Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson downplays attack on U.S. Capitol
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson downplayed the storming of the U.S. Capitol last month, saying on conservative talk radio Monday that it “didn’t seem like an armed insurrection to me.” Johnson’s comments on WISN-AM in Milwaukee came after he voted Saturday to acquit former President Donald...
Pennsylvanians consumed an average of 753 drinks each in 2020, study says
A new study has found that people in Pennsylvania really kept their spirits high in 2020. The study found that those in the Keystone State drank an average total of 753 drinks each by the end of the year. While this may not be surprising because of how stressful 2020...
Pelosi says independent commission will examine Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that Congress will establish an independent, Sept. 11-style commission to look into the deadly insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol. Pelosi said the commission will “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic...
The inside story of how Pennsylvania failed to deliver millions in coronavirus rent relief
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 — It was late August, just past noon, and time was running out. Bryce Maretzki was in charge of a...
Egypt: Archaeologists unearth ancient beer factory in Abydos
CAIRO — American and Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed what could be the oldest known beer factory at one of the most prominent archaeological sites of ancient Egypt, a top antiquities official said. Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the factory was found in Abydos, an...
Pennsylvania GOP may meet to discuss Toomey impeachment vote
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican Party is planning a meeting to potentially censure U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey amid a growing GOP backlash over his vote to convict Donald Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial, county party officials said Monday. County party chairs said the state GOP chairman, Lawrence Tabas,...
Biden faces questions about commitment to minimum wage hike
WASHINGTON — Union activist Terrence Wise recalls being laughed at when he began pushing for a national $15 per hour minimum wage almost a decade ago. Nearly a year into the pandemic, the idea isn’t so funny. The coronavirus has renewed focus on challenges facing hourly employees who have continued...
Kosovo’s leftist opposition party gains landslide win
PRISTINA, Kosovo — The left-wing opposition leader who’s poised to become Kosovo’s next prime minister said Monday that he would push hard for his country to join the European Union, but also urged the bloc to provide an economic aid package to help smooth the path to membership for western...
Fauci wins $1 million Israeli prize for ‘defending science’
TEL AVIV, Israel — Dr. Anthony Fauci has won the $1 million Dan David Prize for “defending science” and advocating for vaccines now being administered worldwide to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Israel-based Dan David Foundation on Monday named President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser as the winner of one...
Covid-19 shots might be tweaked if variants get worse
The makers of covid-19 vaccines are figuring out how to tweak their recipes against worrisome virus mutations — and regulators are looking to flu as a blueprint if and when the shots need an update. “It’s not really something you can sort of flip a switch, do overnight,” cautioned Richard...
Hamas court says women need guardian’s approval to travel
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A Hamas-run Islamic court in the Gaza Strip has ruled that women require the permission of a male guardian to travel, further restricting movement in and out of the territory that has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since the militant group seized power. The...
Michael Jordan gives $10M for North Carolina health clinics
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Basketball legend Michael Jordan is donating $10 million to launch two medical clinics in underserved communities near his hometown in North Carolina, a regional health care system announced Monday. The Novant Health clinics are set to open in early 2022 in New Hanover County along North Carolina’s...
Egypt officials: Cairo building partially collapses, 4 dead
CAIRO — An apartment building in Cairo partially collapsed overnight, killing at least four people, Egyptian officials said Monday. By late morning, rescue workers were still searching for a possible survivor trapped under the rubble of the four-story building in the densely populated Roud el-Farag neighborhood of the Egyptian capital....
U.N. authorizes AstraZeneca’s covid vaccine for emergency use
TORONTO — The World Health Organization has granted an emergency authorization to AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, a move that should allow the U.N. agency’s partners to ship millions of doses to countries worldwide as part of a U.N.-backed program to tame the pandemic. In a statement Monday, the WHO said it...
New Pa. covid cases, deaths continue downward trend
As February hits its midpoint, Pennsylvania is continuing to see its cases of coronavirus decline — along with the number of those hospitalized and dying from the virus. Over the past two days, there were 4,516 new cases of coronavirus reported in Pennsylvania, according to data released Monday by the...
Social media video leads police to suspect in Chihuahua’s death
LOS ANGELES — Riverside, California, police have arrested a 19-year-old Riverside man on suspicion of animal cruelty after being tipped off about a social media post showing a severely injured Chihuahua who later died. On Saturday, authorities received a call about a video posted online of a small Chihuahua with...
LAPD investigating report of George Floyd ‘Valentine’
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an internal investigation after an officer reported that a photo of George Floyd with the words “You take my breath away” in a Valentine-like format was circulated among officers. Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday that investigators will try to...
Myanmar security forces intensify crackdown on protesters
YANGON, Myanmar — Security forces in Myanmar pointed guns toward anti-coup protesters and attacked them with sticks on Monday, seeking to quell the large-scale demonstrations calling for the military junta that seized power earlier this month to reinstate the elected government. More than 1,000 protesters rallied in front of the...
13-year-old girl runs over, kills 2 men after stealing mother’s SUV in California, police say
ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A 13-year-old girl trying to elude police after stealing her mother’s SUV lost control of the vehicle, going off the road and rolling over two men who were sleeping in some bushes, killing them, reports say. Two girls were taken into custody after the incident but have...
Philippines demands more U.S. security aid to retain pact
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration wants considerably more military aid from the United States in exchange for not abrogating a key security pact with Washington, his spokesman said Monday, rejecting criticism that the blunt demand resembled extortion. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Philippines has received much...
Officials: 2 dead in Texas as subfreezing cold sweeps U.S.Video
AUSTIN, Texas — A sprawling blast of winter weather across the U.S. is likely to blame for the deaths of two people in Texas, where an unusually snowy emergency Monday knocked out power for more than four million people, shut down grocery stores and air travel and closed schools ahead...
Doctors’ groups disagree with Pennsylvania on limiting who can administer covid-19 vaccine
PHILADELPHIA — Physician groups say they are “deeply troubled” that the Pennsylvania Department of Health plans to remove primary care providers from the list of those permitted to administer the covid-19 vaccine. “This is a time when we need all hands on deck so we can get the majority of...
Support grows for Capitol riot inquiry after Trump acquittalVideo
WASHINGTON — After what one called a “heartbreaking” verdict, House prosecutors who argued for Donald Trump’s conviction of inciting the U.S. Capitol riot said Sunday they had proved their case and railed against the Senate’s Republican leader and most of his colleagues for “trying to have it both ways” in...
Indianapolis museum apologizes for ‘white art’ job listing
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields has apologized for a job listing seeking a new director who would maintain the museum’s “traditional, core, white art audience.” The wording was a bullet point in a six-page job description that also said the museum was working to attract a...
Coronavirus cases, hospital stays keep dropping in West Virginia
CHARLESTON — West Virginia is on track to have its lowest weekly count of positive coronavirus cases since late October. The state reported 1,816 confirmed cases from last Monday through Saturday. There have been no days in the past week when the daily total was above 400. The last time...
