Chinese drugmaker setting up vaccine production lines
BEIJING — A state-owned Chinese drugmaker is setting up production lines to supply 1 billion doses of two possible coronavirus vaccines that are being tested on 50,000 people in 10 countries, the company chairman said Tuesday. Testing by SinoPharm Group is “in the last kilometer of a long march,” chairman...
More than 1,300 inmates escape from prison in eastern Congo
BENI, Congo — More than 1,300 inmates have escaped from the central prison of Beni in eastern Congo after an attack by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces, the town’s mayor said Tuesday. Mayor Modeste Bakwanamaha told the Associated Press that one inmate had died in the attack on Kangbayi...
Presidential debate commission adopts new rules to mute micsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will have their microphones turned off during parts of the final presidential debate on Thursday, the Commission on Presidential Debates said Monday night. Each candidate will have an uninterrupted two minutes to speak at the beginning of each of the...
Court says Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend’s testimony can be public
NEW YORK — A British socialite’s testimony in a lawsuit related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse activities can be made public, an appeals court ruled Monday. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued its conclusions in a series of orders it released regarding 2016 depositions by Ghislaine...
Supreme Court allows 3-day extension for Pennsylvania ballots
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will allow Pennsylvania to count mailed-in ballots received up to three days after the Nov. 3 election, rejecting a Republican plea in the presidential battleground state. The justices divided 4-4 on Monday, an outcome that upholds a state Supreme Court ruling that required county election...
7.5 magnitude quake off Alaska prompts tsunami warningVideo
JUNEAU — A reported 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the Alaska Peninsula on Monday prompted tsunami warnings for a vast swath of communities, leading some schools to evacuate and send students to higher ground. The size of the quake was originally reported to have been a magnitude of 7.4, but has...
Audit faults Iowa’s move to spend coronavirus aid on $21M softwareVideo
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s auditor warned Monday that the governor’s decision to spend $21 million in federal pandemic relief funds on a new executive branch software system would not be allowed and should be abandoned. State Auditor Rob Sand said that using the federal money to pay for Workday,...
Colorado wildfire destroys at least 26 homesVideo
BOULDER, Colo. — At least 26 homes were destroyed by a wind-whipped wildfire in north-central Colorado that has scorched nearly 14 square miles and forced thousands of residents to flee. The CalWood Fire started around noon Saturday near the Cal-Wood Education Center, about 17 miles northwest of downtown Boulder. Wind...
Pentagon estimates cost of new nuclear missiles at $95.8 billion
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has raised to $95.8 billion the estimated cost of fielding a new fleet of land-based nuclear missiles to replace the Minuteman 3 arsenal that has operated continuously for 50 years, officials said Monday. The estimate is up about $10 billion from four years ago. The weapons,...
Woman missing for 2 weeks found safe in Zion National Park
SPRINGDALE, Utah — A California woman who was missing for about two weeks in Zion National Park in Utah has been found and left the park with her family who had feared the worst, authorities said. Holly Suzanne Courtier, 38, of Los Angeles, was found Sunday by search and rescue...
Jeffrey Toobin suspended by the New Yorker, steps away from CNN
NEW YORK — Author-commentator Jeffrey Toobin has been suspended by the New Yorker and is stepping away from his job as CNN’s senior legal analyst pending what the cable network is calling a “personal matter.” Vice reported earlier Monday that Toobin had exposed himself during a Zoom meeting with staffers...
North Carolina resumes processing deficient absentee ballots
North Carolina issued new guidance Monday to allow counties to deal with more than 10,000 deficient absentee ballots that have been in limbo due to court battles over the witness requirement for voting by mail. The State Board of Elections issued a directive telling counties to immediately resume notifying voters...
Covid resurgence is here, Pa. officials say after 14 days of new cases topping 1,000
Pennsylvania’s statewide percentage of positive covid-19 cases has risen to 4.3%, the highest it’s been since August, state officials said Monday, and nearly a third of the state’s 67 counties have a percent positivity of more than 5%. “We all knew there was … going to be an upsurge in...
Pa. could become ‘ground zero’ for court battles on — and after — Election Day
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 the weeks leading up to November’s historic election, there has been one constant: lawsuits and court decisions that...
Ballot box fire in Los Angeles County may be arson, officials say
LOS ANGELES — An official ballot drop box at the Baldwin Park, Calif., library ignited Sunday night, potentially destroying election ballots inside, authorities said. The fire started around 8 p.m. Sunday at the ballot box near Ramona and Baldwin Park boulevards, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department spokeswoman Leslie...
South Carolina officials bust party of thousands
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities in South Carolina say they broke up a party where at least 2,000 people were gathered without taking precautions to prevent spreading the coronavirus. Columbia Fire Department spokesman Mike DeSumma told The State that the gathering happened Saturday at an apartment complex during the University of...
Supreme Court to review 2 cases on Trump border policy
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear two cases involving Trump administration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border: one about a policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings and a second about the administration’s use of money to fund the border wall. The justices’...
Amazon fake reviews reach holiday season levels during pandemic
Fake reviews on Amazon.com during the pandemic have reached levels typically seen during the holiday shopping season. About 42% of 720 million Amazon reviews assessed by the monitoring service Fakespot from March through September were unreliable, up from about 36% for the same period last year. The rise in fake...
6 Russian intelligence officers indicted by U.S. for alleged cyber attacksVideo
The Justice Department on Monday indicted six Russian intelligence agency officers for their alleged roles in what prosecutors called some of the most destructive cyber attacks in history. One attack targeting more than 300 victims worldwide impacted the Sewickley-based Heritage Valley Health System, while others targeted the Ukrainian power grid...
Florida begins early voting with no major problems reported
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Floridians began early voting in much of the state Monday with no serious problems reported as the Trump campaign tries to cut into an early advantage Democrats have posted in mail-in votes in the key swing state. The most populous counties reported wait times of 15...
Prospects dim for critical election bill in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — With 15 days until the presidential election, Republican lawmakers in the battleground state of Pennsylvania appeared unwilling Monday to authorize counties to process mail-in ballots before Election Day, seen as crucial to producing a prompt election result. A spokesperson for the House Republican majority said in a statement...
Wisconsin county says ballot misprint will delay count
APPLETON, Wis. — Officials in a northeastern Wisconsin county said Monday that a technical ballot misprint will most likely delay the counting of some absentee ballots on Election Day, but they reassured the public that all ballots will be counted. The misprint is a scratch that is described as no...
Judge puts Wisconsin capacity limit order back into effect
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Monday reimposed an order from Gov. Tony Evers’ administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants and other indoor venues to 25% of capacity. The capacity limits order was issued Oct. 6 by Andrea Palm, secretary of the state...
A desk of their own to ease remote learning for kids in need
As remote schooling surged during the pandemic, parents across the country realized that many kids didn’t have desks at home. So they got busy building, collecting and donating them, giving hundreds or thousands of students workspaces to call their own and helping them get through long days of virtual learning....
Nigeria’s anti-police protesters storm prison, free inmates
LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s protests against police brutality turned violent Monday when a crowd stormed a prison and freed some 200 inmates in Benin in southern Nigeria. Some prisoners jumped from a high fence of the institution while others were seen running away on the street, according to videos from...
