Suspect ‘stands silent’ in slayings of 4 Idaho college students; judge enters not guilty pleas
BOISE, Idaho — The suspect in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students opted Monday to “stand silent” to murder charges, prompting the judge to enter not guilty pleas on his behalf ahead of a trial in which he could face the death penalty. The Nov. 13, 2022,...
Space station welcomes 2 Saudi visitors, including kingdom’s 1st female astronautVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The International Space Station rolled out the welcome mat Monday for two Saudi visitors, including the kingdom’s first female astronaut. SpaceX’s chartered flight arrived at the orbiting lab less than 16 hours after blasting off from Florida. The four guests will spend just over a week...
Tim Scott launches 2024 presidential bid seeking optimistic contrast with other top rivals
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott launched his presidential campaign on Monday, offering an optimistic and compassionate message he’s hoping can contrast the two figures who have used political combativeness to dominate the early GOP primary field: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The...
Why Biden is wary of using the 14th Amendment to address the debt limit crisis
WASHINGTON — If the fight with Congress over raising the government’s debt limit is such a dire threat, why doesn’t President Joe Biden just raise the borrowing ceiling himself? It’s theoretically possible, but he’s all but ruled it out for now. The administration has been searching for possible ways to...
Grenade found as family sorted relative’s belongings kills man, injures 2 children
LAKES OF THE FOUR SEASONS, Ind. — A hand grenade found as a family went through an older relative’s belongings exploded, killing an Indiana man and injuring his two teenage children, police said. The explosion fatally injured the 47-year-old man Saturday evening at the home in the community of Lakes...
Russia claims eastern city of Bakhmut, but Ukrainian military leaders say battle isn’t over
KYIV, Ukraine — Although Russia claims it has won control of Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut after a grinding nine-month conflict in which tens of thousands of fighters have died, top Ukrainian military leaders say the battle is not over. Ukrainian officials acknowledge they control only a small part of...
With all the politics and maneuvering, how is life in Florida changing for its residents?
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — “Don’t say gay.” Regulation of books and classroom discussion. Teachers, parents and school librarians all navigating new and uncertain ground. LGBTQ+ rights under attack. A very public spat between state government and Disney. And at the center of it all is a governor who has emerged as...
UN agency: 2M killed, $4.3T in damages from extreme weather over past half-century
GENEVA — The economic damage of weather- and climate-related disasters continues to rise, even as improvements in early warning have helped reduce the human toll, the U.N. weather agency said Monday. The World Meteorological Organization, in an updated report, tallied nearly 12,000 extreme weather, climate and water-related events over the...
8-year-old girl sought medical help 3 times on day she died, immigration officials say
HARLINGEN, Texas — An 8-year-old girl who died last week in Border Patrol custody was seen at least three separate times by medical personnel on the day of her death — complaining of vomiting, a stomachache and later suffering what appeared to be a seizure — before she was taken...
TikTok, social media trends are thrusting performance crimes into spotlight
NEW YORK — Jonnifer Neal’s Kia was stolen twice in one day — first from in front of her Chicago home and later from outside the mechanic shop where she took it to get fixed. But Neal’s ordeal didn’t end there. After her car was recovered a month later, she...
Warner CEO booed at Boston University as supporters of writers’ strike picket outsideVideo
BOSTON — Scores of Boston University students turned their backs on the head of one of Hollywood’s biggest studios, and some shouted “pay your writers,” as he gave the school’s commencement address Sunday in a stadium where protesters supporting the Hollywood writers’ strike picketed outside. About 100 protesters chanted “No...
SpaceX sends Saudi astronauts, including nation’s 1st woman in space, to International Space StationVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Saudi Arabia’s first astronauts in decades rocketed toward the International Space Station on a chartered multimillion-dollar flight Sunday. SpaceX launched the ticket-holding crew, led by a retired NASA astronaut now working for the company that arranged the trip from Kennedy Space Center. Also on board: a...
