Pa. Dems select former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale as party chair
Pennsylvania Democrats have elected a new leader after a staggering set of losses in the 2024 elections. Eugene DePasquale, the state’s former auditor general, ran in a special election to replace state Sen. Sharif Street, who represents part of Philadelphia County. Street held the position for five years but resigned...
Florida’s plan to drop school vaccine rule won’t start for 90 days, won’t cover all diseases
Florida’s plan to drop school vaccine mandates likely won’t take effect for 90 days and would include only chickenpox and a few other illnesses unless lawmakers decide to extend it to other diseases, such as polio and measles, the health department said Sunday. The department responded to a request for...
Ukraine government building damaged in Kyiv in the largest Russian attack since the war began
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia hit Ukraine’s capital with drone and missiles Sunday in the largest aerial attack since the war began, killing four people across the country and damaging a key government building. Russia attacked with 810 drones and decoys, Ukraine’s air force said, adding it shot down 747 drones...
A decades-long peace vigil outside the White House is dismantled after Trump’s order
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officials on Sunday removed a peace vigil that had stood outside the White House for more than four decades after President Donald Trump ordered it to be taken down as part of the clearing of homeless encampments in the nation’s capital. Philipos Melaku-Bello, a volunteer who...
In one DC neighborhood after federal intervention, the notion of more authority is a mixed bag
WASHINGTON — In a swath of the nation’s capital that sits across the tracks, and the river, residents can see the Washington Monument, the Waldorf Astoria — formerly the Trump Hotel — and the U.S. Capitol dome. What the people of Anacostia cannot see are the National Guard units patrolling...
Trump’s U.S. Open visit sparks boos and long security lines
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump was loudly booed at the men’s final of the U.S. Open on Sunday, where extra security caused by his visit led to lines long enough that many people missed the start of play, even after organizers delayed it. Wearing a suit and long, red...
LGBTQ+ Catholics make Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome and celebrate a new feeling of welcome
VATICAN CITY — Over 1,000 LGBTQ+ Catholics and their families participated in a Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome on Saturday, celebrating a new level of acceptance in the Catholic Church after long feeling shunned, and crediting Pope Francis with the change. Some wept as they walked through the Holy Door...
Pope Leo XIV declares teen computer whiz Carlo Acutis the first millennial saint
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV declared a 15-year-old computer whiz the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint Sunday, giving the next generation of Catholics a relatable role model who used technology to spread the faith and earn the nickname “God’s influencer.” Leo canonized Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006, during...
Russia assaults Ukraine with over 800 drones and decoys, the largest such attack in the war
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia hit Ukraine’s capital with drone and missiles Sunday in the largest aerial attack on the country since the war began, killing at least two people and leaving smoke rising from the roof of a key government building. Russia attacked Ukraine with 805 drones and decoys, officials...
South Korea will bring home 300 workers detained in massive Hyundai plant raid in Georgia
SEOUL, South Korea — More than 300 South Korean workers detained following a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia will be released and brought home, the South Korean government announced Sunday. Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff for President Lee Jae Myung, said South Korea and the U.S....
Small programs like rape crisis centers bear heavy burden of Pa.’s budget impasse
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — More than two months in, the effects of Pennsylvania’s budget impasse are compounding. Many of the programs...
What to know about the trial of the man accused of trying to assassinate Trump in Florida
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A federal trial is scheduled to begin Monday for a man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump as he played golf in Florida in September 2024. Jury selection is expected to take three days, with attorneys questioning three sets of 60 prospective jurors. They’re trying...
Postal traffic to U.S. sank 80% after Trump administration ended exemption on low-value parcels
Postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, the United Nations postal agency said Saturday. The Universal Postal Union says it has started rolling out new measures that can help postal operators around the world calculate...
Biden chooses Delaware for his presidential library as his team turns to raising money for it
WASHINGTON — Former President Joe Biden has decided to build his presidential library in Delaware and has tapped a group of former aides, friends and political allies to begin the heavy lift of fundraising and finding a site for the museum and archive. The Joe and Jill Biden Foundation this...
Westmoreland developments: The Venue, former Weyand Signs building search for new owners
After closing his 6½-year-old restaurant in late June, Michael Villi will reopen The Venue in downtown Greensburg this month while searching for a new owner to operate the business. Looking to retire from the restaurant business, Villi closed The Venue to search for a new owner. But after having his...
Someone could win $1.8B Powerball jackpot Saturday. Odds are their identity will remain a mystery
After Iowa gas station employee Timothy Schultz won a $29 million lottery jackpot in 1999, he decided to hold a press conference. Lottery officials told him it would help him avoid being “hounded by media” since state law required his name to be disclosed anyway. But the then-21-year-old soon felt...
In post-Jan. 6 era, 600 officers train for riots as threats to lawmakers climb toward record high
LAUREL, Md. — The car jolted as protesters pounded on its windows, boxing in the lawmaker trapped inside. Within seconds, officers in full riot gear surged forward in formation, yanking open the doors and pulling the passenger to safety. A few hundred yards away, another team of police moved just...
Trump says U.S. will host next year’s G20 summit at his Florida golf club but he won’t make money
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. will host next year’s Group of 20 summit at his golf club in Doral, Florida, arguing it was “the best location” for the high-stakes international gathering but insisting his family’s business “will not make any money on it.” In his...
Pa. Supreme Court 101: What it is, why it matters, and more
This guide was originally published on Oct. 23, 2023. It was updated this week, ahead of the Nov. 4 judicial elections. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is made up of seven justices. Currently, there are five Democrats and two Republicans who serve on the court. Three justices — all Democrats —...
Health care at its worst: Clinic employees fired for mocking patients on TikTok
The latest viral video of health care workers behaving badly made the rounds on Labor Day weekend. It originated in Santa Barbara, Calf., and was shared on TikTok by a former employee of the Sansum Clinic there. It was a since-deleted video that depicted former co-workers at the clinic, which...
Takeaways from RFK Jr.’s contentious hearing before Senate lawmakers
WASHINGTON — A contentious three-hour hearing between U.S. senators and Robert Kennedy Jr. devolved into multiple screaming matches on Thursday as the nation’s health secretary fended off accusations about sweeping changes he’s made to vaccines, health care policy and leadership. The oversight hearing in the Senate Finance Committee was a...
Asia will get a prime view of this weekend’s total lunar eclipse
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The year’s second total lunar eclipse is coming up fast, and this time Asia will have the best seats in the cosmos. Earth’s shadow will obscure this weekend’s full moon as the home planet lines up perfectly between the moon and the sun. Totality will last...
Homeland security official says 475 people were detained during an immigration raid in Georgia
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Some 475 people were detained during an immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles, according to a Homeland Security official. Steven Schrank, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, said at a news briefing Friday that the majority...
Fox News thrives 2 years after court settlement, but 2020 election coverage fight goes on
NEW YORK — Twice recently, the people who run Fox News were reminded of their biggest nightmare. The conservative network Newsmax’s $67 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over false claims after the 2020 election recalled Fox’s own $787.5 million deal with the same company more than two years ago....
U.S. employers likely added a modest 80,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market has cooled
WASHINGTON — When the Labor Department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged President Donald Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her. Nothing quite so dramatic is likely Friday when the department releases hiring...
