Italy’s Lombardy again in virus crisis as Brescia sees surge
ROME — Italy’s northern Lombardy region, where Europe’s coronavirus outbreak erupted last year, asked the national government Thursday for more vaccines to help stem a surge of new covid-19 cases that are taxing the health system in the province of Brescia. The province’s fast-growing caseload is contributing to another upswing...
New coronavirus grants for small Pa. businesses aim for inclusivity, but can’t track success
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. HARRISBURG — Applications open next month for $145 million in state grants for small hospitality businesses, with a significant change by lawmakers intended to ensure the money...
U.S. report on Jamal Khashoggi killing likely to worsen relations with Saudis
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is expected to soon release an unclassified intelligence report establishing that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, directed the killing of the dissident U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A classified version of the report was completed shortly after Khashoggi was lured into a Saudi Consulate...
Manhattan prosecutor gets Trump tax records after long fight
NEW YORK — A New York prosecutor has obtained copies of Donald Trump’s tax records after the Supreme Court this week rejected the former president’s last-ditch effort to prevent them from being handed over. The Manhattan district attorney’s office enforced a subpoena on Trump’s accounting firm within hours of the...
Pennsylvania adds fewer than 3,000 covid cases 7 days in a row
Pennsylvania has reported fewer than 3,000 additional cases of covid-19 each day for a week. The state on Thursday added 2,356 coronavirus cases to bring its total to 922,990 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The seven-day average of new cases in the...
Chief: Capitol assault much bigger than intel suggested
WASHINGTON — The acting U.S. Capitol Police chief was pressed to explain Thursday why the agency hadn’t been prepared to fend off a violent mob of insurrectionists, including white supremacists, who were trying to halt the certification of the presidential election last month, even though officials had compelling advance intelligence....
Group asks justices to ban use of race in college admissions
WASHINGTON — A group claiming Harvard discriminates against Asian American applicants is asking the Supreme Court to ban the consideration of race in college admissions nationwide. With an expanded 6-3 conservative majority since the last time the court heard an affirmative action case, the court could decide in the spring...
U.S. Reps. Marie Newman, Marjorie Taylor Greene feud over LGBTQ rights
Illinois U.S. Rep. Marie Newman’s push to pass a law that would ban discrimination against LGBTQ Americans has put her at the center of a feud with controversial Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, a pro-Trump freshman congresswoman from Georgia who has espoused baseless conspiracy theories. On Tuesday, Newman, a Democrat from...
IRS still hasn’t processed millions of 2019 tax returns
Christanine Brodis gathered her tax paperwork in February including a 1099-G for state unemployment compensation and a W2-G for some gambling winnings at MGM Grand Detroit, the only bright spot in a money-losing 2020. But she’s looking at taxable income now. Brodis, 48, sent her forms to a tax preparer...
Republican wants to require national anthem in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — The national anthem would have to be played before all sporting events at Lambeau Field, the Fiserv Forum and all other Wisconsin venues that have received taxpayer money under a bill introduced Thursday in the state Legislature by a Republican lawmaker. The proposal from Sen. Patrick Testin,...
Ohio bill toughening welfare program eligibility criticized
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Social service advocates are criticizing an Ohio bill that would toughen eligibility for food stamps and Medicaid benefits. Beefed up monitoring of changes in food stamp recipients’ income would be required along with photos on state food stamp cards, called EBT cards, under legislation proposed by Sen....
Republicans rally solidly against Democrats’ coronavirus relief package
WASHINGTON — Republicans rallied solidly against Democrats’ proposed $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill as lawmakers awaited a decision by the Senate’s parliamentarian that could bolster or potentially kill a pivotal provision hiking the federal minimum wage. Despite their paper-thin congressional majorities, Democratic leaders were poised to push the sweeping package...
