Pa. Republicans want to create and control an ‘election integrity’ panel with subpoena power
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — One day after President Donald Trump fanned manufactured fears of election fraud in Pennsylvania, Republicans in the state...
NASA tests new $23M titanium space toilet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s first new space potty in decades — a $23 million titanium toilet better suited for women — is getting a not-so-dry run at the International Space Station before eventually flying to the moon. It’s packed inside a cargo ship set to blast off late Thursday...
Doctors ask Supreme Court to strike down Trump abortion rule
WASHINGTON — The nation’s largest doctors’ group on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strike down a Trump administration rule that’s had a far-reaching impact on family planning by prohibiting taxpayer-funded clinics from referring women for abortions. The American Medical Association acted after two U.S. appeals courts issued conflicting rulings...
Court: Amazon not liable in Ohio teen’s powdered caffeine death
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Retail giant Amazon can’t be held responsible under current Ohio product liability law in the death of a high school senior who ingested powdered caffeine, the state Supreme Court said Thursday. At issue before the court was whether the state’s law, which predates online commerce, could be...
Appeals court allows Gov. Tom Wolf, state to restore covid crowd restrictions
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted a request from Gov. Tom Wolf to reinstate crowd gathering restrictions designed to prevent the spread of covid-19. In a two-page order filed just after noon, Judges D. Brooks Smith, Michael Chagares and Patty Shwartz granted the request to stay...
Judge says government’s suit over Bolton book can proceed
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration can move forward with its lawsuit against former national security adviser John Bolton over his tell-all book, a judge ruled Thursday in denying a request to dismiss the complaint. The Justice Department alleges that Bolton’s book, “The Room Where It Happened” contains classified information, and...
Pa. lawmaker’s positive covid-19 test cancels voting session
HARRISBURG — A Republican lawmaker’s positive test for COVID-19 on Thursday prompted legislative leaders to immediately cancel the day’s Pennsylvania House voting session, and human resources workers were deployed to trace his personal contacts to see if others should be quarantined. Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Franklin, issued a statement saying he...
Pennsylvania reports 1,156 new coronavirus cases, 18 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Thursday reported a second day of more than 1,000 new covid-19 cases, along with 18 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The state Department of Health reported 1,156 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 160,123 since March. On Wednesday, the state logged 1,153 cases. The state...
Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to the poor faces trouble
LONDON — An ambitious humanitarian project to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorest people is facing potential shortages of money, cargo planes, refrigeration and vaccines themselves — and is running into skepticism even from some of those it’s intended to help most. In one of the biggest obstacles, rich...
New rules for Liverpool as virus cases in England quadruple
Britain imposed tighter restrictions on social gatherings in the port city of Liverpool and three towns as scientists reported Thursday that the number of covid-19 cases in England has quadrupled or more in the last month. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons on Thursday that the infection...
Pompeo, Vatican talk China after tensions spill out publicly
ROME — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vatican officials discussed religious freedom and their differences over China on Thursday, a day after tensions over the Holy See’s outreach to Beijing spilled out in public. Pompeo spent 45 minutes in the Apostolic Palace with his Vatican counterpart, Cardinal Pietro...
Facebook tightens political ad bans as U.S. election nears
With just over a month to go before Americans head en masse to the polls in an extraordinarily contentious election, Facebook is expanding restrictions on political advertising, including new bans on messages claiming widespread voter fraud. New prohibitions laid out in a blog post come days after President Donald Trump...
French ‘Spiderman’ climbs Frankfurt skyscraper, faces fine
German police say French urban climber Alain Robert faces a criminal investigation and fine after scaling one of Frankfurt’s tallest buildings Thursday. Robert, known as “Spiderman” for his daring stunts, clambered to the top of rail company Deutsche Bahn’s 545-foot-high office building in Germany’s financial capital, untethered and wearing a...
Google to pay $1 billion over 3 years for news content
Google will pay publishers $1 billion over the next three years for their news content. The internet search giant said said Thursday that it has signed agreements for its news partnership program with nearly 200 publications in Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the U.K. and Australia. “This financial commitment - our...
Jimmy Carter, America’s oldest living president ever, turns 96
Former President Jimmy Carter marks his 96th birthday Thursday, the latest milestone for the longest-lived of the 44 men to hold the highest American office. Carter planned to celebrate at his home in Plains, Georgia, with his wife of 74 years, Rosalynn Carter, according to a spokeswoman for the Carter...
Report finds flaws in Catholic Church abuse-prevention plans
NEW YORK — Child-protection policies adopted by Roman Catholic leaders to curb clergy sex abuse in the United States are inconsistent and often worryingly incomplete, according to a think tank’s two-year investigation encompassing all 32 of the country’s archdioceses. The analysis by Philadelphia-based CHILD USA said the inconsistencies and gaps...
U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 837,000 seek jobless aid
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. The Labor Department’s report, released Thursday, suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the weekly...
Moderator Chris Wallace on the wild presidential debate: ‘It was revealing’
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace was surprised by the ugly contentiousness of the first 2020 debate between President Donald Trump and his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, on Tuesday, but he believes the clash still offered viewers plenty of insights about the two candidates. “Obviously it was not the...
Parscale steps back from Trump team after hospitalization
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager is stepping away from the reelection campaign days after he was hospitalized after Florida law enforcement officials said threatened to harm himself. Brad Parscale, one of Trump’s closest political aides, served as the campaign manager for the reelection effort until July, when...
Biden scores big union wins on train trek through Western PennsylvaniaVideo
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood Wednesday for former Vice President Joe Biden as he ventured deep into what was the heart of Trump country in Westmoreland County in 2016 to pick up endorsements from two unions that represent 950,000 working people. Fresh from the spectacle of Tuesday...
12 Democratic governors vow that all votes will be counted
LANSING, Mich. — Twelve Democratic governors issued a joint statement on Wednesday defending American democracy, vowing that every valid ballot will be counted in the election after President Donald Trump sowed distrust during the first presidential debate. Trump claimed without evidence Tuesday night that mail voting — surging in popularity...
California to study reparations for Black Americans
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will develop a detailed plan for reparations under a new law signed on Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, making it the first state to mandate a study of how it can make amends for its role in the oppression of Black people. The law creates a...
Video: Hobbled Black woman begged for help in police cruiser
DENVER — A suburban police agency near Denver is facing more scrutiny for its officers’ treatment of Black people after a video emerged showing a woman begging to be lifted up after she fell to the floor in the back of a police cruiser with her hands and feet cuffed...
Pelosi, Mnuchin have ‘extensive’ talks on covid-19 relief
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held an “extensive conversation” Wednesday on a huge covid-19 rescue package, meeting face to face for the first time in more than a month in a last-ditch effort to seal a tentative accord on an additional round of coronavirus...
Debate commission will make changes after 1st meeting between Trump, Biden
NEW YORK — The presidential debate commission says it will soon adopt changes to its format to avoid a repeat of the disjointed first meeting between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. The commission said Wednesday the debate “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format...
