Former Connecticut state representative pleads guilty in theft of $1.2M in covid-19 aidVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — A former Connecticut state representative pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with the theft of more than $1.2 million in federal coronavirus relief funds from the city of West Haven, using some of the money for gambling at a casino, according to prosecutors. Michael DiMassa, a West Haven...
Supreme Court clears way for Lindsey Graham testimony in GeorgiaVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s testimony in a Georgia investigation of possible illegal interference in the 2020 election by then-President Donald Trump and his allies in the state. The court lifted a temporary hold on Graham’s appearance before a special grand...
UN agency inspecting Russia’s unfounded ‘dirty bomb’ claim
KYIV, Ukraine — Experts from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency inspected two sites in Ukraine on Tuesday that Russia identified in unfounded claims that Ukrainian authorities planned to set off radioactive “dirty bombs” in their own invaded country. Russian strikes targeting eight regions of southeastern Ukraine killed at least...
Bolsonaro declines to concede Brazil defeat in 1st address
BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday did not concede the election he lost to leftist Lula da Silva in a brief speech that marked his first comments since results were released two days ago. But afterward, Chief-of-Staff Ciro Nogueira told reporters that Bolsonaro has authorized him to...
Strong RSV vaccine data lifts hopes after years of futility
New research shows vaccinating pregnant women helped protect their newborns from the common but scary respiratory virus called RSV that fills hospitals with wheezing babies each fall. The preliminary results buoy hope that after decades of failure and frustration, vaccines against RSV may finally be getting close. Pfizer announced Tuesday...
AP: China fishing fleet defied U.S in standoff on high seas
This summer, as China fired missiles into the sea off Taiwan to protest House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, a much different kind of geopolitical standoff was taking shape in another corner of the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of miles away, a heavily-armed U.S. Coast Guard cutter sailed up...
15 hurt, including 3 children, in Chicago Halloween shooting
CHICAGO — As many as 15 people, including three children, were injured in a drive-by shooting on Halloween night that sent shots flying into a crowd along a Chicago street corner, police said. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the three juvenile victims are a 3-year-old, an 11-year-old and a...
Could Powerball jackpot top $1.58 billion record?
DES MOINES, Iowa — The fourth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history could soar to the largest ever if no one wins the top prize in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing. The jackpot climbed to $1.2 billion after no one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot. That makes 38 consecutive...
Hillary Clinton seeks sanctions on Trump over failed conspiracy suit
Hillary Clinton asked a federal judge to sanction former President Donald Trump and his lawyers for filing an allegedly frivolous lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to undermine his term in office. Trump and his attorneys should be ordered to pay $1.06 million in legal fees and costs that were racked...
Police say Pelosi suspect wanted to break speaker’s knees
SAN FRANCISCO — The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer told police he wanted to hold the Democratic leader hostage and “break her kneecaps” to show other members of Congress there were “consequences to actions,” authorities said Monday. In a chilling federal complaint, officials...
Musk boosts surge in misinformation about Pelosi attack
Within hours of the attack on Paul Pelosi, conspiracy theories deflecting blame for the assault on the husband of U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi were already swirling online. It didn’t matter that authorities said Paul Pelosi was alone when the suspect broke into the couple’s San Francisco home. Or that investigators...
Bidens dole out Halloween candy to first responders’ kids
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, doled out Halloween candy Monday to trick-or-treaters dressed up as everything from Spider-Man to a flamingo to a monk to a zombie founding father at a soggy celebration on the south side of the White House. It was the Bidens’ first...
Bird flu infects Iowa egg farm with 1 million chickens
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa agriculture officials said Monday that another commercial egg farm in the state has been infected with bird flu, the first commercial farm case identified since April, when a turkey farm was infected. The latest case is in Wright County in north central Iowa about 80...
Russia recruiting U.S.-trained Afghan commandos, vets say
Afghan special forces soldiers who fought alongside American troops and then fled to Iran after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last year are now being recruited by the Russian military to fight in Ukraine, three former Afghan generals told The Associated Press. They said the Russians want to attract thousands of...
Somalia car bombs death toll up to 120, some still missing
MOGADISHU, Somalia — The death toll from twin car bombings in Somalia’s capital has reached 120 and could rise further because some people are still missing, the country’s health minister said Monday. Ali Haji said more than 320 others were wounded in Saturday’s midday explosions at a busy junction in...
Explainer: What Russia’s suspension of grain deal could mean
NAIROBI, Kenya — Russia has suspended its part of a U.N.-brokered deal allowing Ukraine to export grain safely from its Black Sea ports during a monthslong war, saying it was not going to allow ships to travel. Ukraine said a dozen ships had sailed Monday after initially reporting that more...
Why are undated mail ballots such a big deal in Pennsylvania?
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 — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is expected to soon rule on a case that could decide whether undated mail ballots can...
$1 billion Powerball jackpot up for grabs tonight
DES MOINES, Iowa — People showed up at convenience stores, groceries and gas stations across the country to snatch up lottery tickets for a chance at Monday night’s massive $1 billion Powerball jackpot. The jackpot soared after no one matched all six numbers in Saturday night’s drawing. It’s the fifth-largest...
9 arrested after bridge collapses in India, killing 134
MORBI, India — Police in western India arrested nine people on Monday as they investigated the collapse of a newly repaired 143-year-old suspension bridge in one of the country’s worst accidents in years, officials said. The collapse Sunday evening in Gujarat state plunged hundreds of people into a river, killing...
Confident GOP unifies behind candidates once seen as risky
ATKINSON, N.H. — New Hampshire’s Republican governor described Don Bolduc as a “conspiracy theory extremist” just two months ago. But now, a week before Election Day, Gov. Chris Sununu is vowing to support him. And the leader of the GOP’s campaign to retake the U.S. Senate stood at Bolduc’s side...
Poll workers train for conflict: ‘A little nervous? I am.’
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s top election official surveyed about 20 poll workers gathered in a classroom in a city building stuffed with election supplies, then spoke frankly about the tense environment they may face next week when the city expects more people watching their work than ever before. “So who is...
Russian strikes hit Ukraine, most of Kyiv without water
KYIV, Ukraine — A massive barrage of Russian strikes on Monday morning hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities, knocking out water and power supplies in apparent retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea Fleet over the weekend. Russia’s Defense Ministry said...
Trump Organization faces criminal tax fraud trial over perks
NEW YORK — For years, as Donald Trump was soaring from reality TV star to the White House, his real estate empire was bankrolling big perks for some of his most trusted senior executives, including apartments and luxury cars. Now Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is on trial this week...
‘I’ll be much better, but he will still be a fraud’: John Fetterman flips own health struggles against Mehmet Oz
With a precious nine days to go before the election, Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman rallied Harrisburg-area canvassers on Sunday — a potentially fortuitous day for door-knocking, given how many Pennsylvanians were likely at home watching the Eagles-Steelers game. Canvassers gathered at the AFSCME headquarters in Swatara Township for an...
Lula defeats Bolsonaro to become Brazil’s president — againVideo
SAO PAULO — Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has done it again: Twenty years after first winning the Brazilian presidency, the leftist defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro Sunday in an extremely tight election that marks an about-face for the country after four years of far-right politics. With more than 99% of...
