Ohio senators ready rail safety bill after fiery crash in East Palestine
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Railroads like the one involved in last month’s fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio would be subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences under legislation being introduced Wednesday by the state’s two U.S. senators. An early copy of the Railway...
Push for clergy to report abuse stalls in deeply Mormon Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — Lindsay Lundholm looked out over hundreds of people at the Utah State Capitol last year and felt a deep sense of healing. Abuse survivors, religious leaders and major party politicians were all gathered to rally for an end to a legal loophole that exempts religious clergy...
China dismisses FBI statement on covid-19 lab leak theory
BEIJING — For the second day in a row, China on Wednesday dismissed U.S. suggestions that the covid-19 pandemic may have been triggered by a virus that leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Responding to comments by FBI Director Christopher Wray, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the involvement of the...
U.S. agencies sow confusion over ‘lab leak’ theory of covid origins
A report from the Wall Street Journal on Monday said sources inside the U.S. Department of Energy now believe with “low confidence” that the global spread of covid-19 was “most likely” the result of a laboratory leak in China. The report contradicts four other U.S. agencies that have investigated how...
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff
CHICAGO — Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term, issuing a rebuke to a leader who made history as head of the nation’s third-largest city. Vallas, a former schools CEO backed...
Steve Bannon proclaims ‘I ain’t going to prison’ at New York court appearance
NEW YORK — Trump adviser Steve Bannon isn’t worried about going to the big house because New York’s case against him is “a sham.” The right-wing strategist shared his belief when he appeared Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court for his alleged role in the We Build the Wall crowdfunding scam....
Greek stationmaster arrested in head-on train crash; 36 deadVideo
TEMPE, Greece — Rescuers searched for survivors Wednesday in the mangled, burned-out wreckage of two trains that slammed into each other in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country’s worst-ever rail crash. The impact just before midnight Tuesday threw some...
Kevin McCarthy defends giving Tucker Carlson Jan. 6 trove accessVideo
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is defending his decision to give Fox News’ Tucker Carlson “exclusive” access to Jan. 6 security footage of the Capitol attack, despite the conservative commentator’s own work raising false claims and conspiracy theories about the 2021 riot over Joe Biden’s election. McCarthy vowed Tuesday...
Railroads urged to examine track detectors after Ohio crash
OMAHA, Neb. — Freight railroads should reexamine the way they use and maintain the detectors along the tracks that are supposed to spot overheating bearings, federal regulators urged Tuesday in the wake of a fiery Ohio derailment and other recent crashes. The safety advisory from the Federal Railroad Administration stopped...
FBI says man tried to board plane with guns, ammo, fake marshal ID in baggage
A man who federal agents say tried to board a plane in New Jersey with three guns, including a semi-automatic rifle, and a fake law-enforcement ID is in federal custody and facing two charges. Seretse Clouden, who has a prior weapon-related conviction, is charged with possession of a firearm by...
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee vows to sign anti-drag bill as photo surfacesVideo
NASHVILLE — Republican Gov. Bill Lee says it would be “ridiculous” to conflate a recently surfaced yearbook photo of him wearing women’s clothing in high school to drag show performances currently under attack in Tennessee and other GOP-led states. Lee told reporters this week that he plans to sign legislation...
Florida suspect charged in deaths of 3, including 9-year-old and TV reporterVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A newly released affidavit in the case against Keith Moses, the alleged killer of three people in Pine Hills last week, offers a timeline of the Feb. 22 shootings, which happened within feet of each other over several hours. Released Tuesday, the affidavit filed in court late...
JetBlue pilot landing in Boston averts potential collision
BOSTON — A JetBlue pilot had to take “evasive action” while landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport when another aircraft crossed an intersecting runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The close call occurred at about 7 p.m. Monday when the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as...
Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles admits he was ‘mistaken’ on college degreeVideo
NASHVILLE — Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles says he was “mistaken” when he said he graduated with an international relations degree after a local news outlet raised questions over whether the Republican had embellished his education. Ogles said this week he wasn’t made aware of the mistake until he requested...
Why TikTok is being banned for some government employees
The United States is ratcheting up national security concerns about TikTok, mandating that all federal employees delete the Chinese-owned social media app from government-issued mobile phones. Other Western governments are pursuing similar bans, citing espionage fears. So how serious is the threat? And should TikTok users who don’t work for...
Pennsylvania unseals search warrant in Idaho killings
STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Law enforcement officials seized dark clothing, medical gloves, a flashlight and other items from a Pennsylvania home where they arrested a graduate student charged with stabbing four University of Idaho students to death, according to newly unsealed court documents. The records were made public Tuesday, two months...
Putin signs bill to suspend last nuclear arms pact with U.S.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a bill formally suspending the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States, amid soaring tensions with Washington over Moscow’s action in Ukraine. Putin had declared a week ago in his state-of-the-nation address that Moscow was suspending its participation in...
EPA opens office near site of Ohio toxic train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday he doesn’t want any stigmas attached to the Ohio community where a train derailed and spewed toxic gases three weeks ago and that he’s pushing the railroad to clean up the mess as fast as possible....
Last witnesses in Murdaugh case before jury sees crime scene
Alex Murdaugh’s former law partner said Tuesday that he is past his anger over millions of dollars stolen from the firm as the final witnesses in the South Carolina double murder trial testified and the court prepared to bring jurors to the scene of the killings. Ronnie Crosby had a...
Biden to visit Selma, Ala., for voting rights anniversary
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — President Joe Biden will travel to Alabama on Sunday to mark the 58th anniversary of a landmark event of the civil rights movement. Biden will speak in Selma for the annual remembrance of “Bloody Sunday,” the day in 1965 that white police beat Black civil rights marchers...
McClinton voted Pa. speaker; first Black woman to win post
Philadelphia state Rep. Joanna McClinton on Tuesday became the first woman to serve as speaker of the Pennsylvania House, ascending to the chamber’s top position on the strength of a fresh one-vote Democratic majority. The leadership reshuffling came nearly two months after Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat, became...
Joanna McClinton elected first female speaker of the Pa. House as Mark Rozzi steps down
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 — Democrat Joanna McClinton was elected the first female speaker of the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday after Mark Rozzi stepped...
Northeast, California dig out from snowstorms flanking U.S.
BOSTON — Heavy snow bookended the United States on Tuesday, with a late-season storm bringing a messy morning commute to the Northeast and leaving California residents to dig out, or in some cases simply wait for help, after yet another storm. Hundreds of schools across southern New England either closed...
Heinz offers to buy boat for sailor who survived on ketchup while lost at sea
Heinz has found the sailor who survived at sea for 24 days by eating ketchup, garlic powder and seasoning cubes. Elvis Francois, 47, of Dominica was adrift on his sailboat in the Caribbean after getting swept out to sea while making repairs to his boat. He survived by collecting rainwater...
U.S. officials make case for renewal of surveillance powers
WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials urged Congress on Tuesday to renew a surveillance program the government has long seen as vital in protecting national security but whose future is uncertain because of scrutiny from an unusual alignment of civil liberties advocates and some Republicans. The program, which is under the...
