Police: Brazil school shooter wore swastika, planned attack
BRASILIA, Brazil — A former student armed with a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver who killed three people and wounded 13 in two schools in Brazil had a swastika pinned to his vest and had been planning the attacks for two years, police said. The shootings took place Friday at...
Sober or bright? Europe faces holidays during energy crunch
VERONA, Italy — Early season merrymakers sipping mulled wine and shopping for holiday decorations packed the Verona Christmas market for its inaugural weekend. But beyond the wooden market stalls, the Italian city still has not decked out its granite-clad pedestrian streets with twinkling holiday lights as officials debate how bright...
Civilians escape Kherson after Russian strikes on freed city
KHERSON, Ukraine — Fleeing shelling, hundreds of civilians on Saturday streamed out of the southern Ukrainian city whose recapture they had celebrated just weeks earlier. The escape of hundreds from Kherson came as the country paid homage to the millions of Ukrainians who died in a Stalin-era famine — and...
Inflation hovers over shoppers seeking deals on Black Friday
NEW YORK — Cautious shoppers hunted for the best deals at stores and online as retailers offered new Black Friday discounts to entice consumers eager to start buying holiday gifts but weighed down by inflation. Due to elevated prices for food, rent, gasoline and other essentials, many people were being...
Here’s why Pa. House Democrats will lose their majority for at least a few weeks
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 — Democrats won control of the Pennsylvania state House on Nov. 8, but their majority is going to disappear for...
Emboldened Biden, Dems push ban on so-called assault weapons
WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden speaks about the “scourge” of gun violence, his go-to answer is to zero in on so-called assault weapons. America has heard it hundreds of times, including this week after shootings in Colorado and Virginia: The president wants to sign into law a ban on...
U.S. official urges de-escalation as Turkey strikes Syria
BEIRUT — A U.S. official in Syria on Friday called for an “immediate de-escalation” following days of deadly airstrikes and shelling along the Syria-Turkey border, saying the actions destabilize the region and undermine the fight against the Islamic State group. Turkey this week launched a wave of airstrikes on suspected...
Musk plans to relaunch Twitter premium service, again
LONDON — Elon Musk said Friday that Twitter plans to relaunch its premium service that will offer different colored check marks to accounts next week, in a fresh move to revamp the service after a previous attempt backfired. It’s the latest change to the social media platform that the billionaire...
Impeachment process of Philly DA Krasner to continue next week
Following a 107-85 vote in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania state House, the impeachment process of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner will move forward next week with a tentative trial date set for January. Krasner, a Democrat who has pushed for criminal justice reform policies and harsher punishment for police misconduct, has...
Trial begins for 2 Swedes charged with spying for Russia
STOCKHOLM — Two Iranian-born Swedish brothers were on trial in Sweden Friday, charged with spying for Russia and its military intelligence service GRU for a decade. Peyman Kia, 42, and Payam Kia, 35, appeared before the Stockholm District Court to face charges of having worked jointly to pass information to...
Mexico’s domestic airline industry in shambles
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s domestic airline industry is in shambles, plagued by safety problems, a ratings downgrade by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and vandalism. This week alone, passengers missed connections because thieves cut the fiber optic cables leading into the Mexico City airport, forcing immigration authorities to return to...
Walmart shooter left death note, bought gun day of killing
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Walmart supervisor who fatally shot six co-workers at a store in Virginia bought the gun just hours before the killings and left a note on his phone accusing co-workers of mocking him, authorities said Friday. “Sorry everyone but I did not plan this I promise things...
Deer hunting in Pennsylvania starts this weekend
The biggest day on the Pennsylvania hunting calendar — opening day of the firearms season on deer — begins at a half-hour before sunrise on Saturday. More than 850,000 people have purchased some form of general hunting license, from resident adult to mentored youth, this year. For families, hunting clubs...
Serbian police shot man in border town clash between migrants
BELRADE, Serbia — One man was shot and wounded and a number of others were detained following reports of a clash between migrants in a northern Serbian town on the border with Hungary, police said on Friday. Police said they found a 20-year-old man shot twice in the chest after...
After a year, omicron still driving covid surges and worries
A year after omicron began its assault on humanity, the ever-morphing coronavirus mutant drove covid-19 case counts higher in many places just as Americans gathered for Thanksgiving. It was a prelude to a wave that experts expect to soon wash over the U.S. Phoenix-area emergency physician Dr. Nicholas Vasquez said...
Indonesia earthquake toll reaches 310 as more bodies found
CIANJUR, Indonesia — The death toll from an earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Java island early this week rose to 310 after rescuers found more bodies under landslides, an official said. At least 24 people remain missing. In devasted towns in western Java, residents gathered near badly damaged mosques for Friday...
Russia rains missiles on recaptured Ukrainian city
KHERSON, Ukraine — Natalia Kristenko’s dead body lay covered in a blanket in the doorway of her apartment building for hours overnight. City workers were at first too overwhelmed to retrieve her as they responded to a deadly barrage of attacks that shook Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson. The 62-year-old...
Europe scrambles to help Ukraine keep the heat and lights on
KYIV, Ukraine — European officials are scrambling to help Ukraine stay warm and keep functioning through the bitter winter months, pledging Friday to send more support that will mitigate the Russian military’s efforts to turn off the heat and lights. Nine months after Russia invaded its neighbor, the Kremlin’s forces...
Shoppers hunt for Black Friday deals but inflation makes bargains elusive
NEW YORK — Consumers holding out for big Black Friday deals — and some much-needed relief from soaring costs on just about everything — may be disappointed as they head into the busiest shopping season of the year. While retailers are advertising sales of 30%, 50% and 70% off everything...
Musk says he is granting ‘amnesty’ to suspended Twitter accounts
SAN FRANCISCO — New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Thursday that he is granting “amnesty” for suspended accounts, which online safety experts predict will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation. The billionaire’s announcement came after he asked in a poll posted to his timeline to vote on...
France takes 1st step to add abortion right to constitution
PARIS — Lawmakers in France’s lower house of parliament on Thursday adopted a bill to enshrine abortion rights in the country’s constitution, the first step in a lengthy and uncertain legislative battle prompted by the rollback of abortion rights in the United States. The measure was approved with 337 lawmakers...
Writer who accused Trump of 1990s rape files new lawsuit
NEW YORK — A writer who accused former President Donald Trump of rape filed an upgraded lawsuit against him Thursday in New York, minutes after a new state law took effect allowing victims of sexual violence to sue over attacks that occurred decades ago. E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer filed the...
Iranian soccer player arrested amid World Cup scrutiny
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran arrested a prominent former member of its national soccer team on Thursday over his criticism of the government as authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow over its competition at the World Cup. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported...
Bombed, not beaten: Ukraine’s capital flips to survival mode
KYIV, Ukraine — Residents of Ukraine’s bombed capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafés for power and warmth Thursday, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark. In scenes...
Walmart shooting raises need for violence prevention at work
NEW YORK — The mass shooting Wednesday at a Walmart in Virginia was only the latest example of a workplace shooting perpetrated by an employee. But while many companies provide active shooter training, experts say there is much less focus on how to prevent workplace violence, particularly how to identify...
