Florida’s surgeon general: Masks hamper clear communication
MIAMI — Florida’s surgeon general said conversations while wearing masks aren’t productive and argued that he offered to meet elsewhere when a state senator didn’t let him in her office without a mask, citing a serious health condition. Dr. Joseph Ladapo said in a statement released Tuesday that he offered...
Billionaire tax runs into criticism; big Biden plan in flux
WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ idea for a new billionaires’ tax to help pay for President Joe Biden’s social services and climate change plan has quickly run into criticism as too cumbersome, with some lawmakers preferring the original plan of simply raising the top tax rates on corporations and the wealthy....
Florida manatee deaths soar as polluted water kills seagrass
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida fishing guide and environmental activist Paul Fafeita says a highlight for his charter customers is spotting the manatees that forage for seagrass in shallow waters. It’s not so thrilling when they come across the emaciated carcass of a manatee that starved to death. “It’s not...
Finance reports show Youngkin with lead in cash on hand
RICHMOND, Va. — During the first three weeks of October, Republican candidate for Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin outraised Democrat Terry McAuliffe, while McAuliffe outspent Youngkin, according to campaign finance reports. Youngkin closed out the period with a nearly $6 million cash-on-hand advantage, according to reports compiled by the Virginia Public...
Virus cut access to courts but opened door to virtual future
Just two reporters were allowed inside a Georgia courtroom to serve as the eyes and ears of the public when jury selection began for the men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Pandemic restrictions also kept reporters and the public out of the courtroom during the sex-trafficking trial of music star...
150 people arrested in U.S.-Europe darknet drug probe
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Europe have arrested 150 people and seized more than $31 million in an international drug trafficking investigation stemming from sales on the darknet, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The arrests are connected to a 10-month investigation between federal law enforcement officials...
Congress plans fixes for U.S. military’s AWOL weapons problems
Congress is set to force America’s armed services to keep better track of their guns and explosives, imposing new rules in response to an Associated Press investigation that showed firearms stolen from U.S. bases have resurfaced in violent crimes. Under the proposals, the Department of Defense would tell both lawmakers...
SpaceX needs to tame toilet trouble before weekend launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX is taming some toilet troubles in its capsules before it launches four more astronauts. The company and NASA want to make sure the toilet leaks won’t compromise the capsule launching early Sunday from Kennedy Space Center or another one that’s been parked at the International...
Where have all the students gone?: Western Pa. colleges struggle with declining enrollment
Colleges across the region, ranging from the University of Pittsburgh to local community colleges, are mirroring troubling national trends in enrollment. In a development experts say could lead to gaps in the workforce and affect the nation’s economic health for years to come, college enrollment is down overall for the...
Prosecutor drops felony charge against central Pa. man for 43-cent ‘theft’
The Perry County district attorney’s office dismissed a felony charge that Pennsylvania State Police had filed against a homeless man after he paid $2 for Mt. Dew drink that cost $2.29. Joseph Sobolewski maintained all along that his arrest for retail theft after visiting the Exxon at 3298 Susquehanna Trail...
Iran says cyberattack closes gas stations across country
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A cyberattack targeted gas stations Tuesday across Iran, shutting down a government system managing fuel subsidies and leaving angry motorists stranded in long lines at shuttered stations. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though it bore similarities to another months earlier that seemed...
Grenade detonated after routine traffic stop in Florida
Sheriff’s deputies making a routine traffic stop in north Florida found a grenade inside a pickup truck. The 65-year-old driver was initially pulled over for having expired tags, but Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies also found that his driver’s license had expired in 2019, the agency said in a Facebook post....
State police report seizing large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl during 3rd quarter
State police continue to seize large amounts of cocaine and fentanyl in 2021. Statistics provided by the agency show that troopers have confiscated 852 pounds of cocaine through Sept. 30, including 314 pounds of the drug valued at $6.9 million in the last three months. State police seized 175 pounds...
Police union sues NYC to stop vaccine mandate implementationVideo
NEW YORK — New York City’s largest police union filed a lawsuit Monday to keep a covid-19 vaccine mandate for police officers from going into effect, calling it a “draconian imposition.” The Police Benevolent Association, which represents about 24,000 police officers in the New York Police Department, filed its lawsuit...
Police: 2 die, 6 injured in Idaho mall shooting
BOISE, Idaho — Police in Boise said Monday two people were killed and six injured — including a police officer — in a shooting at a shopping mall. A suspect has been taken into custody. At a news conference authorities said they were working their way through each business at...
Pennsylvania lawmakers get started on bills aimed at lobbyist influence
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state House of Representatives on Monday began advancing a package of bills aimed at lobbyist influence, including limiting gifts from lobbyists and prohibiting lobbyists from trying to influence an elected official for whom they also worked as a campaign strategist. The bills won passage in the House...
Sheriff: Child’s remains, 3 abandoned siblings found in Texas home
HOUSTON — The skeletal remains of a child were found inside an apartment in the Houston area along with three surviving siblings who appear to have been abandoned, a sheriff said. One of the children, a 15-year-old, called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday afternoon and told authorities that...
Missouri tornado confirmed as storms sweep into IllinoisVideo
FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. — The National Weather Service has confirmed a strong tornado that thrashed the southwestern Missouri city of Fredericktown as strong storms that swept the state and into Illinois overnight damaged buildings and knocked out power, but left no serious injuries. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-3 tornado...
2 border agents fired for offensive Facebook posts
Two Border Patrol agents were fired from among 60 found to have committed misconduct for participating in a private Facebook group that mocked migrants and lawmakers, investigators said Monday in the most detailed public account yet of an episode that tarnished the agency’s reputation. Most agents’ penalties were significantly reduced...
Ohio reports more deaths than births for 1st time in state history
COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the first time in state history, Ohio recorded more deaths than births last year, a development experts say was expedited by covid-19. The Columbus Dispatch reported Monday that roughly 143,661 Ohioans died last year while 129,313 were born, according to data from the Ohio Department of...
Panel OKs data for redrawing Pa. Assembly, Congress district maps
HARRISBURG — The five-person commission redrawing Pennsylvania General Assembly district lines gave its approval on Monday to adjusted and validated census-based data they will use to craft preliminary maps over the coming months. “Even though we have 90 days to develop a preliminary plan under the provisions of the state...
Pa. is on the brink of regulating recovery homes for the first time
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 — The Wolf administration has cleared one of the final hurdles to enact oversight of Pennsylvania’s drug and alcohol recovery...
Biden ‘positive’ on budget deal; Manchin OK with wealth tax
WASHINGTON — Pivotal Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin appears to be on board with White House proposals for new taxes on billionaires and certain corporations to help pay for President Joe Biden’s scaled-back social services and climate change package. Biden said Monday he felt “very positive” about reaching agreement on his...
Moderna says its low-dose covid shot works for kids 6-11
Moderna said Monday that a low dose of its covid-19 vaccine is safe and appears to work in 6- to 11-year-olds, as the manufacturer joins its rival Pfizer in moving toward expanding shots to children. Pfizer’s kid-size vaccine doses are closer to widespread use. They are undergoing evaluation by the...
UN: Greenhouse gas levels hit a new record, cuts fall short
GENEVA — Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a new record high last year and increased at a faster rate than the annual average for the last decade despite a temporary reduction during pandemic lockdowns, the World Meteorological Organization said in a report published Monday. The news came as the United Nations...
