Supreme Court sides with GOP in Alabama election map caseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold a lower court ruling that Alabama must draw new congressional districts before the 2022 elections, boosting Republican chances to hold six of the state’s seven seats in the House of Representatives. The court’s action, by a 5-4 vote, means the...
Governors in 4 states plan for end to school mask mandatesVideo
TRENTON, N.J. — The governors of four states announced plans Monday to lift statewide mask requirements in schools by the end of February or March, citing the rapid easing of covid-19′s omicron surge. The decisions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon were announced as state and local governments grapple...
U.S. warns midterms could spark calls for extremist violence
WASHINGTON — The upcoming midterm elections are emerging as a rallying point for domestic extremists and foreign adversaries seeking to disrupt the U.S. and incite violence, the Department of Homeland Security warned Monday. Unsubstantiated fraud claims, which have haunted the country since the 2020 presidential election, may be used to...
Police: 1 killed in shooting at Washington state grocery store
RICHLAND, Wash. — Police say one person was killed and another injured Monday morning in a shooting at a Fred Meyer store in Richland, Wash. Police said the suspect is a white man with a handgun who is believed to have fled the store after the 11:04 a.m. shooting. Richland...
Bill to protect doctors who prescribe ivermectin, other unproven drugs against covid-19 advances
A state House committee on Monday approved a bill that would free doctors to prescribe off-label drugs to treat covid-19 and allow pharmacists to fill the prescriptions, also without penalty. The bill was authored by Republican state Rep. Dawn Keefer of York County. It was approved by the health committee...
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he regrets his campaign’s tweet attacking teen
RICHMOND — Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Monday that he regrets what he called an “unauthorized” tweet sent from his campaign account over the weekend that attacked a high school student and invoked a scandal previous Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam faced. “On Saturday night, an unauthorized tweet came from...
See how the final Pa. state House map scores in every key area
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 — A panel has approved a new Pennsylvania House map that...
Muscogee dismayed by nearly naked statue of Georgia ancestor
ATLANTA — There’s a problem with putting someone on a pedestal: Exposed on all sides, a hero to some can be seen as a traitor to others. Atlanta plans to install a statue of a Native American man atop a 110-foot column in its new Peace Park, where it will...
Black colleges alarmed by bomb threats, but undeterred
From her office in Birmingham, Alabama, DeJuana Thompson looks across the street and sees a daily reminder of terror. Her window overlooks the 16th Street Baptist Church, where a bomb in 1963 killed four young Black girls. “Living in the era of bomb threats is not new to people of...
Temple professor asks court to reinstate lawsuit against FBI
A Temple University physicist who was charged with sharing scientific technology with China only for the case to collapse before trial and be dismissed by the Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Monday to reinstate his lawsuit against the U.S. government. Lawyers for Xiaoxing Xi and his wife...
Ukraine crisis talks move to Moscow and Washington
MOSCOW — International efforts to defuse the standoff over Ukraine intensified Monday, with French President Emmanuel Macron holding talks in Moscow and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington to coordinate policies as fears of a Russian invasion mounted. The buildup of an estimated 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine has fueled...
Bicyclist falls to her death from rising Florida drawbridge
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A bicyclist fell to her death when a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to the Florida mainland began rising before she could reach the other side. A bystander tried to pull her to safety but lost his grip, officials said. The woman was walking her bicycle...
Cyclone kills 20 in Madagascar but quickly weakens on land
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Cyclone Batsirai is blamed for the deaths of 20 people in Madagascar and for making more than 55,000 people homeless victims after slamming into the island’s eastern coast, officials said Monday. The tropical storm weakened quickly as it moved southwest across the island, missing the capital Antananarivo...
Iraqi lawmakers fail to elect new president amid boycott
BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers failed to elect a new head of state Monday, as key factions foiled the attempt by boycotting the parliament session. A two-thirds quorum of the legislature’s 329 members is required for an electoral session. Monday’s vote could not be held as lawmakers, many of them allied...
Taylor Greene faces GOP challengers in changing Ga. district
HIRAM, Ga. — In her pitch to voters, Jennifer Strahan introduces herself as a mother, a Christian and a conservative. She usually skips over the fellow Republican she hopes to topple later this spring: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. That’s because virtually everyone in this northwest Georgia congressional district already has...
White House: Top scientist resigns over treatment of staff
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s top science adviser Dr. Eric Lander resigned Monday, hours after the White House confirmed that an internal investigation found credible evidence that he mistreated his staff. An internal review last year, prompted by a workplace complaint, found evidence that Lander, the director of the Office...
Accused Pa. bootleggers with ‘legendary’ moonshine recipe busted by state police
A couple’s alleged 30-year bootlegging business in Centre County has been busted by Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement officers after a year-long undercover investigation. As WJAC-TV in Johnstown reports, the couple, identified as Glenn and Barbara McCleester of Port Matilda, allegedly told undercover liquor control enforcement investigators...
Biden task force releasing report to strengthen labor unions
A Biden administration task force on organized labor is issuing a set of recommendations that could make it easier for federal workers and contractors to unionize. The report submitted to President Joe Biden included 70 distinct policy proposals, according to a release by the White House. Biden created the task...
Frontier bids $2.9 billion for rival budget airline Spirit
Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines are proposing to combine in a $2.9 billion deal that would create a larger discount airline to compete against the nation’s dominant carriers and, they say, promote lower fares. Both are ultra-low-cost carriers that tempt travelers with rock-bottom prices for no-frills service but often generate...
Pa. bans sales of Ravenna grass and 2 species of buckthorn trees
While spring gardening might not be foremost on residents’ minds during a snowstorm, the state announced Friday it will ban plant sales of certain pampas grasses and two varieties of buckthorn. The state Department of Agriculture added three species to the state list of noxious weeds, which are non-native invasive...
Shirley Cuban, mother of Mavericks owner and Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban, dies
DALLAS — Shirley Cuban, the mother of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, has died, her son Brian Cuban said. She was 84. Cuban died Friday in the suburban Pittsburgh home where she and her husband, Norton, raised sons Mark, Brian and Jeff, The Dallas Morning News reported. Brian Cuban said...
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s campaign criticized for Twitter spat with teenager
RICHMOND — Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s campaign sparked controversy for lashing out at a high school student on Twitter, revealing the 17-year-old’s name and photo after they shared a news story about part of the governor’s mansion where slaves once lived. The student, Ethan Lynne, retweeted a Richmond public...
Navy identifies SEAL trainee who died after ‘Hell Week’
SAN DIEGO — A Navy SEAL candidate who died just hours after completing the grueling Hell Week test was identified Sunday as a 24-year-old sailor who joined the military last year. Seaman Kyle Mullen died at a San Diego area hospital on Friday after he and another SEAL trainee reported...
Crossing lines, Joe Manchin endorses Lisa Murkowski’s Senate campaignVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday endorsed Republican colleague Lisa Murkowski for reelection, crossing party lines to back the incumbent from Alaska who faces a primary challenger supported by former President Donald Trump. The conservative West Virginia lawmaker said he has teamed well with Murkowski in the 50-50...
18 rescued after being stranded on ice floe in Lake Erie
PORT CLINTON, Ohio — Coast Guard authorities say 18 people were rescued from an ice floe that broke away in Lake Erie over the weekend. Officials said a helicopter from Air Station Detroit noticed a group of people on the floe near Ohio’s Catawba Island at about 1 p.m. Sunday...
