WHO warns of delta variant virus surge in Europe
GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization’s Europe office says a 10-week drop in covid-19 cases in the region has ended, and warned that a new wave could loom unless people “remain disciplined” and more people get vaccinated. Dr. Hans Kluge on Thursday cited a 10% increase in...
GOP embraces Trump during visit to Texas, border wall
PHARR, Texas — Republican lawmakers traveled to Texas to cheer former President Donald Trump as he paid a visit to the southern border Wednesday and hammered the Biden administration for its immigration policies amid a decades-high spike in border crossings. Trump, who was joined by more than two dozen House...
Lawsuit: St. Louis officers killed innocent man in ‘no knock’ raid
A lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses a St. Louis police SWAT team of killing an innocent man during a “no knock” raid at his home four years ago. The civil rights law firm ArchCity Defenders filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of the children of Don Clark Sr. It names the...
Wyoming man accused of torching toddler has bail set at $1M
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Wyoming man accused of burning a toddler with a butane torch, killing him and disposing of his body in an apartment complex dumpster in February has had his bail set at $1 million. The bail was set for Wyatt Dean Lamb, the boyfriend of the boy’s...
Trump Organization CFO surrenders ahead of expected charges
The Trump Organization’s Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg surrendered to authorities early Thursday ahead of expected charges against him and former President Donald Trump’s company, according to multiple news outlets. Weisselberg was seen walking into the the courthouse in lower Manhattan around 6:20 a.m. with his lawyer. New York prosecutors...
‘Horrified’ and ‘finally’; reaction varies on Cosby release
NEW YORK — Reaction to Wednesday’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling overturning Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction, allowing him to be released from from prison: “Mr. Cosby should never have been prosecuted for these offenses. District attorneys can’t change it up simply because of their political motivation.” — Cosby appellate lawyer...
Cosby’s release leaves accusers dismayed, but women’s advocates say no court can erase their ‘courage and resolve’
PHILADELPHIA — It was late morning in Las Vegas when a caretaker told Autumn Burns that Bill Cosby was about to be released from prison. Assuming it had to be a joke, Burns responded: “Oh, come on.” Then the news flickered on, and Burns, who is 74 and blind, listened...
Revised vote count shows Adams ahead in New York City mayoral primary
NEW YORK — Revised vote counts in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary show Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams maintaining a thin lead, a day after a first attempt to report the results of a ranked choice voting analysis went disastrously wrong. The mayor’s race, part of the first city...
Over 100 deaths may be tied to historic Northwest heat wave
SALEM, Ore. — The grim toll of the historic heat wave in the Pacific Northwest became more apparent as authorities in Canada, Washington state and Oregon said Wednesday that they were investigating more than 100 deaths likely caused by scorching temperatures that shattered all-time records. Oregon health officials said more...
6 more bodies pulled from tower rubble in highest daily toll; confirmed dead reaches 18
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Search crews going through the ruins of a Florida condo tower pulled six more bodies from the rubble Wednesday, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 18. It was the highest one-day toll since the building collapsed almost a week ago into a heap of broken concrete....
Wolf signs off on revisions to Pennsylvania medical pot law
HARRISBURG — Medical marijuana patients can continue to get a three month’s supply at a time, rather than one month’s, under revisions to the Pennsylvania program signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Tom Wolf. The bill makes it easier for producers to remove contaminants such as yeast and mold from...
‘Orange skies’: Biden raising federal pay to fight wildfires
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Wednesday it is hiring more federal firefighters — and immediately raising their pay — as officials ramp up response efforts in the face of a severe drought that is setting the stage for another destructive summer of intense wildfires across the West. President Joe...
House creates committee to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol attack
WASHINGTON — The House voted largely along party lines Wednesday to create a special committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump crowd. The attack occurred while Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential results and forced Vice President Mike Pence and hundreds of lawmakers to...
AP, others win records lawsuit against Wisconsin legislators
MADISON, Wis. — The Associated Press and three other Wisconsin media outlets won a lawsuit Wednesday seeking records related to sexual harassment allegations against a former legislator. The AP, the Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel sued in March 2020 after then-Assembly Chief Clerk Pat...
Atlanta mayor: 2 officers ambushed, 1 wounded in shooting
ATLANTA — Two police officers responding to reports of gunfire in one of Atlanta’s busiest commercial districts were ambushed Wednesday, leaving one of them shot and wounded, the city’s mayor said. A bystander reported hearing a barrage of shots and said he later saw an officer, bleeding badly and, being...
2nd Oath Keeper pleads guilty to conspiracy in Jan. 6 riot
An Alabama man who stormed the U.S. Capitol with other members of the Oath Keepers extremist group pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy and is cooperating with prosecutors in another major boost for the Justice Department in its sweeping Jan. 6 investigation. Mark Grods, 54, is the second member of the...
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dies at 88
WASHINGTON — Donald Rumsfeld, the two-time defense secretary and one-time presidential candidate whose reputation as a skilled bureaucrat and visionary of a modern U.S. military was unraveled by the long and costly Iraq war, died Tuesday. He was 88. In a statement Wednesday, Rumsfeld’s family said he “was surrounded by...
Pennsylvania governor vetoes GOP-led election overhaul, citing voter ID restrictions
This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a Republican rewrite of Pennsylvania’s Election Code on Wednesday, making clear his...
U.S. holiday travel expected to approach pre-pandemic levels
Americans are expected to travel in near-record numbers over the July 4 holiday despite the increased cost of gasoline, rental cars and hotel rooms, according to the trade group AAA. “Americans are ready to catch up on those missed opportunities with their friends and families from last year, especially to...
Bill Cosby released from prison after sex assault conviction overturned by Pa. Supreme Court
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and released him from prison Wednesday in a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as “America’s Dad,” ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby....
‘Severe’ blood shortage prompts donation centers to make a call to arms
Clentin Martin was found where he usually is every 56th day or so — giving blood. “I always felt that it was an obligation to do,” Martin, 74, said while donating at the American Red Cross blood drive at St. Bruno Catholic Church in Greensburg. “It’s something that everybody needs.”...
Actor Allison Mack gets 3 years in NXIVM sex-slave case
TV actor Allison Mack, who played a key role in the scandal-ridden, cult-like group NXIVM, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday on charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the group’s spiritual leader. Mack — best known for her role as a young Superman’s close friend...
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia move ahead with plastic bag bans as Pa.’s preemption nears its end
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 — Cities and townships hoping to ban plastic bags within their borders may finally have the legal authority to do...
Putin: U.S. aircraft involved in Black Sea incident
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft was operating in sync with a British destroyer during last week’s Black Sea incident. Moscow said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of British destroyer Defender on Wednesday to force...
Wolf signs $40M budget package, celebrates public school funding
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed a roughly $40 billion budget package that passed last week, as he touted the importance of new funding for public schools. The hundreds of pages of budget legislation emerged publicly from closed-door negotiations on Friday and won approval within hours in the...
