Veteran’s case brings War Powers to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will decide whether Congress can give military service members the right to file civil lawsuits against states for employment discrimination based on their military service, in a case about how much power lawmakers have regarding military forces. The justices announced Wednesday they will hear a...
4 dead in related crashes on Interstate 78 in Berks County
HAMBURG — Four people were killed Tuesday night in two related crashes on an eastern Pennsylvania interstate, state police said. The first crash happened around 8:30 p.m. when a 69-year-old Georgia woman who was driving an empty school bus failed to stop in a construction zone on Interstate 78 near...
Omicron to be dominant variant in EU by mid-January
BRUSSELS — Omicron is expected to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the European Union’s 27 nations by mid-January, the bloc’s top official said Wednesday amid concerns that a dramatic rise in infections will leave Europe shrouded in gloom during the holiday season. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen...
AP source: Biden-Manchin talks on $2T Dem bill going poorly
WASHINGTON — Negotiations between President Joe Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin over the Democrats’ huge social and environment bill are going poorly, a person familiar with the talks said Wednesday, the latest sign that leaders’ hopes of moving the bill through the Senate before Christmas were increasingly bleak. Manchin, D-W.Va.,...
Pennsylvania revises Confederate markers, recasts forces as ‘enemy’ soldiers
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. After removing a trio of Confederate historical markers an hour west of Gettysburg, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has replaced...
Minnesota delivery driver cited after running over groceries
BLAINE, Minn. — A Minnesota grocery delivery driver accused of running over bags of food she had dropped off in a Twin Cities suburb because she didn’t like the homeowners’ pro-police yard sign has been cited for criminal damage to property, authorities said. The incident happened Dec. 6 after the...
Disney World fire may have sprung from fireworks debris
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — A small fire at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom started in a tree and may have been caused by fireworks debris, officials said Wednesday. The blaze broke out Tuesday after fireworks were set off near the Cinderalla Castle, Reedy Creek Fire Association president Jon Shirey...
Chauvin pleads guilty to federal charges in Floyd’s death
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, averting a trial but likely extending the time he is already spending behind bars on a state conviction. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted this spring of state...
Duggar fails to make runoff in Arkansas state Senate primary
SPRINGDALE, Ark. — A former city council member and a retired U.S. Navy captain are headed toward a runoff for the Republican nomination for an Arkansas state Senate seat, beating out candidates in a special primary that included “19 Kids and Counting” father Jim Bob Duggar. The poll results from...
UN watchdog says Iran will allow new cameras at nuclear site
TEHRAN, Iran — The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Iran reached a deal Wednesday to reinstall cameras damaged at an Iranian site that manufactures centrifuge parts, though inspectors remain limited on what footage they can access. The agreement will see cameras put back at Karaj, which came under what Iran...
Florida district to pay $26 million to shooting victims
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Broward County, Fla., school district will pay more than $26 million to the families of 17 people killed and some of those injured in the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Board members approved the two legal settlements on Tuesday. A...
Florida science teacher fired for refusing to wear mask
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A teacher in South Florida has been fired for repeatedly refusing to wear a mask. The school board in Broward County on Tuesday unanimously voted to fire John C. Alvarez, a science teacher at Piper High for gross insubordination. Alvarez plans to appeal the decision to...
Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans brush off rising prices
NEW YORK — Americans slowed their spending in November from October, but continued shopping despite higher prices and shortages in stores. Retail sales rose a modest seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November from the month before when sales rose a revised 1.8%, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday, a bit weaker...
No proof vote was rigged, but 2020 election reviews persist
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania courtroom on Wednesday became the latest battleground over claims the 2020 presidential election was rigged, as Republicans around the country pressed ahead with efforts to investigate the voting despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud. A five-judge panel in Harrisburg heard Democrats’ arguments to block...
O.J. Simpson a ‘completely free man’; parole ends in Nevada
LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson is a free man. The 74-year-old former football hero and actor, acquitted California murder defendant and convicted Las Vegas armed robber was granted good behavior credits and discharged from parole effective Dec. 1, Nevada State Police spokeswoman Kim Yoko Smith said Tuesday. “Mr. Simpson is...
German police conduct raids over alleged covid death threats
BERLIN — Police in eastern Germany carried out raids Wednesday in an investigation of alleged threats to kill a state governor and others by opponents of coronavirus restrictions and vaccinations. They said they found weapons including crossbows, but it wasn’t clear whether they were usable. Five properties in Dresden and...
Blaze traps hundreds in Hong Kong tower, 13 hospitalized
HONG KONG — Firefighters on Wednesday rescued hundreds of people who fled to the rooftop of a Hong Kong skyscraper and became trapped there after a major fire broke out. Hours later, the fire service said the blaze was extinguished. In addition to those on the roof, dozens jammed into...
House votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt in Jan. 6 probeVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he ceased to cooperate with the Jan. 6 Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection — making it the first time the chamber has voted to hold a former member in...
Calls for Louisiana judge to resign over video with racist language
LAFAYETTE, La. — Racist language heard in a video recorded at the home of a Louisiana judge has led to calls for her resignation. The video shows a television set displaying security footage of what appears to be a foiled burglary at the judge’s home. Laughter and racist slurs are...
3 more Philadelphia Proud Boys charged in Capitol riot after taking photos inside senator’s office
PHILADELPHIA — Federal prosecutors Tuesday unsealed charges against three more members of the Philadelphia Proud Boys related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, after agents uncovered photos of the men flashing hate symbols inside a U.S. senator’s office and posing on the steps of the Capitol during the riot. The three...
Trump loses bid to block his tax returns from Congress
WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that was brought by former President Donald Trump in his attempt to block congressional lawmakers from obtaining his tax returns. The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden — a former Justice Department official and Trump appointee — found...
U.S. covid death toll hits 800,000, a year into vaccine drive
The U.S. death toll from covid-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring. The number of deaths, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about...
3 voters from retirement haven in Florida charged with voting fraud
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Three voters from a Florida retirement community that is a GOP stronghold have been arrested on charges of voting more than once. The arrests come weeks after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to create a law enforcement agency to investigate election crimes, despite there being...
Congress sends Biden $2.5T debt limit hike, avoiding default
WASHINGTON — Congress averted a catastrophic debt default early Wednesday morning after Democratic majorities in both chambers voted to send a $2.5 trillion increase in the nation’s borrowing authority to President Joe Biden over lockstep Republican opposition. Capping a marathon day, the House gave final approval to the legislation early...
District of Columbia sues Proud Boys, Oath Keepers over Jan. 6Video
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has filed a civil lawsuit seeking harsh financial penalties against far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court, also names...
