Driver rams cyclists in Arizona race, critically injuring 6
SHOW LOW, Ariz. — A driver in a pickup truck plowed into bicyclists during a community road race in Arizona on Saturday, critically injuring several riders before police chased the driver and shot him outside a nearby hardware store, authorities said. Six people were taken to a hospital in critical...
‘Protected them to death’: Elder-care covid rules under fire
Barbara and Christine Colucci long to remove their masks and kiss their 102-year-old mother, who has dementia and is in a nursing home in Rochester, New York. They would love to have more than two people in her room at a time so that relatives can be there too. “We...
Tropical Storm Claudette moves along the northern Gulf Coast, puts NC on warning watch
Thunderstorms and high winds on the east side of Tropical Storm Claudette battered the Florida panhandle and much of Alabama on Saturday, as the weather system moved toward the North Carolina coast. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm at 4 a.m. Saturday,...
Hard-line judiciary head wins Iran presidency as turnout low
Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief won a landslide victory Saturday in the country’s presidential election, a vote that both propelled the supreme leader’s protege into Tehran’s highest civilian position and saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. The election of Ebrahim Raisi, already sanctioned by the U.S. in part...
Bidens’ older dog, Champ, has died; German shepherd was 13
WILMINGTON, Del. — President Joe Biden announced Saturday that Champ, the older of the family’s two dogs, had died “peacefully at home.” The German shepherd was 13. “He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family,” Biden and first lady...
Key Pennsylvania state senator backs Arizona-style election audit
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 Pennsylvania state senator in charge of a key election committee is backing an audit of the November presidential...
Sharpton condemns Honolulu police shooting of Black man
Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton is condemning the Honolulu Police Department for the fatal shooting of a Black man as various versions of what led to the death continue to emerge. “Lindani Myeni’s killing is yet another sensational racialization and criminalization of an innocent unarmed black man at...
North Korean leader swears to overcome economic hardships
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “solemnly swore” to navigate his country out of deepening economic troubles as he concluded a major ruling party meeting, acknowledging food shortages and urging officials to prepare for both dialogue and confrontation with the U.S. North Korea’s state media released Kim’s comments shortly before...
Searchers comb river after 3 tubers die, 2 disappear at dam
EDEN, N.C. — Searchers combed a North Carolina river Friday for two missing tubers after a family on a recreational float went over a dam, resulting in three deaths and the rescue of four people from the water. The group of nine, all believed to be part of the same...
Rabid dog imported into U.S. sparks multi-state investigation
A rabid dog imported into the United States this month has sparked a public health investigation across several states. Health officials say a dog brought to the U.S. from Azerbaijan that ended up with a family in Chester County, Pennsylvania began acting strangely. It later tested positive for rabies and...
Pa. lawmakers threaten university funding over statute of limitations deadlock
A pair of state lawmakers who sponsored a bill to give adult survivors of child sexual abuse the right to sue their assailants beyond the statute of limitations say they will block state appropriations for Pennsylvania’s public research universities if Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward continues to stall a vote...
3 killed, 8 wounded in 9 shootings as the toll of Philadelphia’s bloody year grows
PHILADELPHIA — Three people were killed and eight others were wounded in nine shootings across the city Thursday, according to Philadelphia police, continuing a bloody year on pace to break records. The violence included a potential road rage killing in West Philadelphia, and it continued to push the city’s homicide...
Trucker who drove into Floyd protest could have charges dropped
MINNEAPOLIS — A truck driver who drove through a large crowd of protesters on a Minneapolis highway last year during demonstrations over George Floyd’s death will have criminal charges dropped if he remains law-abiding for the next year. Hennepin County prosecutors entered into a “continuance without prosecution” agreement with Bogdan...
Palm Springs matches all-time high temperature of 123 degrees
LOS ANGELES — In a blazing hot week of heat records, Palm Springs takes the crown: The city reached 123 degrees Thursday, matching an all-time record it had previously set three times before. Palm Springs climbed to 123 degrees before on Aug. 1, 1993; July 28, 1995; and July 29,...
Biden to announce 300 million covid-19 shots given in 150 days
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is marking another milestone in his quest to bring the covid-19 pandemic under control and help Americans return to a more normal way of life. Biden will announce that 300 million covid-19 shots have been administered in the 150 days since he took office on...
Declaration of Juneteenth holiday sparks scramble in states
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Congress and President Joe Biden acted with unusual swiftness this week in approving Juneteenth as a national holiday, a move that sent many states scrambling to clarify their policies on the observance with less than a business day’s notice. Nearly all states recognize Juneteenth in some fashion,...
Tropical weather lashes Gulf Coast with brisk winds, rain
High winds and heavy rains buffeted coastal Louisiana and Mississippi on Friday as a disorganized and unpredictable tropical weather system churned through the Gulf of Mexico, forcing cancellation of Juneteenth celebrations in Mississippi and Alabama and threatening Father’s Day tourism. The system, moving north toward Louisiana through the Gulf of...
Covid-19 still a threat in nursing homes
Covid-19 is still a threat in Pennsylvania nursing homes even as vaccination rates climb and the number of new infections decline, acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Alison Beam said this week. Although state officials designated nursing home residents and health care workers a top priority for vaccination when the first...
U.S. Catholic bishops OK steps toward possible rebuke of Biden
U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a “teaching document” that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights. The result of the vote — 168 in favor and 55 against — was announced Friday near...
Some vaccine experts having 2nd thoughts about rushing to inoculate kids
From the earliest days of the pandemic, doctors and public health officials have seen widespread vaccination as the most effective way to stop covid-19 in its tracks. But a growing contingent of medical experts is now questioning whether that conventional wisdom ought to apply to children. Their doubts are not...
Judge: No car show trip for man photographed at Pelosi’s desk during Capitol riot
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal judge on Friday said he won’t allow an Arkansas man arrested after he was photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot to travel for a classic-car swap meet. U.S. District Judge Christopher R....
Father gives daughter life-saving gift as living organ donor
CARRIERE, Miss. — Sitting poolside with his wife and two daughters, Rhett Shaffette says he’s already received the best gift this Father’s Day. His 12-year-old daughter is thriving, eight months after getting a portion of his liver. She received the transplant after nearly losing her life to internal bleeding. “It...
Tight U.S. housing market uncoils with sellers ready to cash out
Prospective home sellers who sat tight as U.S. prices climbed higher and faster than ever during the pandemic are finally emerging to cash out, a step toward easing a dire shortage in the frenzied housing market. The number of U.S. homes for sale climbed 6.7% in early June from the...
Money, power, scandal: The Public School Employees’ Retirement System saga, explained
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. Pennsylvania’s largest pension fund is at the center of an equally large scandal, complete with an FBI investigation, a lawsuit, boardroom...
Back home: Biden has daunting to-do list after European tour
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is facing a formidable to-do list now that he’s back from his summit-filled trip to Europe, with pressing legislative challenges, foreign policy follow-up and a need to steer the country’s reopening as the coronavirus threat recedes. His overseas tour was meant to showcase the U.S....
