Suicides and homicides among young Americans jumped early in pandemic, study says
NEW YORK — The homicide rate for older U.S. teenagers rose to its highest point in nearly 25 years during the covid-19 pandemic, and the suicide rate for adults in their early 20s was the worst in more than 50 years, government researchers said Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control...
Bill Cosby sued by 9 more women in Nevada for alleged decades-old sexual assaults
LAS VEGAS — Nine more women are accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault in a lawsuit that alleges he used his “enormous power, fame and prestige” to victimize them. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Nevada alleges that the women were individually drugged and assaulted between approximately 1979...
‘Stand with Trump’ becomes rallying cry as Republicans amplify attacks on U.S. justice system
WASHINGTON — Moments after Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and then conspired to obstruct an investigation about it, the Republicans in Congress had his back. Speaker Kevin McCarthy dashed off a fundraising email decrying the “witch hunt” against the former president and...
Hempfield Area School Board may vote on book-challenge, acquisition policies at next meeting
After nearly 18 months of meetings, debates and changes, Hempfield Area School Board members sent two controversial policies back to their policy committee for additional tweaks. The policies are centered around the purchase of resource materials, with a particular focus on books available in the district’s libraries, and the procedure...
House rejects effort to censure and fine Democrat Adam Schiff over Trump-Russia investigationsVideo
WASHINGTON — The House has rejected an effort to censure California Rep. Adam Schiff, turning aside a Republican attempt to fine the Democrat over his comments about former President Donald Trump and investigations into his ties to Russia. Schiff, the former Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and the...
Punishing wind, possible tornadoes inflict damage as storms cross the SouthVideo
ALBANY, Ga. — Damaging winds and possible tornadoes toppled trees, damaged buildings and blew cars off a highway Wednesday as powerful storms crossed the South from Texas to Georgia. The National Weather Service issued numerous tornado warnings, mainly in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia, and cautioned that gusts of hurricane-force...
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez enters crowded GOP presidential race days after Trump’s indictment
MIAMI — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez filed paperwork Wednesday to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, jumping into the crowded race just a day after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city. The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race,...
Grand jury indicts Daniel Penny in chokehold death of New York City subway rider Jordan Neely
NEW YORK — A man charged with manslaughter for putting an agitated New York City subway rider in a fatal chokehold has been indicted by a grand jury, an expected procedural step that will allow the criminal case to continue. Daniel Penny was charged by Manhattan prosecutors last month in...
Detroit-area city bans LGBTQ+ Pride flags on public property
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — A Detroit-area community has banned LGBTQ+ flags from publicly owned poles after a tense hourslong meeting that raised questions about discrimination, religion and the city’s reputation for welcoming newcomers. In protest, a woman speaking during the public comment portion of the Hamtramck City Council meeting kissed a...
Southern Baptists refuse to take back megachurch because it has women pastorsVideo
NEW ORLEANS — The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the California megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors. Southern Baptist church representatives at their annual meeting here also rejected a similar appeal by a smaller church,...
Harvard Medical School morgue manager, 4 others indicted in theft, sale of human remains
SCRANTON — A manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue, his wife and three other people have been indicted in connection with the theft and sale of human body parts, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday. Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, N.H., stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated...
Fox onscreen message calls Biden a ‘wannabe dictator’ following Trump arraignment
NEW YORK — Fox News said Wednesday that an onscreen message that called President Biden a “wannabe dictator” was taken off TV immediately after it aired and “addressed.” The headline appeared Tuesday night under onscreen video of former President Donald Trump speaking to supporters live following his arrest, next to...
Elizabeth Holmes objects to $250 monthly restitution payments
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors want Elizabeth Holmes to pay $250 each month to victims of her failed blood testing startup after she leaves prison, but her attorneys are pushing back citing “limited financial resources” available to the disgraced founder of Theranos. The U.S. filed a motion last week asking the...
Pennsylvania using tons of recycled glass nuggets to rebuild collapsed Interstate 95Video
Pennsylvania will truck in 2,000 tons of lightweight glass nuggets to help quickly rebuild a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia and crews will work 24 hours a day until they can reopen the critical commercial artery, officials said Wednesday. Instead of rebuilding the overpass right away, crews will...
Stove wars: Republican-controlled House takes up bills to protect gas stoves
WASHINGTON — Venturing back into the nation’s culture wars, the Republican-controlled House is taking up legislation that GOP lawmakers say would protect gas stoves from overzealous government regulators. A bill approved Tuesday would prohibit use of federal funds to regulate gas stoves as a hazardous product, while a separate bill...
U.S. beefs up campaign to ensure accurate animal welfare claims on meat, poultry packaging
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it hopes to weed out false or misleading animal-welfare claims on meat and poultry packaging with new guidance and testing. The claims — such as “pasture-raised,” “humanely raised,” and “raised without antibiotics” — are increasingly popular with consumers and allow producers to charge...
What to know about Trump’s appearance in federal court in Miami to face felony charges
Donald Trump made a first appearance Tuesday in federal court in Miami facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to...
Federal officials warn I-95 collapse could affect shipping across East Coast as local businesses feel the squeeze
PHILADELPHIA — The collapse of a portion of I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia following a massive blaze caused by an overturned tanker truck could cause supply chain headaches across the East Coast, state and federal officials warned Tuesday. Following a tour of the site, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said...
Army renames Louisiana base for Black WWI hero who received Medal of Honor
FORT JOHNSON, La. — A U.S. Army base in western Louisiana was renamed Tuesday to honor Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black hero of World War I who received the Medal of Honor nearly a century later. Fort Johnson had previously been named after a Confederate commander, Leonidas Polk. The...
Senate just barely confirms Bernstein as Biden’s economic adviser
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday narrowly confirmed Jared Bernstein to be the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. A longtime aide to President Joe Biden and an economist focused on workers, Bernstein was confirmed by a vote of 50-49. Republican lawmakers were critical of his...
Trump’s CNN remarks allowed in accuser E. Jean Carroll’s expanded lawsuit
The New York author who won a $5 million sexual abuse trial against Donald Trump was allowed to expand an earlier defamation lawsuit to add remarks he made about her on a CNN town hall and seek at least $10 million more in damages. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on...
Train safety bill inspired by East Palestine derailment faces tough odds in Pa. legislature
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — In the wake of a hazardous train derailment less than a mile from the Ohio border, Pennsylvania lawmakers are...
Minibus slams into parked pickup killing 15 in Southern Egypt
CAIRO — A speeding minibus slammed into a pickup parked on the side of a desert road in Southern Egypt on Tuesday, killing at least 15 people, authorities said. The fatal crash occurred on the eastern bank of the Nile River near the Egyptian town of al-Saff, roughly 34 miles...
Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges that he illegally kept classified documentsVideo
MIAMI — Donald Trump became the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as he pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom Tuesday to dozens of felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and refusing government demands to give them back. The history-making court date, centered...
Relatives fight for custody of Indigenous kids who survived Amazon plane crash
BOGOTA, Colombia — A custody battle has broken out among relatives of four Indigenous children who survived a plane crash and 40 harrowing days alone in the Amazon rainforest in an extraordinary showing of youthful resilience that captivated people around the world. The siblings, ranging in age from 1 to...
