Scientists figure out how vampire bats got a taste for blood
WASHINGTON — Scientists have figured out why vampire bats are the only mammals that can survive on a diet of just blood. They compared the genome of common vampire bats to 26 other bat species and identified 13 genes that are missing or no longer work in vampire bats. Over...
House leaders call on Nebraska Rep. Fortenberry to resign
LINCOLN, Neb. — Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry on Friday faced growing pressure from congressional leaders and Nebraska’s GOP governor to resign after a California jury found him guilty of lying to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 campaign donation from a Nigerian billionaire. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House...
Amid gas woes, NYC ride-hail drivers seek fuel surcharges
NEW YORK — With fuel prices approaching $5 a gallon at some New York City gas stations, drivers for Uber and Lyft and the city’s taxi fleets are demanding rate surcharges to help offset the rising cost of keeping cars on the road. A group of upset taxi drivers rallied...
Kentucky lawmakers vote to put limits on death penalty
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky would make the death penalty off-limits for some defendants diagnosed with severe mental illnesses under a bill that won final legislative approval on Friday. The Republican-led Senate voted 25-9 to send the measure to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, capping a long effort led by death penalty...
Yemen rebels strike oil depot in Saudi city hosting F1 race
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked an oil depot on Friday in the Saudi city of Jiddah ahead of a Formula One race in the kingdom — their highest-profile assault yet that threatened to disrupt the upcoming grand prix. The attack targeted the same fuel depot that...
Rudy Giuliani associate pleads guilty in fraud scheme
NEW YORK — An associate of Rudy Giuliani pleaded guilty Friday to a conspiracy charge alleging that he defrauded investors in a company supposedly created to prevent people from being defrauded. Lev Parnas, 50, entered the plea to conspiring to commit wire fraud during a remotely held electronic proceeding in...
Supreme Court Justice Thomas released from hospital
WASHINGTON — Justice Clarence Thomas was discharged from the hospital Friday after a stay of nearly a week, the Supreme Court said. Thomas, 73, had entered the hospital last Friday evening after experiencing “flu-like symptoms.” He was treated for an infection with intravenous antibiotics, the court said Sunday in announcing...
Michigan’s top court rejects latest redistricting challenge
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday turned down a challenge by Democratic-aligned groups to a new map for state House seats. The groups claim the map unfairly favors Republicans and conflicts with the state Constitution, which says no party shall have a disproportionate advantage in redistricting. But...
Kosovo Serbs protest to get votes in Serbia’s April election
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Hundreds of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo protested Friday to pressure the government into allowing them to vote in neighboring Serbia’s April 3 general election. Demonstrators gathered in Mitrovica, 28 miles north of Pristina, with banners reading “We want our human rights” and “Kurti won’t drive us away...
Biden in Poland to see U.S. troops, Ukraine refugees
RZESZOW, Poland — President Joe Biden will hear directly from U.S. troops stationed near Poland’s border with Ukraine on Friday and learn about the growing humanitarian response to the millions of Ukrainians who are fleeing to Poland to escape Russia’s assault on their homeland. Biden planned to meet with members...
Female ministers urge Taliban to rethink decision on girls
BERLIN — Female foreign ministers from 16 countries around the world said Friday they are “deeply disappointed” that Afghan girls are being denied access to secondary schools and called on the Taliban to reverse their decision. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools on Wednesday to girls above the...
Ukraine reports 300 died in Russian strike on theater
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities said Friday that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike last week blew up a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering — a catastrophic loss of civilian life that, if confirmed, is likely to further crank up pressure on Western nations...
Teen falls to death from Florida amusement park ride
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 14-year-old boy fell to his death late at night from a free-fall amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district. Sheriff’s officials and emergency crews responded to a call late Thursday at...
Nebraska U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry found guilty in campaign probe
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was convicted Thursday of charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. A federal jury in California found the nine-term Republican guilty of one...
Pennsylvania to raise tip threshold for tipped minimum wage
HARRISBURG — Tipped employees in Pennsylvania will soon have to make more than four times as much money in tips to be paid below the state’s minimum wage, under a new regulation that adjusts for 45 years of inflation. The unanimous vote this week by the five-member Independent Regulatory Review...
Democrats seek SEC action on foreign influence in elections
WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission should adopt regulations to identify foreign-owned companies that spend corporate funds to influence elections, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin and more than a dozen other House Democrats say in a letter they plan to send Thursday. The letter, shared first with CQ Roll Call,...
Report: Justice Thomas’ wife ‘Ginni’ urged overturning 2020 electionVideo
WASHINGTON — Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential election — furthering then-President Donald Trump’s lies that the free and fair vote was marred by nonexistent fraud, according...
Business coalition poll says Pennsylvanians support maintaining natural gas as energy source
Energy policy has become a big issue in this year’s political races, as gas prices have risen significantly and questions have arisen about how America produces oil and gas. Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country, and a new poll from the business coalition Pittsburgh Works...
Trump sues Hillary Clinton, DNC over ‘Russia hoax’
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump is taking Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee to court over what he has called “the Russia hoax,” allegations that his successful 2016 campaign for the presidency was aided by collusion with Russia. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Florida, Trump...
Arizona GOP votes to restrict transgender sports, surgeries
PHOENIX — The Arizona Legislature passed bills Thursday to prohibit gender reassignment surgery for minors and ban transgender athletes from playing on girls sports teams, joining a growing list of Republican-controlled states attempting to restrict transgender rights as they gain more visibility in culture and society. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey...
What makes a political map fair? Here’s what we learned during Pa.’s recent redistricting cycle
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — What makes a political map fair? It’s a question the...
Biden promises new Ukraine aid, warns Russia on chemical weapons
BRUSSELS — President Joe Biden and Western allies pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid on Thursday in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, but their offers fell short of the more robust military assistance that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for in a pair of live-video appearances. Biden also announced...
Herschel Walker, Dr. Oz removed from Biden’s sports councilVideo
HARRISBURG — The White House has removed Dr. Mehmet Oz — best known as daytime TV’s host of “The Dr. Oz Show” — and former football star Herschel Walker from the President’s Council on Sports, Nutrition and Fitness as both men run for U.S. Senate. Oz and Walker — both...
Motorists flock to Chicago area gas stations for free fuel
CHICAGO — Long lines of cars stretched for blocks near Chicago-area gas stations Thursday, signaling that a businessman who has made repeated runs for local and national office was footing the bill for motorists to top off their tanks for a second time. Willie Wilson was giving gas away to...
Ukraine says Moscow is forcibly taking civilians to Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine accused Moscow on Friday of forcibly taking thousands of civilians from the shattered port city of Mariupol to Russia so that they can be used as “hostages” to pressure Kyiv to give up. A month into the invasion, meanwhile, the two sides traded heavy blows in...