Why was Maine shooter allowed to have guns? Questions swirl in wake of massacre
LEWISTON, Maine — A history of mental illness. An array of weapons. Numerous run-ins with police. But he was still able to own guns and commit the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history. One week later, many in Lewiston and nationwide are asking: Why did he have guns at all?...
Storied football rivalry in Maine takes on extra significance in wake of shooting
LEWISTON, Maine — The city of Lewiston takes another tentative step in its recovery from Maine’s worst mass shooting, as high school football returns Wednesday. Known as the “Battle of the Bridge,” the game features cross-river rivals Lewiston High School and Edward Little High School in Auburn. Friday’s game between...
Pa. bill to double security funding for nonprofits protecting hate crime victims passes House
State funding for nonprofits that serve vulnerable populations may double after a bill passed the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday. HB 1772 passed with the bipartisan support and backing from Pittsburgh-area lawmakers. It would increase total funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program from $5 million to $10 million. The grant...
Working the polls cleared up Jay Schneider’s 2020 suspicions. Now he’s taking charge as a judge of elections
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. In 2022, when the judge of elections at Jay Schneider’s township polling place asked him to...
Cleanup is done on a big Kansas oil spill on the Keystone system, the company and EPA sayVideo
TOPEKA, Kan. — The operator of the Keystone pipeline system has finished cleaning up a massive December 2022 oil spill, and the creek affected by it is flowing naturally again, the company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency say. Pipeline operator TC Energy promised to continue monitoring the site along...
First snow of season hits Western Pennsylvania
Snow hit parts of Western Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning. It began overnight on Halloween. Much of the snow was north of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in places such as Butler and Mercer counties, as well as Westmoreland County to the east. National Weather Service meteorologists had predicted an accumulation of...
Eric Trump testifies he wasn’t aware of dad’s financial statements, but emails show some involvement
NEW YORK — Eric Trump, one of two sons entrusted to run Donald Trump’s real estate empire, swore Thursday that he was never involved with or aware of financial statements that New York state lawyers say fraudulently puffed up the ex-president’s wealth and the worth of the family business. But...
With flowers, altars and candles, Mexicans are honoring deceased relatives on the Day of the Dead
SANTA MARÍA ATZOMPA, México — Ana Martínez is eager to welcome her deceased loved ones back home. Martínez and others in southern Mexico’s Oaxaca state wait with anticipation for Day of the Dead celebrations every Nov. 1, when families place homemade altars to honor their dearly departed and spend the...
U.S. infant mortality rate rose last year — CDC says it’s the largest increase in 2 decades
NEW YORK — The U.S. infant mortality rate rose 3% last year — the largest increase in two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. White and Native American infants, infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier had significant death rate increases. The CDC’s...
After weeks in besieged Gaza, some foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians are allowed to leave
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli ground troops have advanced to “the gates of Gaza City” in heavy fighting with militants, the military said Wednesday, as hundreds of foreign nationals and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza after more than three weeks under siege. The news came...
State House approves funding for Pitt, Penn State, 2 others — but with a stipulation the universities are balking at
The state House passed legislation Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans quickly hailed as progress toward ending a monthslong stalemate over this year’s appropriations to the University of Pittsburgh and other state-related institutions. But at least one potential glitch has developed — a big one. The House, where Democrats hold a...
Natalee Holloway’s confessed killer returns to Peru to serve out sentence in another murder
LIMA, Peru — A Dutchman who recently confessed to killing American high school student Natalee Holloway in 2005 in Aruba was returned to Peru on Tuesday to serve the remainder of his prison sentence for murdering a Peruvian woman. Joran van der Sloot arrived in Lima in the custody of...
Bills to combat hate crimes gain Pennsylvania House approval
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Three bills seeking to expand and strengthen Pennsylvania’s anti-hate crime statutes were passed Tuesday by the state House of Representatives. All members of the chamber’s Democratic majority supported the proposals along with a handful of Republicans, voting amid national concerns about a spike in hate crimes during...
Maryland man who received 2nd pig heart transplant dies, hospital says
WASHINGTON — The second person to receive a transplanted heart from a pig has died, nearly six weeks after the highly experimental surgery, his Maryland doctors announced Tuesday. Lawrence Faucette, 58, was dying from heart failure and ineligible for a traditional heart transplant when he received the genetically modified pig...
A new Democratic group and one libertarian billionaire are flooding the Pa. Supreme Court race with cash
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Political spending has kicked into high gear in the final stretch of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court race. After...
U.S. military and diplomatic leaders urge a divided Congress to send aid to both Israel and Ukraine
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military and diplomatic leaders urged an increasingly divided Congress on Tuesday to send major immediate aid to Israel and Ukraine, arguing at a Senate hearing that broad support for the assistance would signal U.S. strength to adversaries worldwide. The testimony from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin...
Meet the podcaster, author, and hairstylist bringing Pa.’s haunted history to life
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. Marlin Bressi has an affinity for stories of the strange-but-true variety, and he’ll tell you there’s...
UN report urges Russia to investigate attack on Ukrainian village that killed 59 civilians
KYIV, Ukraine — U.N investigators on Tuesday urged Russia to acknowledge responsibility for a missile strike on a Ukrainian village that killed 59 civilians, conduct a transparent investigation into what happened, provide reparations for victims and hold those responsible to account. The strike on a cafe in the village of...
Pennsylvania’s voting law is filled with obsolete provisions, troublesome conflicts
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Election Code was written nearly 100 years ago, and some of its provisions are even older...
Pa. Election 2023: When to expect results, how officials are preparing, voting guides
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Officials and experts in Pennsylvania are confident that new technology and growing familiarity with mail ballots among...
U.S. consumers feeling slightly less confident in October for 3rd straight month
WASHINGTON — American consumers are feeling increasingly less confident these days as fears of an oncoming recession remain elevated. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 102.6 from 104.3 in September. The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions...
Record 6.9 million people have been displaced in Congo’s growing conflict, UN says
GOMA, Congo — A record 6.9 million people have been displaced by conflict across Congo, the United Nations migration agency said, making it one of the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crises. The decadeslong conflict has been the primary reason for displacement, the International Organization for Migration said Monday in...
Paris police open fire on woman who allegedly made death threats
PARIS — Paris police opened fire Tuesday on a woman who threatened to blow herself up after allegedly making death threats and speaking in support of terrorism on a train heading into the French capital. It was the latest security incident in France, which has been on heightened anti-terror alert...
Americans are still putting way too much food into landfills. Local officials seek EPA’s help
CHICAGO — More than one-third of the food produced in the U.S. is never eaten. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it generates tons of methane that hastens climate change. That’s why more than 50 local officials signed onto a letter Tuesday calling on the Environmental Protection Agency...
Israeli forces battle Hamas around Gaza City, as military says 800,000 have fled south
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops battled Hamas militants and attacked underground compounds Tuesday with a focus on northern Gaza, from which an estimated 800,000 Palestinians have fled south despite continued Israeli bombardment across the besieged enclave. Buoyed by the first successful rescue of a captive held by Hamas,...
