Some abortion drug restrictions upheld by appeals court in case bound for Supreme CourtVideo
NEW ORLEANS — New restrictions on access to a drug used in the most common form of abortion in the United States would be imposed under a federal appeals court ruling issued Wednesday, but the Supreme Court will have the final say. The ruling by three judges on the 5th...
Man killed by Philadelphia police never got out of his car, didn’t ‘lunge’ with a knife, police say in new narrative
New questions have emerged about the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry in North Philadelphia this week after the Police Department changed its narrative of the events leading up to his death. At the scene of the shooting Monday, police first said Irizarry emerged from his car after a...
FEMA opens disaster recovery center on Maui to help victims of wildfires
Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing more than 100 people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Videos showing downed power lines apparently sparking some of the early blazes...
Aldi to buy 400 Winn-Dixie, Harveys groceries in Southern U.S.
Discount grocer Aldi said Wednesday it plans to buy 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarkets in the southern U.S. Under a proposed merger agreement, Aldi will acquire all outstanding shares of Jacksonville, Florida-based Southeastern Grocers Inc., the parent company of Winn-Dixie and Harveys. If the deal is approved by regulators, it’s...
Tropical Storm Hilary forms off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast
MEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm Hilary formed Wednesday far off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, but it is expected to strengthen and move north toward the Baja California peninsula later this week. Hilary had wind of 40 mph Wednesday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hilary was located about 370 miles...
Russia hits Ukrainian grain depots again as foreign ship tries out Kyiv’s new Black Sea corridor
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones pounded grain storage facilities and ports along the Danube River that Ukraine has increasingly relied on as an alternative transport route to Europe, after Moscow broke off a key wartime shipping agreement using the Black Sea. At the same time, a loaded container ship stranded...
Federal grants will replace tunnels beneath roads that let water pass but not fish
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced nearly $200 million in federal infrastructure grants to upgrade tunnels that carry streams beneath roads but can be deadly to fish that get stuck trying to pass through. Many of these narrow passages known as culverts, often made from metal or concrete, were built...
North Carolina GOP seeks to override governor’s veto of bill banning gender-affirming care for youth
RALEIGH, N.C. — Transgender rights take center stage in North Carolina again Wednesday as GOP supermajorities in the General Assembly attempt to override the governor’s vetoes of legislation banning gender-affirming health care for minors and limiting transgender participation in school sports. The state House will hold the first of two...
Americans are divided along party lines over Trump’s actions in election cases, AP-NORC poll shows
WASHINGTON — Americans are deeply divided along party lines in their views of President Donald Trump’s actions in the most recent criminal cases brought against him, a new poll shows, with about half saying his alleged attempt to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 vote count was illegal. The poll from The...
DeSantis’ appointees ask judge to rule against Disney without need for trial
A Florida judge should rule without trial against Disney as the company fights Gov. Ron DeSantis’ takeover of a board that oversees Walt Disney World, the Republican governor’s appointees said in a Tuesday court filing. Members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District asked the state judge in Orlando for...
A plan to stop diverting road dollars to Pa. State Police could be a final piece of this year’s budget
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — For at least 50 years, Pennsylvania has used taxes drivers pay at the pump to fund...
Trump’s Georgia co-defendants played significant roles in seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s 2020 vote
PHILADELPHIA — Among the 18 lawyers, aides, and allies who were charged Monday alongside Donald Trump for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, there are several who played key roles in the former president’s similar push in Pennsylvania. Here’s a breakdown of some...
California judge pleads not guilty to murder in wife’s deathVideo
LOS ANGELES — A Southern California judge charged with killing his wife during an argument while he was drunk pleaded not guilty to murder Tuesday, and his lawyer says it was an “accidental shooting.” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ricardo Ocampo ordered Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who...
They’re back: College students arrive on Western Pa. campuses
Overstuffed move-in carts, frazzled parents and traffic lined up outside dorms are making a comeback this week and next as Western Pennsylvania college students arrive for fall semester classes. Campuses, meanwhile, are trying to curb stress among the new arrivals. Some initiatives to soothe the psyche are as involved as...
Once a conservative lawmaker, Mark Meadows now indicted
WASHINGTON — Mark Meadows founded one of the most conservative groups in Congress, left early to be White House chief of staff for Donald Trump and now faces two state criminal charges related to the waning weeks of his time in that administration. The North Carolina Republican was named in...
District Attorney: Officers justified in shooting armed 17-year-old burglary suspect in Lancaster
LANCASTER — A Pennsylvania prosecutor said Tuesday that police officers were justified in fatally shooting a teenager who pointed a gun at them after a homeowner called 911 to report her security cameras had detected an intruder in house. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams told reporters that 17-year-old Darron...
Videos put scrutiny on downed power lines as possible cause of deadly Maui wildfiresVideo
Awakened by howling wind that tore through his Maui neighborhood, Shane Treu went out at dawn and saw a wooden power pole suddenly snap with a flash, its sparking, popping line falling to the dry grass below and quickly igniting a row of flames. He called 911 and then turned...
Tourists are getting trapped on remote Shark Island off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, park warns
Multiple tourists have become trapped on a treacherous island off the North Carolina coast this month, forcing the National Park Service to coordinate highly risky rescues, park rangers say. Visiting the ominously named Shark Island could get you killed, Cape Lookout National Seashore warned this week in a news release....
Ex-FBI counterintelligence official pleads guilty to conspiracy charge for helping Russian oligarch
NEW YORK — A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge Tuesday, admitting that he agreed after leaving the agency to work for a Russian oligarch he had once investigated to seek dirt on the oligarch’s wealthy rival in violation of sanctions on Russia. Charles McGonigal,...
University of Pittsburgh trustees chair abruptly resigns
Douglas Browning has resigned as chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees due to “an unanticipated personal matter,” officials confirmed on Tuesday. He notified the university Monday evening. By Tuesday morning, his bio had been removed from the university website. The site now lists Louis R. Cestello, vice...
Mar-a-Lago property manager pleads not guilty to charges in Trump’s classified documents case
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to scheming with Donald Trump to try to delete security footage sought by investigators probing the former president’s hoarding of classified documents. An attorney for De Oliveira entered the plea on his behalf during a...
Trump trashes DA Fani Willis as ‘corrupt,’ vows report countering Georgia indictment
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as “corrupt” and vowed to release an “irrefutable report” countering his sprawling Georgia election interference indictment. Minutes after Willis unveiled the indictment, Trump trashed the Atlanta prosecutor as “out of control and very corrupt.” He later promised...
Going to college? Here’s what you should know about student loans
NEW YORK — If you’re heading to college or starting to think about where you’d like to apply, you’re probably considering options for funding your education. If you need to borrow money to pursue your dreams, you are far from alone. According to the Federal Reserve, 30% of all U.S....
Mother pleads guilty to felony child neglect after 6-year-old son used her gun to shoot teacher
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of felony child neglect, seven months after her son used her handgun to critically wound the educator in a classroom full of students. Prosecutors agreed to drop a...
NYC outdoor dining sheds were a celebrated pandemic-era innovation. Now, there’s a new set of rules
NEW YORK — Outdoor dining was a part of the pandemic that many people actually liked — made possible by streetside dining sheds that popped up around New York City and allowed many restaurants to stay in business when they couldn’t have diners inside. Some sheds were simple — wooden...
