Thousands of household wells go dry amid California drought
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. — Fourteen years ago, Heriberto Sevilla came across a ranch on the outskirts of Madera set among fields of stalk grass and bright wildflowers. Pepper trees dotted the meadow, and children played in the natural lakes created by heavy rains. It was the perfect place to raise...
Pa. to hire 100 covid contact tracers to replace 1,000 — experts say it’s not enough
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. The Wolf administration will hire at least 100 contact tracers as it rebuilds its depleted team, a dramatic workforce reduction compared...
What’s wrong with Arizona’s 2020 audit? A lot, experts sayVideo
PHOENIX — A cybersecurity firm plucked from relative obscurity to conduct an unprecedented review of ballots in Arizona’s largest county is readying to present its findings to Republican lawmakers. Experts say there should be little anticipation about the revelations from the Maricopa County audit — and whatever those revelations are,...
FDA issues ‘You are not a cow’ warning after livestock drug use
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a strong and unusual warning this week: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” On Friday, Mississippi’s health department issued a warning that more than 70% of recent calls to the state’s poison center came after...
Florida’s peak of the delta wave could be days away, university models showVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida is rapidly approaching the peak of new infections of the delta wave, when the highest single-day counts could come, according to two models created by researchers at Florida universities. One model created by University of South Florida researchers predicts the state will hit the most daily...
Tennessee radio host who regretted vaccine skepticism dies of covid
NASHVILLE — A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from covid-19 has died. He was 61. Nashville radio station SuperTalk 99.7 WTN confirmed Phil Valentine’s death in a tweet Saturday. Valentine had been a skeptic of coronavirus vaccines. But after...
4 takeaways from new Pa. census data and what it means for redistricting
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 — Pennsylvania became less white and more concentrated in and near...
How to get involved in Pa.’s pivotal redistricting process
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. It’s an event that comes just once every ten years. No, not...
22 dead, many missing after 17 inches of rain in Tennessee
McEWEN, Tenn. — At least 22 people were killed and rescue crews searched desperately Sunday amid shattered homes and tangled debris for dozens of people still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through Middle Tennessee. Saturday’s flooding in rural areas took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving...
Veterans are prized recruits as congressional candidates
NORFOLK, Va. — With midterm election season rapidly approaching, Republicans and Democrats have something in common when it comes to recruiting candidates they hope will deliver majorities in Congress: a preference for military veterans. Both parties anticipate a significant number of races where veterans will be opposing each other, using...
Biden says U.S.-led evacuation from Kabul is accelerating
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airport accelerated this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group. One week after the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan by capturing Kabul, Biden...
Moving inland, Tropical Storm Henri drenches Northeast
WESTERLY, R.I. — Tropical Storm Henri socked the Northeast with heavy wind and rain as it made landfall Sunday on the coast of Rhode Island, knocking out power to over 100,000 homes and causing deluges that closed bridges, swamped roads and left many people stranded in their vehicles. The storm...
China allows couples 3rd child amid demographic crisis
BEIJING — China will now allow couples to legally have a third child as it seeks to hold off a demographic crisis that could threaten its hopes of increased prosperity and global influence. The ceremonial legislature on Friday amended the Population and Family Planning Law as part of a decades-long...
Biden sees dip in support amid new covid cases: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is facing a summer slump, with Americans taking a notably less positive view of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his job approval rating ticking down. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 54% of Americans approve...
Europe fears Afghan refugee crisis after Taliban takeover
HANGEDIGI, Turkey — From above, the new border wall separating Turkey from Iran looks like a white snake winding through the barren hills. So far it only covers a third of the 335-mile border, leaving plenty of gaps for migrants to slip across in the dead of night. Traffic on...
IS threat forces U.S. changes to evacuations at Kabul airport
KABUL, Afghanistan — Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, adding a new complication to the already chaotic efforts to get people out of the country...
Explainer: Why it takes months to subdue some wildfires
BOISE, Idaho — At nearly every community meeting on firefighting efforts in the U.S. West, residents want to know why crews don’t simply put out the flames to save their homes and the valuable forests surrounding them. It’s not that simple, wildfire managers say, and the reasons are many, some...
Coastal evacuations urged as Hurricane Henri heads north
Preparations for a storm grew more urgent Saturday as the newly upgraded Hurricane Henri closed in on the Northeast. The storm’s latest track put it on course to collide Sunday with a long stretch of coastline, with hurricane warnings extending from near the old whaling port of New Bedford, Mass.,...
Haitian quake victims rush aid sites, take food and supplies
LES CAYES, Haiti — Haitians left hungry and homeless by a devastating earthquake swarmed relief trucks and in some cases stole desperately needed goods Friday as leaders of the poor Caribbean nation struggled to coordinate aid and avoid a repeat of their chaotic response to a similar tragedy 11 years...
Infowars host Owen Shroyer charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
The host of a program for the right-wing website Infowars, Owen Shroyer, has been charged in connection to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents filed Friday. Shroyer, who hosts “The War Room With Owen Shroyer” for the website operated by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones,...
Gov. Tom Wolf reinstates mask mandate for Pa. state employees
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is reinstating a mask mandate for all state employees and contracted staff working under his jurisdiction regardless of their vaccination status, starting on Monday. State employees were notified on Friday about this change in policy that comes as cases of covid-19 infections are on the rise....
Senators question DOJ funding for AI-powered policing tech
CHICAGO — A Democratic senator said the U.S. Justice Department needs to look into whether the algorithm-powered police technologies it funds contribute to racial bias in law enforcement and lead to wrongful arrests. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, was responding to an investigation by The Associated Press published Thursday...
How many people in Pa. use cannabis for addiction? The Wolf admin won’t say
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 — In 2018, the Wolf administration endorsed cannabis as a treatment for opioid use disorder, despite an absence of research...
Florida mayor urges water limits because of covid-19 surge
ORLANDO, Fla. — The mayor of the Florida city of Orlando asked residents on Friday to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars for a least a week, saying water usage needed to be cut back because of the recent surge of covid-19 hospitalizations. The Orlando Utility Commission treats...
U.S. imposes limited sanctions over Russian gas pipeline
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration imposed new sanctions Friday on three Russian ships and companies involved in constructing a controversial gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. The move comes as lawmakers from both parties criticize the administration for not doing enough to halt the Nord Stream 2 project. But it...