China celebrates official end of extreme poverty, lauds Xi
BEIJING — The ruling Communist Party is celebrating the official end of extreme poverty in China with a propaganda campaign that praises President Xi Jinping’s role, part of efforts to cement his image as a history-making leader who is reclaiming his country’s rightful place as a global power. The propaganda...
Alaska could see more dangerous thunderstorms as Arctic sea ice melts and evaporation increases
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Thunderstorm frequency could triple in Alaska by the end of the century because of ongoing climate change, according to new research. Big thunderstorms, the kind that produce lots of rain, are not common in Alaska now. Some 30 occur in the state every year, said Andreas Prein,...
Pfizer studying effects of 3rd vaccine dose
NEW YORK — Pfizer announced Thursday that it has begun studying a third dose of its covid-19 vaccine, part of a strategy to guard against mutated versions of the coronavirus. Health authorities say first-generation covid-19 vaccines still protect against variants that are emerging in different parts of the world. But...
Report: More than $30 million needed for repairs, security at Capitol as a result of assaultVideo
The cost of cleaning broken glass, doors and artwork along with the added security from the events that occurred on Jan. 6 have topped $30 million and require more funding, Capitol staffers told lawmakers on Wednesday. NPR reported lawmakers have already said they would allocate the budget necessary for the...
Blackouts bring up ‘a four-letter word’ in Texas: regulationVideo
AUSTIN — All the groceries spoiled and the water was out for days. Then Melissa Rogers, a believer in the Texas gospel that government should know its place, woke up to a $6,000 energy bill before the snow and ice even melted. “The roads were awful, but we were running...
Chief: Capitol Police were warned of violence before riotVideo
WASHINGTON — Capitol Police knew armed extremists were primed for violence at the iconic building on Jan. 6 and even provided officers with assault rifles to protect lawmakers, the acting chief acknowledged Wednesday. But the wild invasion of the Capitol was far worse than police expected, leaving them unprepared to...
Pa. GOP meets to discuss Toomey, impeachment vote
HARRISBURG — Republican Party committee members in Pennsylvania were meeting remotely Wednesday night, for hours, in what involved a discussion of whether to censure U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey for his vote to convict Donald Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial. Toomey’s vote — and his earlier assessment that...
Pennsylvania man charged in Capitol insurrection after ex-girlfriend turns him in to FBI
A Pennsylvania man was charged after his ex-girlfriend went to the FBI with his text messages and videos from inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Richard Michetti, of Ridley Park, Delaware County, is charged with knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol...
Biden nominations suggest course shift for Postal Service boardVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced three nominations to the board of the U.S. Postal Service, signaling confidence in voting by mail and a possible change of course after months of turmoil over slowed delivery under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Biden named Ron Stroman, a former deputy postmaster general; Anton...
In Trump farm bailout, top 1% reaped nearly one-fourth of aid
The Trump administration’s farm bailouts steered an expanding share of subsidy payments to the nation’s biggest farms, according to an analysis by an environmental advocacy group that highlights issues of equity as the Biden administration designs potential new climate-related financial incentives for farmers. Just 1% of farm aid recipients collected...
Kevin McCarthy, Liz Cheney spar over Trump CPAC speech and his future in the GOPVideo
The Republican civil war over former President Donald Trump is far from over. House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., briefly sparred at a news conference Wednesday over Trump and his future role in the GOP. Asked about Trump’s upcoming speech at the Conservative Political...
White House aims to distribute masks to millions in ‘equity’ pushVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans to distribute millions of face masks to Americans in communities hard-hit by the coronavirus beginning next month as part of his efforts to ensure “equity” in the government’s response to the pandemic. Biden, who like Donald Trump’s administration considered sending masks to all Americans,...
Small pet turtles linked to Pennsylvania salmonella outbreak
Tiny turtles have sparked a salmonella outbreak that killed one person and sickened at least eight others, state health officials said Wednesday. The outbreak has been linked to small pet turtles purchased from street vendors, said Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam. She said a majority of the cases have...
