102-year-old British veteran flies a Spitfire on a delightfully bumpy ride for charity
LONDON — A former Royal Air Forces pilot has taken to the skies in a Spitfire at 102 years old. Jack Hemmings, an ex-squadron leader with Britain’s air force, is believed to be the oldest pilot to fly the World War II plane. His 20-minute flight, from an airfield in...
Postal Service, once chided for slow adoption of EVs, announces plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions
The U.S. Postal Service announced sweeping plans Tuesday to reduce greenhouse emissions by diverting more parcels from air to ground transportation, boosting the number of electric vehicles, cutting waste sent to landfills and making delivery routes more efficient. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy described a mix of environmental initiatives and cost-cutting...
Aid package for Israel fails in the House, dealing another setback to GOP leaders
WASHINGTON — A bill to provide Israel with more military aid went down to defeat Tuesday in the House, spoiling Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to separate Israel from other national security priorities, including helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s military invasion and deterring crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. The vote...
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed stepping down, AP sources say. But no decision has been made
NEW YORK — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed the possibility of stepping down during a private meeting with former President Donald Trump, with both agreeing to delay a decision until after South Carolina’s primary later this month, according to two people familiar with the matter. McDaniel has...
House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas fails, thwarted by Republican defections
WASHINGTON— In a dramatic setback, House Republicans failed Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forced to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan. The stunning roll call fell just a single vote short of...
Gigantic replica of Emperor Constantine looks out over Rome as 3D technology brings past to life
ROME — Emperor Constantine, the 4th-century ruler whose embrace of Christianity helped spread the Christian faith throughout the Roman Empire, now has a reconstructed statue befitting his larger-than-life role in history. Rome authorities on Tuesday unveiled a massive, 13-meter replica of the statue Constantine commissioned for himself after 312 AD....
Census Bureau halts changing how it asks about disabilities following a backlash
The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday halted plans to change how it asks people about disabilities after facing a growing backlash. Advocates for disabled people had argued that proposed changes to disability questions on the bureau’s American Community Survey would artificially reduce their numbers by more than 40%, limiting the...
Former rebel leader arrives in Haiti’s capital as protests against prime minister gains momentum
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A former rebel leader made a surprise appearance in Haiti’s capital on Tuesday amid large protests across the country for the second consecutive day, demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Guy Philippe — who played a key role in the 2004 rebellion against former President...
Bank plans to auction posh property owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to repay loans
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Virginia bank that is seeking to recover more than $300 million in longstanding unpaid business loans to the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is planning to auction off land at a sporting club located at the governor’s posh resort. Carter Bank & Trust of...
Honda recalls more than 750K vehicles to fix faulty passenger seat air bag sensor
DETROIT — Honda is recalling more than three quarters of a million vehicles in the U.S. because a faulty sensor may cause the front passenger air bags to inflate when they’re not supposed to. The recall covers certain Honda Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V and Odyssey models from the 2020...
NTSB says bolts on Boeing jetliner were missing before a panel blew out in midflight last month
Bolts that helped secure a panel to the frame of a Boeing 737 Max 9 were missing before the panel blew off the Alaska Airlines plane last month, according to accident investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report on the Jan. 5 incident Tuesday. The report included...
Jury finds Michigan school shooter’s mother Jennifer Crumbley guilty of manslaughter
PONTIAC, Mich. — A Michigan jury convicted a school shooter’s mother of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in a first-of-its-kind trial to determine whether she had any responsibility in the deaths of four students in 2021. Prosecutors say Jennifer Crumbley was grossly negligent when she failed to tell Oxford High School that...
Gov. Shapiro seeks billions for Pa. schools, development in budget that envisions legal marijuanaVideo
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget proposes significant increases to education and economic development and would regulate adult use marijuana, while leaning heavily on Pennsylvania’s flush reserves to underwrite his vision. On Tuesday, the Democrat unveiled his budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which begins on July 1,...
Shapiro’s budget proposal seeks funding increase to merge state-owned universities and community collegesVideo
A unified system of 10 Pennsylvania state-owned universities and 15 community colleges would see a near-historic, 15% increase in state funding under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed 2024-25 state budget, which was unveiled Tuesday. The increase would support his plan, announced last month, to overhaul the state’s higher education system and...
Project Veritas admits there was no evidence of election fraud at Pennsylvania post office in 2020
ERIE — The conservative group Project Veritas and its former leader are taking the unusual step of publicly acknowledging that claims of ballot mishandling at a Pennsylvania post office in 2020 were untrue. The statements from Project Veritas and founder James O’Keefe came as a lawsuit filed against them by...
FAA tells Congress not to raise mandatory retirement for pilots until it can study issue
WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration is warning Congress not to raise the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots until the agency can study whether older pilots would raise safety risks. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said in a letter to two key senators that pilot fitness is critical to safety,...
As cancer treatment advances, patients and doctors push back against drugs’ harsh side effects
For cancer patients, the harsh side effects of powerful drugs have long been the trade-off for living longer. Now, patients and doctors are questioning whether all that suffering is necessary. They’ve ignited a movement to radically change how new cancer drugs are tested, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...
Court cases lead to new voting districts in some states. Could it affect control of Congress?
Since most Americans last voted for Congress, thousands of people have been added to certain voting districts — and subtracted from others — under new political maps enacted following court rulings. The sum of that redistricting math, assuming no major political shift in either major party’s direction, figures to provide...
Trump not immune from prosecution in 2020 election interference case, U.S. appeals court rules
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals panel ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump can face trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, sharply rejecting the former president’s claims that he is immune from prosecution while setting the stage for additional challenges that could further delay...
UN nuclear chief says security is still fragile at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied nuclear power plant
KYIV, Ukraine — Security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains fragile amid worrying recent staff cuts enacted by Russian authorities occupying the facility, which is one of the 10 biggest atomic power plants in the world, the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief said Tuesday. International Atomic Energy Agency chief...
As King Charles III is treated for cancer, here is the order of succession to the British throne
LONDON — As King Charles III receives treatment for cancer, he remains Britain’s monarch and head of state. The king’s older son, Prince William, is next in line for the throne. The crown does not pass from reigning monarchs to their spouses, so Queen Camilla is not in the line...
Opioid settlement money is supposed to expand syringe services; Pa. nonprofit lost $150K because of them
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. BOLIVAR — Kim Botteicher decided to speak out about her work offering syringe services in Westmoreland County, hoping to prompt change that she believes would...
GM recalls over 323,000 heavy-duty pickups because tailgates can open unexpectedly
General Motors is recalling more than 323,000 heavy-duty pickup trucks in the U.S. because the electronic tailgate release switches can short circuit and open the gates while the vehicles are in park. The recall covers certain Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks from the 2020 through 2024...
South Dakota man charged with murder for allegedly running down chief deputy during police chase
South Dakota prosecutors charged a Sioux Falls man on Monday with first-degree murder and aggravated eluding in the death of a deputy who was struck while putting out spikes during a police chase. Joseph Gene Hoek, 40, was ordered held without bail at his first court appearance in the death...
Turkey mourns tens of thousands dead, surrounded by the ruins of last year’s earthquake
ANTAKYA, Turkey — Millions of people across Turkey on Tuesday mourned the loss of more than 53,000 friends, loved ones and neighbors in the country’s catastrophic earthquake a year ago. To mark what it calls the “Disaster of the Century,” the government arranged a series of events to commemorate the...
