Trump hits battleground states to court key voters
ATLANTA, Ga. — With fewer than 40 days left before the election, President Donald Trump unveiled his second policy plan in as many days as he tries to chip away at his Democratic rival’s support among Black and Hispanic voters and in key battleground states. At a “Black Voices for...
Virus cases rise in U.S. heartland, home to anti-mask feelings
MISSION, Kan. — It began with devastation in the New York City area, followed by a summertime crisis in the Sun Belt. Now the coronavirus outbreak is heating up fast in smaller cities in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high. Elsewhere around the...
Probe into ‘discarded’ ballots in Pa. becomes campaign outrage fuel
HARRISBURG — The news release from a U.S. attorney in Pennsylvania was provocative: Nine mailed-in military ballots had been “discarded” by the local election office in a swing county of one of the most important presidential battleground states. All of them were marked for President Donald Trump, it said. Then...
Gov. Wolf blasts Trump campaign rallies as public health threat
A day ahead of President Trump’s scheduled campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday blasted the president for disregarding public health advisories on masking and social distancing at a series of rallies across Pennsylvania over the past month. Trump, who held rallies that attracted thousands of...
NASA astronaut plans to cast her ballot from space station
ATLANTA — NASA astronaut Kate Rubins told The Associated Press on Friday that she plans to cast her next vote from space — more than 200 miles above Earth. Rubins is just outside Moscow in Star City, Russia, preparing with two cosmonauts for a mid-October launch and a six-month stay...
Pennsylvania adds 806 new covid cases, 2 new deaths
Pennsylvania added 806 new cases of coronavirus to its tally Friday, according to the state’s Department of Health. It marks the sixth day in a row new cases have been under 1,000. In the past week, there have been 5,520 cases, a nearly 5% decline from the previous seven days...
Virus cases rise in U.S. heartland, home to anti-mask feelings
MISSION, Kan. — It began with devastation in the New York City area, followed by a summertime crisis in the Sun Belt. Now the coronavirus is striking cities with much smaller populations in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high. The spread has created...
Appeals court hears fight over Trump tax returns — again
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court didn’t immediately rule Friday after hearing arguments in President Donald Trump’s long-running fight to prevent a top New York prosecutor from getting his tax returns. Whatever the three-judge panel decides, the closely watched case is almost certain to find its way back to...
In despair, protesters take to streets for Breonna Taylor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Some of them raised their fists and called out “Black lives matter!” Others tended to the letters, flowers and signs grouped together in a square in downtown Louisville. All of them said her name: Breonna Taylor. People dismayed that the officers who shot the Black woman in...
Largest California wildfire threatens marijuana-growing area
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s largest wildfire is threatening a marijuana-growing enclave, and authorities said many of the locals have refused to evacuate and abandon their maturing crops even as weather forecasters predict more hot, dry and windy conditions that could fan flames. The wildfire called the August Complex is nearing...
Congressman halts attempt to rename Mount Rushmore
One of the country’s most famous landmarks probably will keep its name, despite a recent attempt to rename it. A California resident in July proposed renaming Mount Rushmore to Igmu Tanka Paha, a Lakota Sioux name that means Cougar Mountain, according to the federal Board on Geographic Names. Anyone can...
Neighbor calls 911 when hockey fans yell ‘Shoot! Shoot!’
TAMPA, Fla. — A neighbor called sheriff’s deputies on some rabid Tampa Bay Lightning fans who were screaming “shoot! shoot!” as they watched Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final on television Wednesday night. The call prompted several Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies to show up at Devon Garnett’s apartment door....
Ginsburg is first woman to lie in state at U.S. CapitolVideo
WASHINGTON — Commemorations are set to begin Friday honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the U.S. Capitol, the first woman in American history to lie in state at the domed building, capping days of commemoration of her extraordinary life. Mourners are paying tribute to Ginsburg, who...
Belarus detains opposition leader’s lawyer amid protestsVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — Authorities in Belarus detained a lawyer representing a top opposition activist who was jailed this month amid mass protests against the country’s authoritarian president, who won a sixth term in a disputed election. Lawyer Lyudmila Kazak went missing Thursday, with police confirming later in the day that...
Mom’s remains go missing after being mailed to wrong address
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Kentucky woman is sending out what she calls an “urgent plea” after a box containing her mother’s cremated remains went missing after she mailed it to her sister in Florida. On Sept. 9., Amy Redford of La Grange, Kentucky, sent the box via the U.S. Postal...
Giant rat wins animal hero award for sniffing out landmines in Cambodia
LONDON — A rat has for the first time won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery, receiving the honor for searching out unexploded landmines in Cambodia. Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA’s Gold Medal for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion” after discovering 39...
Madrid resists government pressure to extend soft lockdown
MADRID — Authorities in Madrid are expanding restrictions on movement to a further eight areas of the Spanish capital, which is leading the country’s contagion curve, despite a recommendation from the national government that the partial lockdown should apply to all the city. Over 850,000 residents in 37 neighborhoods have...
Hearing seeks to move protest shooter for trial in Wisconsin
A 17-year-old accused of killing two protesters days after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, faces a hearing Friday on whether he should be sent to Wisconsin to stand trial on homicide charges that could put him in prison for life. Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested at his...
Trump promises to protect sick Americans; does his new order do that?Video
WASHINGTON — Less than six weeks before Election Day, President Donald Trump traveled to North Carolina on Thursday to announce his commitment to protecting Americans with preexisting medical conditions and to issue another round of executive orders related to health care. “We are delivering better care, with more choice, at...
At U.N., China, Russia and U.S. clash over pandemic responses
UNITED NATIONS — The United States butted heads Thursday with China and Russia at the United Nations over responsibility for the covid-19 pandemic, trading allegations about who mishandled and politicized the virus in one of the few real-time exchanges among top officials at this year’s covid-distanced General Assembly meeting. The...
Mary Trump files suit saying family cheated her of millions
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s niece followed up her best-selling, tell-all book with a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the president and two of his siblings cheated her out of millions of dollars over several decades while squeezing her out of the family business. Mary L. Trump sought unspecified damages in...
Coalition of nearly 500 former senior military, civilian leaders endorse Biden for president
A large group of generals, admirals and former national security officials from both parties endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday, saying the “current president” is not up to “the enormous responsibilities of his office.” In a letter addressed to “Our Fellow Citizens,” the 489 signatories include 22 four-star...
Resource officer uses Taser on woman who refused to wear mask at Ohio football gameVideo
A resource officer in Ohio shocked a woman with a Taser and forcibly removed her from a football game when she refused to wear a face mask in the stands. The officer asked the woman to put on a face covering, but she refused, claiming that she had asthma, according...
Pa.’s failure to mandate quicker death reporting before the coronavirus fueled wild data fluctuations, mistrust
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 weekly newsletter. For years, Pennsylvania has had a hard time counting its dead. A new analysis shows that in 2017, Pennsylvania had...
House Democrats drafting $2.4 trillion coronavirus relief bill
WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi has directed House committee leaders to put together a more slender coronavirus relief package than the one that previously passed the chamber, in their latest offer in talks with the White House. The House could vote on that as-yet-unreleased $2.4 trillion bill as soon as...
