Man who used van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto guilty
TORONTO — A man who admitted using a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto was found guilty on Wednesday in a case that drew attention to an online world of sexual loneliness, rage and misogyny. Alek Minassian faced 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder...
Pandemic puts 1 in 3 nonprofits in financial jeopardy
NEW YORK — More than one-third of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the viral pandemic, according to a study being released Wednesday by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. The study’s findings underscore...
N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo addresses harassment claims, vows to stay in office
ALBANY, N.Y. — Besieged by sexual harassment allegations, a somber New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo apologized Wednesday, saying he “learned an important lesson” about his own behavior around women, but he said he intended to remain in office. “I now understand that I acted in a way that made people...
GOP takes aim at Biden’s health care pick on abortion rights
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary is taking heat from Republicans for his actions in support of abortion rights. They want to define him — and the new administration — as out of the mainstream. The Senate Finance Committee deadlocked Wednesday along party lines on the nomination...
Yard sale find turns out to be artifact worth up to $500,000
HARTFORD, Conn. — Talk about your yard sale finds. A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out to be a rare, 15th century Chinese artifact worth between $300,000 and $500,000 that is about to go up for auction at Sotheby’s. The white bowl adorned...
Pennsylvania adds 2,577 covid cases, 69 deaths
Pennsylvania added 2,577 more coronavirus cases on Wednesday, its highest total in the past four days. The additional cases bring the state’s total to 938,411, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The state also added 69 deaths to increase that total to 24,169. Philadelphia had the most new cases...
Solid sign-ups for Biden’s new ‘Obamacare’ coverage offer
WASHINGTON — More than 200,000 people signed up for coverage in the first two weeks after President Joe Biden reopened HealthCare.gov as part of his coronavirus response, the government said Wednesday. The solid start to the three-month special enrollment period indicates a pent-up demand for health insurance as the covid-19...
Police uncover ‘possible plot’ by militia to breach Capitol again
WASHINGTON — Capitol Police say they have intelligence showing a “possible plot” by a militia group to breach the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, nearly two months after a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the iconic building to try to stop Congress from certifying now-President Joe Biden’s victory....
Big winner in Minnesota snowplow contest: Plowy McPlowFace
MINNEAPOLIS — The next time it snows, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will dispatch Plowy McPlowFace to clear the roads. Darth Blader and Plow Bunyan will be out there, too. They are among the winning names in MnDOT’s “Name a Snowplow” contest in which the agency sought witty monikers for...
Official: Dems OK tighter income limits for covid relief
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats agreed Wednesday to tighten the upper income limits at which people could qualify for stimulus checks, a Democratic official said, a major concession to moderates as party leaders prepared to move their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill through the Senate. The covid-19 relief...
Gov. Wolf: Teachers, school staff move to front of line for Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine
Most teachers across Pennsylvania could be vaccinated and ready to return to classrooms by the end of March, state officials said Wednesday as they announced that educators and school staff will receive priority for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Gov. Tom Wolf said giving educators the first shot at the...
Putin seeks crackdown on those who push children to protest
MOSCOW — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday urged police to track down people who encourage children to join in unsanctioned demonstrations, a move that follows a wave of protests against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Speaking to top officials of the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police,...
Reports: Myanmar security forces shoot dead 8 protestersVideo
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar security forces shot and killed at least eight people Wednesday, according to accounts on social media and local news reports, as authorities extended their lethal crackdown on protests against last month’s coup. Videos from various locations showed security forces firing slingshots at demonstrators, chasing them down...
Top Pa. senator appoints colleague’s wife to lucrative Gaming Control Board seat
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 — The top Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate has quietly appointed the spouse of a colleague to a coveted spot...
Camilla says hospitalized Prince Philip is ‘slightly’ better
LONDON — Prince Philip is “slightly improving” and the royal family is keeping its fingers crossed for the hospitalized duke’s recovery, his daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said Wednesday. Philip, 99, has been hospitalized since being admitted Feb. 16 to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, where he was treated...
Abortion concerns prompt archdiocese warning on vaccine
NEW ORLEANS — Roman Catholic leaders in St. Louis and New Orleans are advising Catholics that the covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, newly approved for use in the U.S., is “morally compromised” because it is produced using a cell line derived from an aborted fetus. The New Orleans archdiocese...
‘Dr. Oz’ aids police in resuscitating man at Newark airport
NEWARK, N.J. — When a traveler became stricken at Newark Liberty International Airport, the police got an assist from a celebrity doctor: Mehmet Oz. The incident occurred late Monday night when Port Authority Officer Jeffrey Croissant saw the 60-year-old man fall to the floor near a baggage claim area. Croissant...
Strong earthquake shakes central Greece, felt in Balkans
ATHENS, Greece — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of up to 6.3 struck central Greece on Wednesday and was felt as far away as the capitals of neighboring Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Local officials reported some structural damage, mainly to...
U.S. forces: Rockets hit airbase in Iraq hosting U.S. troops
BAGHDAD — At least 10 rockets targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the coalition and the Iraqi military said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties. The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province at 7:20 a.m., coalition...
As virus-era attacks on Asians rise, past victims look back
Nearly a year after they were almost stabbed to death inside a Midland, Texas, Sam’s Club, Bawi Cung and his two sons all have visible scars. It’s the unseen ones though that are harder to get over. Cung can’t walk through any store without constantly looking in all directions. His...
Attorneys say Joe Exotic of ‘Tiger King’ wants new trial
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Joe Exotic of “Tiger King” fame has found new attorneys who say they plan to file a motion for a new trial in a matter of months. Joe Exotic, whose real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison for violating...
Budget nominee Tanden withdraws nomination amid opposition
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, has withdrawn her nomination after she faced opposition from key Democratic and Republican senators for her controversial tweets. Her withdrawal marks the first high-profile defeat of one of Biden’s nominees. Eleven of the 23...
South Carolina Senate adds firing squad to execution methods
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina senators Tuesday added a firing squad to the electric chair as alternatives if the state can’t execute condemned inmates by way of lethal injection. The Senate then approved the bill on a key 32-11 vote with several Democrats joining Republicans in the proposal which would...
Biden vows enough vaccine for all U.S. adults by end of May
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccines for all adult Americans by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated, as his administration announced that drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved...
FBI Director Christopher Wray calls riot at Capitol ‘domestic terrorism,’ warns movement is growing
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray bluntly labeled the January riot at the U.S. Capitol as “domestic terrorism” Tuesday and warned of a rapidly growing threat of homegrown violent extremism that law enforcement is scrambling to confront through thousands of investigations. Wray also defended to lawmakers his own agency’s handling...
