Democrats say they’ve reached agreement on economic package
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats have reached an accord on eleventh-hour changes to their top-priority economic legislation, they announced late Thursday, clearing their major hurdle to moving the measure through the chamber in coming days. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a centrist who was seen as the pivotal vote, said in a...
4 critically injured in lightning strike near White HouseVideo
WASHINGTON — Four people have been critically injured after a lightning strike outside the White House, fire officials said Thursday. The four victims — two men and two women — were injured in Lafayette Park, located directly outside the White House complex, according to the District of Columbia Fire and...
Man who threatened Dr. Fauci, other official, gets 3 years
GREENBELT, Md. — A West Virginia man was sentenced Thursday to three years in federal prison after he sent emails threatening Dr. Anthony Fauci and another federal health official for talking about the coronavirus and efforts to prevent its spread. Using an anonymous email account based in Switzerland, Thomas Patrick...
Alex Jones ordered to pay Sandy Hook parents more than $4M
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas jury on Thursday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, marking the first time the Infowars host has been held financially...
Trump White House lawyers subpoenaed by Jan. 6 probe grand jury
WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury investigating efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election has subpoenaed the White House counsel under then-President Donald Trump and his top deputy, according to a person familiar with the matter. The subpoenas to Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin suggest an intensifying...
4th county adds to ballot dispute as candidate sues to quit
HARRISBURG — A judge deciding if three Pennsylvania counties have to certify May primary vote counts including ballots lacking dates on their return envelopes learned this week that a fourth county is in the same situation — and there may be more. The legal dispute has held up certification of...
U.S. declares public health emergency over monkeypox outbreak
WASHINGTON — The federal government declared a public health emergency Thursday to bolster the response to the monkeypox outbreak that has infected more than 6,600 Americans. The announcement will free up money and other resources to fight the virus, which may cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and pimple-like bumps...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends prosecutor over new abortion lawVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the elected state prosecutor of Tampa on Thursday for pledging not to enforce the state’s new 15-week abortion ban and for supporting gender transition treatments for minors. The Republican governor announced the suspension of Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren at a news...
Judge: Tulsa Race Massacre victims’ descendants can’t sue
An Oklahoma judge said six descendants of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre cannot sue for reparations, while allowing three known survivors of the attack in which a white mob descended on a predominantly Black neighborhood to move forward with the lawsuit. The order, signed Tuesday by Tulsa County...
Penn State did not prove its legal standing to have public court filing sealed, experts say
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — Penn State did not prove it had legal standing to request the...
Feds charge 4 police officers in fatal Breonna Taylor raidVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The federal government filed civil rights charges Thursday against four Louisville police officers over the drug raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose fatal shooting helped fuel the racial justice protests that rocked the nation in 2020. The charges are another...
Forecasters trim hurricane season outlook a bit, still busy
This hurricane season may be a tad quieter than forecasters initially thought, but it is still likely to be busier than normal, government forecasters and others say. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday trimmed their hurricane season outlook from a 65% chance for above normal activity to 60%...
Sandy Hook lawyer: Jan. 6 panel asked for Alex Jones’ texts
AUSTIN, Texas — An attorney for the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre who are suing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones over his false claims about the attack said Thursday that the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee has requested two years’ worth of records from...
7 years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen
BISBEE, Ariz. — MJ was a tiny, black-haired girl, just 5 years old, when her father admitted to his bishop that he was sexually abusing her. The father, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an admitted pornography addict, was in counseling with his bishop...
Taliban claim they were unaware of al-Qaida leader in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — The Taliban said Thursday they are investigating what they described as “claims” that al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the Afghan capital. However, the group insisted in a statement that it “has no knowledge of the arrival and residence” of al-Zawahri in...
Pa. police department swears in mini horse to its force
A borough in Lancaster County was looking to improve its police-community relations and swore in a new police officer to carry out that mission — a 330-pound miniature horse. On Aug. 2, Officer McGillicuddy was sworn into the Quarryville Police Department as a “community relations specialist.” Quarryville Mayor Anthony Cavallaro...
Climate migration: California fire pushes family to Vermont
PROCTOR, Vt. — Weeks after surviving one of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history, the Holden family just wanted a new home. The family of seven couldn’t find anything nearby to replace their house reduced to ashes in the 2018 Paradise fire. It proved too daunting to...
Ukrainian cities shelled, including one near nuclear plant
KYIV, Ukraine — Powerful explosions rattled the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Thursday and a city close to the country’s biggest nuclear power plant sustained a barrage of shelling, part of a series of new Russian attacks in several regions, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian authorities said shelling of a...
WNBA’s Brittney Griner convicted at drug trial, sentenced to 9 years in Russian prisonVideo
KHIMKI, Russia — U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted Thursday in Russia of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison following a politically charged trial that came amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine and could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between the two...
U.S. proposes to increase refund protections for air travelers
WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department is proposing to require airlines to offer passengers a refund if their flight schedule is changed significantly or the airline makes major changes to their itinerary. The proposed rule announced Wednesday would require airlines to give refunds if their departure or arrival time changes by...
New York man who sent threats to LGBTQ groups gets 30 months
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A 74-year-old retired schoolteacher from a New York City suburb was sentenced to 30 months in prison Wednesday for mailing dozens of violent threats to LGBTQ affiliated individuals, groups and businesses over several years. According to prosecutors, Robert Fehring threatened to blow up the Stonewall Inn,...
Pennsylvania continues to fund antiabortion organization in new budget
As it’s done for years, the state of Pennsylvania approved funding in the budget it passed last month to support the antiabortion movement, some of it with money diverted from cash assistance for people in poverty. The allotments — $6.2 million from the state and $1 million from federal TANF,...
Senate backs Finland, Sweden for NATO 95-1, rebuking RussiaVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators delivered overwhelming bipartisan approval to NATO membership for Finland and Sweden Wednesday, calling expansion of the Western defensive bloc a “slam-dunk” for U.S. national security and a day of reckoning for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine. Wednesday’s 95-1 vote — for the...
Pennsylvania aims to fight robocalls by joining task force that would sue scammers
Tired of annoying robocalls? Pennsylvania is joining a new task force that aims to help reduce the number that you receive. State attorney general Josh Shapiro announced this week that Pennsylvania has joined an Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force. The task force, made up of 50 attorneys general, aims to investigate...
Judge: West Virginia Medicaid must cover transgender care
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Medicaid program must provide coverage for gender-confirming care for transgender residents, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Chuck Chambers in Huntington made the ruling Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal over treatments for gender dysphoria. Chambers said the Medicaid...
