GOP needs new health care target as ‘Obamacare’ survives again
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s latest rejection of a Republican effort to dismantle “Obamacare” signals anew that the GOP must look beyond repealing the law if it wants to hone the nation’s health care problems into a winning political issue. Thursday’s 7-2 ruling was the third time the court has...
Las Vegas weighs tying growth to conservation amid drought
CARSON CITY, Nev. — Record-breaking heat and historic drought in the U.S. West are doing little to discourage cities from planning to welcome millions of new residents in the decades ahead. From Phoenix to Boise, officials are preparing for a future both with more people and less water, seeking to...
Iran votes in presidential poll tipped in hard-liner’s favor
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranians voted Friday in a presidential election that a hard-line protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seemed likely to win, leading to low turnout fueled by apathy and calls for a boycott. Opinion polling by state-linked organizations and analysts indicated that judiciary chief Ebrahim...
3 dead, 2 missing after tubers go over North Carolina dam
EDEN, N.C. — Three people are dead and two remain missing after a group floating down a North Carolina river on inflatable tubes went over a dam, authorities said Thursday. Rockingham County Emergency Services Director Rodney Cates told reporters that a group of nine people tubing on the Dan River...
1 dead, 3 shot, 9 others injured in metro Phoenix shootingsVideo
SURPRISE, Ariz. — One person was killed, three wounded and nine others injured in reported drive-by shootings over a 90-minute span Thursday in three cities west of Phoenix, authorities said. A suspect was detained, but authorities said it remained unclear if that person was responsible for all of the shootings....
Democrats waiting for Conor Lamb as Pa.’s 2022 Senate race takes shape
PHILADELPHIA — When U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan decided she wouldn’t run for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat, moderate Democrats lost one of their big hopes for next year’s critical election. But they haven’t freaked out. That’s because in Democratic political circles, there’s widespread belief that U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Mt....
Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas fires incendiary balloonsVideo
JERUSALEM — Israel launched airstrikes late Thursday on the Gaza Strip for a second time since a shaky cease-fire ended last month’s 11-day war. The strikes came after activists mobilized by Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers launched incendiary balloons into Israel for a third straight day. There were no immediate reports...
DOJ: West Virginia, Arkansas transgender restrictions unconstitutional
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Department of Justice on Thursday challenged bans involving transgender people that target athletes in West Virginia and children in Arkansas, slamming them as violations of federal law. The department filed statements of interest in lawsuits that seek to overturn new laws in those states. In West...
Tropical storm warning issued for northern Gulf CoastVideo
MIAMI — A tropical storm warning was issued Thursday for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as a potential tropical cyclone advanced toward the northern Gulf Coast. The warning extends from Intracoastal City, La., to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Heavy rainfall and flooding...
St. Louis gun-waving couple pleads guilty to misdemeanors
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators last year pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges and agreed to give up the weapons they used during the confrontation. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000. Her husband,...
Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holidayVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, saying he believes it will go down as one of the greatest honors he has as president. Biden signed into law a bill to make Juneteenth, or June 19, the 12th federal...
Democrats eye $6T plan on infrastructure, Medicare, immigrationVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats are eyeing a $6 trillion infrastructure investment plan that goes far beyond roads and bridges to include core party priorities, from lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and adding vision and hearing benefits to incorporating a long-running effort to provide legal status for certain immigrants, including...
Gov. Wolf calls GOP’s election bill ‘driven by fringe conspiracy theories’ as Republican lawmakers crash eventVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The battle to shape public opinion over Pennsylvania Republicans’ proposed election overhaul intensified Thursday, as Gov. Tom Wolf called it an attack on voting rights and GOP lawmakers crashed a news conference in the Philadelphia suburbs to demand he negotiate. Democrats have blasted the proposal as the latest...
Weird ‘living fossil’ fish lives 100 years, pregnant for 5
The coelacanth — a giant weird fish still around from dinosaur times — can live for 100 years, a new study found. These slow-moving, people-sized fish of the deep, nicknamed a “living fossil,” are the opposite of the live fast, die young mantra. These nocturnal fish grow at an achingly...
Pompeo unveils PAC, demurs on possible 2024 presidential bid
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has become the latest former Trump administration official to launch a political action committee, but he’s not disclosing any possible 2024 presidential plans. “Only the Lord knows where I will be in 2023,” Pompeo said Thursday in an interview with the...
Conservative activists request audit of Michigan election
LANSING, Mich. — Conservative activists who falsely claim former President Donald Trump won reelection asked the Republican-led Michigan Senate on Thursday to order an audit of the results, seeking a review like one that is underway in fellow battleground state Arizona. Michigan Conservative Coalition co-founder Marian Sheridan said “something very...
U.S. to spend $3.2B on treatments for covid-19, other virusesVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States is devoting $3.2 billion to speed development of antiviral pills to treat covid-19 and other dangerous viruses that could turn into pandemics. The new program will invest in “accelerating things that are already in progress” for covid-19 but also would work to come up with...
High court sides with Catholic agency in same-sex foster care dispute
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously sided with a Catholic foster care agency that says its religious views prevent it from working with same-sex couples as foster parents. The justices said the city of Philadelphia wrongly limited its relationship with the group as a result of the agency’s...
Scotch whisky makers welcome suspension of costly U.S. tariffs
LONDON — Scotch single malt whisky makers breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after the United States agreed to suspend tariffs on one of Scotland’s main exports following the resolution of a long-standing trade row between the U.S. and the EU over subsidies to aircraft companies Boeing and Airbus. President...
Sunshine, fatalism and 2 world views from 2 world leaders
WASHINGTON — Speaking near the steamy banks of a shimmering lake in Switzerland, one president nonchalantly removed his jacket and spoke confidently about standing up to an adversary. The other held court in a bland, air-conditioned room where he sought to portray strength amid scrutiny of human rights abuses. By...
‘Obamacare’ survives: Supreme Court dismisses big challengeVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, though increasingly conservative in makeup, rejected the latest major Republican-led effort to kill the national health care law known as “Obamacare” on Thursday, preserving insurance coverage for millions of Americans. The justices, by a 7-2 vote, left the entire Affordable Care Act intact in ruling...
Fired Pa. contractor seeks to secure contact tracing data after learning personal info still online
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 company responsible for administering Pennsylvania’s contact tracing program has called on current and former employees to help it...
Palestinian teen shot by Israeli troops in West Bank dies
JERUSALEM — The Palestinian health ministry said Thursday that a Palestinian teenager who was shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank a day earlier has died of his injuries. The Israeli military said Wednesday that a soldier stationed near a wildcat settler outpost near the West Bank city of...
Ex-Shake Shack manager accused of poisoning NYPD officers’ shakes sues
NEW YORK — A former New York Shake Shack manager has filed a lawsuit against the Detectives’ Endowment Association, the Police Benevolent Association, and about 20 unnamed officers accusing them of false arrest and defamation. Marcus Gilliam and other employees were accused by officers of serving them poisoned milkshakes last...
Chinese crewed spaceship docks with new space stationVideo
JIUQUAN, China — A Chinese spaceship carrying a three-person crew docked with China’s new space station at the start of three-month mission Thursday, marking a milestone in the country’s ambitious space program. The Shenzhou-12 craft connected with the Tianhe space station module about six hours after takeoff from the Jiuquan...
