Black doctor dies of covid after racist treatment complaints
INDIANAPOLIS — A Black doctor who died battling covid-19 complained of racist medical care in widely shared social media posts days before her death, prompting an Indiana hospital system to promise a “full external review” into her treatment. Dr. Susan Moore, 52, tested positive for covid-19 late last month and...
In other white Christmas news, 74 pounds of cocaine found floating off the Florida Keys
MIAMI — The Keys sheriff’s office came across some white stuff Christmas week. But it wasn’t the usual kind of snow. About 74 pounds of cocaine was spotted floating off the Lower Keys by a fisherman Wednesday afternoon. The fisherman, who was boating south of Sugarloaf Key, notified a Monroe...
Pennsylvania passes 600,000 coronavirus cases; adds 165 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 14,755 new coronavirus cases over the past 48 hours, as the Keystone State jumped over the 600,000-case mark. Officials said 7,581 additional cases were reported Christmas Day, while 7,174 were reported the day after. The new data bring the total cases to 605,141. That’s a jump...
Thousands of ballots will be audited as part of Pa.’s post-election review
HARRISBURG — At least 64 counties in Pennsylvania have begun the process of auditing the November election to verify that the original vote tally was correct and there were no errors in the state’s declaration of Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election. It’s only the second time...
Execution of only woman on U.S. death row delayed, possibly to after Joe Biden’s inauguration
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after President-elect Joe Biden takes office. U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss also vacated an order from the director...
Israeli jets strike Gaza after militants fire rockets
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli aircraft struck several sites in the Gaza Strip early Saturday after Palestinian militants fired two rockets toward southern Israel. The airstrike targets included rocket manufacturing facility and training and military posts belonging to Hamas, the militant group ruling Gaza, according to the military. Palestinian...
Thousands of ballots will be audited as part of Pa.’s post-election review
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. This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — At least 64 counties in Pennsylvania have...
Despite smooth election, GOP leaders seek vote restrictions
ATLANTA — Changes to the way millions of Americans voted this year contributed to record turnout, but that’s no guarantee the measures making it easier to cast ballots will stick around for future elections. Republicans in key states that voted for President-elect Joe Biden already are pushing for new restrictions,...
Downtown Nashville explosion knocks communications offline
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A recreational vehicle parked in the deserted streets of downtown Nashville exploded early Christmas morning, causing widespread communications outages that took down police emergency systems and grounded holiday travel at the city’s airport. Police were responding to a report of shots fired Friday when they encountered the...
Lower Burrell woman spent months battling covid long-haul syndrome
When Kristin Giron Stewart was discharged from UPMC St. Margaret hospital after a 13-day battle with covid-19 over the summer, she thought she was well on her way to recovery. The 47-year-old Lower Burrell woman grew frustrated and frightened as the days wore on, and she continued to struggle with...
2 children die in Detroit fire; mom, 3 kids leap to safety
A Christmas morning fire killed a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old at a home on Detroit’s east side and forced others to jump from a second-floor window to escape, fire department officials said. The Detroit Fire Department said the two children were found dead in a front living room of the...
A pandemic Christmas: Services move online, people stay home
Families that usually reunite on Christmas over a hearty, lingering meal stayed home Friday, services were held online, and gift exchanges were low-key in one of the most unusual holiday seasons in decades. The coronavirus left almost no one unaffected. Patricia Hager, 60, delivered homemade caramel rolls for breakfast to...
Police: N.Y. man steals mini-snow plow, crashes into Target store
BAY SHORE, N.Y. — A Long Island man has been arrested after a Christmas morning crime spree that gave new meaning to the term doorbuster. It happened shortly before 2 a.m., Suffolk County police said, when Justin Shuffle stole a 2010 Bobcat skid loader, which is used to push snow,...
British army helps clear backlog of virus-stranded drivers
Around 1,000 British soldiers were spending Christmas Day trying to clear a huge backlog of truck drivers stuck in southeast England after France briefly closed its border to the U.K., then demanded coronavirus tests from all amid fears of a new, apparently more contagious, virus variant. Even though an estimated...
Philly police fatally shoot gunman accused of shooting into a crowd, killing teen and injuring another
Christmas morning got off to a grim start in Philadelphia when a street fight escalated to one man firing a gun into a crowd, striking two teenagers in the neck before officers fatally shot him, according to police. A 15-year-old male whose identity was not released was pronounced dead at...
Police: Suspicious blast wounds 3 in Nashville on Christmas
An explosion shook the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, shattering windows, damaging buildings and wounding three people. Authorities said they believed the blast was intentional. Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said police were responding to a report of shots fired when they encountered a recreational...
Judge delays execution of only woman on U.S. death row
A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office. U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss also vacated an order from the director of the...
Pope on Christmas: Vaccines for all; needy, vulnerable first
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis made a Christmas Day plea for authorities to make covid-19 vaccines available to all, insisting that the first in line should be the most vulnerable and needy, regardless of who holds the patents for the shots. “Vaccines for everybody, especially for the most vulnerable and...
Trump golfs in Florida as covid relief hangs in the balance
PALM BEACH — After tossing a grenade that threatens to blow up a massive covid relief and government funding bill and force a government shutdown in the midst of a pandemic, President Donald Trump spent his Christmas Eve golfing in Florida. Failure to agree on the bill could deny checks...
Warrant: Co-worker confessed to fatally stabbing UPS driver
WATERTOWN, Conn. — A UPS employee accused of fatally assaulting a co-worker he was helping deliver packages told police he stabbed the man before fleeing into the woods, according to an arrest warrant released Thursday. When he was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon by state troopers at a gas station...
Ohio police chief urges officer who shot Black man be fired
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The police chief of Columbus, Ohio, recommended on Thursday that the officer who shot and killed Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, earlier this week be fired. Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a statement that he filed two departmental charges alleging critical misconduct against officer Adam...
Reward offered in cases of slashed California pelicans
LOS ANGELES — A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of whoever is slashing the pouches and necks of brown pelicans on the Southern California coast. International Bird Rescue posted the reward after four pelicans with identical, severe injuries were brought in for care at...
Michigan canvasser still afraid after threat, suspect arrest
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — The Republican chair of a county canvassing board in Michigan who initially refused to certify local election results that favored Vice President Job Biden over President Donald Trump said Thursday that she doesn’t know a woman charged with sending her threatening text messages. Wayne County Canvasser...
Florida governor’s spokesman deletes his Twitter account after posting about covid-19 victims
ORLANDO, Fla. — Fred Piccolo, spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, deactivated his Twitter account Wednesday after he tweeted in the middle of night that photos of each dead COVID-19 victim should be balanced with 99 photos of people who survive the disease. In response to a Reuters photo gallery on...
Online store stops selling Rittenhouse family’s merchandise
KENOSHA, Wis. — An online sales company has stopped selling merchandise supporting an Illinois teen who killed two people and wounded a third during a protest in Wisconsin this summer. The Kenosha News reported Thursday that Kyle Rittenhouse’s family began selling “Free Kyle” merchandise through Printify last week. Printify creates...
