Florida works to avoid ‘catastrophic’ reservoir collapseVideo
PALMETTO, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond in the Tampa Bay area while evacuating the area to avoid a “catastrophic flood.” Manatee County officials say the latest models show that a breach at the old...
Singing hymns through masks, Christians mark pandemic Easter
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Christianity’s most joyous feast day was celebrated worldwide with the faithful far apart in pews and singing choruses of “Hallelujah” through face coverings on a second Easter Sunday marked by pandemic precautions. From vast Roman Catholic cathedrals to Protestant churches, worshippers followed national or local regulations...
In Easter speech, pope calls wars in pandemic ‘scandalous’
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis in his traditional Easter Sunday address denounced as “scandalous” how armed conflicts continue to rage even as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered severe social and economic suffering and swollen the ranks of the poor. Francis tempered his “Urbi et Orbi″ address (Latin for “To the...
Amid outcry, states push mental health training for police
The officer who Cassandra Quinto-Collins says kneeled on her son’s neck for over four minutes assured her it was standard protocol for sedating a person experiencing a mental breakdown. “I was there watching it the whole time,” Quinto-Collins told The Associated Press. “I just trusted that they knew what they...
Pa. cannabis legalization remains unlikely as neighboring states go for it
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. A version of this story originally appeared in our free weekly newsletter. New Jersey. New York. Virginia. One by one, Pennsylvania’s neighbors are moving to legalize recreational...
‘B’man’ continues to enjoy his honking ‘Beeple,’ but now also volunteers, raises money for charityVideo
After receiving countless beeps and honks from the motoring public, B’man is giving back. Sixteen-year-old Bill Carney, also known as B’man, is a fixture most evenings at what his family dubs his “corner office,” located at the corner of Freeport and Fox Chapel roads in the Fox Chapel Plaza parking...
Police: 3 dead, 4 hurt in North Carolina house party shooting
WILMINGTON, N.C. — At least seven people were shot and three were killed in a shooting at a house party early Saturday in North Carolina, a police chief said. The shooting happened inside a home in Wilmington around midnight, police Chief Donny Williams told WECT-TV. Information about the people who...
The final insult: Some dying of covid while awaiting vaccine
After months of hoping to receive a covid-19 immunization and then weeks of fighting the illness after one never came, Air Force veteran Diane Drewes was down to her last few breaths at a hospice center in Ohio when the phone rang. It was a health care worker, calling to...
Confederate symbols prove difficult to remove in many states
AUSTIN, Texas — Just past the gate at an entrance to the Texas Capitol, a large monument honoring the soldiers of the Confederacy looms, with towering statues and an inscription that reads, “Died for state rights guaranteed under the Constitution.” It is one of seven Confederate memorials on the Texas...
Chauvin’s trial leaves many Black viewers emotionally taxed
For some it’s too much to watch. Others just can’t turn away. The televised trial of Derek Chauvin, the former white police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, has provoked strong emotions among many Black men and women — all tinged with an underlying dread that it could...
Leak at wastewater pond prompts evacuations in Florida
BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a storage pond of wastewater threatened to cause flooding and collapse a system with radioactive material. Officials in Florida were evacuating homes and a highway Saturday near the large reservoir in the...
Pressure mounts on corporations to denounce GOP voting bills
ATLANTA — Liberal activists are stepping up calls for corporate America to denounce Republican efforts to tighten state voting laws, and businesses accustomed to cozy political relationships now find themselves in the middle of a growing partisan fight over voting rights. Pressure is mounting on leading companies in Texas, Arizona...
Unique 4/3/21 date draws lines for Vegas wedding licenses
LAS VEGAS — Soon-to-be newlyweds lined up out the door of the marriage license office in Las Vegas on Friday, ahead of a unique date to tie the knot: 4/3/21. Nearly 700 couples obtained licenses for the Saturday date, said Jeff Klein, a spokesman for the Clark County Marriage Bureau,...
Taiwan prosecutors probe train crash that killed 51
HUALIEN COUNTY, Taiwan — Prosecutors in Taiwan said Saturday they questioned the owner of an unmanned truck that rolled onto a rail track and caused the country’s worst train disaster in decades that killed 51 people and injured 146, though no charges have been filed. The train was carrying 494...
Johnson & Johnson testing covid-19 vaccine in adolescents between 12 and 17 years old
Johnson & Johnson has expanded a clinical trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine to include adolescents 12 to 17 years old, the drugmaker announced Friday. The ongoing, placebo-controlled trial was initially designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the shots for people ages 18 and older. The company now...
Officer killed in attack outside Capitol an 18-year veteran
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Capitol Police officer who died Friday after a man rammed his car into him and another officer at a barricade was identified as an 18-year veteran of the force. William “Billy” Evans joined the department in 2003 and was a member of its first responders unit....
Video shows Oklahoma jailer being brutalized by inmates
The Oklahoma City Police Department released a video Friday showing inmates drag, beat and stab a jailer before police shot and killed one who was holding a homemade knife to the jailer’s neck. The graphic video also shows police and sheriff’s deputies enter the pod at the Oklahoma County Detention...
April, the giraffe that became an online star, dies
HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. — April, the giraffe that became a sensation when a rural New York zoo livestreamed her 2017 pregnancy and delivery, was euthanized Friday because of advancing arthritis, the zoo said. “She is a precious member of our family, and while we knew this day would eventually come, our...
Police: West Virginia woman killed children, self
MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Police say a West Virginia woman fatally shot her two children, including an infant, before shooting and killing herself on Thursday night. Police responded to a report of shots fired in Moorefield around 6:30 p.m., news outlets reported. They found Brandi Baker, 38, and her 9-month-old infant...
Wolf: More than 112K Pa. teachers and staff vaccinated in 3 weeks
More than 112,500 teachers and school staffers across Pennsylvania received a covid-19 vaccine in less than a month, leading Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday to declare his aggressive vaccination plan for educators a victory. “This is a great success,” Wolf declared during a trip to Luzerne County. “We know that...
MMA fighter has finger severed in Philly match; doctors reattach it
A mixed martial arts fighter had his finger severed during a match in Philadelphia, but doctors were eventually able to reattach it. Khetag Pliev was injured Thursday night during the second round of his fight, which was stopped when the referee noticed Pliev was missing his left ring finger. “In...
Many still hesitate to get covid vaccine, but reluctance is easing
So few people came for covid-19 vaccinations in one county in North Carolina that hospitals there now allow anyone 16 or older to get a shot, regardless of where they live. Get a shot, get a free doughnut, the governor said. Alabama, with the country’s lowest vaccination rate, launched a...
Big effort aims to elect candidates with science backgrounds
RALEIGH, N.C. — An advocacy group plans to spend millions next year to elect more doctors, scientists and other professionals to office, arguing the pandemic and Donald Trump’s handling of it have powerfully underscored a need to bring people with scientific backgrounds into policymaking. 314 Action, a nonprofit organization with...
Russia fines Twitter for not taking down calls to protest
A court in Moscow on Friday fined Twitter for not taking down calls encouraging minors to take part in unauthorized rallies, the latest in a series of moves against the social media giant that has been used to amplify dissent in Russia. The court found Twitter guilty on three counts...
Prosecutors examine possible payments for sex in Gaetz probe
Federal prosecutors are examining whether Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and a political ally who is facing sex trafficking allegations may have paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday. The scrutiny of Gaetz stemmed from...
