Texas clinics’ lawsuit over abortion ban ‘effectively over’
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday dealt essentially a final blow to abortion clinics’ best hopes of stopping a restrictive law that has sharply curtailed the number of abortions in the state since September and will now fully stay in place for the foreseeable future. The ruling...
Texas judge blocks investigations of trans youth parents
A Texas judge on Friday blocked the state from investigating as child abuse gender confirming care for transgender youth. District Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to compel the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate reports...
Florida Gov. DeSantis, Disney butting heads on LGBTQ issue
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Disney World is suspending its political donations in Florida after the company’s CEO received huge blowback for not using Disney’s vast influence in the state to try to quash a recently passed Republican bill that would prevent teachers from instructing early grades on LGBTQ issues. Shortly after,...
Ex-student protest leader becomes Chile’s youngest president
SANTIAGO, Chile — Left-leaning former student leader Gabriel Boric vowed to improve the lives of all Chileans and attack deep inequality that has sparked massive protests, hours after being inaugurated Friday as the youngest president in the country’s history. At 36, Boric was only 4 years old when democracy returned...
Russia widens social media crackdown by blocking Instagram
Russian regulators said Friday that internet users will be blocked from accessing Instagram because it’s being used to call for violence against Russian soldiers, in Moscow’s latest move to tighten up access to foreign social platforms. The communications and media regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement that it’s restricting national...
Russia’s bioweapon conspiracy theory finds support in U.S.
Russia’s baseless claims about secret American biological warfare labs in Ukraine are taking root in the U.S. too, uniting covid-19 conspiracy theorists, QAnon adherents and some supporters of ex-President Donald Trump. Despite rebuttals from independent scientists, Ukrainian leaders and officials at the White House and Pentagon, the online popularity of...
Former Carlisle police detective gets prison for trading official actions for sex
A former Pennsylvania police detective who served on a drug task force was sentenced Friday to more than six years in prison for having traded official actions for sexual favors. Former Carlisle police officer Christopher Collare, 54, of Blythewood, South Carolina, was sentenced to 75 months on charges of bribery,...
Trade group requests $294M increase in senior funding in Pa., citing Medicaid underfundingVideo
A trade association representing more than 370 senior housing, health care and community service providers in Pennsylvania are calling for state lawmakers to approve a $294 million increase in nursing home funding. The request comes on the heels of a report commissioned by LeadingAge PA showing that Pennsylvania nursing homes...
Pennsylvania payrolls, labor force grew in January
Pennsylvania’s payrolls grew again in January, the unemployment rate crept down and the labor force expanded after more than a year of contraction, according to new figures released Friday. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 5.4% from December’s adjusted rate, according to the state Department...
U.S. slashes Russia trade status, bans alcohol and seafood
President Joe Biden announced Friday the U.S. will dramatically downgrade its trade status with Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine and also ban imports of Russian seafood, alcohol and diamonds. The broad trade shift, which revokes the “most favored nation” status for Russia, is being taken in coordination...
Russian warplanes, artillery widen attack, hit industry hub
LVIV, Ukraine — Russia’s airplanes and artillery widened their assault on Ukraine on Friday, striking airfields in the west and a major industrial hub in the east, as Moscow’s forces tried to regroup from recent losses and their onslaught fast reduced crowded cities to rubble. American intelligence officials offered an...
EU foreign policy chief says ‘pause’ needed in Iran talks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Friday that “a pause” was needed in ongoing talks over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers, blaming “external factors” for the delay. The comments by Josep Borrell come as a roadmap appeared imminent for the U.S. to...
N. Korea may fire big missile to put spy satellite in space
North Korea has tested parts of its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile in two recent launches, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said, a suggestion it is likely to fire that weapon soon to put a spy satellite into orbit in what would be its most significant provocation in years. Separately,...
EPA plan would limit downwind pollution from power plants
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a federal plan that would restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution they can’t control. The plan announced Friday is intended to help more than two dozen states meet “good neighbor” obligations under the...
Senate gives final approval to Ukraine aid, huge budget bill
WASHINGTON — A $13.6 billion emergency package of military and humanitarian aid for besieged Ukraine and its European allies easily won final congressional approval Thursday, hitching a ride on a government-wide spending bill that’s five months late but loaded with political prizes for both parties. With Russian President Vladimir Putin’s...
IRS plans to hire 10,000 workers to relieve massive backlog
WASHINGTON — The IRS said Thursday it plans to hire 10,000 new workers to help reduce a massive backlog that the government says will make this tax season the most challenging in history. The agency released a plan to work down the tens of millions of filings that includes speeding...
PennDOT picks construction group for bridge-tolling project
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has picked a consortium of companies to manage construction on as many as nine major interstate bridges in Pennsylvania — upgrades on the aging spans that are to be paid for by tolls under the administration’s current plan. Wolf’s push for tolling comes as...
AP photos: Ukrainians fleeing war ‘can’t leave’ pets behind
Mounds of abandoned clothes and other personal items lie strewn along corridors leading out of Ukraine. The farther people carry their things, the harder it is, so they leave them behind, said Ludmila Sokol, a gym teacher fleeing Zaporizhzhia in the south. But their pets, they keep alongside them. Everywhere...
The 4 reasons the Pa. Supreme Court picked the winning congressional map
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — In February, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced that it had...
EU united on Ukraine, but won’t offer fast-track membership
European Union leaders meeting in France Thursday ruled out fulfilling Ukraine’s demand for a fast-track integration with the bloc, as they discussed ways to help the eastern country that’s been invaded by neighboring Russia. EU nations have been fully united in backing Ukraine’s resistance, adopting unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia,...
U.S. misjudged Ukraine’s will to fight Russia, officials admit
WASHINGTON — Top U.S. intelligence officials admitted Thursday that they underestimated Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s invasion, a mistake for intelligence agencies that have otherwise been lauded for accurately predicting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention to launch a war. “My view was that, based on a variety of...
GOP lawmakers in Kentucky advance 15-week abortion ban
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Republican lawmakers advanced a proposal Thursday to ban abortions after 15 weeks in Kentucky, part of a new push by abortion opponents to place restrictions on the procedure. The measure is modeled after a Mississippi law under review by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that...
U.S. extends mask rule for travel while weighing new approach
WASHINGTON — Federal officials are extending the requirement for masks on planes and public transportation for one more month — through mid-April — while taking steps that could lead to lifting the rule. The mask mandate was scheduled to expire March 18, but the Transportation Security Administration said Thursday that...
Patients divided over Alzheimer’s drug: Is it a ‘risk I’m willing to take’ or just a ‘magic pill’?
If you listen to the nation’s largest Alzheimer’s disease advocacy organizations, you might think everyone living with Alzheimer’s wants unfettered access to Aduhelm, a controversial new treatment. But you’d be wrong. Opinions about Aduhelm (also known as aducanumab) in the dementia community are diverse, ranging from “we want the government...
Scathing reports find U.S. military failures in 2020 Kenya attack
Military investigations have found poor leadership, inadequate training and a “culture of complacency” among U.S. forces undermined efforts to fend off a 2020 attack by militants in Kenya that killed three Americans, U.S. officials familiar with the probes told The Associated Press ahead of the release of the findings, expected...
