Tens of thousands evacuated as India braces for cyclone
NEW DELHI — Tens of thousands of people fled their homes in low-lying areas of southern India and moved to evacuation shelters on Wednesday to escape a cyclone that was barreling toward the region’s coast. Cyclone Nivar is expected to bring heavy downpours after slamming ashore near Mamallapuram and Karaikal...
New York state may speed up, permanently expand vote-by-mail
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York may permanently expand voting by mail — something it tried on a wide scale for the first time this year — while also trying to reform its molasses-slow and opaque process for counting absentee ballots. A proposed constitutional amendment would do away with the rule...
Global push to end domestic violence, worse amid covid-19
PARIS — With domestic violence on the rise amid the coronavirus pandemic, activists are holding protests Wednesday from France to Turkey and world dignitaries are trying to find ways to protect millions of women killed or abused every year by their partners. The pope called for global action to mark...
Sunbeam recalls nearly 1 million Crock-Pot multi-cookers over lid issue
Sunbeam Products has recalled almost 1 million Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers because an issue with the lid when used for pressure cooking can result in burns. “The recalled Crock-Pot multi-cooker can pressurize when the lid is not fully locked. This can cause the lid to suddenly detach while the...
With U.S. in covid panic, one senator saw stock opportunity
WASHINGTON — As the ravages of the novel coronavirus forced millions of people out of work, shuttered businesses and shrank the value of retirement accounts, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged to a three-year low. But for Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republican, the crisis last March signaled something else:...
Car hits gate outside German leader’s offices; minor damage
BERLIN — A car crashed into the front gate of the building housing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s offices on Wednesday morning, causing minor damage, authorities said. The driver was detained. Police were investigating the 10 a.m. (4 a.m. Pittsburgh time) crash at the German chancellery in Berlin. The car, a...
Pa.’s GOP congressmen mum on Biden-Harris transition as Sen. Toomey extends olive branch
Western Pennsylvania’s Republican congressmen, all ardent supporters of President Trump, are lying low in the wake of the administration’s decision to allow President-elect Joe Biden to formally begin the transition to power. U.S. Reps. Guy Reschenthaler of Peters Township, Mike Kelly of Butler, John Joyce of Blair County and Glenn...
Trump skips turkey jokes, gives thanks for covid-19 vaccines
WASHINGTON — Nostalgia was in and jokes were out Tuesday as President Donald Trump offered a reprieve to a pair of meaty turkeys at the traditional Thanksgiving turkey pardon ceremony at the White House. The National Turkey Federation presented the White House with two birds, Corn and Cob. Corn was...
Pa. officials urge people with covid to cooperate with contact tracing
The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in step with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will begin prioritizing covid-19 contact tracing and case investigation efforts as cases surge and fewer people cooperate with tracers and investigators. Pennsylvania’s positivity rate rose to 11% this week, with more than 34,700...
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma pleads guilty in criminal case
Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty Tuesday to three criminal charges, formally taking responsibility for its part in an opioid epidemic that has contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths but also angering critics who want to see individuals held accountable, in addition to the company. In a virtual hearing with a...
Mysterious shiny monolith found in otherworldly Utah desert
SALT LAKE CITY — Deep in the Mars-like landscape of Utah’s red-rock desert lies a mystery: A gleaming metal monolith in one of the most remote parts of the state. The smooth, tall structure was found during a helicopter survey of bighorn sheep in southeastern Utah, officials said Monday. A...
55-year sentence affirmed for 15-year-old MS-13 gang killer
NEW YORK — An appeals court affirmed a 55-year prison term Tuesday for a member of the MS-13 gang who organized the killings of four teenagers in a Long Island park when he was 15 — but it also expressed regret that the end of parole for federal prisoners means...
Ohio governor says state’s first vaccine batch coming by Dec. 15
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio could see its first batches of a coronavirus vaccine by Dec. 15, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday, citing calls his office has had with federal officials. The Republican governor called the announcement good news even as covid-19 cases skyrocket in Ohio along with a record number...
New Mexico lawmakers propose $1,200 payment to unemployed
SANTA FE, N.M. — The state legislature is meeting for the second time this year to tackle the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and has introduced a bill to channel millions in federal funding into a one-time stimulus of $1,200 to economically stressed workers. The stimulus checks would go...
Court says North Dakota governor can’t fill dead candidate’s seat
BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum does not have the authority to appoint someone to a state House seat won by a Republican candidate who died before the election, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded. The court, in a unanimous ruling issued Tuesday, decided that Burgum “has not...
Financially distressed Pa. towns faring better than expected, while others in pain
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — A significant number of Pennsylvania municipalities are considering applying for a state program for the severely financially distressed, while...
Nevada Supreme Court approves Biden win over Trump in state
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Supreme Court made Joe Biden’s win in the state official on Tuesday, approving the final canvass of the Nov. 3 election. The unanimous action by the seven nonpartisan justices sends to Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak results that will deliver six electoral votes from the Western...
Vatican butler convicted in Benedict XVI leaks case dies
ROME — Paolo Gabriele, the Vatican butler who was convicted of stealing and leaking Pope Benedict XVI’s private papers in 2012, has died. He was 54. Vatican News, the Holy See’s media portal, said Gabriele died Tuesday after a long, undisclosed illness. Gabriele’s case kicked off the first of two...
Pennsylvania adds 6,669 new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania reported 6,669 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the state’s Department of Health. There were also 81 new deaths reported, all of which were from November. Tuesday’s figures bring total cases and total deaths to 321,070 and 9,951, respectively. In the state, there are 3,897 covid-19 patients hospitalized, with...
Germany warns of anti-Semitism among lockdown protests
BERLIN — A German government official warned Tuesday that anti-Semitism is emerging as a common position among people protesting pandemic lockdown measures who otherwise come from widely differing political backgrounds. Felix Klein, who was appointed in 2018 to head the government’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism, said that hatred against Jews...
Putin can’t take Russia’s ‘safe’ covid-19 vaccine, Kremlin says
President Vladimir Putin told fellow world leaders last week that both of Russia’s covid-19 vaccines, including one he championed as the world’s first inoculation against the disease, are safe and effective. That doesn’t mean he’s taken either of them. “We have not yet begun widespread vaccination and the head of...
Federal judge overrules Alaska attempt to block special hunt
JUNEAU, Alaska — A judge has ruled that the federal government was correct in allowing a southeast Alaska tribe to organize an out-of-season hunt because of the coronavirus pandemic. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration sued to block future hunts, arguing that permitting a special moose and deer hunt this summer...
China, Japan to cooperate in reviving virus-hit economies
TOKYO — The foreign ministers of Japan and China agreed Tuesday to cooperate in fighting the coronavirus and reviving their pandemic-hit economies, while trying to avoid actions that provoke tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday, and...
Proposal would limit bank pullback of Arctic oil, gas funds
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The federal government has released a proposed rule aimed at limiting the ability of large banks to pull financing from Arctic oil and natural gas projects. The proposal issued last Friday follows announcements by five of the nation’s largest banks that they plan to prohibit or limit...
Virus outbreak delays production at world’s top glove maker
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s Top Glove Corp., the world’s largest maker of rubber gloves, said Tuesday it expects a two to four week delay in deliveries after more than 2,000 workers at its factories were infected by the coronavirus, raising the possibility of supply disruptions during the pandemic. Top...
