Militia official: US strike in Syria kills 1, wounds several
WASHINGTON — A U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one fighter and wounding several others, an Iraqi militia official said Friday, signaling the first military action undertaken by U.S. President Joe Biden. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a...
House votes to expand legal safeguards for LGBTQ people
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation’s labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate. The bill passed by a vote of 224-206 with three Republicans...
Public asked to push Pennsylvania legislators for dog license fee hike
Increased dog license fees could bring in $1.2 million this year for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dog Law, if the proposal is approved by state legislators. Department Secretary Russell Redding hopes it will be. Without the additional funding, lost dogs or mistreated canines could face an uncertain...
Biden marks 50 million vaccine doses in first 5 weeks in officeVideo
WASHINGTON — Days after marking a solemn milestone in the pandemic, President Joe Biden is celebrating the pace of his efforts to end it. On Thursday, Biden marked the administration of the 50 millionth dose of covid-19 vaccine since his swearing-in. The moment came days after the nation reached the...
Jet pilot reports missile-like object ‘go right over the top of us’ in New Mexico skies
SANTA FE, N.M. — American Airlines has said one of its pilots flying a passenger jet sent a radio transmission reporting an unidentified object flying at high speeds in skies above northern New Mexico during a flight last Sunday from Cincinnati to Phoenix. A recording of the pilot’s transmission was...
Acting Capitol Police chief tells lawmakers militia groups seek to ‘blow up the Capitol’
Plans to “blow up” the U.S. Capitol during President Joe Biden’s yet-to-be scheduled State of the Union address in hopes of killing as many members of Congress “as possible” remains a credible threat, a top security official told lawmakers Thursday. Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman made the disturbing revelation...
Ohio is first state to sue Census Bureau over delay in data
Ohio on Thursday became the first state to challenge the U.S. Census Bureau’s decision to push back the release of 2020 census figures so more time can be spent on fixing any inaccuracies in the data. The lawsuit filed by Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers asks a federal judge in...
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm confirmed as energy secretary
WASHINGTON — Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm won Senate confirmation Thursday to be energy secretary and will be a key Cabinet member trying to fulfill President Joe Biden’s commitment for a green economy as the United States fights to slow climate change. The vote was 64-35, with all Democrats and...
Penn State aims to return to full in-person instruction for fall semester; here’s the plan
Penn State is planning to return to a “full on-campus learning environment” by the fall with expanded in-person classes, in another notable step toward normalcy. The university announced Wednesday that it will phase in its return by transitioning to more in-person classes over the summer, using event spaces and outdoor...
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...
