Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho — for now — in limited ruling
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for Idaho hospitals to provide emergency abortions, for now, in a procedural ruling that left key questions unanswered and could mean the issue ends up before the conservative-majority court again soon. The ruling came a day after an opinion was briefly...
Supreme Court rejects nationwide opioid settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would have shielded members of the Sackler family who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids but also would have provided billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic....
Supreme Court strips the SEC of a critical enforcement tool in fraud cases
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of a major tool in fighting securities fraud in a decision that also could have far-reaching effects on other regulatory agencies. The justices ruled that people accused of fraud by the SEC, which regulates securities markets, have...
Supreme Court halts enforcement of EPA’s plan to limit downwind pollution from power plants
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations. The justices in a 5-4 vote on Thursday rejected arguments by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states that the plan...
3 killed and dozens injured in northern Russia when a passenger train derails
MOSCOW — A passenger train derailment in northern Russia killed three people and injured dozens, officials said Thursday. The 14-carriage train derailed Wednesday night in Russia’s northern republic of Komi, state rail company Russian Railways said in a statement, with nine carriages coming off the tracks. About 40 people were...
Vigilante fake NYPD cop pepper-sprays Manhattan tourist subway fare evader
NEW YORK — A vigilante posing as an NYPD cop pepper-sprayed a tourist he caught entering a Manhattan subway station without paying the fare, police said Thursday. The bizarre incident sparked off 6:35 p.m. Sunday at the Whitehall St.-South Ferry station on the uptown R train platform. The vigilante saw...
Bolivia reels from short-lived coup attempt as apparent calm returns
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Calm returned to Bolivia’s capital on Thursday after troops led by a top general stormed the presidential palace, then quickly retreated, tumultuous scenes that threatened to pitch the long-troubled South American democracy into chaos. The nation of 12 million watched in shock and bewilderment Wednesday as...
7 in 10 Americans think Supreme Court justices put ideology over impartiality: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON — A solid majority of Americans say Supreme Court justices are more likely to be guided by their own ideology rather than serving as neutral arbiters of government authority, a new poll finds, as the high court is poised to rule on major cases involving former President Donald Trump...
How the Biden-Trump debate could change the trajectory of the 2024 campaign
ATLANTA — President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, will meet for a debate on Thursday that offers an unparalleled opportunity for both candidates to try to reshape the political narrative. Biden, the Democratic incumbent, gets the chance to reassure voters that, at 81, he’s capable of guiding...
Biden and Trump go head to head: How to watch the 1st general election presidential debate
ATLANTA — The first general election debate of the 2024 election season is here, and it’s a historic moment no matter what happens on stage. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are taking part in Thursday night’s debate in Atlanta. Not only is it the first-ever matchup between...
Baby cousin with cancer inspires girls to sew hospital gowns for sick kids across U.S., Africa
FREEHOLD, N.J. — Fighting brain cancer, little Giada Demma was lying in her pediatric hospital bed, her tiny body virtually swimming in a drab green hospital gown. Her cousin Giuliana Demma remembers looking at the 1-year-old and thinking how sad the scene was: a small child awash in an ugly...
Tribes honor birth of a rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone and reveal its name: Wakan Gli
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — In a gathering near a picturesque lake outside Yellowstone National Park, hundreds of people cheered Wednesday as a Native American leader spoke the name revealed on a painted hide for a rare white buffalo that was born in the park earlier this month: Wakan Gli, which...
A big education fight stands in the way of a Pa. budget deal
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — How much money to spend on Pennsylvania’s public education system has become a key barrier to a budget deal as lawmakers launch a...
Wisconsin youth prison counselor is declared brain-dead after inmate assault
MADISON, Wis. — A counselor at Wisconsin’s troubled youth prison has been declared brain-dead following a fight with a 16-year-old inmate, the county coroner said Wednesday, less than three weeks after prosecutors filed criminal charges against a warden and multiple staffers in connection with two maximum security inmates’ deaths. Corey...
More than a hundred Haitian migrants arrived in a sailboat off the Florida Keys
MIAMI — A group of more than a hundred Haitian migrants arrived in a sailboat off the lower Florida Keys on early morning Wednesday, local and federal officials said. The boat arrived about 100 yards away from a condominium in Key West at 4:00 a.m., and shortly after that law...
Coup attempt underway in Bolivia as president urges people to mobilize against itVideo
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Armored vehicles rammed into the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday in what appeared to be a failed coup attempt, as President Luis Arce said the country stood firm against attacks on democracy and urged people to mobilize. In a video of Arce surrounded by ministers...
Bishop Sean Rowe, a Western Pa. native, elected new leader of Episcopal Church. He’s the youngest since 1789
The Right Rev. Sean Rowe, a 49-year-old bishop from Western Pennsylvania, on Wednesday became the youngest person ever elected as leader of the Episcopal Church. He immediately issued a sobering call for the church, which has faced division and chronic membership loss, to confront an “existential crisis” that he compared...
Biden pardons potentially thousands of ex-service members convicted under now-repealed gay sex ban
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden pardoned potentially thousands of former U.S. service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex, saying Wednesday that he is “righting an historic wrong” to clear the way for them to regain lost benefits. Biden’s action grants a pardon to service...
Supreme Court appears poised to allow emergency abortions in Idaho, report says
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appears poised to allow emergency abortions in Idaho when a pregnant patient’s health is at serious risk, as a legal case plays out, according to Bloomberg News, which said a copy of the opinion was briefly posted Wednesday on the court’s website. The document suggests...
Suspect in Ohio killing rearrested after jail freed him by mistake
CLEVELAND — A suspect in an Ohio killing who was mistakenly released from jail because of a clerical error was captured Wednesday, authorities said. U.S. marshals arrested Amarion Sanders, 22, of Cleveland, during a morning traffic stop in the city. Sanders was mistakenly released Monday from the Cuyahoga County Corrections...
Former Honduran president sentenced for helping traffickers get tons of cocaine into U.S.
NEW YORK — Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was sentenced Wednesday in New York for his conviction on charges that he enabled drug traffickers to use his military and national police force to help get tons of cocaine into the United States. Judge P. Kevin Castel sentenced Hernández to...
Former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger endorses Biden, whose campaign wants to flip anti-Trump Republicans
NEW YORK — Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger endorsed President Joe Biden on Wednesday, giving the Democrat a prominent new ally in his high-stakes campaign to win over moderate Republicans and independents this fall. Kinzinger, a military pilot who emerged as a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump after...
Feds charge 5, including man acquitted at trial, for attempting to bribe Minnesota juror with $120K
MINNEAPOLIS — Five people were charged on Wednesday for trying to bribe a juror in one of the country’s largest pandemic aid fraud cases with a bag of $120,000 in cash, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced Wednesday. The bribe attempt, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson previously...
Penn State technical service union members authorize strike — if needed
Members of a union representing about 2,500 employees at Penn State University campuses statewide — including Western Pennsylvania branches — voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leaders to call a strike if needed, the union’s leader said Wednesday. Talks aimed at reaching a deal before the current pact expires Sunday are...
He flipped off a trooper and got charged. Now Vermont is on the hook for $175,000
ST. ALBANS, Vt. — Vermont has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit on behalf of a man who was charged with a crime for giving a state trooper the middle finger in 2018, the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday. The lawsuit was filed...
