Top court orders Indian government to present oxygen plan
NEW DELHI — India’s government, facing calls for a strict coronavirus lockdown to slow the devastating surge in infections, was ordered by the top court Wednesday to submit a plan on meeting New Delhi hospitals’ oxygen requirements within a day. The Supreme Court decided against immediately punishing officials for failing...
U.S. birth rate falls to lowest point in more than a century
NEW YORK — The U.S. birth rate fell 4% last year, the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years, according to a government report being released Wednesday. The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly age group, falling to the lowest point since federal...
Tennessee GOP lawmaker: Three-Fifths Compromise was to end slaveryVideo
NASHVILLE — A Tennessee Republican falsely declared Tuesday that an 18th century policy designating a slave as three-fifths of a person was adopted for “the purpose of ending slavery,” commenting amid a debate over whether educators should be restricted while teaching about systematic racism in America. During lengthy debate on...
Rick Santorum’s comments on Native Americans don’t quiet criticsVideo
NEW YORK — CNN analyst Rick Santorum’s claim that he misspoke during a recent speech where he said there was “nothing here” when the United States was founded did little to diminish anger against him. The National Congress of American Indians on Tuesday renewed calls for CNN to fire the...
Derek Chauvin files for new trial, alleging prosecutorial and judicial misconduct
MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Chauvin’s defense on Tuesday moved to have the former Minneapolis police officer receive a new murder trial, alleging misconduct by prosecutors and the judge before guilty verdicts on murder and manslaughter charges were handed down two weeks ago. Defense attorney Eric Nelson said in the filing in...
Judge orders Justice Department to release Trump obstruction memo
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. The Justice Department had refused to give the March 24,...
Report: Barbecuing his dog lands Bucks County man behind bars on $1 million bailVideo
A Bucks County man is facing charges after police say he shot his dog and barbecued it. Nikolay Lukyanchikov, 49, is facing charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure and related offenses after the incident on Friday, NBC 10 is reporting. Lukyanchikov remained...
House GOP leader amps up pressure on Liz Cheney over Trump barbsVideo
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stepped up pressure on No. 3 House Republican Liz Cheney on Tuesday, claiming rank-and-file concerns about “her ability to carry out her job” as she trades insults with former President Donald Trump. McCarthy’s comments on the Fox News Channel underscored the continued, if...
Scientists scramble to see why, in rare cases, even the vaccinated can get covid-19
Carey Alexander Washington, 80, a practicing clinical psychologist, called his daughter in January as soon as he received his first dose of the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine. “He was just so excited that he had gotten it,” said Tanya Washington, 49, a resident of Atlanta who works at an investment firm....
Idaho legislative intern reports rape, is ID’d by lawmaker
BOISE — The harassment began soon after a report by a 19-year-old intern, who alleged an Idaho lawmaker raped her, became public. One state representative sought a copy of the police report and made inquiries into how the young woman herself could be referred for criminal charges for reporting the...
Virginia man with neo-Nazi ties gets 3 years for bogus threats, calls
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A former neo-Nazi leader was sentenced to more than 3 years in prison Tuesday for his role in a conspiracy to target a Black church, a Cabinet member and more than 100 others with bogus bomb threats and 911 calls. U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady imposed...
2 Bucks County women charged with trying to vote for deceased mothers
DOYLESTOWN — Two suburban Philadelphia women are facing misdemeanor voter fraud charges after authorities allege they completed mail-in ballots for the November 2020 election by signing the names of their deceased mothers. Bucks County prosecutors say Danielle Dooner, 56, of Buckingham Township and Melissa Ann Fisher, 51, of Quakertown were...
G7 foreign ministers meet face-to-face after pandemic pause
LONDON — Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy industrialized nations gathered Tuesday in London for their first face-to-face meeting in more than two years, to grapple with how to respond to the military coup in Myanmar and whether to challenge or coax a surging China. Host nation Britain...
Biden aims for vaccinating 70% of adult Americans by July 4Video
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday set a new vaccination goal to deliver at least one dose to 70% of adult Americans by July Fourth, focusing on easing access to shots as his administration tackles the vexing problem of winning over those reluctant to get inoculated. The new goal...
Storms spawn twisters in Mississippi, kill 3 across South
YAZOO CITY, Miss. — Much of the South faced more severe weather Tuesday that has killed at least three people, spawned tornadoes Sunday night and Monday and damaged homes and uprooted trees from Mississippi to West Virginia. Parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, as well as corners of...
Wolf: Covid restrictions end Memorial Day; mask mandate ends when 70% of Pa. adults fully vaccinated
Pennsylvania plans to lift its covid-19 mitigation orders on Memorial Day, and Gov. Tom Wolf said the state’s masking order will be dropped once 70% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Mitigation measures that remain in effect until Memorial Day include capacity limits on restaurants, theaters, indoor and...
Free beer for a shot is New Jersey’s latest push for covid vaccinations
Cheers to getting vaccinated. In trying to b̶r̶i̶b̶e̶ inspire people to take the covid-19 vaccine, authorities in New Jersey are resorting to some interesting methods. The latest idea was shared by N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy: free beer. “We’re not going to be afraid to try new things,” Murphy said of...
One ritzy fundraiser shows how tough selling lobbying reform in Pa. will be
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 — For the first time, the Pennsylvania legislature’s top leaders are expected to throw their weight behind reining in the...
North Carolina lawmakers to debate new abortion restrictions
RALEIGH, N.C. — Another effort by North Carolina Republicans to narrow the situations in which abortion is legal in the state is set to be debated in a legislative committee. The House Health Committee planned Tuesday to discuss and vote on a measure that would bar a physician from performing...
Louisiana Senate agrees to ban discrimination on hairstyles
BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Senate unanimously voted to make it illegal for employers to discriminate against someone because of their hairstyle, a measure striking at tactics that have targeted Black people who wear their hair naturally. Senate Bill 61, by Sen. Troy Carter, a New Orleans Democrat recently...
EU regulators start review of China’s Sinovac vaccine
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The European Union’s drug regulator announced Tuesday that it has started a rolling review of China’s Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to assess its effectiveness and safety, a first step toward possible approval for use in the 27-nation bloc. The European Medicines Agency said Tuesday that its decision...
Mexico City metro overpass collapses onto road; 23 dead
MEXICO CITY — An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent a subway car plunging toward a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 23 people and injuring about 70, city officials said. Rescuers searched a car left dangling from the overpass for hours for anyone who...
FBI: Officers shoot armed man outside CIA headquarters
A man was shot Monday outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., after he “emerged from his vehicle with a weapon,” according to an FBI statement. The man attempted to drive into the campus without any access and was stopped by armed guards who operate the gates, according to reports. The...
Trial against opioid distributors begins in West VirginiaVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A trial began Monday in a lawsuit filed in West Virginia accusing three drug distributors of fueling a local opioid epidemic with excessively large shipments of painkillers over several years. The city of Huntington and Cabell County filed the lawsuit against drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal...
Ex-consumer watchdog Richard Cordray tapped to manage federal student aid
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former federal consumer watchdog and Democratic nominee for Ohio governor has landed his next job. The Department of Education announced Monday that Richard Cordray has been selected as its chief operating officer of federal student aid. Cordray, 62, previously served as Ohio treasurer and attorney general...
