The United Nations chief is appealing for cease-fires in the world’s major conflicts from Yemen and Libya to Afghanistan and Nagorno-Karabakh, warning that if fighting continues “the only winner is the pandemic.” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an interview with The Associated Press that he was renewing his March 23 call for an immediate halt to all conflicts to tackle the coronavirus crisis and to spotlight the most serious global hotspots, He made the appeal ahead of Saturday’s 75th anniversary of the entry into force of the U.N. Charter, which officially established the United Nations. He called for “massive" international support. Read more

Duncan Socrates Lemp became a martyr for an anti-government movement after a police officer shot and killed the 21-year-old man during a pre-dawn raid on his family’s Maryland home in March. The shooting has galvanized a loose network of gun-toting extremists promoting the “boogaloo,” a slang term for a second civil war or collapse of civilization. A social media hashtag campaign invoking Lemp's name has been a mixed blessing for his parents. While they are grateful for the support, Lemp's parents told The Associated Press that their son wasn’t an extremist and couldn’t have posed a threat to the tactical unit officers who stormed their home. Read more

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected accusations of the Kremlin’s involvement in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying that he personally allowed his foe to be flown to Germany for treatment. Putin's most visible and determined opponent fell ill on Aug. 20 during a domestic flight in Russia and was flown to Germany two days later. Tests conducted at labs designated by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent. Making his first public comments on the poisoning, Putin said he had asked Russian prosecutors to allow Navalny to be flown to Germany from Siberia, where he first was hospitalized.  Read more

Millions of people will be watching on television, but only around 200 will be inside the massive college arena in Nashville, Tennessee, where President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden meet for the final presidential debate of the 2020 election. One of them will control a mute button. A representative of the Commission on Presidential Debates will use the button backstage to ensure each candidate has two minutes uninterrupted to deliver opening answers to six major topics. The mute button is among a handful of changes made after the first raucous debate. Trump and Biden will also be separated on stage by a plexiglass barrier. Read more

Police in Easton are looking for a man they say was involved in a robbery and assault. Read more

The university will offer in-person instruction for a limited number of select courses that are necessary for a student’s academic progression. Read more

The county's 2020 household hazardous waste collection program will coincide with early voters dropping off their mail-in ballots on Saturday. Read more

Governor Tom Wolf announced plans aimed at helping restaurants and bars that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

New York appellate judges have upheld a decision to dismiss state mortgage fraud charges against Paul Manafort on double jeopardy grounds. The four-judge panel ruled Thursday that Manhattan prosecutors failed to show that the state charges they brought last year against President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman warranted an exception to the state’s double jeopardy protections. The ruling is another blow to what is widely seen as an attempt by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to hedge against the possibility Trump would pardon Manafort for federal crimes. Vance’s office says it is considering its options. Manafort's lawyer praises the ruling. Read more

France's prime minister has announced a vast extension of the nightly curfew that is intended to curb the spiraling spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Jean Castex said the curfew imposed in eight regions of France last week, including Paris, is being extended starting at midnight Friday to 38 regions and Polynesia. The extension means that 46 million of the 67 million people living in France will be under curfews. Hours after the prime minister announced the curfews, public health authorities reported that France had recorded more than 41,600 new virus cases, a daily high since the country began widespread testing. Figures showed France nearing 1 million cases since the start of the pandemic. Read more

Russian President Vladimir Putin says there is no need for a Russia-China military alliance now but the idea of a future one can’t be ruled out. Putin was asked during a video conference with international foreign policy experts Thursday if a military union between Moscow and Beijing was possible. He replied that “theoretically, it’s quite possible to imagine it.” Russia and China have hailed their “strategic partnership,” but so far rejected any talk about forming a military alliance. Putin says Russia has shared highly sensitive military technologies that helped significantly bolster China’s defense capability. Of a formal alliance, he said, “The time will show how it will develop, but we won’t exclude it.”  Read more

The regular cash fare will increase 10 cents to $1.80; transfers will be offered at no charge. Read more

President Donald Trump has posted full, unedited interviews that he and the vice president did with “60 Minutes” on Facebook before the show’s scheduled broadcast this weekend. The footage shows Trump growing increasingly prickly as Lesley Stahl presses him on a host of topics, including his response to the coronavirus pandemic, his slipping support among suburban women, the lack of masks at his rallies, and the “Obamacare” replacement plan he has long promised but failed to unveil. Trump eventually cut the interview short and declined to appear with Vice President Mike Pence. CBS News in a statement called the White House’s decision “unprecedented” but said the interview would air Sunday, as planned. Read more

Sudanese officials have confirmed that a senior U.S.-Israeli delegation flew to Sudan on a private jet this week to wrap up a deal that would make Sudan the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel this year. Such a deal would deepen Sudan’s engagement with the West after President Donald Trump’s conditional agreement this week to remove the North African country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. It also would deliver a foreign policy achievement for Trump as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3, and give a boost to his embattled ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Read more

Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt, chair of the elections board, said the elections services office is ready to go for Nov. 3. Read more

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network will honor six students through celebrity-directed stories at its 30th annual reimagined ceremony. GLSEN announced Thursday that the ceremony will highlight the students at the Respect Everywhere celebration, which will premiere Monday on the organization’s website. The students’ stories will be told in a series of short videos by directors including Octavia Spencer, Rob Hardy, Kalen Allen, Matt Bomer, Joe Mantello and Antoni Porowski. The online event will showcase six students from around the country that have made an impact on the LGBTQ+ community in their own way. The awards show was previously named the Los Angeles Respect Awards. Read more