Mistrial declared in the case of a Philly SWAT officer who pepper-sprayed protesters
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of former city SWAT Officer Richard P. Nicoletti, who is facing criminal charges for pepper-spraying three demonstrators who sat in the middle of I-676 during the city’s racial justice protests in 2020. After deliberating for more than two...
3 ways Shapiro’s budget would change public health in Pennsylvania
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 — When Josh Shapiro pitched his first budget as Pennsylvania’s governor during a nearly hour-and-a-half speech in March, the Democrat...
Texas lawmaker resigns ahead of misconduct expulsion vote
AUSTIN — A Republican Texas state lawmaker resigned Monday ahead of an expected vote to expel him after an investigation found he had inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old intern. Rep. Bryan Slaton, 45, had faced mounting calls from the state Republican party and conservative groups to resign after the...
As Trump probes intensify, foes of ex-president see opening
WASHINGTON — An investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents has intensified in recent weeks, with prosecutors summoning a broad range of witnesses before a federal grand jury and zeroing in on questions of whether the former president or others obstructed government efforts to recover the records. It remains...
Disney updates lawsuit against DeSantis to add new events
ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney on Monday amended its free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis to add recent developments in the tit-for-tat fight between the entertainment giant and the Florida governor, such as a new law granting the state unprecedented authority to inspect a monorail system at Disney World. Disney’s...
Simulation suggests 2020 census missed many noncitizens
New results from a U.S. Census Bureau simulation suggest a significant number of noncitizens were missed in the 2020 census, a national head count during which the Trump administration tried but failed to prevent people in the country illegally from being tallied. A simulated head count by the statistical agency...
Driver in deadly Texas crash charged with manslaughterVideo
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The driver of an SUV that killed eight people when it slammed into a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas, has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday as investigators tried to determine if the crash was intentional. Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, lost control...
Hotel guest wakes up to find night manager sucking on his toes: reports
A bizarre scene occurred at a Hilton Hotel located in downtown Nashville, Tenn., when a hotel guest woke up to find the night manager sucking on his toes, according to news sources. The incident occurred around 5 a.m. March 30 when manager David Neal, 52, created a key card and...
Judge: Wisconsin fake electors complaint must be reheard
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge said Monday he will order that the state elections commission reconsider a complaint filed against fake Republican electors who attempted in 2020 to cast the state’s electoral ballots for former President Donald Trump. But this time, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington said, the...
Macron leads ceremony marking end of WWII in Europe
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron led the traditional ceremony on Paris’ Champs-Elysees Monday, commemorating the day that marked the end of World War II in Europe in 1945. Flanked by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Macron laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de...
U.S. to propose new rules for airline cancellations, delays
The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of the...
War overshadows holiday integral to Russian identity
Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, lauds two tenets that are central to its identity: military might and moral rectitude. But the war in Ukraine undermines both this year. The holiday falling on Tuesday marks the 78th anniversary of Germany’s capitulation in World War II after a relentless Red...
U.S. backs study of safe injection sites, overdose prevention
For the first time, the U.S. government will pay for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by so-called safe injection sites, places where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs and be revived if they take too much. The grant provides more than $5 million over...
IUP initiative garners $1.5 million grant for multi-country STEAMSHOP spaces
INDIANA, Pa. — Indiana University of Pennsylvania has been awarded a $1.5 million Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant to develop an entrepreneurial makerspace ecosystem with Pittsburgh-based company Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing that’ll benefit a local business. The school will lead the effort for the STEAMSHOP (science, technology, engineering, arts...
Russia bans jet skis, ride-hailing ahead of WWII tributes
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia enacted a major security clampdown ahead of Tuesday’s annual commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, curbing the use of drones, jet skis and car-sharing services in its largest cities amid its 14-month war with Ukraine. At least 21 Russian cities canceled...
‘My career of 280 years’: Biden jokes off 2024 age concerns
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden served in the Senate for 270 years. He used to be three years older than his sister Valerie, but now has 20 years on her. And the fourth U.S. president — whom Biden affectionally calls “Jimmy” Madison — is a good friend. All kidding aside, the...
Teacher appreciation? Try better pay, more governors say
HARRISBURG — As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases, bonuses and other perks for the beleaguered profession — with some vowing to beat out other states competing for educators. Already in 2023, governors in Georgia and Arkansas have pushed...
Why so many mass killings? Families, experts seek answers
More than five years after his son was gunned down in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Richard Berger still asks why. Why Stephen Berger was killed the day after celebrating his 44th birthday. Why the gunman rained bullets over the Las Vegas Strip in 2017, turning a...
WHO downgrades covid pandemic, says it’s no longer emergency
GENEVA — The World Health Organization said that covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide. The announcement, made more than three years after WHO declared the coronavirus an...
13 charged after Jordan Neely protesters line up on NYC subway tracks
Thirteen people were hit with charges after a group of protesters angry about Jordan Neely’s chokehold death took over a Manhattan subway station and jumped onto the train bed, cops said Sunday. The protest brought a busy Q train at the Lexington Ave. and E. 63rd St. station to a...
Trump rejects last chance to testify at New York civil trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump rejected his last chance Sunday to testify at a civil trial where a longtime advice columnist has accused him of raping her in a luxury department store dressing room in 1996. Trump, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, was given until 5...
Biden orders flags to half-staff, accuses GOP of ‘shrug’ on guns after Allen mall massacre
WASHINGTON — After ordering flags to half-staff Sunday to honor victims of the Allen shopping mall rampage, President Joe Biden accused Republicans of shrugging off an epidemic of gun violence and reiterated demands to ban assault-style guns and high-capacity magazines. “Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables....
SUV driver hits crowd at Texas bus stop near border; 8 deadVideo
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Police are preparing to arrest the hospitalized driver of an SUV that slammed into a crowd, killing eight people waiting for a bus Sunday outside a migrant shelter in the border city of Brownsville, Texas. At least 10 others were injured, authorities said. With no bench at...
Source: Investigators examine ideology of Texas gunman
ALLEN, Texas — Federal officials are looking into whether the gunman who killed eight people at a Dallas-area mall expressed an interest in white supremacist ideology as they work to try to discern a motive for the attack, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official cautioned the...
Teen dies from sand hole collapse in Outer Banks
NORFOLK, Va. — Authorities in coastal North Carolina are investigating the death of a teenager who became trapped in a hole that was dug in the sand, the latest fatality from the scourge of sand holes that continues to claim young people’s lives. The 17-year-old male died Saturday afternoon in...
