China military ‘ready to fight’ after drills near Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s military declared Monday it is “ready to fight” after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president’s trip to the U.S. last week. The “combat readiness patrols” named Joint Sword were meant as...
As runway near-misses surge, radar that keeps planes apart is aging and unreliable
A crucial safety system that’s relied on to avoid potentially fatal collisions at major U.S. airports is aging and plagued by outages that have left travelers unprotected for months at a time. At some airports, it hasn’t ever been installed. The technology — which tracks vehicles on or near runways...
HHS Secretary Becerra slams abortion pill ruling as ‘not America’Video
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top health official said Sunday that a court ruling threatening the availability of a main drug used in medication abortion was “not America” and he did not rule out defying the judge’s order if necessary. “We want the courts to overturn this reckless decision,” Xavier Becerra,...
Harlan Crow, who gave lavish trips to Clarence Thomas, has donated $13M to GOP
WASHINGTON — Harlan Crow, the Dallas investor whose lavish secret trips with Justice Clarence Thomas have sparked an intense debate about Supreme Court ethics, is a GOP megadonor with many friends in high places. In the last three decades, the billionaire real estate magnate has donated $14.7 million to candidates...
Texas governor seeks to pardon Army sergeant convicted of murderVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday that he is seeking to pardon a U.S. Army sergeant who was convicted of murder in the 2020 fatal shooting of an armed protester during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice. Abbott tweeted that because the state constitution limits...
More buses from Texas? Philly ready to welcome immigrants as pandemic ban drops
PHILADELPHIA — From shortly before Thanksgiving until after the New Year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent nearly a thousand immigrants to Philadelphia aboard unscheduled, unannounced buses. The last of 19 coaches pulled up outside 30th Street Station on Jan. 7. And since then … nothing. What at first seemed a...
Expelled Tennessee lawmakers both seeking seats again
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One of the two Black Democrats who was thrown out of the Tennessee House last week appeared likely to get his seat back Monday, just days after the GOP exacted retribution against the lawmakers who called for more gun control. Nashville’s Metro Council could return Justin Jones...
Unemployment fell to 3.5% under Biden. For how much longer?
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden keeps seeing good economic news and bad public approval ratings. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in March. More than 236,000 jobs were added. But there has been no political payoff for the president. A poll last month by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public...
Fetterman, Casey slam federal judge’s ruling against abortion medication
Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey did not mince words when responding to Friday’s ruling by a federal judge in Texas halting the approval of an abortion medication. “This ruling by a hard-right Trump appointed judge is simply bull(expletive),” Fetterman said in a statement released Saturday morning....
Pope at Easter: Pray for Ukrainian, Russian people, refugees
VATICAN CITY — In an Easter message highlighting hope, Pope Francis on Sunday invoked prayers for both the Ukrainian and Russian people, praised nations which welcome refugees and called on Israelis and Palestinians wracked by the latest surge in deadly violence to forge a “climate of trust.” Francis, along with...
Pitt Chancellor-elect Joan Gabel faces array of challenges as she prepares to take helm
Once Joan Gabel arrives in July from the University of Minnesota, the success of her tenure as University of Pittsburgh chancellor might hinge on the same unforgiving metrics that were used to judge her male predecessors. Fundraising will be key among them. Even with its $5.5 billion endowment, a thriving...
Cyclist Ethan Boyes dies after being struck in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — Award-winning cyclist Ethan Boyes died after being struck by a car at a national park in San Francisco, the U.S. Park Police said Saturday. The athlete was hit while riding his bike Tuesday afternoon around Presidio, a historic park south of the Golden Gate Bridge, authorities said....
Competing abortion pill rulings sow broad alarm, confusion
Emma Hernandez is defiant even if she fears what may come in the latest stage of the nation’s fight over abortion: a widening prohibition to safe and legal ways to end unwanted pregnancies, including access to abortion pills. Competing rulings by two federal judges over the availability of the abortion...
Police: 6 people wounded in shooting on South Carolina beach
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. — Gunfire erupted on a South Carolina beach during a “senior skip day” event involving numerous teenagers Friday, wounding six people and prompting charges against two for unlawful possession of guns, police in South Carolina said. The shots broke out around 5:20 p.m. on Isle of...
Justice Thomas says he didn’t have to disclose luxury trips
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday he was not required to disclose the many trips he and his wife took that were paid for by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. Describing Crow and his wife, Kathy, as “among our dearest friends,” Thomas said in a statement that he...
Utah man who killed family vented his anger in suicide note
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man who fatally shot his wife, her mother and the couple’s five kids after he was investigated for child abuse left a suicide note saying he “would rather rot in hell” than continue enduring what he called controlling behavior by his wife, investigators wrote...
Access to abortion pill in limbo after competing rulings
AUSTIN, Texas — Access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. plunged into uncertainty Friday following conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone that has been widely available for more than 20 years. For now, the drug the Food and Drug Administration...
Biden sports plan angers transgender advocates, opponents
A Biden administration proposal to forbid outright bans on transgender athletes sparked outrage from conservative leaders while also angering trans rights activists who note schools could still prevent some athletes from participating on teams that align with their gender identity. The proposed rule, which still faces a lengthy approval process,...
Study says warming may push more hurricanes toward U.S. coasts
Changes in air patterns as the world warms will likely push more and nastier hurricanes up against the United States’ east and Gulf coasts, especially in Florida, a new study said. While other studies have projected how human-caused climate change will probably alter the frequency, strength and moisture of tropical...
Russia hits illegally annexed Ukraine areas from ground, air
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces used ground- and air-fired missiles, rocket launchers and weaponized drones to bombard the provinces of Ukraine it has illegally annexed but doesn’t fully control, causing casualties, building damage and power outages Friday. The Ukrainian military said Russian forces launched 18 airstrikes, five missile strikes and...
Shapiro’s proposed Pa. State Police fund saves road dollars but raises accountability concerns
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 his first budget proposal as governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro aims to resolve a longstanding fiscal conundrum: funding the...
Report: Russia formally charges Wall Street Journal reporter
MOSCOW — Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been charged with espionage in Russia and has entered his official denial, Russian state news agency Tass reported Friday. Tass said a law enforcement source informed the news agency that Russia’s Federal Security Service officially charged the American journalist with...
What’s next for Tennessee’s expelled lawmakers?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Republicans have expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest calling for more gun control. Here’s a look at what could happen next: What happened? Republicans voted Thursday to expel two Black lawmakers who last week approached the front of...
20 hurt when inmate sets fire at N.Y.’s Rikers Island jail
NEW YORK — A fire set by an inmate at New York City’s troubled Rikers Island injured 20 people on a day that lawmakers visited the jail complex, authorities said. Fifteen staff members and five inmates were injured in the fire that started about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, the city Correction...
With snakes emerging as temperatures rise, Pa. has 3 venomous species to be aware of
Don’t look now but the sun is shining a little more, and the temperatures are starting to warm up. It’s a beautiful thing after slogging through another Pennsylvania winter, but humans aren’t the only creatures ready to get out and about in the nice weather. The rising temperatures mean snakes...
