Settlement near in case of Pennsylvania pot suspect killed by state bulldozer
The estate of a man who was run over by a bulldozer while being chased by Pennsylvania State Police for illegally growing a handful of pot plants is nearing settlement of its federal wrongful death lawsuit against the state. Gregory Longenecker, a 51-year-old short-order cook and Grateful Dead fan, had...
Georgia election officials investigate Trump telephone call
ATLANTA — Georgia’s secretary of state’s office on Monday opened an investigation into a phone call between Donald Trump and the state’s top elections official in which the then-president said he wanted to “find” enough votes to overturn his loss in the state, an official said. Walter Jones, a spokesman...
Seattle judge halts Proud Boy’s release in Capitol breach case
SEATTLE — The self-described “sergeant-at-arms” of the Seattle chapter of the far-right group Proud Boys will remain in custody for now pending charges filed in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida in Seattle initially said Monday that 30-year-old Ethan Nordean should be released pending...
In Florida city, hackers try to poison the drinking water
FLORIDA — A hacker gained unauthorized entry to the system controlling the water treatment plant of a Florida city of 15,000 and tried to taint the water supply with a caustic chemical, exposing a danger cybersecurity experts say has grown as systems become both more computerized and accessible via the...
Some college students temporarily eligible for SNAP benefits
Some college students will be eligible for SNAP food benefits based on their family’s income, a change that is temporary but will open up the program for a swath of students who otherwise did not qualify for the support, Pennsylvania officials announced Monday. Under normal circumstances, federal rules dictate that...
Family of Illinois woman who drank hand sanitizer sues firm that made it
ST. LOUIS — The family of an Illinois woman who died last year after drinking hand sanitizer contaminated with methanol is suing the company that made the product. The federal lawsuit filed Friday in St. Louis says the St. Louis County Medical examiner determined that Kayla Stagner’s death was caused...
Nothing to sneeze at: Global warming triggers earlier pollen season
When Dr. Stanley Fineman started as an allergist in Atlanta, he told patients they should start taking their medications and prepare for the drippy, sneezy onslaught of pollen season around St. Patrick’s Day. That was about 40 years ago. Now he tells them to start around St. Valentine’s Day. Across...
House Democrats reveal first draft of stimulus-bill measuresVideo
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Monday released the first draft text for key pieces of legislation that will constitute President Joe Biden’s covid-19 relief bill. The legislative language released by the Education and Labor Committee and Committee on Financial Services shows Democrats are forging ahead with plans to increase the...
Alabama U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby announces he won’t seek a 7th termVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — U.S. Sen. Richard C. Shelby, the Senate’s fourth most senior member and a force in Alabama politics for more than four decades, announced Monday that he will not seek a seventh term in office in 2022. The 86-year-old Republican has spent more than 40 years in Washington,...
Arizona Democrats move to expel lawmaker who attended Jan. 6 rally
PHOENIX — Democrats in the Arizona House moved Monday to expel a Republican lawmaker who attended the Jan. 6 rally that turned violent when demonstrators stormed the U.S. Capitol. Republican Rep. Mark Finchem of Tucson violated his oath of office and undermined democracy through actions that include his attendance at...
How some Pa. lawmakers score a ‘golden parachute’ to pad their pensions
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. HARRISBURG — Members of Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board, whose responsibilities include meeting once or twice...
Pa. ranks No. 2 in terms of residents charged by feds in U.S. Capitol riot
This is hardly an honor, but as of Monday Pennsylvania is in second place among the 50 states in terms of the number of its residents who are facing federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Texan ranked No. 1, with 21 defendants. Pennsylvania...
50 Yellowstone bison transported to Montana reservation
BILLINGS, Mont. — Officials have transported 50 Yellowstone National Park bison to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana. The animals transferred Friday were under quarantine by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service located north of the park in the Gardiner Basin, the...
Arizona Senate planning to hold board in contempt in election fight
PHOENIX — Republicans who control the Arizona Senate were poised to hold the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contempt Monday for failing to turn over voting machines and ballots from the November election that lawmakers want to examine as they continue to question President Joe Biden’s win in the...
Republican Tenney’s narrow win certified in U.S. House race
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state elections officials certified Republican Claudia Tenney’s razor-thin victory over U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi on Monday, more than three months after Election Day. The certification came after a state judge ruled that Tenney won the race for central New York’s 22nd Congressional District by 109...
New variants raise worry about covid-19 virus reinfections
Evidence is mounting that having covid-19 may not protect against getting infected again with some of the new variants. People also can get second infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus if they mounted a weak defense the first time, new research suggests. How long immunity lasts from natural infection...
Myanmar junta imposes curfew, meeting bans as protests swell
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s new military rulers on Monday signaled their intention to crack down on opponents of their takeover, issuing decrees that effectively banned peaceful public protests in the country’s two biggest cities. The restrictive measures were ordered after police fired water cannons at hundreds of protesters in the...
Trump lawyers blast impeachment trial as ‘political theater’
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday blasted the impeachment case against him as an act of “political theater” as they accused House Democrats of exploiting the chaos and trauma of last month’s riot at the U.S. Capitol for their party’s gain. In a brief filed on the eve...
Russia updates statistics on virus-linked deaths in 2020
Russia’s updated statistics on coronavirus-linked deaths show that 162,429 people with covid-19 had died in the pandemic last year, a number much higher than previously reported by government officials. The state statistics agency, Rosstat, released figures for December on Monday, updating its count of coronavirus-linked deaths that includes cases where...
Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Wright of Texas dies at 67
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, who had battled health challenges over the past year including lung cancer treatment, has died more than two weeks after contracting covid-19, his office said Monday. He was 67. Wright died Sunday, spokesman Matt Langston said. He said he did not...
As covid fills ICUs, chronically ill patients suffer ‘ripple effect’ of delayed surgeries
LOS ANGELES — In the early years of his illness, as his kidneys began to shrink and toxins coursed through his blood, the same four words often floated through Miguel Rangel’s mind: “I’m going to die.” Although some people live much longer, the average life expectancy of dialysis patients is...
Schools plan for potential of remote learning into the fall
Parents of schoolchildren learning from home shouldn’t necessarily count on reclaiming the dining room table any time soon. After seeing two academic years thrown off course by the pandemic, school leaders around the country are planning for the possibility of more distance learning next fall at the start of yet...
Poll: Few in U.S. say democracy is working very well
Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country’s bedrock principles, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well...
Pelican named Arvy survives frostbite in Connecticut, flown to Florida
A pelican that got blown off course and was rescued in chilly Connecticut has been flown to Florida, where he is recovering from pneumonia and frostbite. The brown pelican, nicknamed Arvy, was rescued from the icy Connecticut River on Jan. 27. The bird, whose species is not typically seen in...
Michigan man killed after cannon used at baby shower explodes
GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan man who was fatally injured when a cannon exploded in a backyard during a baby shower was within 15 feet of the device when the blast occurred, police said. Evan Thomas Silva, 26, of Hartland, was struck by metal shrapnel in Saturday night’s explosion...