FBI, tribe’s police investigating fatal shooting of tribal member by Border Patrol agents
AJO, Ariz. — The FBI and Tohono O’odham Nation police are investigating the fatal shooting of a tribal member by U.S. Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona. Customs and Border Protection officials said agents from the Ajo Border Patrol Station were involved in a fatal shooting on the Tohono O’odham...
Police: Phoenix high schooler arrested after bringing AR-15, ammunition to school
On Friday, police arrested a student who allegedly brought an AR-15 and ammunition to a Phoenix high school. The student now faces “serious felony charges” for bringing the semi-automatic rifle, the same style of weapon behind the majority of the 21 deadliest mass shootings in the U.S. since 2006. The...
Police: 3 dead, 2 wounded in early morning shooting at Kansas City bar
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three people were killed and two others wounded — including one critically — in a shooting at a Kansas City bar early Sunday, police said. Multiple officers responded to the shooting at Klymax Lounge that was reported just before the bar’s 1:30 a.m. closing time. They...
Civil rights groups warn tourists about Florida in wake of ‘hostile’ laws
ORLANDO, Fla. — The NAACP over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida, joining two other civil rights groups in warning potential tourists that recent laws and policies championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.” The...
Using ‘he/him,’ ‘she/her’ in emails got 2 dorm directors fired at N.Y. Christian college
NEW YORK — Shua Wilmot and Raegan Zelaya, two former dorm directors at a small Christian university in western New York, acknowledge their names are unconventional, which explains why they attached gender identities to their work email signatures. Wilmot uses “he/him.” Zelaya goes by “she/her.” Their former employer, Houghton University,...
Low-income tenants lack options as old mobile home parks are razed
PHOENIX — Alondra Ruiz Vazquez and her husband were comfortable in Periwinkle Mobile Home Park for a decade, feeling lucky to own their mobile home and pay about $450 a month for their lot in a city with spiraling rents. But now they and dozens of other families have until...
Soccer stadium stampede in El Salvador leaves 12 dead
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — A stampede by fans at a quarterfinals soccer match in the Salvadoran league has left 12 people dead and injured dozens more, officials said early Sunday. The crush happened when soccer fans pushed through one of the gates during Saturday’s game between Alianza and FAS...
New York City has a right to shelter, but will it establish a right to sleep outside?
NEW YORK — New York Mayor Eric Adams has hailed his city’s right to shelter as a hallmark of compassion for its most destitute. Now he must decide if he will extend that compassion by bestowing homeless people with the right to sleep outside. The City Council unanimously approved a...
Debt ceiling talks to resume as Biden, McCarthy prepare to meet Monday to resolve standoffVideo
WASHINGTON — Debt ceiling talks were set to resume Sunday evening as Washington races to strike a budget compromise along with a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and avert an economy-wrecking federal default. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke by phone Sunday while the president...
Back in hoodies and gym shorts, Fetterman tackles Senate life after depression treatment
WASHINGTON — Before Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman checked himself in to the hospital for clinical depression in February, he walked the halls of the Senate stone-faced and dressed in formal suits. These days, he’s back to wearing the hoodies and gym shorts he was known for before he became a...
Pa. opioid settlement money: What you need to know
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. Billions of dollars are expected to come to Pennsylvania to help the state respond to the opioid epidemic, but tracking how...
Former Arkansas U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, who served 7 terms, dies at 80
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Former U.S. Rep. Robert Marion Berry, an Arkansas Democrat who served seven terms in Congress and was known for his blunt rhetoric and advocacy for farmers and older residents, has died. He was 80. Berry, who was known as “Marion,” died Friday, his family confirmed in...
Uvalde families dig in for new test of gun industry protections
AUSTIN, Texas — After Mayah Zamora was shot and wounded at Robb Elementary School, her family did what many mass shooting survivors do: They sued. They sued the store off Main Street in Uvalde, Texas, that sold the teenage gunman his AR-style rifle. They sued the gun maker. And they...
