Rep. George Santos compares himself to civil rights hero Rosa Parks because he refused to sit in the back of CongressVideo
Rep. George Santos says he’s the new Rosa Parks — because he wouldn’t go sit in the back of Congress. The controversial Long Island Republican absurdly compared himself to the civil rights icon, who famously challenged segregation by refusing to move to the back of a public bus in Montgomery,...
Republican’s hold on nominations leaves Marines without confirmed leader for 1st time in 100 yearsVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps is without a confirmed leader for the first time in a century as Gen. David Berger stepped down as commandant on Monday and a Republican senator is blocking approval of his successor. Berger took over as the 38th commandant in July 2019, and is...
Biden administration asks appeals court to block order limiting its contacts with social media
NEW ORLEANS — The Biden administration asked a federal appeals court Monday to temporarily block a lower court’s order limiting executive branch officials’ discussions with social media companies about controversial online posts. The request for an emergency stay was filed at the 5th U.S. District Court of Appeals shortly after...
Webb Space Telescope spots most distant black hole yet. More may be lurking
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet using the Webb Space Telescope, but that record isn’t expected to last. The black hole is at the center of a galaxy dating to within a mere 570 million years of the Big Bang. That’s 100 million...
Pennsylvania police searching for escaped homicide suspect find possible campsites near jail
WARREN — A homicide suspect who used bed sheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail is likely still in the area and someone may be helping him to evade capture, police said after discovering possible campsites in nearby woods. Michael Burham, 34, fled the Warren County Prison late Thursday...
James Lewis, the suspect in the 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed 7 in the Chicago area, has died
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The suspect in the 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area, triggered a nationwide panic, and led to an overhaul in the safety of over-the-counter medication packaging, has died, police said on Monday. Officers, firefighters and EMTs responding to a report of an...
Funding for Pitt, Penn State, other state-related schools caught in Pa. budget impasse
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. HARRISBURG — After repeated legislative failures, Pennsylvania state House members left Harrisburg indefinitely without passing funding for the commonwealth’s state-related universities. Appropriations for Lincoln University, Penn State...
Turkey could approve Sweden’s NATO membership if Europeans ‘open way’ to EU membership
VILNIUS, Lithuania — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday introduced a new condition for approving Sweden’s membership in NATO, calling on European countries to “open the way” for Turkey to join the European Union. The surprise announcement by Erdogan before departing to a NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital added...
Electrical issue sparks fire that severely damages historic market building in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — An electrical malfunction in a ceiling fan sparked a fast-moving fire that severely damaged an historic market building in Pennsylvania’s capital city early Monday, authorities said. No injuries were reported in the fire at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg was reported about 1 a.m. but was brought...
Relentless rain floods roads in Northeast, leads to evacuations, rescuesVideo
ARLINGTON, Vt. — Rescue teams raced into Vermont on Monday after heavy rain drenched parts of Northeast, washing out roads, forcing evacuations and halting some airline travel. One person was killed in New York as she was trying to leave her home. Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue...
Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar stabbed by another inmate at federal prison
WASHINGTON — Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing Olympic and college female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times by another inmate at a federal prison in Florida that is experiencing staffing shortages. The attack happened Sunday at United States Penitentiary Coleman, and Nassar was in stable...
Biden, King Charles III zero in on climate change in Windsor Castle meeting
WINDSOR, England — President Joe Biden and King Charles III, aging leaders who’ve waited decades to reach the pinnacle of their careers, used their first meeting in their respective roles Monday to highlight the generational issue of climate change as they prod private companies to do more to bolster clean...
Families with transgender kids are increasingly forced to travel out of state for the care they need
CHICAGO — On an early morning in June, Flower Nichols and her mother set off on an expedition to Chicago from their home in Indianapolis. The family was determined to make it feel like an adventure in the city, though that wasn’t the primary purpose of the trip. The following...
Man with knife kills 6 people at kindergarten in China before being arrested, police say
BEIJING — A man with a knife killed six people and wounded one Monday at a kindergarten in southeastern China, police and a news report said Monday. A 25-year-old man was arrested following the 7:40 a.m. attack in Lianjiang, a city in Guangdong province, a police statement said. Employees who...
Las Vegas police officer set to go on trial over $165K stolen in 3 casino heists
LAS VEGAS — A trial for a Las Vegas police officer accused of stealing nearly $165,000 in a series of casino heists is set to begin Monday with prosecutors painting him as a gambling addict who grew increasingly desperate under a crush of debt. Prosecutors claim Caleb Rogers, 35, carried...
Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin pledges loyalty at the Kremlin after short-lived mutiny
MOSCOW — Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin pledged loyalty to the Russian government in a Kremlin meeting with President Vladimir Putin five days after the commander led a short-lived rebellion, a senior government spokesman said Monday, the latest twist in a baffling episode that has raised questions about the power and...
Accused Philadelphia shooter may have begun his spree nearly two days earlier than police thought
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia authorities investigating a Fourth of July holiday shooting spree that left five people dead now say the gunman killed one of the victims almost two full days before the mass shooting. Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was arraigned Wednesday morning on five counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault...
NATO unity will be tested at upcoming summit. Ukraine’s possible entry may be the biggest challengeVideo
WASHINGTON — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO’s much-celebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania. The world’s biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member....
Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dashing an effort to obtain some measure of legal justice by survivors of the deadly racist rampage. Judge Caroline Wall on Friday dismissed with prejudice the lawsuit trying to force the city and others...
Powerball jackpot soars to $675 million ahead of drawing on Monday
The Powerball drawing on Monday night will feature a $675 million grand prize, the second-highest jackpot of the year, according to lottery leaders. No one matched all six winning numbers — white balls 7, 23, 24, 32, 43 and red Powerball 18— for the 34th consecutive drawing on Saturday night,...
Inmate suspected of homicide escapes from a Pennsylvania jail using bed sheetsVideo
WARREN — Authorities from local, state and federal agencies were searching Saturday for an inmate described by police as “very dangerous” who escaped from a jail in northwestern Pennsylvania using bed sheets, officials said. Michael Burham, 34, escaped from a jail in Warren by climbing on exercise equipment and using...
9 shot in downtown Cleveland, one man seriously wounded as police search for suspectVideo
CLEVELAND — An early morning shooting in a nightclub area of downtown Cleveland sent nine people to the hospital, but no fatalities were reported, authorities said. Police said preliminary information indicated someone opened fire toward a group of people in the Warehouse District shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday as the...
6 killed when small plane crashes, bursts into flames in field near Southern California airportVideo
MURRIETA, Calif. — Six people were killed when a small plane crashed in a field and burst into flames during the second of two landing attempts in fog just before dawn Saturday at a Southern California airport, authorities said. The crash of the Cessna C550 business jet occurred around 4:15...
The FDA is being asked to look into Logan Paul’s energy drink, which has the caffeine of 6 Coke cans
NEW YORK — An influencer-backed energy drink that has earned viral popularity among children is facing scrutiny from lawmakers and health experts over its potentially dangerous levels of caffeine. On Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate PRIME, a beverage brand founded by the...
Outgoing Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher reflects on tenure filled with challenges, growth
When Patrick Gallagher became chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh in 2014, higher education institutions already were staring down falling enrollments and growing questions about the worth of a college degree. Then the covid-19 pandemic hit, shutting down campuses for months. Now, with Gallagher’s tenure in its final days, Gallagher...
