Charges put focus on Jehovah’s Witnesses’ handling of abuseVideo
YORK HAVEN — A Pennsylvania grand jury in recent months accused nine men with connections to the Jehovah’s Witnesses of child sexual abuse in what some consider the nation’s most comprehensive investigation yet into abuse within the faith. The sets of charges filed in October and February have fueled speculation...
Supreme Court temporarily extends access to abortion pill
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has temporarily extended women’s access to an abortion pill until Friday while the justices consider whether to allow restrictions on mifepristone to take effect as a legal challenge to the medication’s Food and Drug Administration approval continues. In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito...
Uvalde families plead for languishing Texas gun bills
AUSTIN, Texas — Parents whose children were killed in the Robb Elementary School massacre made sobbing pleads for stricter gun laws before legislators early Wednesday on languishing proposals that appeared headed to stall in the face of a Republican majority. The emotional late-night hearing — which started Tuesday morning and...
Tennessee moves to shield gun firms after school shooting
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the wake of a deadly school shooting last month, Republican lawmakers in Tennessee awarded final passage Tuesday to a proposal that would further protect gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits. The Senate’s 19-9 vote sends the bill to Republican Gov. Bill Lee, despite...
Colorado gun control bills progress; semi-auto ban unlikely
DENVER — Months after the state’s latest mass shooting, Colorado’s Democratic-controlled Legislature has passed a package of gun control measures that are expected to be signed by the state’s governor and more closely align it with the liberal strongholds of California and New York. The proposals include strengthening red flag...
In memoir, former Cuomo aide says ‘nothing goes unaddressed’
ALBANY, N.Y. — A memoir from the top aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the deadliest days of the covid-19 pandemic, and an investigation that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, will come out in the fall. Union Square & Co. will release “What’s Left Unsaid: My...
DeSantis appointees begin reshaping Disney World’s district
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees on Wednesday began trying to reshape Disney World’s governing body with proposals to eliminate a planning board and prohibit mask mandates and covid-19 vaccine requirements in an evolving showdown between the Republican governor and the world’s best-known entertainment company. The...
Neighbor: Man in wrong-turn shooting disliked trespassersVideo
When Kaylin Gillis and her friends took a wrong turn into an upstate New York driveway last weekend, they couldn’t have known the property was owned by a man who, according to a neighbor, had grown increasingly bitter over the years at people driving onto his land by mistake. This...
Hospital sues Missouri’s top prosecutor over trans care data
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City hospital is suing Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey over what it calls his “burdensome” requests for records on gender-affirming care. In a lawsuit filed last week in Jackson County, attorneys for Children’s Mercy Hospital asked a judge to deny Bailey’s 54 investigative demands...
4 killed in Maine home; 3 wounded in linked highway shooting
BOWDOIN, Maine — Four people were fatally shot Tuesday at a house in Maine shortly before gunfire wounded three others on a busy highway, in a pair of crimes that are linked, authorities said. One person was in custody. Police closed a portion of the interstate highway and residents and...
Parking garage partially collapses in Manhattan, killing 1, injuring 5
NEW YORK — A parking garage collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattan’s Financial District, killing one worker, injuring five and crushing cars as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes, officials said. Vehicles tumbled into what looked like a frozen stream of sedans and SUVs....
Iowa’s Senate advances bill to loosen child labor laws
DES MOINES — Lawmakers in Iowa’s Senate passed a controversial bill Tuesday that would allow minors to work longer hours and work in currently banned roles, such as serving alcohol at restaurants, the Des Moines Register reported. Supporters of the bill — mainly Republicans — said it would give children...
FDA clears extra covid booster for some high-risk Americans
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Tuesday cleared another booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna covid-19 vaccines for older Americans and people with weak immune systems. The Food and Drug Administration also took steps to make coronavirus vaccinations simpler for everyone, saying that anyone getting a Pfizer or Moderna dose...
Expecting more than $1B in opioid settlement money, Pa. grapples with policing versus treatment
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 — A historic settlement to resolve claims against opioid companies is expected to bring Pennsylvania more than $1 billion, but...
Ralph Yarl shedding ‘buckets of tears;’ shooter in custodyVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As 16-year-old Ralph Yarl struggled to come to grips with being shot for going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner who shot the Black teenager turned himself in on Tuesday. Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the...
Pennsylvania to restrict ‘tranq,’ animal sedative linked to overdoses
HARRISBURG — States are increasingly looking to restrict access to an animal tranquilizer showing up in supplies of illicit drugs and contributing to a growing number of human overdose deaths. Pennsylvania’s governor said Tuesday that his administration will add xylazine to the state’s list of controlled substances, tightening regulations on...
Republicans object to replacing Dianne Feinstein on Judiciary panel
WASHINGTON — Republicans blocked a Democratic request to temporarily replace California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, leaving Democrats with few options for moving some of President Joe Biden’s stalled judicial nominees. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, objected to...
Old NASA satellite falling to Earth, risk of danger ‘low’
An old NASA satellite is expected to fall to Earth this week, but experts tracking the spacecraft say chances are low it will pose any danger. The defunct science satellite known as Rhessi will plummet through the atmosphere Wednesday night, according to NASA and the Defense Department. NASA said Tuesday...
Oklahoma sheriff says recording of killing talk was illegal
An Oklahoma sheriff’s office says a newspaper’s audio recording in which the sheriff and others are reportedly heard discussing killing two journalists and hanging Black people was illegal and predicted felony charges will be filed. A post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page — the agency’s first public comment since...
Patriots owner Kraft joined by Meek Mill for Holocaust march
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft led a delegation that included rapper Meek Mill on a march in Poland on Tuesday to honor victims and survivors of the Holocaust. The 3-kilometer “March of the Living” is an annual commemoration that covers the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex, the largest Nazi...
New to volunteering? A how-to guide to find the right fit
Over the last 20 years, fewer and fewer people in the U.S. have donated their time through volunteering with nonprofits. While it’s not the only way to give back to your community, volunteering through nonprofit organizations is a powerful way to make a difference. Nonprofits support many of our society’s...
Southwest passengers face delays after nationwide grounding
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines planes were briefly grounded nationwide Tuesday for what the airline called an intermittent technology issue, leading to more than 1,800 delayed flights just four months after the carrier suffered a much bigger meltdown over the Christmas travel rush. The hold on departures was lifted by late...
Rat ambassadors try to counter bad press amid NYC’s rat war
SAN DIEGO — As an ambassador for rats, it’s never easy to win over the public. There’s that hairless tail after all. But Runa at the San Diego Zoo is doing her best to counter the bad press. She is one of a handful of such so-called ambassadors showing off...
Gun safety demonstrators carry caskets to Tennessee Capitol
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Protesters calling for gun safety legislation were blocked from bringing caskets inside Tennessee’s Capitol on Monday, but a recently reinstated legislator escorted an infant-sized casket inside before he was barred from carrying it onto the House floor. Protesters led by Bishop William Barber II marched in Nashville,...
Lawmakers steer toward food stamp clash on work requirements
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, as they work on the 2023 farm bill, are staking out positions on nutrition and food stamps — the Agriculture Department’s biggest single program and a perennial source of contention. The draft bill may still be months away, but Republican members of Congress have already said they...
