Conor Lamb, Democrats’ 2018 Trump Country hero, faces hard political path
HARRISBURG — In 2018, Conor Lamb wasn’t just a candidate — he was a symbol. Barely a year into Donald Trump’s presidency, Democrats were desperate to show they could reconnect with the white, working-class voters who had turned against them. By eking out victory in a congressional district stretching across...
Denver’s airport reopens after powerful winter stormVideo
DENVER — Denver’s airport reopened Monday after a powerful late winter snowstorm dumped over 3 feet of heavy, wet snow on parts of Colorado and Wyoming, shutting down roads, closing state legislatures in both states and interfering with covid-19 vaccinations. The 27 inches that had fallen by the end of...
Florida man charged with spitting at Disney guard who asked for mask
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida man spat on a security officer at Walt Disney World after she asked him to put on a mask, according to an arrest report released Monday. Kelly McKin, 51, of North Palm Beach, Fla., is facing a charge of battery on a uniformed security officer...
Brazil’s Bolsonaro eyes 4th health minister as covid rages
SAO PAULO — Brazil’s health minister Eduardo Pazuello said on Monday that President Jair Bolsonaro is planning to replace him amid the worst throes of covid-19 in the country yet and after a series of errors decried by public health experts. One of the candidates to replace him, a renowned...
Deb Haaland confirmed at Interior, 1st Native American Cabinet head
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday confirmed New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary, making her the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department and the first to lead the federal agency that has wielded influence over the nation’s tribes for nearly two centuries. Haaland was confirmed by...
Woman in Uber driver attack to be returned to San FranciscoVideo
LAS VEGAS — A woman arrested in Las Vegas several days after an attack on an Uber driver in San Francisco that was widely viewed on social media agreed Monday to be transferred in custody to California to face criminal charges. Malaysia King’s court appearance in Las Vegas came hours...
Pa. House spends $445,000 for 2 meeting rooms, but conservatives said it was needed
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives spent nearly $500,000 to allow it to do more of what government does a lot: hold meetings. That money was used to renovate two old courtrooms that had been sitting vacant for over a decade and transform them into large meeting rooms to accommodate more...
‘Amityville Horror’ killer Ronald Defeo Jr. dies in prison at age 69
NEW YORK — Convicted “Amityville Horror” killer Ronald DeFeo Jr., who in 1974 shot and killed his parents and four younger siblings inside their Long Island home in a grisly case that inspired a book and a movie, has died in prison, officials said. He was 69. DeFeo was serving...
White supremacists’ fake bomb threats net 3 years in prison
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A former Old Dominion University student who joined up with white supremacists in a swatting conspiracy that targeted a Black church, his own university and a Cabinet officer, among others, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Monday. The 33-month sentence for John William Kirby...
Capitol Police to begin moving back fence surrounding complex
WASHINGTON — Congress is not facing the sort of threats that warrant the security fencing that has encompassed the Capitol complex since pro-Trump insurrectionists breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to Capitol Police, which will lead to imminent changes, but not complete removal, of the barrier. Capitol Police told...
3 die when car hits 9 people in San Diego; driver in custodyVideo
SAN DIEGO — A driver plowed through a crowd on a sidewalk under an overpass with homeless tents on a rainy Monday morning in downtown San Diego, killing three people and injuring six others, including two who are hospitalized in critical condition, police said. The driver — whom authorities identified...
U.S. air travel rises to highest levels yet since pandemic hit
Across the United States, air travel is recovering more quickly from the depths of the pandemic, and it is showing up in longer airport security lines and busier traffic on airline websites. The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 1.3 million people both Friday and Sunday, setting a new high...
Pa. lawmakers launch new push for child sex abuse lawsuit window
Pennsylvania lawmakers on Monday launched a rarely used emergency process to amend the state constitution, advancing a proposal that would give victims of child sexual abuse a two-year window to file otherwise outdated civil lawsuits. The House Judiciary Committee voted for the amendment, drafted because the Department of State under...
Extent of covid-19 vaccine waste remains largely unknown
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As millions continue to wait their turn for the covid-19 vaccine, small but steady amounts of the precious doses have gone to waste across the country. It’s a heartbreaking reality that experts acknowledged was always likely to occur. Thousands of shots have been wasted in Tennessee, Florida,...
Nebraska declares pro-meat day on Colorado meatless day
OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts railed Monday against a proclamation by the governor of neighboring Colorado that encourages people to avoid meat for one day a week, calling it a “direct attack on our way of life” and signing a pro-meat declaration of his own. Ricketts surrounded himself...
Partisan Pa. websites masquerading as local news threaten trust in journalism, new report finds
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 majority of news outlets in Pennsylvania rank high on trustworthiness, but there is a growing crop of digital...
Myanmar junta orders martial law in 6 Yangon neighborhoods
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s ruling junta has declared martial law in a wide area of the country’s largest city, as security forces killed dozens of protesters over the weekend in an increasingly lethal crackdown on resistance to last month’s military coup. The United Nations said at least 138 peaceful protesters...
Police say Indiana man killed 4, abducted baby after argument
INDIANAPOLIS — A man suspected of killing three adults and a child and abducting his baby daughter had pulled out a gun and opened fire following a heated argument at an Indianapolis home, police said Monday. The baby’s mother was also wounded in Saturday night’s shootings. The 6-month-old girl was...
Colorado court: Speed-reading bills violates constitution
The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that state Senate Democrats violated the constitution in 2019 when they responded to Republicans’ request that bills be read at length by having computers speed-read the bills in an intelligible garble. The Colorado Sun reports that in a 4-3 ruling released Monday, the court...
U.S. to house up to 3,000 immigrant teens at Dallas site
DALLAS — The U.S. government plans to use the downtown Dallas convention center to hold up to 3,000 immigrant teenagers as sharply higher numbers of border crossings have severely strained the current capacity to hold youths, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press. The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention...
Why some countries are halting the AstraZeneca shot
LONDON — Nearly a dozen countries including Germany, France and Italy have all temporarily suspended their use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine after reports last week that some people in Denmark and Norway who got a dose developed blood clots, even though there’s no evidence that the shot was responsible. The...
Wolf: Bar service in Pa. to return, alcohol curfew to lift on Easter
Pennsylvania bars and restaurants can resume bar service, sell alcohol without a food purchase and operate at 75% capacity beginning April 4, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday. The curfew on alcohol sales also will be lifted. Currently, bars and restaurants must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. and clear tables...
Tornadoes reported in Texas Panhandle, no injuries reported
AMARILLO, Texas — Several suspected tornadoes touched down Saturday afternoon in the Texas Panhandle between Lubbock and Amarillo, according to the National Weather Service, but no injuries or fatalities were reported. Two possible tornadoes touched down south of Amarillo, near Palo Duro Canyon State Park, said meteorologist Trent Hoffeditz in...
Men from Morgantown, State College charged in assault of Capitol officer who died after riotVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have arrested and charged two men with assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the Jan. 6 riot, but they do not know yet whether it caused the officer’s death. George Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, W.Va., and Julian Khater, 32, of State...
Much of Europe tightens anti-pandemic rules as virus surges
ROME — Tighter restrictions aimed at reining in surging coronavirus infections took hold in much of Italy and parts of Poland on Monday, while in France, Paris risks being slapped with a weekend lockdown as ICUs near saturation with covid-19 patients. In line with an Italian government decision late last...
