after gunfire erupted at a party in a short-term rental home in Pittsburgh early Sunday, one of at least three mass shootings across the US on Easter weekend.

The other two shootings – both in South Carolina – left a total of 18 people with bullet wounds, once again reigniting calls among advocates for meaningful gun control legislation.

Continue reading...

Philadelphia becomes first major US city to reinstate indoor mask mandate

Posted on by

Covid-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days, the threshold at which city’s guidelines call for masking indoors

Philadelphia on Monday became the first major US city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an Omicron sub-variant.

Confirmed Covid-19 cases had risen more than 50% in 10 days, the threshold at which the city’s guidelines called for people to wear masks indoors, said Dr Cheryl Bettigole, Philadelphia health commissioner.

Continue reading...

‘TV is like a poll’: Trump endorses Dr Oz for Pennsylvania Senate nomination

Posted on by

Former president enthuses about TV doctor in statement and at rally but many on far right doubt conservative credentials

Donald Trump has endorsed Dr Mehmet Oz for the Republican nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania, an expression of support for a fellow TV star which could test the former president’s grip on his party.

Being on TV was “like a poll, that means people like you,” the former president and Celebrity Apprentice star said of Oz, a heart surgeon turned daytime host.

Continue reading...

‘Adults are banning books, but they’re not asking our opinions’: meet the teens of the Banned Book Club

Posted on by

Conservatives are pushing to ban books from school libraries. At a time of crisis, a group of Pennsylvania teenagers are fighting back

“Napoleon’s use of the sheep was notable,” says Jordan Daughtry, 14. She’s clutching a copy of Animal Farm, and referring to the authoritarian Berkshire boar who seizes control of an English acreage, before bending his fellow animals to his will.

The sheep, who represent the unwitting masses in George Orwell’s critique of Joseph Stalin’s totalitarian rule, are “ignorant buffoons”, Daughtry says.

Kiara Daughtry, left, and Lena Cackley.

Continue reading...

Biden visits site of Pittsburgh bridge collapse and promises action with infrastructure law –as it happened

Posted on by

Defense secretary Lloyd Austin will host a joint press conference with joint chief of staff chair Mark Milley later today.

A 2019 law allowing anyone in Pennsylvania to vote by mail is unconstitutional, a state court ruled on Friday.

Continue reading...