New York trooper charged with murder in pursuit that killed girl, 11
NEW YORK — A New York state trooper was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of an 11-year-old girl by ramming his patrol vehicle into her family’s vehicle in December, the state’s attorney general announced. Trooper Christopher Baldner was indicted on charges of murder, manslaughter and reckless endangerment in...
Sheriff: Texas children lived in dire conditions as body decomposedVideo
HOUSTON — The three abandoned brothers were thin, malnourished and hungry, living alone for months with no blankets to keep them warm inside an unfurnished Houston area apartment with soiled carpet, flies and roaches. The trio were barely surviving, abandoned and set adrift alongside the decomposing body of their 8-year-old...
Powerful special interests are pouring millions into Pa. Supreme Court race
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Labor unions, lawyers, and a political committee with ties to a billionaire advocate for school choice are underwriting the...
Josh Shapiro breaks with Gov. Wolf over strategy on climate changeVideo
HARRISBURG — Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate for governor, is breaking with Gov. Tom Wolf on the centerpiece of Wolf’s plan to fight climate change amid the strong and sustained pushback it has received from building trades unions that have long backed the party’s candidates for governor. Wolf — a...
Sheriff: Lead bullet fatally struck ‘Rust’ cinematographer; 500 rounds of ammo recovered on setVideo
SANTA FE, N.M. — Authorities have determined that the projectile that fatally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was a lead bullet, one of roughly 500 rounds of ammunition recovered from the set of the film “Rust,” Santa Fe County authorities announced Wednesday. During a news conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan...
Merrick Garland defends school board memo amid Republican criticismVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday defended a memo aimed at combating threats against school officials nationwide while Republicans insisted he rescind the directive. He signaled he had no plans to do so despite their criticism. The memo took center stage as Garland appeared before the Senate Judiciary...
Judge: Colorado parents can’t exempt kids from school masks
DENVER — A federal judge has issued a restraining order against a suburban Denver county’s policy allowing parents to opt their children out of a mask mandate at school, finding that the rule violates the rights of students with disabilities who are vulnerable to covid-19. U.S. District Judge John L....
Cleveland jury acquits man, 83, imprisoned 45 years for wife’s death
CLEVELAND — A jury acquitted an 83-year-old man Wednesday who was convicted at his first trial of killing his wife and spent 45 years in prison. The Cleveland jury deliberated for less than 90 minutes before delivering its verdict in Isiah Andrews’ second aggravated murder trial, Cleveland.com reported. Andrews said...
Exacerbated by pandemic, child care crisis hampers economy
SEATTLE — After Bryan Kang’s son was born in July, the occupational therapist and his wife, a teacher, started looking for child care in the Los Angeles area. The couple called eight day care centers: Some didn’t have spots for months; others stopped taking their calls and some never answered...
U.S. says Assange won’t face supermax prison if extradited
Julian Assange won’t face solitary confinement or supermax prison in Colorado if he’s jailed in the U.S., as lawyers for the country argued his extradition shouldn’t have been blocked by a London judge on mental health grounds. The U.S. laid out several assurances over his potential confinement and access to...
What’s a ‘wealth tax’ and how would it work?
To help pay for his big economic and social agenda, President Joe Biden is looking to go where the big money is: billionaires. Biden never endorsed an outright “wealth tax” when he campaigned for the White House last year. But his more conventional proposed rate increases on the income of...
U.S. issues its 1st passport with ‘X’ gender marker
DENVER — The U.S. has issued its first passport with an “X” gender designation — a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who don’t identify as male or female — and expects to be able to offer the option to nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming people early next...
McDonald’s workers strike to protest workplace harassment
McDonald’s workers in 12 U.S. cities walked off the job Tuesday to protest what they say is an ongoing problem of sexual harassment and violence in the company’s stores. Several hundred workers were expected to participate in Chicago, Houston, Miami, Detroit and other cities, according to Fight for $15 and...
Pa. Lottery awards ‘humongous’ 10-year contracts that will modernize its business
The Pennsylvania Lottery is about to undergo a modernization with new equipment, new signage and a new app. The changes will be rolled out over the course of the coming year as part of the recent execution of the commonwealth’s most lucrative technology contracts to Las Vegas-based Scientific Games Corp....
Biden urges bill over ‘finish line’ as Democrats eye new surtax
WASHINGTON — With his signature domestic initiative at stake, President Joe Biden is urging Democrats to wrap up talks and bring the social services and climate change bill “over the finish line” before he departs Thursday for global summits overseas. Top Democratic leaders are signaling a deal is within reach...
Not a trick: No White House treats for Halloween this year
WASHINGTON — Ghosts and goblins can scratch the White House from their trick or treating routes this year. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be in Europe on Halloween and won’t be at the White House to help hand out candy and other treats. Instead, the Pennsylvania...
State archaeology workshops will focus on free Black communities in Pennsylvania
The State Museum of Pennsylvania will hold its annual archaeology workshops virtually on Saturday, focusing on stories of Black history told through the lens of archaeology. University of Maryland professor Cheryl LaRoche will present “Free Black Communities and Archaeology” as the day’s keynote presentation. LaRoche is a founding member of...
Senate OKs bill to criminalize fleeing arrest on foot
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would make it a crime to flee a police officer who is trying to arrest them, and an additional crime if a police dog is hurt in the pursuit. The bill passed, 36-14, with every Republican and seven of...
Feds: Ohio stock trader fleeced Twitter users in pump-&-dump
NEW YORK — An Ohio trader in penny stocks was arrested Tuesday on charges alleging he earned over $1 million illegally by lying repeatedly to his over 70,000 Twitter followers to get them to buy stocks in what authorities are calling a new social media-infused twist on an old stock...
One year after the police killing of Walter Wallace, Philadelphia agrees to give Tasers to every officerVideo
The city of Philadelphia agreed Tuesday to equip all of its police officers with Tasers, a step announced on the one-year anniversary of the killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a mentally distressed Black man shot and killed by officers outside his West Philadelphia home. Wallace’s death occurred months after the...
Nor’easter has New England bracing for floods, power outagesVideo
BOSTON — A nor’easter barreled up the U.S. coast Tuesday, and forecasters warned it could bring flooding, hurricane-force wind gusts and widespread power outages to New England. The worst of the storm was expected to lash the region late Tuesday through Wednesday morning. Wind gusts as high as 75 mph...
Former South Hills woman accused of dismembering husband’s body, collecting benefits
LAS VEGAS — A 69-year-old Las Vegas woman is accused of defrauding Social Security for years after she allegedly dismembered her dead husband’s body and threw his remains in the trash, according to a federal criminal complaint. Nancy Shedleski deposited $121,000 of her husband’s retirement benefits after his 2015 death,...
FDA advisers back Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11
WASHINGTON — The United States moved a step closer to expanding covid-19 vaccinations for millions more children as a panel of government advisers on Tuesday endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer’s shots for 5- to 11-year-olds. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s...
Illinois police officer dies after shooting near St. Louis
PONTOON BEACH, Ill. — A police officer was shot to death Tuesday by a man at a gas station in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, authorities said. Trooper Jayme Bufford with Illinois State Police said Pontoon Beach Officer Tyler Timmins succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. The officer...
Brooklyn Diocese fires music teacher after same-sex wedding
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Diocese fired a Catholic music school teacher in Queens after he married a man, saying he violated a contractual stipulation to the Catholic Church. Matthew LaBanca, a teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Astoria and a music director at Corpus Christi Church, was fired...
