WHO report says animals likely source of covid-19
BEIJING — A joint WHO-China study on the origins of covid-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by the Associated Press. The findings offer...
Thousands flee into Thailand following Myanmar air strikes
YANGON, Myanmar — A series of airstrikes by Myanmar’s military along the country’s border raised concerns Monday that more villagers might flee to neighboring Thailand in large numbers, adding a new dimension to an already volatile crisis. The strikes in areas populated predominantly by ethnic Karen people represent another escalation...
7 wounded when dispute sparks shootout at Cleveland motorcycle club
CLEVELAND — A shootout at a private motorcycle club in Cleveland that left seven people wounded was apparently sparked by a dispute involving a man and a woman, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 3 a.m. Sunday inside the Spot Night Club. Authorities said the man involved in the argument...
Colorado ‘red flag’ gun law shows some success, but inconsistent use
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The 33-year-old Denver man liked to strap three handguns to his belt for his sessions with his psychiatrist and often made veiled threats, telling her once that she should take more care about letting people like him come back to her office. Police later found a...
Canal service provider says container ship in Suez set free
SUEZ, Egypt — Salvage teams on Monday set free a colossal container ship that has halted global trade through the Suez Canal, a canal services firm said, bringing an end to a crisis that for nearly a week clogged one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries. Helped by the...
Man fires gun at Everglades park rangers; later arrested
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. — A man who fired a gun at Everglades National Park rangers was arrested Sunday evening, the park said. The park tweeted at 8:15 p.m. Sunday that visitors and residents in Flamingo, a section of the park, should shelter in place. A later tweet said the...
Body camera video shows Maryland officers berating 5-year-old boyVideo
SILVER SPRING, Md. — A police department in Maryland has released body camera video that captured two of its officers berating a 5-year-old boy who had walked away from his elementary school, calling him a “little beast” and threatening him with a beating. The video released Friday by the Montgomery...
Record rain causes flash flooding in Tennessee; 4 deadVideo
Torrential rain across Tennessee flooded homes and at least one church and left roads impassable, prompting dozens of people to be rescued in the Nashville area. Authorities said four bodies were found Sunday in the flood’s aftermath. Nashville received more than 7 inches of rain, the second-highest two-day rainfall total...
Michigan GOP chair apologizes for calling Gov. Whitmer, others ‘witches’
DETROIT — Michigan Republican Chairman Ron Weiser has apologized for comments calling the three highest-ranking elected female leaders in the state “witches” who should be “ready for the burning at the stake.” The comments Weiser made during an event Thursday in Oakland County about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana...
Ohio GOP congressman gives shots to promote covid-19 efforts
NORWOOD, Ohio — A Republican congressman gave covid-19 vaccinations Sunday to promote efforts to get reluctant people to get the shots. An early advocate of getting vaccinated, Rep. Brad Wenstrup is among Republicans concerned about their voters getting inoculated because of unfounded claims about the vaccines. “A lot of it...
Amid loss of Iron City contract, City Brewing eyes ownership, management changes, adds jobs in Latrobe
New investors and a restructured management team are expected to take over in April at City Brewing, according to the Wisconsin-based company that operates Latrobe’s brewery. Meanwhile, the company says the pending loss of Iron City Beer production should have little effect at the plant, where new jobs have been...
Former Trump adviser takes prominent role in voting battle
A GOP lawyer who advised former President Donald Trump on his campaign to overturn the 2020 election results is now playing a central role coordinating the Republican effort to tighten voting laws around the country. Cleta Mitchell, a longtime Republican lawyer and advocate for conservative causes, was among the Trump...
Coronavirus fight stalls in early hot spots New York, New Jersey
ALBANY, N.Y. — A year after becoming a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection. Even as the vaccination campaign has ramped up, the number of new infections in New Jersey has...
Now vaccinated, older adults emerge from covid hibernation
PORTLAND, Maine — Bill Griffin waited more than a year for this moment: Newly vaccinated, he embraced his 3-year-old granddaughter for the first time since the pandemic began. “She came running right over. I picked her up and gave her a hug. It was amazing,” the 70-year-old said after the...
New York lawmakers agree to legalize recreational marijuana
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is poised the join the growing number of states that have legalized marijuana after state lawmakers reached a late-night deal to allow sales of the drug for recreational use. Democrats who now wield a veto-proof majority in the state Legislature have made passing it a...
White House says it’s working on access to migrant centersVideo
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to provide a specific date for when the media will get access to Border Patrol facilities temporarily holding thousands of migrant children seeking to live in the United States, but said Sunday the Biden administration was committed to transparency and “we’re...
A bill that criminalizes spitting on Pa. police includes extra penalties for people who are sick
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 — A bill moving through the Pennsylvania legislature that would criminalize spitting on a police officer is partially predicated on...
U.S. waives FBI checks on caregivers at new migrant facilities
HOUSTON — The Biden administration is not requiring FBI fingerprint background checks of caregivers at its rapidly expanding network of emergency sites to hold thousands of immigrant teenagers, alarming child welfare experts who say the waiver compromises safety. In the rush to get children out of overcrowded and often unsuitable...
Police in Belarus capital arrest more than 100 protesters
KYIV, Ukraine — Police in the capital of Belarus arrested more than 100 people who assembled for a protest march Saturday to call for the resignation of the country’s authoritarian president. The planned event in Minsk indicated that supporters of the political opposition seek to revive the wave of mass...
China sanctions U.S., Canadian officials over Xinjiang
BEIJING — China on Saturday announced new sanctions against U.S. and Canadian officials in a growing political and economic feud over its policies in the traditionally Muslim region of Xinjiang. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said the head of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Gayle Manchin, would...
Police: 2 dead in Virginia Beach oceanfront shootings
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Overnight shootings along the beachfront in Virginia Beach left two people dead and eight wounded in a scene described by authorities on Saturday as “very chaotic.” In a statement, the Virginia Beach Police Department said the first shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, when police...
No timeline given for extracting wedged ship from Suez Canal
SUEZ, Egypt — A giant container ship remained stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal for a fifth day Saturday, as authorities made new attempts to free the vessel and reopen a crucial waterway whose blockage is disrupting global shipping and trade. Meanwhile, the head of the Suez Canal Authority said...
Myanmar forces kill scores in deadliest day since coup
YANGON, Myanmar — As Myanmar’s military celebrated the annual Armed Forces Day holiday with a parade Saturday in the country’s capital, soldiers and police elsewhere reportedly killed dozens of people as they suppressed protests in the deadliest bloodletting since last month’s coup. The online news site Myanmar Now reported late...
Pa. court again backs limits on abortion coverage
HARRISBURG — Planned Parenthood and other operators of abortion clinics lost in court on Friday in their bid to reverse a decades-old Pennsylvania court decision upholding limits on the use of state Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. The plaintiffs will appeal to the state Supreme Court, the...
Court sides with photographer in fight over Andy Warhol art
NEW YORK — A U.S. appeals court sided with a photographer Friday in a copyright dispute over how a foundation has marketed a series of Andy Warhol works of art based on one of her pictures of Prince. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the...
