2 Russian missile strikes hit city in eastern Ukraine, killing 5 people, wounding 31
KYIV, Ukraine — Two Russian missile strikes hit the city center of the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region on Monday, killing five people and wounding at least 31 more, Ukrainian officials said. One of the strikes, which targeted the Ukrainian portion of a region partially occupied...
Property tax and rent rebate program will soon serve more older Pennsylvanians
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 — Thousands more older and disabled Pennsylvanians will qualify for help from a landmark state property tax rebate program, after...
Trump documents case Judge Aileen Cannon reviewing DOJ use of 2 grand juries
The federal judge presiding over the prosecution of Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents is reviewing the “legal propriety” of the government using grand juries in both Florida and Washington to build its case against the former president. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, on Monday...
Worker injured as explosion at Texas paint plant sends fireballs into sky
GARLAND, Texas — A worker was injured early Monday when an explosion set a paint manufacturing plant in the Dallas suburbs ablaze and shot a series of fireballs into the night sky. A company spokesperson said the blast at the Sherwin-Williams plant in Garland happened around 1:15 a.m., and people...
Mega Millions jackpot soars to $1.55 billion, so here’s how hard it is to win
NEW YORK — There’s no shaking it. Your chances of winning the lottery are extremely slim. After no big winner Friday night, the Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion. If someone wins it all on Tuesday, when the next Mega Millions drawing takes place, the prize would...
Attacks at U.S. medical centers show why health care is one of nation’s most violent fields
Word spread through an Oregon hospital last month that a visitor was causing trouble in the maternity ward, and nurses were warned the man might try to abduct his partner’s newborn. Hours later, the visitor opened fire, killing a security guard and sending patients, nurses and doctors scrambling for cover....
How did helicopters collide battling California fire? Authorities probe crash that killed 3
California authorities on Monday were trying to discern how two helicopters battling a small fire in Riverside County collided, leaving three people dead. The two choppers struck each other Sunday near Cabazon, with one crashing and the other safely landing. The incident marks a rare instance in which an aviation...
Trump joins a notorious club: World leaders who got in legal trouble
Former President Donald Trump is on his third set of criminal charges since leaving office, an unprecedented event in the U.S. His allies say this kind of thing only happens in so-called banana republics.That’s far from true. There is a long history of world leaders prosecuted before, during and after...
Indigenous leader inspires Brazilian city to grant personhood to endangered river
GUAJARA-MIRIM, BRAZIL — On the banks of the Komi Memem River, the activity never ceases: women go down the embankment from Laje Velho village carrying basins to wash clothing, while men embark in small canoes on hunting and fishing expeditions. At day’s end, it’s the children’s turn to dive into...
Rail service in southern Pakistan partially restored after train crash that killed 30 people
MULTAN, Pakistan — Passenger rail service was partially restored Monday in southern Pakistan, a day after a train derailed in the region, killing at least 30 people and injuring scores, officials said. Families were holding funerals for the victims of the crash. According to Aqeel Ahmed Qureshi, a doctor at...
Survivor of fatal Pa. bus crash describes chaos, heroism after it turned over
HARRISBURG — A passenger bus carrying up to 50 people crashed and hit another vehicle on a Pennsylvania interstate, killing three bus passengers, state police said. The wreck happened during heavy rain around 11:50 p.m. Sunday on southbound Interstate 81 just north of Harrisburg, state police said. The bus drove...
Chicago girl, 8, fatally shot by man upset with kids making noise, witnesses say
CHICAGO — An 8-year-old Chicago girl riding a scooter was fatally shot in the head by a man who was upset over noise, witnesses said. “It just didn’t make sense. None of it made sense,” a neighbor, Megan Kelley, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Everybody in the community would just tell...
Democrats see Michigan and Minnesota as guides for what to do with majority power
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Fueled by election gains, Democrats in Minnesota and Michigan this year enacted far-reaching policy changes that party leaders in other states are looking to as a potential roadmap for what they could swiftly achieve with similar control. Gun safety packages, expanded voting rights, free meals for...
Hong Kong government to appeal against court’s refusal to ban popular protest song
HONG KONG — Hong Kong government said Monday it was seeking to appeal against the court’s refusal to ban a popular protest song at its request, renewing worries over further erosion of freedom of expression in the city. The court’s decision on July 28 was a setback for Hong Kong...
Trucking giant Yellow Corp. declares bankruptcy after years of financial struggles
NEW YORK — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has declared bankruptcy after years of financial struggles and growing debt, marking a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which was filed Sunday, comes just three years after Yellow received $700 million in pandemic-era loans...
Indictment ignored, Trump barely mentioned as GOP candidates pitch Iowa voters to challenge him
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Few even mentioned his name, and the new federal indictment he faces was completely ignored, as Republican candidates for president tried in Iowa Sunday to present themselves as Donald Trump alternatives. Over the course of two hours, seven GOP hopefuls took their turn on stage in...
Ex-Minneapolis officer unrepentant as he gets nearly 5 years in George Floyd killingVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, did not show any repentance or admit any wrongdoing as he was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months. Thao had previously testified that he merely...
3 killed in bus crash on Pennsylvania Interstate 81
HARRISBURG — Authorities have released the names of two of three people killed in a bus crash on a Pennsylvania interstate near the commonwealth’s capital city. The Dauphin County coroner’s office said Tuesday that 39-year-old Alioune Diop of the Bronx, N.Y., and 26-year-old Serigne Ndiaye, whose residence is unknown, died...
Ravaged by fire, Mojave Desert’s famed Joshua trees may be gone forever
A wildfire burning near the California-Nevada border has ravaged parts of the Mojave National Preserve’s famed Joshua tree forests, and experts worry that the massive blaze will forever change the fragile desert ecosystem. The Joshua trees and other plant species burned by the nearly 94,000-acre York Fire are likely to...
Pence, Trump attorney clash over what Trump told his VP ahead of Jan. 6, 2021Video
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s defense attorney says the former president never asked Mike Pence to overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 election, but only wanted the former vice president to “pause” the certification of votes to allow states to investigate his claims of election fraud. Those baseless...
EPA’s ambitious plan to cut auto emissions to slow climate change runs into skepticism
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s most ambitious plan ever to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles faces skepticism both about how realistic it is and whether it goes far enough. The Environmental Protection Agency in April announced new strict emissions limits that the agency says are vital to...
Veterans see historic expansion of benefits for toxic exposure as new law nears anniversary
WASHINGTON — Nicole Leger always thought of the burn pits at military bases in Afghanistan as more like campfires than health hazards. Ordered to dispose of sensitive documents, she would toss the paperwork into the flames while catching up with fellow soldiers, moments of quiet bonding that provided a respite...
Vivek Ramaswamy’s Hindu faith is front and center in his GOP presidential campaign
Vivek Ramaswamy is as comfortable talking about Bible stories as he is sharing the message of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most sacred Hindu texts. The 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate has been steadily garnering support in a party dominated by conservative Christians. In many polls, he’s...
Free speech group says Penn State’s funding cut to student newspaper suggests lack of support for free expression
A group that advocates for speech and press freedoms is criticizing Penn State University’s decision to eliminate funding for its student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, saying the cut suggests the university does not truly support free expression. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression registered its concerns in a letter...
Pennsylvania man bitten on the head by bear during attack in his garage
DANVILLE — A Pennsylvania man says he’s paying a lot more attention to his surroundings after a surprise attack by a bear in the garage of his home. John Swartz, 60, and his wife Lori, 59, were watching TV at their home outside Danville on the evening of July 27...
