U.S. ambassador to China to step down next month
BEIJING — The U.S. ambassador to China will step down early next month, ending a three-year tenure marked by a trade war and increasingly bitter relations between the world’s two largest economies. Terry Branstad, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, confirmed his decision in a phone call with Trump...
Berlusconi released from covid hospitalization; cases rising in GermanyVideo
MILAN — Italy’s former Premier Silvio Berlusconi has been released from the hospital after a 10-day stay with covid-19 and pneumonia, saying he had never feared as much for his life as from this “insidious” disease. Wearing a suit and smiling, the 83-year-old Berlusconi urged Italians to take the virus...
Tropical Storm Teddy becomes 4th active named storm in Atlantic basinVideo
MIAMI — Tropical Storm Teddy formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday morning and is the fourth active named storm in the Atlantic basin, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Forecasters said Teddy was located more than 1,400 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. The storm has maximum sustained...
Report: German soldier raided over plans to carry out attack
BERLIN — The German public broadcaster ARD reports that authorities in the northeast of the country have searched premises linked to a soldier suspected of planning an extremist attack. ARD reported Monday the 40-year-old German, stationed at a barracks in the town of Neubrandenburg, has close ties to right-wing extremists....
In defiance of Nevada governor, Trump holds indoor rally
LAS VEGAS — In open defiance of state regulations and his own administration’s pandemic health guidelines, President Donald Trump on Sunday hosted his first indoor rally since June, telling a packed, nearly mask-less Nevada crowd that the nation was “making the last turn” in defeating the virus. Eager to project...
Fatal police shooting of man in Lancaster sparks protest
LANCASTER — Crowds gathered to protest in a Pennsylvania city after a man was fatally shot by an officer who authorities say was responding to a domestic disturbance call. The shooting shortly after 4 p.m. in Lancaster killed 27-year-old Ricardo Munoz, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said in a...
Lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair sells for more than $81,000
BOSTON — A lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair along with a blood-stained telegram about his 1865 assassination have been sold at auction for more than $81,000. The items were sold during an auction that ended Saturday, according to RR Auction of Boston. No information about the buyer was disclosed. The...
2 dead, 6 injured in overnight shooting near RutgersVideo
Two people were killed and six injured early Sunday morning when gunfire broke out near Rutgers University in New Jersey. The victims have not been identified, but officials said Sunday that the two fatalities were both male. New Brunswick police responded to calls just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday and found...
From relief to despair, one Pa. family struggles with the ambiguity of federal eviction ban
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 — On Tuesday, Joseph Fallacaro exchanged anxious emails with his lawyer, trying to understand whether a new federal eviction...
Huge budget cuts could hurt people with mental illness, disabilities most, Pa. providers fear
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 — Eight years ago, as the state was still recovering from the fallout of a severe economic recession, lawmakers...
Sally set to become hurricane and threaten Gulf CoastVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tropical Storm Sally slowed down Sunday as it churned northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, increasing the risk of heavy rain and dangerous storm surge before an expected strike as a Category 2 hurricane in southern Louisiana. “I know for a lot of people this storm...
Israel to set new nationwide lockdown as coronavirus cases surgeVideo
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced a new countrywide lockdown will be imposed amid a stubborn surge in coronavirus cases, with schools and parts of the economy expected to shut down in a bid to bring down infection rates. Beginning Friday, the start of the Jewish...
Sheriff: Deputy on video punching Black man in Georgia fired
A sheriff’s deputy in Georgia has been fired after being captured on video repeatedly punching a Black man during a traffic stop, authorities said Sunday. The deputy was being let go for “excessive use of force,” the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. It did not identify the...
Teacher departures leave schools scrambling for substitutes
INDIANAPOLIS — With many teachers opting out of returning to the classroom because of the coronavirus, schools around the U.S. are scrambling to find replacements and in some places lowering certification requirements to help get substitutes in the door. Several states have seen surges in educators filing for retirement or...
Bloomberg to spend at least $100M to help Biden in Florida
WASHINGTON — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is committing at least $100 million to help Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in the crucial battleground state of Florida. Bloomberg’s late-stage infusion of cash reflects Democrats’ concerns about the tight race in a state that is a priority for President Donald...
Virus America, 6 months in: Disarray, dismay, disconnect
For years, Erin Whitehead has been a committed fan of the crisis-fueled medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” She has watched its doctors handle all manner of upheaval inside their put-upon hospital — terrifying diseases, destructive weather, bombs, mass shootings, mental illness, uncertainty, grief. Today, she turns to the emotionally draining show...
Death toll from wildfires reaches 33 on the West Coast
SALEM, Ore. — Nearly all of the dozens of people reported missing after a devastating blaze in southern Oregon have been accounted for, authorities said, as crews continued to battle wildfires that have killed at least 33 victims from California to Washington state. The flames have destroyed neighborhoods, leaving a...
2 California deputies shot in apparent ambush in patrol carVideo
LOS ANGELES — Authorities searched Sunday for a gunman who shot and critically wounded two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who were sitting in their squad car — an apparent ambush that drew an angry response from the president. The 31-year-old female deputy and 24-year-old male deputy underwent surgery Saturday...
Smoke chokes West Coast as wildfire deaths keep climbing
SALEM, Ore. — Wildfire smoke that posed a health hazard to millions choked the West Coast on Saturday as firefighters battled deadly blazes that obliterated some towns and displaced tens of thousands of people, the latest in a series of calamities this year. For people already enduring the coronavirus pandemic,...
Paulette strengthens to a hurricane on approach to Bermuda
MIAMI — A strengthening Paulette gained hurricane status late Saturday as it approached Bermuda, threatening to bring storm surge, coastal flooding and high winds to the territory over the coming days. Paulette had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as of 11 p.m. Saturday just 385 miles southeast of Bermuda,...
Depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Sally off Florida
MIAMI — A tropical depression moving across the Gulf of Mexico has strengthened into Tropical Storm Sally and is threatening Florida with heavy rain, weather forecasters said Saturday. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm would bring heavy rain to the Florida Keys as well as southern and...
Trump looks west, eyeing new paths to White House
WASHINGTON — Pushing for new roads to reelection, President Donald Trump is going on the offense this weekend in Nevada, which hasn’t supported a Republican presidential candidate since 2004. Trump is defying local authorities by holding public events Saturday and Sunday after officials blocked his initial plans for rallies in...
VP Mike Pence drops plan to go to fundraiser hosted by QAnon backers
BILLINGS, Mont. — Vice President Mike Pence has canceled plans to attend a Trump campaign fundraiser in Montana following revelations that the event’s hosts had expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign told The Associated Press on Saturday that Pence’s schedule had been changed, but...
Trump’s virus debate: Project strength or level with public
WASHINGTON — “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “Men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’” — British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. “One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear” — President Donald Trump. ——— In times of crisis...
Expect U.S. election to have consequences for troops overseas
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden both say they want to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq and Afghanistan. But their approaches differ, and the outcome of the Nov. 3 election will have long-term consequences not only for U.S. troops, but for the wider region. During...
