Attorney: Texas A&M student injured at Astroworld dies
HOUSTON — A 22-year-old college senior who was critically injured at the Astroworld festival in Houston has died, the family’s lawyer said Thursday, making her the 9th person to die in a crowd surge after fans pushed toward the stage during a performance by headliner Travis Scott. Bharti Shahani died...
Pennsylvania to begin counting covid reinfections
Thousands of new covid-19 cases could appear in the state Department of Health’s Monday report as Pennsylvania begins counting reinfections, officials said. For the past 19 months, state health officials have counted only one case per infected person, even if that individual contracted the virus again at some later time....
Big Bird backlash: Vax lands even Muppet in political flap
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Smokey Bear taught kids the importance of preventing wildfires. McGruff the Crime Dog warned them not to talk to strangers. And in 1972, Big Bird lined up on “Sesame Street” to receive a measles vaccine as part of a campaign to get more youngsters inoculated against the...
Slovakia rejects proposed law restricting access to abortion
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia’s parliament on Thursday narrowly rejected proposed legislation that would have tightened access to abortion in the European Union country. The bill was rejected by one vote, as 67 of the 134 lawmakers present in the 150-seat house voted in favor of it. A similar proposal to...
Palace: Queen Elizabeth II will attend remembrance service
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II, who has canceled recent public appearances on her doctors’ advice, will attend a national service of remembrance for Britain’s war dead this weekend, Buckingham Palace confirmed Thursday. The palace said the 95-year-old monarch will watch the somber ceremony at the Cenotaph memorial in central London...
Austrian leader says lockdown for the unvaccinated is likely
BERLIN — Austria’s chancellor on Thursday stepped up threats of lockdown measures for unvaccinated people, as new coronavirus cases in the Alpine nation are soaring. The country’s worst-affected province said it plans to take that step next week. Austria has taken a series of measures in recent weeks in an...
U.S. urges citizens to leave Haiti amid deepening turmoil
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The U.S. government is urging U.S. citizens to leave Haiti because of the country’s deepening insecurity and a severe lack of fuel that has affected hospitals, schools and banks. Gas stations remained closed on Thursday. The rare warning from the U.S. State Department comes as Haiti’s government...
France: Life sentence for killing of Holocaust survivor
PARIS — A French man has been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor to death in an antisemitic attack, a case that triggered widespread outrage and called attention to resurgent anti-Jewish sentiment in France. After horror and grief, Mireille Knoll’s family feels justice after Wednesday’s...
EU authorizes 2 medicines for people at risk of severe covid
AMSTERDAM — The European Medicines Agency has recommended the authorization of two new medicines against the coronavirus for people at risk of severe disease. In a statement on Thursday, the EU drug regulator said it had concluded that the monoclonal antibody treatments — a combination of casirivimab and imdevimab, and...
UN chief says global warming goal on ‘life support’
GLASGOW, Scotland — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) is “on life support” as U.N. climate talks enter their final days, but he added that “until the last moment, hope should be maintained.” In an exclusive interview on...
Biden announces plan to ID, treat vets’ ills from toxic air
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, whose son Beau was an Iraq war veteran, is using his first Veterans Day in office to announce an effort to better understand, identify and treat medical conditions suffered by troops deployed to toxic environments. The effort centers on lung problems suffered by troops who...
Police: Akita puppy stolen at gunpoint during walk
Maryland police said a 4-month-old American Akita puppy was stolen at gunpoint Monday while his owner was taking him for a walk in Brentwood, Md. Through the department’s social media accounts, Prince George’s County Police said as Queen was being walked, a “car pulled up, a masked suspect got out...
Judge orders halt to Texas mask mandate ban in schools
AUSTIN — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a halt to the enforcement of Texas’ ban on mask mandates in the state’s schools. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled in Austin that the ban ordered by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott violated a federal law protecting disabled students’ access to public...
SpaceX crew launch marks 600 space travelers in 60 yearsVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket carried four astronauts into orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years. The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after SpaceX brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station. They should have been up there...
Dixie State name change passed by GOP-controlled Utah House
SALT LAKE CITY — Southern Utah’s Dixie State University is one step closer to changing a name often associated with the Deep South and slavery after the Utah House approved a renaming plan Wednesday over local backlash. The bill that now moves to the state Senate would rename the school...
Crew member sues Alec Baldwin, others over ‘Rust’ shooting
LOS ANGELES — The head of lighting on the film “Rust” filed a lawsuit Wednesday over Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western, alleging negligence that caused him “severe emotional distress” that will haunt him forever. Serge Svetnoy said in the...
‘Strong’ start to kids vaccine campaign, but challenges loomVideo
WASHINGTON — The campaign to vaccinate elementary school age children in the United States is off to a strong start, health officials said Wednesday, but experts say there are signs that it will be difficult to sustain the initial momentum. About 900,000 kids aged 5 to 11 will have received...
Judge OKs $626 million settlement in Flint water litigation
DETROIT — A judge on Wednesday approved a $626 million deal to settle lawsuits filed by Flint residents who found their tap water contaminated by lead following disastrous decisions to switch the city’s water source and a failure to swiftly acknowledge the problem. Most of the money — $600 million...
Former Philadelphia priest pleads guilty to lying to investigators
PHILADELPHIA — A defrocked priest pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of making false statements to FBI agents investigating clergy abuse. Former Philadelphia priest Robert Brennan, 83, changed his plea to guilty Wednesday in federal court, according to court documents. The charges stem from a federal investigation undertaken after Pennsylvania...
Capitol rioter who hit officer gets over 3 years in prisonVideo
A New Jersey gym owner who punched a police officer during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in prison, a likely benchmark for dozens of other rioters who engaged in violence that day. Scott Fairlamb, 44, was the first person...
TV’s Dr. Oz considers jumping into Pennsylvania’s crowded U.S. Senate race: reports
Dr. Mehmet Oz, a surgeon and TV personality who became famous 20 years ago after being deemed “America’s doctor” by Oprah Winfrey, is looking into joining Pennsylvania politics, according to reports. People magazine quotes a spokesperson from ” The Dr. Oz Show ” (which focuses on health and wellness) as...
A massive probe of Pa.’s largest pension fund is nearly done, but taxpayers may never know the results
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 — After months of work, prolonged silence from pension fund management, and more than $175,000 in legal bills, a law...
Gerrymandering surges as states redraw maps for House seats
North Carolina Republicans are well positioned to pick up at least two House seats in next year’s election — but it’s not because the state is getting redder. The state remains a perennial battleground, closely split between Democrats and Republicans in elections. In the last presidential race, Republican Donald Trump...
Rittenhouse murder case thrown into jeopardy by mistrial bidVideo
KENOSHA, Wis. — Kyle Rittenhouse testified Wednesday he was under attack when he killed two men and wounded a third with his rifle during a chaotic night of protests in Kenosha, saying: “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.” In a high-stakes gamble, the 18-year-old took the stand at...
Police suspect Germans were killed for Stradivarius violins
Paraguayan police said Wednesday they have detained two Germans and a Chilean suspected of killing a German man and his daughter while trying to get documents proving the authenticity of valuable violins. Bernard Raymond von Bredow, a museum owner and luthier, was slain along with his 14-year-old daughter Lydia last...
