Pa. campus assault suspect eludes arrest for 2 years, after ‘So I raped you’ Facebook message
PHILADELPHIA — Two years after a former Gettysburg College student finally saw charges filed over her 2013 campus sexual assault, the man suspected of sending her a Facebook message that said, ” So I raped you,” remains on the run. Shannon Keeler, 28, and her attorneys question how Ian T....
Tech billionaires’ cage match? Musk throws down the gauntlet and Zuckerberg accepts challenge
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are ready to fight, offline. In a now-viral back-and-forth seen on Twitter and Instagram this week, the two tech billionaires seemingly agreed to a “cage match” face off. It all started when Musk, who owns Twitter, responded to a tweet about Meta reportedly...
One year after the anti-abortion ruling, the White House keeps a spotlight on the issue
WASHINGTON — One year ago, Democrats suffered one of the most stinging political defeats in recent history as the Supreme Court, which had been methodically stocked with conservative appointees, eliminated the nationwide right to abortion. Unbowed on Saturday’s anniversary, however, it’s the White House, not Republicans, calling the most attention...
Response to fiery Ohio derailment frustrated by poor communication and incomplete information
OMAHA, Neb. — Firefighters who responded to February’s fiery train derailment in Ohio struggled to immediately identify the hazardous chemicals the train was hauling due to a lack of communication from the railroad, officials said Thursday. During a public hearing in East Palestine — where thousands of residents had to...
China’s president orders safety campaign after explosion at barbecue restaurant kills 31 people
HONG KONG — China’s president ordered a national safety campaign on Thursday after a massive cooking gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwest killed 31 people and injured seven others on the eve of a long holiday weekend. The blast tore through the restaurant at around 8:40 p.m....
Russia-backed officials say explosion damages bridge linking Ukraine’s mainland to Crimea
KYIV, Ukraine — An explosion damaged a bridge that is one of the few links between Crimea and Ukraine’s mainland, Russia-backed officials said Thursday, while Ukraine’s prime minister appealed for patience as Kyiv’s armed forces move ahead with their closely watched counteroffensive. Russian forces in Crimea, which Russia annexed in...
Hondurans see little hope for nation’s prisons as details of cold-blooded massacre emerge
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Authorities in Honduras began to hand over to relatives the hacked, burned corpses of 46 women killed in the worst riot at a women’s prison in recent memory. Some of the bodies were so badly burned they need genetic testing or dental studies to identify, said Yuri...
Moscow court rules U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich must stay in jail until late August
MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Thursday ruled that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late August, rejecting the American journalist’s appeal to be released. The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in late March while on a reporting trip. A...
Is it chicken? Here’s how the first bite of ‘cell-cultivated’ meat tastes
When I told friends and family I was reporting on the first chicken meat grown from animal cells, their first comment was “Eww.” Their second comment was: “How does it taste?” The short answer (you’ve probably heard this sentence before in other contexts): Tastes like chicken. The longer answer, which...
Tornadoes, hail and hurricane-force winds tear through west Texas, killing 4 people in small townVideo
A line of severe storms produced what a meteorologist calls a rare combination of multiple tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and softball-sized hail in west Texas, killing at least four people, injuring nine and causing significant damage around the town of Matador, a meteorologist said Thursday. The storms produced strong winds that...
A year after fall of Roe, 25 million women live in states with abortion bans or tighter restrictions
One year ago Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court rescinded a five-decade-old right to abortion, prompting a seismic shift in debates about politics, values, freedom and fairness. Twenty-five million women of childbearing age now live in states where the law makes abortions harder to get than they were before the ruling....
Coast Guard: The Titan submersible imploded, killing all 5 on boardVideo
A submersible carrying five people to the Titanic imploded near the site of the shipwreck and killed everyone on board, authorities said Thursday, bringing a tragic end to a saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search and a worldwide vigil for the missing vessel. Coast Guard officials said during a...
Justice Department begins turning over evidence to Trump team in classified documents case
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday night that it had begun turning over evidence to former President Donald Trump’s legal team as his lawyers prepare a defense to charges that he illegally retained classified documents. The evidence includes transcripts of grand jury testimony taken in both Washington and Florida,...
Bill would allow Pa. patients to get medical marijuana regardless of illness
Legislation that would loosen up Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act to allow a patient’s doctor to certify medical cannabis as a suitable treatment regardless of the patient’s medical condition is advancing in the state Senate. The Senate Law & Justice Committee on Wednesday voted 10-1 to approve a bill that would...
Hunter Biden plea agreement in tax, gun case set for July court date
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden will go before a judge next month to formally strike a plea agreement with prosecutors on tax and gun charges that will likely spare President Joe Biden’s son time behind bars, according to court documents posted Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika must still approve the...
Stamp honoring John Lewis unveiled at U.S. CapitolVideo
WASHINGTON — Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol was Congressman John Lewis’ favorite place to roam because he enjoyed meeting tourists, sharing stories about the civil rights movement, and shaking hands with colleagues and the police officers who helped keep them safe. Some of those same colleagues gathered in the...
House censures Rep. Adam Schiff over Trump-Russia investigationsVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to censure California Rep. Adam Schiff for comments he made several years ago about investigations into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, rebuking the Democrat and frequent critic of the former president along party lines. Schiff, who will stand in front of the House while...
Pentagon documents leak suspect Jack Teixeira pleads not guilty to federal charges
WORCESTER, Mass. — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal felony charges. Teixeira, 21, entered the pleas during a hearing in Worcester’s federal court days after he was indicted by a...
Justice Scalia led the way for Supreme Court justices taking free trips
WASHINGTON — The late Justice Antonin Scalia left a long legacy on the Supreme Court, from his devotion to originalism to his sharp-tongued rhetoric. But the enthusiastic hunter and fisherman also set a precedent of sorts on how to take free trips without disclosing them — one that is now...
Report: Justice Alito accepted Alaska resort vacation from GOP donorsVideo
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito accepted a 2008 trip to a luxury fishing lodge in Alaska from two wealthy Republican donors, one of whom repeatedly had interests before the court, and he did not disclose the trips on his financial disclosure for that year, ProPublica reports. A story...
Judge orders names of people who posted Rep. George Santos’ $500K bond revealed
NEW YORK — Lying Rep. George Santos has until noon Thursday to decide whether he’ll go to jail to shield the names of the people who helped him post his $500,000 bond. Santos and his lawyer have been fighting to keep secret the names of the people who secured his...
Trump-Russia special counsel John Durham at center of political clash as he appears before CongressVideo
WASHINGTON — The special counsel who investigated the FBI’s probe of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign found himself at the center of a heated political fight as he appeared before a congressional committee Wednesday, with Democrats denouncing his inquiry and Republicans arguing that its findings helped prove...
Tax credits for Pa. families worth billions of dollars are on the table this budget season
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 — Pennsylvania families across the income spectrum could receive more than $2.5 billion in tax breaks by 2028 under two...
Ohio woman dies after being accidentally shot by her 2-year-old son
NORWALK, Ohio — A pregnant Ohio mother died last week after she was accidentally shot in the back by her 2-year-old son who found a loaded weapon on a nearby nightstand, police said. Police Chief David Smith of Norwalk told reporters Tuesday that he was one of the officers who...
Capitol rioter who shocked police officer with stun gun is sentenced to over 12 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A California man who drove a stun gun into a police officer’s neck during one of the most violent clashes of the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 12 years in prison. Daniel “D.J.” Rodriguez yelled, “Trump won!” as he was led out of...
