‘System worked’: Man wins prison release after 48 years
DETROIT — A Detroit man who spent 48 years in prison for a fatal robbery pleaded no contest to second-degree murder Tuesday in an extraordinary compromise that settles his claim of innocence and allows him to go free. Ray Gray, 69, wasn’t exonerated during the video court hearing. But the...
Southwest Airlines flight attendant bloodied, loses teeth in assault by rowdy passenger
A Southwest Airlines flight attendant lost two teeth and walked away bloodied after she was physically assaulted by a passenger Sunday morning, part of a disturbing uptick in traveler misconduct. “This past weekend, one of our Flight Attendants was seriously assaulted, resulting in injuries to the face and a loss...
Southwest Airlines flight attendant bloodied, loses teeth in assault by rowdy passenger
DALLAS — A Southwest Airlines flight attendant lost two teeth and walked away bloodied after she was physically assaulted by a passenger Sunday morning, part of a disturbing uptick in traveler misconduct. “This past weekend, one of our Flight Attendants was seriously assaulted, resulting in injuries to the face and...
In New Orleans, documenting history of iconic Black street
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans resident Raynard Sanders can detail the many ways Black businesses and culture thrived under the canopy of oak trees along Claiborne Avenue: the Black insurance companies, the corner lot home to the Black musicians union, the church that held a funeral to bury slavery. And...
100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, the damage remains
TULSA, Okla. — On a recent Sunday, Ernestine Alpha Gibbs returned to Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church. Not her body. She had left this Earth 18 years ago, at age 100. But on this day, three generations of her family brought Ernestine’s keepsakes back to this place which meant so...
American Jews take stock of internal divisions, antisemitism
As fighting between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers raged before last week’s cease-fire, U.S. rabbinical student Max Buchdahl wanted to be considerate of those in his community who are emotionally connected to Israel — but he also wanted to support Palestinians. Buchdahl, 25, joined dozens of rabbinical and cantorial...
Tennessee bans teaching critical race theory in schools
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is the latest state to ban teachers from teaching certain concepts of race and racism in public schools. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed into law on Monday a measure that attracted some of the most impassioned debates inside the GOP-controlled General Assembly this year. He signaled...
After citing privacy law, Pa. backtracks and discloses wasted vaccine details
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 refusing to release details about wasted coronavirus vaccine, citing a decades-old disease prevention law, the Wolf administration has...
Gunshots heard near Floyd square on anniversary of death
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis intersection where George Floyd died was disrupted by gunfire Tuesday, just hours before it was to be the site of a family-friendly street festival marking the anniversary of his death at the hands of police. Associated Press video from 38th Street and Chicago Avenue — informally...
White House: Biden to meet Putin for Geneva summit
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will hold a summit with Vladimir Putin next month in Geneva, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders that comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration. The White House confirmed details of the summit on...
Colorado supermarket shooting suspect heads back to court
DENVER — A 22-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Colorado supermarket was set to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing to discuss what will happen next in the case. The status hearing will be only the second court appearance for Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa since...
Moderna says its covid shot works in kids as young as 12
Moderna said Tuesday its covid-19 vaccine strongly protects kids as young as 12, a step that could put the shot on track to become the second option for that age group in the U.S. With global vaccine supplies still tight, much of the world is struggling to vaccinate adults in...
Rights group urges Japan to update law on changing gender
TOKYO — An international rights group on Tuesday urged Japan to change a law that it says puts “abusive and outdated” burdens on transgender people seeking to have their gender change legally recognized, including sterilization surgery and a psychiatric diagnosis. The report by New York-based Human Rights Watch said such...
EU leaders agree to donate 100 million doses of vaccines
BRUSSELS — EU leaders agreed Tuesday to donate at least 100 million doses of covid-19 vaccines to poorer nations by the end of the year as supplies steadily rise across Europe. Gathered in Brussels for a two-day summit, the 27 leaders backed a text in which they pledge to continue...
Vatican issues a street art stamp, ends up getting sued
ROME — One night in early 2019, Rome street artist Alessia Babrow glued a stylized image of Christ she had made onto a bridge near the Vatican. A year later, she was shocked to learn that the Vatican had apparently used a reproduction of her image, which featured her hallmark...
Suspect arrested in South Florida synagogue harassment
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Police have arrested a man who they say yelled antisemitic remarks at a rabbi and dumped a bag of human feces in front of a South Florida synagogue. Hallandale Beach police arrested Jeffrey Carl Fleming on Monday on charges of felony stalking with a hate crime...
Justice Department appeals judge’s order on Russia probe memo
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Monday that it would appeal a judge’s order directing it to release a legal memo on whether President Donald Trump had obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson earlier this month had ordered the Justice Department to release the...
Grand jury indicts ex-UCLA doctor on 21 sexual abuse counts
LOS ANGELES — A grand jury indicted a former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles on 21 counts of sexual abuse offenses Monday in a case where he is accused of sexually assaulting seven women, court documents say. Dr. James Heaps faces multiple counts each of sexual battery...
Nashville DA won’t enforce new bathroom sign law
NASHVILLE — Nashville’s top prosecutor said Monday that he will not enforce a newly enacted law that requires businesses and government facilities open to the public to post a sign if they let transgender people use multiperson bathrooms and other facilities associated with their gender identity. “I believe every person...
Texas poised to allow unlicensed carrying of handgunsVideo
AUSTIN — Texas is poised to remove one of its last major gun restrictions after lawmakers approved allowing people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it. The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has...
State Department warns against all travel to Japan as Olympics loom
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials and the State Department on Monday warned Americans against travel to Japan because of a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, which is preparing to host the Olympics in just two months. The twin alerts don’t ban U.S. citizens from visiting the country, but...
Vaccine passport bill takes 1st step in Pennsylvania
Republicans in Pennsylvania’s state Senate began advancing legislation Monday to prohibit governments and school districts from requiring a covid-19 vaccination for any sort of access. The Republican-penned bill passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee along party lines, 6-4, with Democrats opposing it. The prohibition on so-called vaccine passports...
Florida law seeks to rein in large social media companies
TALLAHASSEE — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that seeks to punish social media platforms that remove “conservative ideas” from their sites, though it is not clear if it would pass constitutional muster because it might violate the First Amendment. The new law will enable the...
Key impeachment witness sues Mike Pompeo over $1.8M in legal fees
WASHINGTON — Gordon Sondland, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union and a pivotal witness in 2019 impeachment proceedings, sued former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday in an effort to recoup $1.8 million he racked up in legal expenses. Sondland alleges in the lawsuit, filed in federal...
Suspect arrested after deadly shooting at New Jersey birthday partyVideo
BRIDGETON, N.J. — A shooting at a birthday party in New Jersey that left two people dead and 12 injured was not a random act and was a reflection of gun violence that has swept the nation, Gov. Phil Murphy said. “A birthday party is supposed to be a joyous...
