Libya’s east-based commander promises end of oil blockadeVideo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Libya’s commander who rules the eastern half of the country and who was behind a year-long military attempt to capture the capital, Tripoli, said Friday that oil production would restart soon, ending a months-long blockade of the nation’s vital oil fields. The Tripoli-based National Oil...
Man serving life requests death for Indiana prison slaying
ANDERSON, Ind. — A man serving two life sentences at an Indiana prison asked for the death penalty for a slaying of a fellow inmate, but a prosecutor said he is reluctant to pursue it. Tommy P. Holland, 45, of Indianapolis is charged with murder in the stabbing of Clifford...
Emergency tents back as Madrid struggles to curb virus wave
MADRID — A line of green tents labeled with a red cross stands empty Friday in the garden of a Madrid military hospital as a second wave of the coronavirus takes hold in the Spanish capital. The Gómez Ulla hospital is getting ready just in case emergency wards get crammed...
Murrysville woman, 20, appointed to national Crohn’s advocacy board
For Rachel Stackiewicz, enjoying most meals is a temporary pleasure at best. Stackiewicz, 20, of Murrysville, has been living since age 11 with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Along with ulcerative colitis, it is one of two illnesses classified as inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD. “Every...
Assange lawyer says Trump offered indirect offer of pardon
LONDON — A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has told a London court that her client was indirectly offered a “win-win” deal by President Donald Trump that would see him avoid extradition to the U.S. if he revealed the source of a leak of documents from the Democratic Party...
Judge blocks Michigan’s ban on transporting voters to polls
LANSING, Mich. — A federal judge has blocked Michigan’s longstanding ban on transporting voters to the polls, ruling it conflicts with U.S. election law. District Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis in Detroit issued an injunction Thursday against enforcing the restriction in November’s presidential election. A form of the prohibition has been...
U.S. curbs WeChat transfers, freezes TikTok as deadline loomsVideo
The U.S. will ban some transactions over the Chinese-owned WeChat app while freezing TikTok’s app starting Sunday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. Ross said Friday that the U.S. will prohibit U.S.-to-U.S. transactions related to WeChat and its parent company Tencent Holdings Ltd. but that will not impact activity in China....
Trump’s vaccine ambitions contradict his own health expertsVideo
President Donald Trump once again promised that a covid-19 vaccine for Americans could be ready within weeks, a timeline faster than has been deemed possible or likely by the scientific agencies overseeing the effort and the companies developing the products. Trump’s optimistic promises have left him in a battle with...
‘It will destroy our country’: Trump targets school curriculums that aim to teach truth about slaveryVideo
President Donald Trump painted a grim and divisive portrait of the state of American education on Thursday, claiming that anything from elementary schools to colleges are being overrun by “radical” teachers bent on destroying “our children” with “Marxist doctrines.” The president was talking about an educational framework known as critical...
Why the ruling against Wolf’s covid-19 restrictions faces long odds on appeal, explained
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — A federal judge sent a shockwave through Pennsylvania politics this week when he ruled that several actions taken...
Ex-Pence adviser says Trump bungled virus; she’s voting for BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — A former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence who also served on the White House coronavirus task force says President Donald Trump once suggested that covid-19 might be a good thing because it would stop him from having to shake hands with “disgusting people.” Olivia Troye is the...
U.S. judge blocks Postal Service changes that slowed mailVideo
SEATTLE — A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” before the November election. Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Wash., said he was issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by...
Rescuers reach people cut off by Gulf Coast hurricaneVideo
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Rescuers on the Gulf Coast used high-water vehicles Thursday to reach people cut off by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, even as a second round of flooding began taking shape along rivers and creeks swollen by the storm’s heavy rains. Across southern Alabama and the...
Philadelphia puts ban on police chokeholds into law
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia City Council formally banned police from using certain modes of restraint on crime suspects Thursday, including kneeling on a suspect’s neck, and voted to open contract negotiations with the police union to the public. The contract bill passed by the council requires a public hearing to...
Attorney General Bill Barr under fire over comparison of virus lock-in to slaveryVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr drew sharp condemnation Thursday for comparing lockdown orders during the coronavirus pandemic to slavery. In remarks Wednesday night at an event hosted by Hillsdale College, Barr had called the lockdown orders the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history” since slavery. His comments,...
ICE detainees complained about ‘rough’ treatment from Georgia doctor
ATLANTA — For years, women at a South Georgia immigration jail talked about Dr. Mahendra Amin. The gynecologist was “rough,” they said. His examinations could leave a bruise. And he had a way of turning a routine visit into surgical procedures that the women weren’t sure they needed. “They didn’t...
Report: Feds considered using ‘heat ray’ on D.C. protesters in Lafayette ParkVideo
WASHINGTON — A military whistleblower says federal officials sought some unusual crowd control devices — including one that’s been called a “heat ray” — to deal with protesters outside the White House on the June day that law enforcement forcibly cleared Lafayette Square. In written responses to questions from a...
FBI director Chris Wray says antifa is an ideology, not an organizationVideo
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Chris Wray told lawmakers Thursday that antifa is an ideology, not an organization, testimony that puts him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has said he would designate it a terror group. Wray did not dispute that antifa activists were a serious concern, saying that...
New York City again delays in-person learning for most students
NEW YORK — New York City’s ambitious attempt to be among the first big cities to bring students back into classrooms closed by the coronavirus suffered another setback Thursday, as the mayor announced he was again delaying the start of in-person instruction for most students due to a shortage of...
Pa. Supreme Court grants 3-day extension on mail-in ballots; Green Party ordered off ballot
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court gave the Democratic Party a series of victories Thursday, including one allowing repairs to glitches and gray areas in the battleground state’s fledgling mail-in voting law and another that kicked the Green Party’s presidential candidate off the November ballot. The state Supreme Court, which has...
Petalo, not Charmin: Pandemic brings Mexican toilet paper to U.S.
NEW YORK — Toilet paper is back on store shelves. But you may not recognize some of the brands. Demand for toilet paper has been so high during the pandemic that in order to keep their shelves stocked, retailers are buying up foreign toilet paper brands, mostly from Mexico. Major...
Nun runs treadmill marathon, raises money for Chicago’s poor
When the Chicago Marathon was canceled because of the coronavirus, Sister Stephanie Baliga decided to put on her sneakers and run the standard 26.2 miles — in her convent’s basement. It started as a promise. Baliga had told her running team that in the event of a cancellation, she’d run...
Biden campaign outlines tax proposals ahead of Scranton town hall meeting on CNN
Calling the upcoming election “Park Avenue vs. Scranton,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign issued a series of tax policy proposals Thursday ahead of his town hall meeting tonight on CNN. The 8 p.m. event will be held in Scranton. Although they stressed controlling the covid-19 pandemic remains Biden’s top...
Pennsylvania reports 933 new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania had 933 new covid-19 cases Thursday, according to the state Department of Health. Ten new coronavirus-related deaths were reported, all of which are from September. After Thursday’s new cases and deaths, total cases are at 147,923 and total deaths are now 7,913. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram In Southwestern Pennsylvania,...
Amazon plans to put 1,000 warehouses in neighborhoods nationwide
Amazon.com plans to open 1,000 small delivery hubs in cities and suburbs all over the U.S., according to people familiar with the plans. The facilities, which will eventually number about 1,500, will bring products closer to customers, making shopping online about as fast as a quick run to the store....
