Former development aide accuses New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment
NEW YORK — A former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is now running for Manhattan borough president accused him of sexual harassment in a series of tweets Sunday, saying he made inappropriate comments about her appearance. Lindsey Boylan tweeted that the Democratic governor “sexually harassed me for...
Officials: Pittston detention facility at center of scandal is closed
WILKES-BARRE — State and county officials have confirmed the voluntary closure of a for-profit juvenile detention center in northeastern Pennsylvania to which prosecutors said juvenile offenders were improperly sent in a kickback scheme that led to the imprisonment of two judges. The (Wilkes-Barre) Citizens’ Voice reports that the 60-bed PA...
Man shot by police after shooting at Manhattan cathedralVideo
NEW YORK — A man was fatally shot in the head by police on the steps of a landmark New York City cathedral Sunday afternoon after he began firing two semiautomatic handguns at the end of a Christmas choral concert, police said. A detective, a sergeant and an officer fired...
U.S. agencies hacked in monthslong global cyberspying campaign; Russia a possible culprit
WASHINGTON — U.S. government agencies were ordered to scour their networks for malware and disconnect potentially compromised servers on Monday after authorities learned that the Treasury and Commerce departments were hacked in a global cyber-espionage campaign tied to a foreign government. In a rare emergency directive issued late Sunday, the...
Agent: Master spy writer John le Carre dies at 89
LONDON — John le Carre, the spy-turned-novelist whose elegant and intricate narratives defined the Cold War espionage thriller and brought acclaim to a genre critics had once ignored, has died. He was 89, Le Carre’s literary agency, Curtis Brown, said Sunday that he died in Cornwall, southwest England on Saturday...
Some in White House getting early access to covid-19 vaccine
WASHINGTON — Some White House officials who work in close proximity to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will be offered coronavirus vaccines as soon as this week, while its public distribution is limited to front-line health workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Two...
Vandals hit Black churches during weekend pro-Trump ralliesVideo
WASHINGTON — Vandals tore down a Black Lives Matter banner and sign from two historic Black churches in downtown Washington and set the banner ablaze as nighttime clashes Saturday between pro-Donald Trump supporters and counterdemonstrators erupted into violence and arrests. Police on Sunday said they were investigating the incidents at...
Trump raises China concerns as reason to veto defense bill
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered a new rationale Sunday for threatening to veto the annual defense policy bill that covers the military’s budget for equipment and pay raises for service members: China. He did not specific his concerns. Republican lawmakers have said the wide-ranging defense policy bill, which the...
Thousands of Pa. families face potential eviction come the new year
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. Hundreds of thousands of families across Pennsylvania could lose their homes in January, after emergency unemployment benefits and federal eviction protections...
Vandals hit Black churches during weekend pro-Trump rallies
WASHINGTON — Groups of people tore down a Black Lives Matter banner and sign from historic Black churches in downtown Washington and set one ablaze as nighttime clashes Saturday between pro-Donald Trump supporters and counterdemonstrators erupted into violence and arrests. Police on Sunday said they were investigating the incidents at...
DOJ probe of Pa. Catholic church abuse goes quiet 2 years later
PHILADELPHIA — Two years ago, the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia joined the long line of ambitious prosecutors investigating the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of priest-abuse complaints. The Justice Department had never brought a conspiracy case against the church, despite exhaustive reports that showed its long history of burying abuse complaints...
More U.S. churches are committing to racism-linked reparations
NEW YORK — The Episcopal Diocese of Texas acknowledges that its first bishop in 1859 was a slaveholder. An Episcopal church in New York City erects a plaque noting the building’s creation in 1810 was made possible by wealth resulting from slavery. And the Minnesota Council of Churches cites a...
Covid-19 vaccine shipments begin in historic U.S. effortVideo
PORTAGE, Mich. — The first of many freezer-packed covid-19 vaccine vials made their way to distribution sites across the United States on Sunday, as the nation’s pandemic deaths approached the horrifying new milestone of 300,000. The rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by the Food and...
Driver arrested after car plows into Manhattan protesters
NEW YORK — A woman who plowed her car into protesters Friday in New York City, injuring six of them, has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, police said. Kathleen Casillo, 52, was released from custody after being given a notice to appear in court at a later date,...
Trump slams Supreme Court for refusing to overturn election, lashes out at Barr
President Trump unleashed an angry tweet storm Saturday at the Supreme Court for dismissing his effort to overturn his election loss — and took a new shot at Attorney General Bill Barr. He repeated his claims about election fraud and blasted the top court for rejecting the long-shot Texas lawsuit...
Trump loses Wisconsin case while arguing another one
MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump lost a federal lawsuit Saturday while his attorney was arguing his case before a skeptical Wisconsin Supreme Court in another lawsuit that liberal justices said “smacks of racism” and would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters only in the state’s most diverse counties. U.S....
Electoral College vote a big step to move past election
HARRISBURG, Pa. — When the 20 Pennsylvania loyalists selected by President-elect Joe Biden gather to cast their electoral vote ballots on Monday, it will be a big step toward leaving behind the chaos of the election and its aftermath. The ceremony at the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg will be unusual...
Trump helicopter buzzes supporters rallying in Washington
WASHINGTON — Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump returned to Washington on Saturday for rallies to back his desperate efforts to subvert the election that he lost to Joe Biden. They cheered as Trump flew overhead on the Marine One helicopter on his way out of town for the...
Coroner IDs 5 cyclists killed near Las Vegas as 4 men, woman
LAS VEGAS — Four men in their 40s and 50s and a woman in her 30s were identified Friday as the five cyclists killed in a crash while riding on a highway southeast of Las Vegas. The Clark County office of the medical examiner and coroner said the cyclists were...
Critics of Electoral College push for popular vote compact
SALEM, Ore. — When the Electoral College meets Monday, its detractors hope it marks the beginning of the end of a system that twice this century has vaulted the loser of the popular vote to the presidency. This year’s presidential race provides the latest motivation for change to supporters of...
In a year dominated by pandemic, many other dramas unfolded
Not since World War II has a single phenomenon dominated the news worldwide as the covid-19 pandemic has in 2020. In the United States, a tumultuous presidential election and a wave of protests over racial injustice also drew relentless coverage. Overshadowed, to an extent, were other dramatic developments. Among them:...
Virgin Galactic makes first flight from New Mexico site
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Virgin Galactic test flight Saturday ended prematurely when the spacecraft landed safely at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico after its rocket engine failed to ignite high above the Earth. “The ignition sequence for the rocket motor did not complete. Vehicle and crew are in great...
U.S. says covid-19 vaccine to start arriving in states Monday
WASHINGTON — The nation’s first covid-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning, U.S. officials said Saturday, after the government gave the final go-ahead to the shots needed to end an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans. Trucks will roll out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and...
Pennsylvania posts 11,000 new coronavirus cases; 201 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 11,084 new coronavirus cases, as the Keystone State gets closer to accumulating 500,000 cases. The new data bring the total cases to 481,118; a nearly 70,000-case jump from this time last week (411,484). Officials said 40,580 of total cases are considered probable. Health officials define a...
U.S. allows emergency covid-19 vaccine in bid to end pandemic
WASHINGTON — The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first covid-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans. Shots for health workers and nursing home residents are expected to begin in the coming days after...
