Proud Boys leader charged in Jan. 6 plot jailed until trial
MIAMI — A leader in the far-right Proud Boys extremist group will remain jailed until his trial on charges that he remotely led a plot to stop Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory. In a Miami courtroom Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis cited the danger that...
Drug task force head accused of taking $200K in seized cash
HARRISBURG — The fired head of Lancaster County’s drug task force was charged Tuesday with stealing more than $200,000 in money seized or forfeited by court orders during drug investigations over a six-year period. State prosecutors filed charges against John E. Burkhart, 56, of theft and tampering with evidence and...
Ukraine war may lead to rethinking of U.S. defense of Europe
WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and his push to upend the broader security order in Europe may lead to a historic shift in American thinking about defense of the continent. Depending on how far Putin goes, this could mean a buildup of U.S. military power in...
Paleontologists discover new San Diego saber-toothed catlike species
SAN DIEGO — A newly discovered saber-toothed catlike predator that hunted in the forests and coastal areas of this region 42 million years ago has been given the name Diegoaelurus, or “San Diego’s cat,” the San Diego Natural History Museum announced Tuesday. The discovery of Diegoaelurus — which is now...
Saharan dust storm covers Spain, spreads out across Europe
A huge dust storm swirling over Europe from the Sahara desert made it hard to breathe in large parts of Spain for a second straight day on Wednesday and gave cleaning crews extra work as far away as Paris, London and Belgrade to remove the film of dirt falling on...
Russia steps up bombardment of Kyiv, civilians flee Mariupol
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia stepped up its bombardment of Kyiv on Tuesday, smashing apartments and a subway station, while civilians in 2,000 cars fled Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor in what was believed to be the biggest evacuation yet from the desperately besieged seaport. On the diplomatic front, another round...
Man wanted in stabbing at New York’s MoMA arrested in Philly
PHILADELPHIA — A man suspected of stabbing two workers at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and making threats regarding former President Donald Trump was arrested at a Philadelphia bus terminal early Tuesday after setting his hotel room on fire, police said. Gary Cabana, 60, had been sought by police...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill ending conceal carry permit mandate
COLUMBUS — Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law Monday a measure that will make a concealed weapons permit optional for anyone legally allowed to carry a gun and eliminate the requirement that individuals “promptly” notify police officers that they are carrying a concealed weapon. Ohio’s GOP-controlled Legislature passed the...
Anti-war activist interrupts live Russian state TV news showVideo
A live evening news program on Russia’s main state television channel was interrupted Monday by a person who walked into the studio holding a poster protesting the war in Ukraine. An anchor was speaking during the newscast when a woman appeared on camera behind her holding a sign with the...
Bid underway to refloat cargo ship aground in Chesapeake Bay
BALTIMORE — Efforts were underway Monday to refloat a container vessel that ran aground in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard said. There were no reports of injuries, pollution or damage to the 1,000-foot ship, which grounded Sunday evening, the agency said. The ship, called...
Mississippi governor signs law limiting race in classroom lessons
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill Monday to limit how race can be discussed in classrooms, and it became law immediately. “Contrary to what some critics may claim, this bill in no way, in no shape and in no form prohibits the teaching of history,” Republican...
Book challenges are becoming more frequent, driven in part by social media
The time, thought and effort that English teachers and librarians put into their work is not random, says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director for the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “They have college degrees, they care very deeply about the work they do, and to suggest that the objections of...
Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Thomas, admits to attending Trump’s Jan. 6 rally
The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged for the first time that she attended former President Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021, but insisted she did not join the attack on the Capitol that followed it. Ginni Thomas, a prominent conservative activist in her own right, attended the...
Chicago-area dad faces gun charge after boy accidentally shot, killed mom
CHICAGO — The father of a 3-year-old boy who accidentally shot his mother to death in a Chicago suburb over the weekend is facing a misdemeanor gun charge, the community’s police chief said Monday. Dolton Police Chief Robert Collins Jr. said Romell Watson, 23, who was detained after the shooting,...
The super PAC hammering Mehmet Oz as a RINO is getting money from longtime Democratic donors
PHILADELPHIA — Wealthy investors and executives supporting Republican Senate candidate David McCormick have helped flood Pennsylvania’s airwaves with ads accusing GOP rival Mehmet Oz of being too liberal, a RINO — Republican In Name Only. But some of those same donors have also supported some of the most liberal Democrats...
Julian Assange denied permission to appeal by U.K.’s top court
LONDON — Britain’s top court on Monday refused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the U.S. to face spying charges. The court said it refused because the case “didn’t raise an arguable point of law.” Assange, 50, has sought for years to...
Police arrest man suspected of stalking, killing homeless in New York, Washington D.C.Video
NEW YORK — Police said early Tuesday they arrested a suspected gunman who has been stalking homeless men asleep on the streets of New York City and Washington D.C., killing at least two people and wounding three others in less than two weeks. Law enforcement arrested the suspect in Washington,...
House Democrats seek probe of USPS plan for new mail truck fleet
WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are seeking an investigation into a U.S. Postal Service plan to replace its aging mail trucks with mostly gasoline-powered vehicles. The plan largely ignores White House calls to replenish the mail-service fleet with electric vehicles and has drawn sharp criticism from the...
West Virginia advances bill punishing banks for cutting oil ties
West Virginia’s legislature has approved a proposal that could restrict the state’s work with financial institutions that have limited their business with coal and oil companies. The measure, Senate Bill 262, is now under consideration by Republican Gov. Jim Justice, after clearing both chambers over the weekend. If enacted, the...
U.S. warns Chinese on support for Russia in Ukraine warVideo
WASHINGTON — Face to face, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser warned a top Chinese official on Monday about China’s support for Russia in the Ukrainian invasion, even as the Kremlin denied reports it had requested Chinese military equipment to use in the war. U.S. adviser Jake Sullivan and senior...
In Ukraine, female war reporters build on legacy of pioneers
LOS ANGELES — Clarissa Ward interrupted her live TV report on Ukrainian refugees to help a distraught older man, then a woman, down a steep and explosion-mangled path, gently urging them on in their language. A day later, Lynsey Addario, a photographer for The New York Times, captured a grim...
Maryland’s last public Confederate monument removed
EASTON, Md. — A statue that was thought to be the last Confederate monument on a courthouse lawn in Maryland was removed Monday. The “Talbot Boys Statue” was removed first and workers then loaded the stone base onto a flatbed truck by crane as a small crowd watched. Some passing...
Raskin nomination for Fed in peril as Democrat opposes pick
Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said Monday that he opposes the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to a key position on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, endangering her prospects of winning Senate confirmation. Raskin’s nomination has been stuck in the Senate Banking Committee after Republicans last month...
Former Pa. Attorney General Kathleen Kane arrested for DUI
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 — Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane was arrested Saturday in her hometown of Scranton for driving under the influence...
Dr. Rachel Levine named among Women of the Year by USA Today
Former Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, who coordinated the commonwealth’s initial response to the coronavirus pandemic before being appointed to the Biden administration, has been named among the Women of the Year by USA Today. Levine, the U.S. assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health...
