Ohio defendant denies knowledge of plot to kill 8 people in 2016Video
WAVERLY, Ohio — A man on trial in the 2016 slayings of eight current and prospective members of another family in southern Ohio testified Wednesday that he had no idea his relatives planned to kill the victims and that he would have taken action to prevent the slayings had he...
GOP wins slim House majority, complicating ambitious agenda
WASHINGTON — Republicans won control of the U.S. House on Wednesday, returning the party to power in Washington and giving conservatives leverage to blunt President Joe Biden’s agenda and spur a flurry of investigations. But a threadbare majority will pose immediate challenges for GOP leaders and complicate the party’s ability...
Vehicle plows into 25 Los Angeles County sheriff’s academy recruits on runVideo
WHITTIER, Calif. — The driver of an SUV veered into the wrong lane and plowed through dozens of Los Angeles County sheriff’s academy recruits running in formation during a training exercise early Wednesday, injuring 25 of the cadets, authorities said. The most serious injuries included head trauma, broken bones and...
Pennsylvania House impeaches Philly prosecutor Larry Krasner over policies
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia’s elected Democratic prosecutor faces a state Senate trial and possible removal from office after the Republican-led state House voted Wednesday to impeach him over progressive policies he has enacted amid rising crime in the city. Lawmakers voted 107-85 to impeach District Attorney Larry Krasner, setting the stage...
Same-sex marriage legislation clears key Senate hurdleVideo
WASHINGTON — Legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages crossed a major Senate hurdle Wednesday, putting Congress on track to take the historic step of ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law. Twelve Republicans voted with all Democrats to move forward on the legislation, meaning a final vote...
U.S. overdose deaths may be peaking, but experts are wary
NEW YORK — Have U.S. drug overdose deaths stopped rising? Preliminary government data suggests they may have, but many experts are urging caution, noting that past plateaus didn’t last. U.S. overdose death rates began steadily climbing in the 1990s driven by opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by...
This Pennsylvania county ran out of paper on Election Day. Now the district attorney is investigating
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. An Election Day paper shortage in one Pennsylvania county that led poll workers to turn away some voters is now under investigation. The Luzerne County Board of Elections and...
Have Democrats flipped the Pa. House? The latest on the deciding races
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 — With control of the Pennsylvania state House on the line, attorneys for Democratic and Republican candidates in two close,...
Fetterman turns heads with suit and tie at Senate orientation in D.C.
Senate-elect John Fetterman attended orientation in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday and, per usual, he garnered attention for his attire. But not for the regular hoodie and shorts combo. This time, social media was abuzz because Fetterman sported a suit and tie. Simple images of Fetterman in a dark suit with...
Kraft Heinz explores stunts like Stuffing Pants, Velveeta martini to revitalize brands
Pittsburgh-based Kraft Heinz may be best known for the iconic ketchup, but the food giant is hoping that a series of offbeat items and recipes can revive some of the company’s other well-known brands. Stove Top, a Kraft Heinz Company brand, is bringing back its Stuffing Pants, a pair of...
Mitch McConnell brushes aside Rick Scott in Senate GOP leadership challengeVideo
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell fended off a challenge to his leadership of Senate Republicans on Wednesday, beating back a long-shot provocation from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who commanded the party’s campaign committee this cycle. McConnell was reelected Republican leader by a majority of his 49 colleagues after a failed...
University of Virginia cancels football game; shooting suspect due in court
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia canceled its final home football game of the season Wednesday, the same day a student accused of killing three members of the team and wounding two other students in an on-campus shooting was due in court for his first hearing. University officials and...
Poland, NATO say missile strike wasn’t a Russian attack
PRZEWODOW, Poland — NATO member Poland and the head of the military alliance both said Wednesday a missile strike in Polish farmland that killed two people did not appear to be an intentional attack, and that air defenses in neighboring Ukraine likely launched the Soviet-era projectile against a Russian bombardment...
NASA’s mightiest rocket lifts off 50 years after Apollo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s new moon rocket blasted off on its debut flight with three test dummies aboard Wednesday, bringing the U.S. a big step closer to putting astronauts back on the lunar surface for the first time since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago. If...
Some 10,000 mink loose, missing after vandalism at Ohio farm
VAN WERT, Ohio — Vandalism freed thousands of mink at a rural northwest Ohio farm, leaving an estimated 10,000 of the small carnivorous mammals unaccounted for Tuesday evening, the local sheriff said. So many minks were killed crossing a nearby road that a plow was brought in to help clear...
Some Pennsylvania Republicans anxious after Trump’s campaign announcement
Less than a week from some crushing midterm defeats for the Republican Party, former president Donald Trump announced his 2024 bid for the White House to mixed reactions from local Republicans and political experts. Sam DeMarco, chair of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, supports the former president, but wishes...
Judge: Michael Flynn must testify in Georgia election probe
SARASOTA, Fla. — A Florida judge on Tuesday said former national security adviser Michael Flynn must testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s looking into whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia. Sarasota County Chief Judge Charles Roberts ordered...
Mormon church comes out in support of same-sex marriage law
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it would back proposed federal legislation to safeguard same-sex marriages, marking the latest show of support for the measure from conservative-leaning groups. The nearly 17-million member, Utah-based faith said in a statement that church doctrine would...
Texas sends next busload of migrants to Philadelphia
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that Philadelphia will be the next destination for migrants the state is transporting from the U.S.-Mexico border by the thousands to Democratic-led locales, putting a new bus on the road a week after the Republican easily won reelection. He did not...
GOP Sen. Rick Scott mounts long-shot bid to unseat Mitch McConnellVideo
WASHINGTON — Florida Sen. Rick Scott is mounting a long-shot bid to unseat Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a rare challenge for the longtime GOP stalwart after his party failed to win back the majority in the midterm elections. Scott, the leader of the GOP’s Senate campaign efforts who has...
McCarthy clears first step to House speaker, but grind ahead
WASHINGTON — Republican leader Kevin McCarthy cleared the first major step Tuesday toward becoming House speaker, winning majority support from colleagues on a secret ballot. He now faces a weeks-long slog to quell objections from his right flank before a final vote. McCarthy has led House Republicans this far, and...
Studies find automatic braking can cut crashes over 40%
DETROIT — Two new U.S. studies show that automatic emergency braking can cut the number of rear-end automobile crashes in half, and reduce pickup truck crashes by more than 40%. The studies released Tuesday, one by a government-auto industry partnership and the other by the insurance industry, each used crash...
Virginia shooting suspect part of field trip, school confirms
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A University of Virginia student who went on a field trip to see a play with classmates is the one suspected of opening fire inside the bus they were riding in when the group returned to campus, a university spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Spokesperson Brian Coy said the...
Feds: Cocaine worth $450,000 seized from wheelchair wheels
NEW YORK — Customs officers at New York’s Kennedy International Airport seized $450,000 worth of cocaine from a traveler who was smuggling the drugs in the wheels of her wheelchair, federal authorities announced. The bust happened Nov. 10 when Customs and Border Patrol officers stopped a woman traveling from Punta...
Poland: Russian-made missile fell on our country, killing 2Video
KYIV, Ukraine — Poland said early Wednesday that a Russian-made missile fell in the eastern part of the country, killing two people in a blast that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy decried as “a very significant escalation” of the war. The exact circumstances of the fatal explosion were unclear, including who...
