Nebraska authorities baffled by missing canal water mystery
FURNAS COUNTY, Neb. — Authorities in Nebraska are trying to determine who released 16 million gallons of water by opening a dam on an irrigation channel one night this month — and why. The puzzling water release from the Cambridge Canal reduced the flow to some 18,000 acres of crops...
Philippine ferry carrying 82 people catches fire; 73 rescued
MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine ferry carrying 82 passengers and crew caught fire as it was approaching a port south of Manila on Friday, and at least 73 of those aboard have been rescued, including many who jumped into the water, the coast guard and survivors said. Search and rescue...
Moderna sues Pfizer, BioNTech over patents behind covid vaccine
Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna is suing Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing its main competitors of copying Moderna’s technology in order to make their own vaccine. Moderna said Friday that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine Comirnaty infringes on patents Moderna filed several years ago protecting the technology behind its preventive...
Secret Service recovers $286M in stolen pandemic loans
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service said Friday that it has recovered $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic loans and is returning the money to the Small Business Administration. The Secret Service said an investigation initiated by its Orlando office found that alleged conspirators submitted Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications...
FBI: Trump mixed top secret docs with magazines, other items
WASHINGTON — Fourteen of the 15 boxes recovered from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate early this year contained classified documents, many of them top secret, mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday. No space at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was authorized...
No UN access yet to Russian-occupied nuke plant in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — A team from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine soon but more shelling was reported in the area overnight. The visit comes after the plant was temporarily knocked offline, fueling fears of a catastrophe in a...
Turkish pop star jailed over joke about religious schools
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish pop star Gulsen has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” with a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools, the country’s state-run news agency reported. The 46-year-old singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was taken away from her home in...
Police: West Virginia officers kill fugitive who they say pulled gun at father’s funeral
NUTTER FORT, W.Va. — A man being sought by U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement agencies was fatally shot at a northern West Virginia funeral service for his father Wednesday after he pulled a gun on officers attempting to apprehend him, authorities said. The shooting occurred in the Harrison community...
Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell testimony sought in Georgia election probe
ATLANTA — The prosecutor investigating whether Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia is seeking to compel testimony from more allies of the former president, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Sidney Powell. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed petitions...
Mehmet Oz pounces on John Fetterman for not committing to debates: ‘Come talk to us’
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz’s campaign has seized on Democratic opponent John Fetterman’s silence on debates to continue attacking Fetterman for supposedly hiding from voters. Oz has agreed to five debates, including one scheduled in less than two weeks, but Fetterman, who suffered a stroke on May 13...
Tweaked covid boosters close but how much will they help?
Covid-19 vaccines tweaked to better match today’s omicron threat are expected to roll out in a few weeks but still up in the air is how much benefit the booster shots will offer, who should get one — and how soon. Pfizer and rival Moderna both asked U.S. regulators this...
Dangerous heat predicted to hit 3 times more often in future
What’s considered officially “dangerous heat” in coming decades will likely hit much of the world at least three times more often as climate change worsens, according to a new study. In much of Earth’s wealthy mid-latitudes, spiking temperatures and humidity that feel like 103 degrees or higher — now an...
Insulin cap for Medicare patients signals hope for others
WASHINGTON — Years before he came to the Senate, Raphael Warnock spent time bedside with Georgia residents suffering from the long-term effects of diabetes, a condition made worse by limited access to life-saving drugs like insulin. “I’ve seen the human face of this up close as a pastor. I’ve been...
Pennsylvania court loosens rules on where malpractice cases can be filed
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court on Thursday reversed its own two-decade-old rule that required medical malpractice cases to be filed in the county where the alleged harm occurred, a win for civil plaintiffs and the lawyers who represent them but a potentially costly change for health care providers. The decision...
California looks to phase out gas-fueled vehicles
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s expected 2035 requirement that all new cars, trucks and SUVs be electric- or hydrogen-powered will set a minimum standard for how far the vehicles can travel and incentivize automakers to give discounts to make purchases more affordable. California Air Resources Board staff detailed the proposal Thursday...
2 plead guilty in scheme to sell Biden’s daughter’s diary
NEW YORK — Two Florida residents have pleaded guilty in a scheme to peddle a diary and other items belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter to the conservative group Project Veritas for $40,000, prosecutors said Thursday. Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of...
Judge orders unsealing of redacted affidavit in Trump search
WASHINGTON — A judge on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to make public a redacted version of the affidavit it relied on when federal agents searched the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump to look for classified documents. The directive from U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart came hours after...
Your license plate frame is enough for police in Pa. to pull you over, court rules
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 — Thousands of drivers in Pennsylvania could now be at greater risk of getting pulled over by police — all...
Congress wants to hear what Twitter whistleblower has to say
WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers are anxious to hear from Twitter’s former security chief, who has alarmed Washington with allegations that the influential social network misled regulators about its cyber defenses and efforts to control fake accounts. Leaders of several congressional panels are poring over the disclosures by respected cybersecurity expert...
Soviet-era monument’s iconic obelisk comes down in Latvia
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A concrete obelisk with Soviet stars at the top that was the centerpiece of a monument commemorating the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany was taken down Thursday in Latvia’s capital. Heavy machinery was spotted behind a green privacy screen fence at the foot of the nearly...
Ukrainian nuke plant near fighting cut off from power grid
NIKOPOL, Ukraine — Ukrainians are once again anxious about the fate of a nuclear power plant in a land that was home to the world’s worst atomic accident in 1986 at Chernobyl — and alarm only increased Thursday when the plant operator said the facility has been cut off from...
WHO says monkeypox cases down 21%, reversing month-long increase
GENEVA — The number of monkeypox cases reported globally dropped 21% in the last week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and signaling that Europe’s outbreak may be starting to decline, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The U.N. health agency reported 5,907 new weekly cases and said two...
FBI: 5 militia members charged with storming Capitol
Five Florida men affiliated with a militia group called “B Squad” have been arrested on charges that they joined a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, disrupting Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, federal authorities said Wednesday. “B Squad” members stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,...
Uvalde school board fires police chief after mass shooting
UVALDE, Texas — The Uvalde school district’s embattled police chief was fired Wednesday following allegations that he made several critical mistakes during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead. In a unanimous vote, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s board of trustees...
Kobe Bryant widow awarded $16M in trial over crash photos
LOS ANGELES — A federal jury found Wednesday that Los Angeles County must pay Kobe Bryant’s widow $16 million for emotional distress caused by deputies and firefighters sharing photos of the bodies of the NBA star and his daughter taken at the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed...
