Biden mileage rule to exceed Obama climate goal
WASHINGTON — In a major step against climate change, President Joe Biden is proposing a return to aggressive Obama-era vehicle mileage standards over five years. He’s then aiming for even tougher anti-pollution rules after that to forcefully reduce greenhouse gas emissions and nudge 40% of U.S. drivers into electric vehicles...
A police killing in Philadelphia could change Pa. use-of-force cases forever
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 — Philadelphia’s district attorney is challenging Pennsylvania’s use-of-force law ahead of a former police officer’s landmark murder trial, and the...
CDC reverses course on indoor masks in some parts of U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed course Tuesday on some masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant of the coronavirus is fueling infection surges. Citing new information about the variant’s ability to spread among...
Georgia man gets life sentence in 4 of 8 Asian spa killings
CANTON, Ga. — A Georgia man accused of killing eight people at three Asian massage businesses was sentenced Tuesday to life without parole after a prosecutor said investigators saw no evidence of racial bias. Robert Aaron Long was given four life sentences after pleading guilty to all charges in the...
Tokyo reports record virus cases days after Olympics begin
TOKYO — Japan’s capital, Tokyo, reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, days after the Olympics began. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga urged people to avoid non-essential outings but said there was no need to consider a suspension of the Games. Tokyo reported 2,848 new covid-19 cases, exceeding...
‘This is how I’m going to die’: Officers tell Jan. 6 stories
WASHINGTON — “This is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance.” Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell told House investigators Tuesday he could feel himself losing oxygen as he was crushed by rioters — supporters of then-President Donald Trump — as he was defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6...
As Jan. 6 probe begins, Democrat Bennie Thompson vows: ‘We have to get it right’
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson, didn’t realize the severity of the Jan. 6 insurrection until his wife called him. He was inside the Capitol, sitting in the upper gallery of the House, hoping for what he called a “bird’s-eye view of the process”...
Florida mayor: ‘We are in crisis mode,’ as coronavirus cases surgeVideo
ORLANDO — The mayor of the county that hosts Florida’s theme park mecca said Monday that “we are now in crisis mode” when it comes to dealing with soaring numbers of covid-19 infections. Florida accounted for a fifth of the nation’s new infections last week, more than any other state,...
Family: Last victim ID’d in Florida condo building collapseVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The final victim of the condo building collapse in Florida has been identified, a relative said Monday, more than a month after the middle-of-the-night catastrophe that ultimately claimed 98 lives and became the largest non-hurricane related emergency response in state history. Estelle Hedaya, an outgoing 54-year-old...
Injuries reported after house explosion in Blair County
TYRONE — Injuries have been reported following a house explosion in central Pennsylvania, authorities said. Emergency dispatchers in Blair County said the blast in Tyrone was reported shortly after 1 p.m. Monday and flames spread to two other houses. Officials said burn patients were transported to Altoona Hospital and to...
Police: 5 dead, one hospitalized after crash on Long Island
QUOGUE, N.Y. — Five people were dead and another person was in critical condition after a head-on collision on Long Island, according to police. The accident occurred at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday on Montauk Highway in Quogue. A Nissan Maxima traveling west with one person aboard left its lane and...
Trump inaugural chair Tom Barrack: I’m ‘100% innocent’ in lobbying caseVideo
NEW YORK — The chair of former President Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee pleaded not guilty Monday and said he was “100% innocent” of charges that he secretly lobbied the U.S. on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. Tom Barrack, 74, wearing a black mask to protect against coronavirus, appeared...
Pa. law enforcement, lawyers, legislators try to raise awareness of human trafficking
A 22-year-old man from Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. A 46-year-old Chinese national from Mt. Pleasant. A 26-year-old man from Buffalo, N.Y. All three face charges of human trafficking in cases connected to the greater Pittsburgh area. And, on Monday, state police announced charges against three people accused of running a human...
Moderna expands child vaccine trial to get more safety data
Moderna Inc. said it would expand an ongoing trial of its coronavirus vaccine in children under 12 years old to gather more safety data amid worries that messenger RNA shots may trigger rare heart side effects. “The objective is to enroll a larger safety database which increases the likelihood of...
Mississippi sees big jump in covid-19 positive test resultsVideo
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi health officials reported Monday that the state is seeing its highest number of new covid-19 cases in months as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread. The state is also experiencing a sharp increase in the percentage of positive tests. “COVID-19 testing...
Biden: U.S combat mission in Iraq to conclude in 2021Video
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Monday the U.S. military’s combat mission in Iraq will conclude by the end of the year, setting out a more precise timeline for American forces to formally step back in their fight against the Islamic State organization in Iraq. The plan to shift the...
Veterans Affairs mandates covid-19 vaccination for health care workersVideo
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday became the first major federal agency to require health care workers to get covid-19 vaccines, as the aggressive delta variant spreads across the nation and some communities report troubling increases in hospitalizations among unvaccinated people. The VA’s move came on a...
NYC to require vaccines or weekly testing for city workers
NEW YORK — New York City will require all of its municipal workers — including teachers and police officers — to get coronavirus vaccines by mid-September or face weekly covid-19 testing, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. The rule is expected to affect about 340,000 city employees, making the city...
States scale back virus reporting just as cases surge
OMAHA, Neb. — Several states scaled back their reporting of covid-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities. The shift to weekly instead of daily reporting in Nebraska, Iowa and...
At least 8 killed in 22-car pileup in Utah during sandstorm
KANOSH, Utah — A sandstorm caused a huge 22-vehicle pileup on a Utah highway that left eight people dead, including four children, authorities said. The crashes Sunday afternoon on Interstate 15 near the town of Kanosh came at the end of a holiday weekend for the state that often leads...
White House shifts messaging on inflation as Republicans attack
WASHINGTON — The White House is shifting the way it talks about inflation, as polls show increasing voter concern and Republicans try to use rising prices to kill off President Joe Biden’s sweeping plans to spend trillions of dollars on social programs and infrastructure projects. Out: wonky words such as...
L.A. County sees over 2,000 new coronavirus cases daily because of delta variantVideo
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County health officials reported 2,089 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, with hospitalizations rising as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread. There are 716 people currently hospitalized with covid-19, up from 452 on July 16, officials said. The county also reported four new deaths,...
As Florida becomes U.S. epicenter of covid-19, it reports a wrong death countVideo
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida recorded more coronavirus cases this week than California, Texas, New York and Illinois combined, a Palm Beach Post analysis of state and federal data shows. The state logged 73,199 more infections in this week’s state Department of Health report. That’s the biggest one-week surge since...
1960s civil rights activist Robert Moses dies at 86
Robert Parris Moses, a civil rights activist who was shot at and endured beatings and jail while leading Black voter registration drives in the American South during the 1960s and later helped improve minority education in math, has died. He was 86. Moses, who was widely referred to as Bob,...
New trial ordered for York County man accused of murder, faked ATV crash
YORK — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man accused of killing his wife and then faking an all-terrain vehicle accident to cover up the slaying almost a decade ago. The state’s highest court ruled 5-2 Friday that 48-year-old Joseph Fitzpatrick III might not have...
