2 border agents fired for offensive Facebook posts
Two Border Patrol agents were fired from among 60 found to have committed misconduct for participating in a private Facebook group that mocked migrants and lawmakers, investigators said Monday in the most detailed public account yet of an episode that tarnished the agency’s reputation. Most agents’ penalties were significantly reduced...
Ohio reports more deaths than births for 1st time in state history
COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the first time in state history, Ohio recorded more deaths than births last year, a development experts say was expedited by covid-19. The Columbus Dispatch reported Monday that roughly 143,661 Ohioans died last year while 129,313 were born, according to data from the Ohio Department of...
Panel OKs data for redrawing Pa. Assembly, Congress district maps
HARRISBURG — The five-person commission redrawing Pennsylvania General Assembly district lines gave its approval on Monday to adjusted and validated census-based data they will use to craft preliminary maps over the coming months. “Even though we have 90 days to develop a preliminary plan under the provisions of the state...
Pa. is on the brink of regulating recovery homes for the first time
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 — The Wolf administration has cleared one of the final hurdles to enact oversight of Pennsylvania’s drug and alcohol recovery...
Biden ‘positive’ on budget deal; Manchin OK with wealth tax
WASHINGTON — Pivotal Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin appears to be on board with White House proposals for new taxes on billionaires and certain corporations to help pay for President Joe Biden’s scaled-back social services and climate change package. Biden said Monday he felt “very positive” about reaching agreement on his...
Moderna says its low-dose covid shot works for kids 6-11
Moderna said Monday that a low dose of its covid-19 vaccine is safe and appears to work in 6- to 11-year-olds, as the manufacturer joins its rival Pfizer in moving toward expanding shots to children. Pfizer’s kid-size vaccine doses are closer to widespread use. They are undergoing evaluation by the...
UN: Greenhouse gas levels hit a new record, cuts fall short
GENEVA — Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a new record high last year and increased at a faster rate than the annual average for the last decade despite a temporary reduction during pandemic lockdowns, the World Meteorological Organization said in a report published Monday. The news came as the United Nations...
Week in pictures: Oct. 18-Oct. 24, 2021
Here’s a selection of images that caught our eye in the past week from Tribune-Review photographers. Previous weeks Week in pictures: Oct. 11-17, 2021 Week in pictures: Oct. 4-Oct. 10, 2021 Week in pictures: Sept. 28-Oct. 3, 2021...
China to start vaccinating children to age 3 as cases spread
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Children as young as 3 will start receiving covid-19 vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated and authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks. China becomes one of the very few countries in the world to start vaccinating children that young...
Sudan’s military takes power in coup, arrests prime minister
CAIRO — Sudan’s military seized power Monday, dissolving the transitional government hours after troops arrested the prime minister. Thousands of people flooded into the streets to protest the coup that threatens the country’s shaky progress toward democracy. Security forces opened fire on some of the crowds, and two protesters were...
Road-blocking climate protesters resume campaign in London
LONDON — Environmental protesters pressuring the British government to insulate all homes within a decade resumed a road-blocking campaign in London on Monday ahead of the United Nations’ annual climate conference. As commuters headed to work, demonstrators from the Insulate Britain campaign obstructed a major artery into Canary Wharf, a...
Drought-stricken California doused by major storm
SAN FRANCISCO — A powerful storm barreled toward Southern California after flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mud flows in areas burned bare by recent fires across the northern part of the state. Drenching showers and strong winds accompanied the weekend’s arrival of an atmospheric river — a long and...
Opponents of critical race theory seek to flip school boards
GUILFORD, Conn. — A racial reckoning began years ago for the Guilford school system, first with an episode in which a student wore blackface makeup to a home football game and then a fraught debate over the elimination of its mascot, the Indians. After the killing of George Floyd, district...
James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on ‘Friends,’ diesVideo
NEW YORK — James Michael Tyler, the actor known widely for his recurring role as Gunther on “Friends,” has died. He was 59. Tyler died Sunday at home in Los Angeles from prostate cancer, said his manager, Toni Benson. Tyler was first diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2018. “The...
Experts predict legal fallout from the Alec Baldwin prop gun shooting
The shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a New Mexico film set could have far-reaching legal ramifications, experts said — not only for the companies involved but also for individuals, including star and producer Alec Baldwin. Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza injured Thursday by a gun that...
Twitter suspends Indiana Rep. Jim Banks’ official account over disparaging post about Dr. Rachel LevineVideo
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Twitter suspended an Indiana congressman’s official account after removing a post about a transgender Biden administration official over a violation of the social media company’s rules. Twitter’s action Saturday came after Republican Rep. Jim Banks posted tweets last week regarding Dr. Rachel Levine becoming the first...
Spending in Pennsylvania’s high court race blows past $5M
HARRISBURG — Spending in the race for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court has blown past $5 million, according to new campaign finance reports, with less than two weeks left until Election Day. Reports filed with the state Friday show that most of it, or roughly $3 million,...
Forecasters: California storm could bring ‘historic’ rainVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — A powerful storm roared ashore Sunday in Northern California, flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mud flows in areas burned bare by recent fires as forecasters predict record-breaking rainfall. Drenching rain and strong wind accompanied the arrival of an atmospheric river — a long and wide plume...
Here’s how Pa.’s school pension fund keeps its communications secret from the public
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 — In December 2020, Pennsylvania’s largest pension fund adopted a figure for investment profits that its executives said was rock...
Where are the workers? Cutoff of jobless aid spurs no influx
INDIANAPOLIS — Earlier this year, an insistent cry arose from business leaders and Republican governors: Cut off a $300-a-week federal supplement for unemployed Americans. Many people, they argued, would then come off the sidelines and take the millions of jobs that employers were desperate to fill. Yet three months after...
Texas drag race driver slams into spectators, killing 2 kids
KERRVILLE, Texas — A driver lost control during a Texas drag racing event on an airport runway and slammed into a crowd of spectators, killing two children and injuring eight other people, authorities said. A 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were killed in the crash Saturday afternoon at an...
Amid Capitol riot, Facebook faced its own insurrection
WASHINGTON — As supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, battling police and forcing lawmakers into hiding, an insurrection of a different kind was taking place inside the world’s largest social media company. Thousands of miles away, in California, Facebook engineers were racing to tweak internal...
Is there a constitutional right to food? Mainers to decide
PORTLAND, Maine — Depending on whom you ask, Maine’s proposed “right to food” constitutional amendment would simply put people in charge of how and what they eat — or would endanger animals and food supplies, and turn urban neighborhoods into cattle pastures. For supporters, the language is short and to...
Alabama town offers $200 incentive for workers to get shots
DORA, Ala. — A rural Alabama town voted to offer its employees a $200 incentive to get the covid-19 vaccine using federal pandemic relief money. Leaders in the Walker County town of Dora said they hoped the move would boost the vaccination rate in the city of 2,200, about 25...
Russian covid spike persists, setting new death record
MOSCOW — Russia is reporting a record high number of coronavirus infections and covid-19 deaths as the country approaches a week of nonworking days aimed at stemming the sharp surge in cases. The national coronavirus task force said Saturday that 1,075 people had died from the virus in the past...
