News category, Page 1142

Legislation to provide more flexibility when it comes to finding substitute teachers to staff classrooms won unanimous approval on Monday from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Barb Gleim, R-Cumberland County, now goes to the Senate for consideration. It aims to help ease the problem districts...

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. A version of this story originally appeared in our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — Amending the Pennsylvania Constitution is a lengthy process that ends at the ballot...

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has amended its mask mandate, updating guidance for fully vaccinated residents to fall in line with federal guidelines, officials said Monday. A previous state order went into effect that loosened mask restrictions in certain circumstances. “The vaccines that are currently available across the state and...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Treating and addressing drug addiction cost West Virginia an estimated $11.3 billion in one year, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy. The report, written by economist Jill Kriesky, says the state spent that much in 2019 on issues that stem from...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A 9-year-old Minnesota boy was bitten by a shark as he body surfed in Miami Beach over the weekend, his parents said. Kristine Weiskopf told WPLG she and her son Jay were in the water for only a few minutes when the shark bit the boy....

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Alabama U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks has scheduled a Monday night campaign rally where he will be joined by former President Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller where it is anticipated he will enter the race to replace Sen. Richard Shelby. Brooks said Miller — who was Trump’s top...

FLORENCE, S.C. — Two men suspected in more than 20 armed robberies in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia were found dead in a hotel room after police heard gunshots as they knocked on the door to arrest them, authorities said. Florence County deputies and federal marshals fired no shots...

HARRISBURG — Majority Republicans in the state Senate announced Monday they will not employ a rarely used emergency process to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give victims of child sexual abuse a two-year window in which to file civil lawsuits. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward issued a statement that said...

Three people were injured Sunday when the chair they were riding in fell off a ski lift line at Camelback Resort in Monroe County and crashed to the ground, officials said. The people fell about 15 feet near the top of the mountain and were taken away by a St....

The five Nickischer kids of Hempfield have been living out a dream, acting as taste-­testers for the milkshakes their parents will serve in a new downtown Greensburg shop. Nicole and Greg Nickischer are looking for an early May opening for Main Street Sweets, in the lower level of the building...

BEIRUT — Airstrikes in northwest Syria near the Turkish border that killed a person and set afire trucks used to distribute aid targeted areas considered the safest in the rebel-held region, a U.N. official said Monday. The strikes on several locations a day earlier angered Turkey, prompting it to place...

ATLANTA — A conservative Georgia congressman and acolyte of former President Donald Trump has announced his bid to unseat the Republican secretary of state who angered Trump and his allies for refusing to help overturn the November election results. Rep. Jody Hice, a Tea Party favorite, is the first major...

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on 11 officials in Myanmar, mostly top military officers, accused of involvement in last month’s coup and the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters that followed. Ten of the 11 targeted with asset freezes and travel bans are senior members of the...

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary has issued initial approval to two more covid-19 vaccines from outside the European Union’s common procurement program, officials said Monday, further expanding the national supply of jabs that has given the country one of the highest vaccination rates in the 27-member bloc. The Hungarian medicines regulator...

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said he will get a coronavirus vaccine shot on Tuesday, several months after widespread vaccination has started in Russia. Kremlin opponents have criticized Putin for not getting vaccinated amid a comparatively slow rollout of the shot in Russia, arguing that his reluctance is fueling the...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider reinstating the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, presenting President Joe Biden with an early test of his opposition to capital punishment. The justices agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Trump administration, which carried out executions...

BERLIN — German authorities are expected to extend lockdown measures again on Monday and possibly tighten some restrictions as they face a steady rise in new coronavirus infections. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country’s 16 state governors, who in highly decentralized Germany are responsible for imposing and lifting restrictions, are...

BRUSSELS — Britain and the United States say they have taken joint action with the European Union and Canada to impose sanctions on senior Chinese officials over human rights abuses in China’s far western Xinjiang region. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the measures were part of “intensive diplomacy” by...

Shortly after his mother was killed in the Atlanta-area shootings, Randy Park launched a GoFundMe page asking for $20,000 to pay for funeral expenses. By Sunday, the donations were approaching $3 million. With many people seeking a way to support the families of the dead, Park’s page and others have...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Pointing to over 1,000 arrests in one of the nation’s top party spots, Miami Beach officials warned Sunday that the unruly spring break crowd gathering by the thousands, fighting in the streets, destroying restaurant property and refusing to wear masks has become a serious threat to...