George Floyd’s family holds rally, march in brother’s memory
MINNEAPOLIS — Members of George Floyd’s family, and others who lost loved ones to police encounters, joined activists and citizens in Minneapolis for a march that was one of several events planned nationwide to mark the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death. Hundreds of people gathered for the rally Sunday in...
Iran agrees to extend deal on cameras at its nuclear sites
VIENNA — Iran and the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agreed on Monday to a one-month extension to a deal on surveillance cameras at Tehran’s atomic sites, buying more time for ongoing negotiations seeking to save the country’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers. The last-minute discussions further underscored the narrowing window...
Blinken off to Mideast to push peace talks after Gaza truce
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East to press the Israelis, Palestinians and regional players to build on last week’s Gaza cease-fire by laying the groundwork for an eventual resumption in long-stalled peace talks. President Joe Biden announced Blinken would depart on Monday for...
NYC mayor: Public schools will be all in person this fall
New York City schools will be all in person this fall with no remote options, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. “We can’t have a full recovery without full-strength schools, everyone back, sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again,” de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” The roughly 1 million...
As Congress returns to funding earmarks, who will benefit?
HUFFMAN, Texas — Don’t tell Laura Fields that providing $1.7 million to her flood-prone neighborhood would be wasteful spending. Her home in a Houston-area subdivision was filled with 10 inches of water during Hurricane Harvey. “The stress of that was just horrific,” Fields said. “You know, to see fish swimming...
Whimsical new NYC waterfront park floats over Hudson River
NEW YOR — A whimsical new park that appears to float on pilings above the Hudson River opened to the public just off the Manhattan shoreline Friday, four years after a fight between media mogul Barry Diller and a billionaire real estate developer threatened to derail it. The new park,...
Rand Paul says he’s skipping vaccine for now, may reconsider
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said on a radio show he won’t be getting the covid-19 vaccine, but that he might change his mind if people who previously contracted the disease are getting reinfected at a greater rate than those who are vaccinated. The Republican —...
Leaving home: West Virginia population drop is largest in the U.S.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After her company told employees in 2017 to start working remotely, customer service representative Haley Miller decided to break from her lifelong home of West Virginia. The beaches of St. Petersburg, Fla., provide a far different view than the mountains of her native state. There are palm...
Police: 1 killed, at least a dozen others shot at South Carolina concert
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — More than a dozen people were shot during a concert in North Charleston, S.C., including a 14-year-old girl who was killed, police said Sunday. Early indications are that a fight broke out during what police called an unannounced and unauthorized concert in a neighborhood late Saturday,...
Viral video draws hundreds to California party; 150 arrestedVideo
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — A birthday party invitation that went viral on TikTok brought hundreds of people to a raucous celebration on a Southern California beach Saturday night, prompting police to declare an unlawful assembly and arrest about 150 people after they refused orders to disperse. The massive gathering began...
Biden aide rules out ‘inaction’ as GOP balks on spending planVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden “will not let inaction be the final answer” on his infrastructure spending plan, and will change course if it becomes clear a bipartisan outcome is impossible, said a top White House adviser. Senate Republicans on Friday panned Biden’s trimmed-down $1.7 trillion infrastructure proposal, saying the...
21 die in extreme weather in China ultramarathon
BEIJING — Twenty-one people running a mountain ultramarathon have died in northwestern China after hail, freezing rain and gale-force winds hit the high-altitude race, state media reported Sunday. After an all-night rescue operation in freezing temperatures involving more than 700 personnel, rescuers were able to confirm that 151 people were...
Covid testing’s value shrinks as vaccines beat back virus
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials’ new, more relaxed recommendations on masks have all but eclipsed another major change in guidance from the government: Fully vaccinated Americans can largely skip getting tested for the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that most people who have received...
Italian cable car plunges to the ground, killing at least 14Video
ROME — A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy’s most picturesque lakes plummeted to the ground Sunday and then tumbled down the slope, killing 14 people. The lone survivor, a young child, was hospitalized in serious condition with broken bones, authorities said. Six...
Growing mystery of suspected energy attacks draws U.S. concern
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is facing new pressure to resolve a mystery that has vexed its predecessors: Is an adversary using a microwave or radio wave weapon to attack the brains of U.S. diplomats, spies and military personnel? The number of reported cases of possible attack is sharply growing...
The mob made me do it: Rioters claim Jan. 6 crowd at fault
Christopher Grider said he came to Washington on Jan. 6 with no intention of rioting. But he got caught up in the mob of angry supporters of then-President Donald Trump as they surged into the U.S. Capitol, breaking through police barriers and smashing through doors. It wasn’t his fault, he...
Belarus opposition figure detained when flight diverted
KYIV, Ukraine — A prominent opponent of Belarus’ authoritarian president was arrested Sunday after the airliner in which he was traveling was diverted to the country after a bomb threat, in what the opposition and Western officials denounced as a hijacking operation by the government. Raman Pratasevich, who faces charges...
Lawmakers report receiving fewer gifts during pandemic as push for ban continues
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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. Every May, state legislators and other public officials are required to file reports detailing, among other items, whether they received pricey...
2 dead, 12 injured in shooting at New Jersey house partyVideo
FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. — At least two people were killed and 12 others were wounded in a shooting at a large South Jersey house party, state police said. New Jersey State Police said a 30-year-old man and 25-year-old-woman were fatally shot. There were 12 other people who were injured and...
Police: 3 dead, 3 wounded in shooting outside Youngstown, Ohio barVideo
At least three people were killed and three others were wounded in a shooting Sunday outside a bar in Youngstown, Ohio, police said. Chief Carl Davis of the Youngstown police department said gunfire was reported shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday in the area of the Torch Club Bar & Grille...
CNN cuts ties with Rick Santorum over disparaging comments
NEW YORK — CNN is cutting ties with former Pennsylvania senator and current TV analyst Rick Santorum over disparaging comments he made about Native American culture. On CNN, Santorum was a senior political commentator who was often tasked with giving the Republican point of view during campaign coverage. His parting...
Downtown Minneapolis shooting leaves 2 dead, 8 injured
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis reeled anew at another outbreak of carnage Saturday after three people were killed in overnight shootings, two of them at a downtown nightclub where eight others were also wounded. The gunfire, which erupted about 2 a.m. outside the Monarch nightclub at 322 N. 1st Av., came just...
Experts say Pa.’s 2021 primary was typical, but GOP lawmakers are seizing on issues
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 — Pennsylvania’s primary hardly resembled the election of six months ago, when local officials were furiously counting millions...
Hamas defiant with military parade, appearance of top leader
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hundreds of masked Hamas fighters brandishing assault rifles paraded in Gaza City and the group’s top leader made his first public appearance on Saturday, in a defiant show of strength after the militants’ 11-day war with Israel. Saturday marked the first full day of a...
Correctional officers charged with sleeping night of Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide dodge jail time in proposed deal
NEW YORK — Two federal correctional officers accused of sleeping on the job and browsing the internet the night Jeffrey Epstein hanged himself will dodge jail time under a proposed deal with prosecutors. Tova Noel and Michael Thomas will complete 100 hours of community service and be under pretrial supervision...
