Another Pa. county raises objection to lawmaker’s election audit
HARRISBURG — Another Pennsylvania county targeted for an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of the 2020 presidential election being pushed by former President Donald Trump is raising strong objections to a sweeping demand for access to its voting equipment and records. York County’s three commissioners — two Republican and one Democrat —...
Los Angeles County restores indoor mask mandate for all
LOS ANGELES — A rapid and sustained increase in covid-19 cases in the nation’s largest county requires restoring an indoor mask mandate even when people are vaccinated, Los Angeles County’s public health officer said Thursday. Dr. Muntu Davis said at a virtual press conference that a public health order requiring...
Rep. Joyce Beatty detained by Capitol police during voting rights demonstrationVideo
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio was arrested by Capitol police Thursday after she marched to a Senate office building to push for voting rights legislation aimed at curbing restrictions in Republican-controlled states. The Columbus Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus joined a coalition of Black women and...
Ex-Florida deputy gets 12 years for planting drugs in people’s cars
MARIANNA, Fla. — A former Florida sheriff’s deputy received a 12-year prison sentence for planting drugs inside drivers’ cars during traffic stops and then arresting them. Former Jackson County deputy Zachary Wester, 28, did not speak at Tuesday’s hearing. He was convicted in May on 19 of 67 counts, including...
Movie producer charged with operating prostitution service
NEW YORK— A movie producer was arrested Thursday in California on a New York indictment accusing him of using a movie production company to operate an international prostitution business. Dillon Jordan, 49, of Arrowhead Lake, California, was arrested in San Bernardino County, California, and awaited an initial court appearance in...
Cleveland State to require coronavirus vaccinations despite law
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleveland State University said Thursday it will continue to require that students living on campus be vaccinated against the coronavirus despite a new law prohibiting public schools and colleges in Ohio from mandating the vaccine. The school, the only public university in the state with such a...
Biden meets with Germany’s Merkel as her long dominance on Europe’s stage draws to an endVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Thursday for what will likely be the final visit of one of America’s foremost allies before she leaves the post she’s held for 16 years, through four U.S. presidencies. The two leaders, whose countries are...
More than 60 dead, dozens missing as severe floods strike EuropeVideo
BERLIN — More than 60 people have died and dozens were missing Thursday as severe flooding in Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging torrents that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse. Recent storms across parts of western Europe made rivers and reservoirs burst their banks,...
Covid-19 cases in Missouri reach highest level since JanuaryVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s health department on Thursday reported the highest daily count of new covid-19 cases since the dead of winter, and the association representing the state’s hospital is warning that the health care system is potentially on the brink of a crisis. The Missouri Department of Health...
Gunman found criminally responsible for killing 5 at Annapolis paper
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A jury on Thursday found the gunman who killed five people at a Maryland newspaper criminally responsible, rejecting defense attorneys’ mental illness arguments. The jury of eight men and four women found that Jarrod Ramos could understand the criminality of his actions and conform his conduct to...
Pennsylvania man in ‘double suicide’ at Gianni Versace’s former mansion, police say
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— Two men apparently killed themselves, police said, in a suite at the Miami Beach hotel that Gianni Versace turned into his mansion, nearly 24 years to the day after the fashion designer died on the building’s front steps. Their bodies were found by housekeeping on Wednesday, the...
‘I felt disrespected,’ Harrisburg woman who ran over and killed her boyfriend with her minivan tells jury
A Harrisburg woman testified Tuesday afternoon that she “felt disrespected” when she ran over and killed her boyfriend with her minivan at a busy city intersection nearly two years ago. “I was upset, frustrated. I felt disrespected and ignored,” Dolly Hendrickes said during the second day of her Dauphin County...
New Cal U interim president to steer consolidation
In their first move toward building a consolidated mega school comprising California, Clarion and Edinboro universities, the board of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has named Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson interim president of Cal U. Her appointment Wednesday places Pehrsson, who joined the State System as president of Clarion University...
Team USA gymnasts will wear leotards by Pa. company — one features 7,600 Swarovski crystals
A Pennsylvania company has made sportswear for U.S. Olympic athletes before. But this is the first time that GK Elite of Reading will be outfitting American Olympic gymnasts. “Although GK has been the manufacturer of previous Olympic Games garments, this will mark the first time that GK Elite’s branding will...
Colin Kaepernick picture book to come out in April
NEW YORK — Colin Kaepernick will release a series of books through the children’s publisher Scholastic, starting with a picture story scheduled for next year. “I Color Myself Different” will come out in April, according to an announcement Thursday by Scholastic and Kaepernick Publishing, which the former NFL quarterback founded...
Pennsylvania’s 2022 U.S. Senate race: What we know so far
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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. One of Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senate seats is up for grabs in 2022 as two-term Republican incumbent Pat Toomey prepares to...
Trump opines on coup while rejecting fears about his actionsVideo
Former President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that he wouldn’t have used the military to illegally seize control of the government after his election loss. But he suggested that if he had tried to carry out a coup, it wouldn’t have been with his top military adviser. In a lengthy statement,...
1st female sailor completes Navy special warfare training
WASHINGTON — For the first time, a female sailor has successfully completed the grueling 37-week training course to become a Naval Special Warfare combatant-craft crewman — the boat operators who transport Navy SEALs and conduct their own classified missions at sea. Navy officials said they would not identify the woman...
Miami security firm faces questions in Haiti assassination
MIAMI — For the owner of a small private security company with a history of avoiding paying debts and declaring bankruptcy, it looked like a good opportunity: Find people with military experience for a job in Haiti. Antonio “Tony” Intriago, owner of Miami-based CTU Security, seems to have jumped at...
Biden ends large-scale logging on huge Alaska rainforest
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Thursday it is ending large-scale, old-growth timber sales on the nation’s largest national forest — the Tongass National Forest in Alaska — and will instead focus on forest restoration, recreation and other non-commercial uses. The announcement by the U.S. Forest Service reverses a Trump...
Critical race theory: What it is, what it isn’t, and what it means for education in Pennsylvania
Critical race theory is not being taught in Pennsylvania public schools, educators say. As with most national flashpoint topics, critical race theory is gaining traction in Pennsylvania. The hot-button issue is pitting progressively minded educators and lawmakers against conservative stakeholders — from parents, voters, to politicians — determined to keep...
Pa. Fish and Boat Commission warns of invasive mudsnails in Cumberland County waters
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Thursday reported on social media that the invasive New Zealand mudsnail has been found in several popular southcentral Pennsylvania trout streams, including those in Cumberland County. The commission said the mudsnails were found in Trindle Spring Run, Big Spring Creek and LeTort Spring...
EU likely to decide on Moderna covid shot for kids next week
AMSTERDAM — A top official at the European Medicines Agency said a decision on whether to recommend that Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine be authorized for children is expected late next week. If approved, it would be the first such license for the shot’s use in children globally. At a press briefing...
Rehabbed mama manatee and her calf set free in Florida river
ORANGE CITY, Fla. — A baby manatee and its injured mother are now swimming in Florida’s St. Johns River after undergoing four months of rehabilitation at Sea World Orlando. They were released Wednesday near Blue Springs State Park, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. It was a bit of good news...
Mexican adults are crossing the border again and again in attempts to reach U.S.
SAN DIEGO — Twenty-four hours a day, adults with scuffed shoes and dusted pant legs file out of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry — sometimes alone and sometimes in groups — into Tijuana’s streets. Many stop to charge their phones in the little plaza that receives southbound pedestrian traffic....
