Ivory Coast votes for president amid opposition boycott
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Tens of thousands of security forces deployed across Ivory Coast on Saturday as the leading opposition parties boycotted the country’s presidential election, calling incumbent Alassane Ouattara’s bid for a third term illegal. While there were scattered reports of unrest, voting went forward in the commercial capital...
Actor Sean Connery, the ‘original’ James Bond, dies at 90
LONDON — Sean Connery, the charismatic Scottish actor who rose to international superstardom as suave, fearless secret agent James Bond and then abandoned the role to carve out an equally successful, Oscar-winning career playing a variety of leading and character roles, has died. He was 90. Bond producers EON Productions...
Exorcism: Increasingly frequent, including after U.S. protests
In popular culture, exorcism often serves as a plot device in chilling films about demonic possession. This month, two Roman Catholic archbishops showed a different face of exorcism — performing the rite at well-attended outdoor ceremonies to drive out any evil spirits lingering after acrimonious protests. The events’ distinctive character...
Father: 21-year-old Black man killed by Washington deputies
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Black man who was fatally shot by authorities in Washington state was a 21-year-old former football player with a baby daughter, friends and family said Friday. Law enforcement remained tight-lipped about the Thursday night shooting in Hazel Dell by Clark County sheriff’s deputies, but Kevin E....
Kennedy cousin Skakel will not be retried in 1975 killing
STAMFORD, Conn. — A prosecutor said Friday that Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel will not face a second trial in the 1975 killing of Martha Moxley, an announcement that came 45 years to the day after the teenager was bludgeoned to death in her wealthy Connecticut neighborhood. The decision ended a...
Ivory Coast tensions rise as president seeks 3rd term
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Opposition activists are threatening to block access to polling stations Saturday in an effort to disrupt the presidential election in Ivory Coast, where incumbent Alassane Ouattara is seeking a controversial third term after nearly a decade in power. An alliance of opposition parties is boycotting the...
Report: US turning away asylum-seekers at border is flawed
SAN DIEGO — The head of the Department of Homeland Security ordered border agents to stop asylum-seekers from stepping on U.S. soil at official crossings with Mexico in 2018, undercutting public statements at the time that they were welcome to do so, according to a government watchdog report published Friday....
Octobrrrr? Early snowfall blankets much of northeast US
BOSTON — If you had snow in October on your 2020 bingo card, you’re a lucky winner. Several inches fell across much of the northeastern U.S. on Friday, accumulating on lawns, fouling roads and inspiring social media posts with a mock “snowpocalypse” theme. “Bike commuting in a snow storm in...
Illinois judge OKs extradition of accused Kenosha shooter to Wisconsin
WAUKEGAN, Ill. — An Illinois judge on Friday ordered a 17-year-old accused of killing two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to be extradited across the border to stand trial on homicide charges, saying it wasn’t his role to vet a case brought by Wisconsin protestors and approved by a Wisconsin judge....
AP: Use of slurs not ‘isolated’ at Louisiana State Police
BATON ROUGE, La. — A Black trooper with the Louisiana State Police was on a break when his cellphone buzzed with an unusual voice message. It was from a white colleague, unaware his Apple Watch had recorded him, blurting out the Black trooper’s name followed by a searing racial slur....
Actor Lori Loughlin reports to prison in college scam
BOSTON — “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin has reported to a federal prison in California to begin serving her two-month sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scandal, authorities said Friday. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston said Loughlin was being processed at the federal lockup in Dublin,...
Zeta’s toll on a Louisiana island: ‘Like a bomb was dropped’
GRAND ISLE, La. — Mark Andolino remembers stinging rain and a howling wind that peeled the roof off part of his Cajun Tide Beach Resort on Grand Isle, the Louisiana barrier island town where residents were among the first to feel the ferocity of Hurricane Zeta. Andolino was salvaging what...
Study: 1 to 2 million tons of U.S. plastic trash going astray in rivers, lakes, oceans or on land
More than a million tons a year of America’s plastic trash isn’t ending up where it should. The equivalent of as many as 1,300 plastic grocery bags per person is landing in places such as oceans and roadways, according to a new study of U.S. plastic trash. In 2016 —...
State leaders facing 2nd wave resist steps to curb virus
DES MOINES, Iowa — Even as a long-feared second wave of coronavirus infections strains hospitals, officials in many hard-hit states are resisting taking stronger action to stop the spread, with public fatigue and political calculations running up against pleas from health experts. Days before a presidential election that has spotlighted...
As Trump faces uncertain future, so do his signature rallies
LITITZ, Pennsylvania — They began to arrive more than 40 hours before President Donald Trump took the stage in this stretch of rural Pennsylvania where horse-drawn buggies remain a common sight. By 10 p.m., a small group had set up an overnight camp on lawn chairs as a cold drizzle...
What you need to know about Trump threatening to withhold aid from Pa.
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 — In a precarious position in the polls and with his focus fixed on the swing state of Pennsylvania, President...
Pennsylvania posts 2nd highest new covid case count, 22 deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health posted 2,641 new cases of coronavirus Friday, its second highest tally in a single day. The new cases include 2,416 new one-day positive cases and 225 cases from previous days that were reported Friday, according to the state. With the latest batch, the state’s seven-day...
Guard, 11 inmates hurt in Pa. Corrections Department bus crash
CONEWAGO — A Pennsylvania Department of Corrections bus that was carrying 38 inmates was involved in a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Friday, leaving a guard and 11 inmates with minor injuries. The crash in the turnpike’s eastbound lanes in Conewago Township was reported shortly after 9 a.m. A...
As virus surges, Trump rallies keep packing in thousands
WASHINGTON — There are no crowds at Disneyland, still shut down by the coronavirus. Fewer fans attended the World Series this year than at any time in the past century. Big concerts are canceled. But it’s a different story in Trumpland. Thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters regularly cram together...
Time for a change to America, on our clocks and watches
WASHINGTON — It’s time for a change for most of the United States. The clock is running out once more for daylight saving time. Standard time begins at 2 a.m. local time Sunday. Until almost next spring, in states red and blue and in between, it’ll be lighter earlier in...
Illinois judge to rule on Rittenhouse extradition to Kenosha
WAUKEGAN, Ill. — An Illinois judge said he will decide late Friday afternoon whether a 17-year-old accused of killing two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin, should be extradited across the border to stand trial on homicide charges. Defense lawyers had indicated before the hearing in Waukegan that they would call witnesses,...
As anger rises, thousands of Muslims protest French cartoons
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Thousands of Muslims, from Pakistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian territories, poured out of prayer services to join anti-France protests on Friday, as the French president’s vow to protect the right to caricature the Prophet Muhammad continues to roil the Muslim world. Demonstrations in Pakistan’s...
Rhode Island climate change suit remains in state court
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A lawsuit filed by the state of Rhode Island against 21 fossil fuel companies seeking damages for the impacts of climate change will be allowed to proceed in state court, a federal appeals court has ruled. The decision Thursday by two judges of the 1st U.S. Circuit...
2 more ex-eBay employees admit to roles in harassment scheme
BOSTON — Two more former eBay Inc. employees have admitted to their roles in a campaign to terrorize a Massachusetts couple with threatening social media messages and disturbing deliveries of things like live spiders sent to their home. Brian Gilbert, 52, who was senior manager of special operations for eBay’s...
Quake strikes Turkish coast and Greek island, killing 14
ISTANBUL — A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 14 people and injuring over 600 amid collapsed buildings and flooding, officials said. A small tsunami struck the Seferihisar district south of Izmir, the city in...
