China accuses U.S. of ‘navigation bullying’ in South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines — China blasted a top U.S. Navy official Friday after he criticized Beijing’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea, saying it’s America’s military deployments in the disputed waters — which it called “navigation bullying” — that could spark confrontations. The Chinese Embassy in Manila said it...
U.S. reaches deal with Moderna for next-gen omicron covid vaccine
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Friday it has reached an agreement with Moderna to buy 66 million doses of the company’s next generation of covid-19 vaccine that targets the highly transmissible omicron variant, enough supply this winter for all who want the upgraded booster. The order of the bivalent...
White House to host attorneys to discuss abortion access
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland will headline a White House event Friday that will bring together pro bono lawyers, bar associations and public interest groups to discuss how best to offer legal services and protections for women seeking abortions. The effort is part of an executive order signed by...
W.Va. delays chance to pass 1st new bill since abortion ruling
West Virginia lawmakers passed up the chance Friday to become the first state to approve new legislation restricting access to abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month removing its protected status as a constitutional right. The Republican-dominated Senate adopted its version of a bill along with amendments, one...
Penn State will receive $12.1M in federal funds but is still raising tuition. Here’s why
Although Penn State is slated to receive an additional batch of unexpected funding from Governor Tom Wolf, university officials are rejecting a call from House Republicans to use the one-time allocation to roll back plans to raise tuition. Penn State will receive about $12.1 million from Wolf’s administration through funding...
Defense contractor held without bail in ID theft mystery
HONOLULU — A U.S. defense contractor and his wife charged with fraudulently living for decades under the stolen identities of two dead infants told family they were going into the witness protection program before abruptly abandoning their house and leaving Texas about 40 years ago, a federal prosecutor said Thursday....
Philly protester identified through Etsy purchase sentenced to 2 1/2 years for torching police cars
PHILADELPHIA — A woman who admitted torching police cars amid the 2020 racial injustice protests that roiled Philadelphia was sentenced to 21/2 years in federal prison on Thursday, the stiffest sentence yet in a case against the six demonstrators who have been charged with similar crimes. But because she has...
Joe Biden, Xi Jinping could meet in person, U.S. official says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping are exploring meeting in person, a senior administration official said after the leaders spent more than two hours Thursday talking through the future of their complicated relationship, with tension over Taiwan once again emerging as a flashpoint. Biden conducted the phone...
Russia attacks Kyiv area for 1st time in weeksVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Kyiv area for the first time in weeks Thursday and pounded the northern Chernihiv region as well, in what Ukraine said was revenge for standing up to the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, announced a counteroffensive to take back the...
$1.1B Mega Millions jackpot latest in history of lotteries
DES MOINES, Iowa — At over $1 billion, the Mega Millions jackpot is among the largest lottery prizes ever up for grabs, making it the latest focus of lotteries that have been conducted in the U.S. and around the world for centuries. Only two prizes have grown larger than the...
Wolf sues GOP-led legislature to block abortion, voter ID questions from reaching Pa. ballot box
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 — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is suing the Republican-controlled legislature in the state’s highest court over its efforts to change...
Explainer: What’s behind the storming of Iraq’s parliament?
BAGHDAD — The followers of the influential populist Shiite cleric came by the thousands to storm Iraq’s parliament. Just as quickly, the protesters dispersed at his command. Mass mobilization and control is a well-worn strategy of Muqtada al-Sadr, a mercurial figure who has emerged as a powerful force in Iraq’s...
5 dead, 66 migrants rescued from waters near Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — At least five migrants drowned and another 66 were rescued on Thursday after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near an uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico, officials said. Federal and local authorities were still on the scene searching for...
Attacks in central Mali kill 3 civilians, 15 soldiers
BAMAKO, Mali — At least three civilians and 15 soldiers have been killed in separate attacks in central Mali, the army said, the latest round of attacks as insecurity worsens in the West African nation. Two attacks Wednesday targeted Mali army positions in the center of the country, and the...
U.S. economy shrank 0.9% last quarter, its 2nd straight drop
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of...
JetBlue agrees to buy Spirit for $3.8 billion
JetBlue has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in a deal that would create the nation’s fifth largest airline if approved by U.S. regulators. The agreement Thursday comes a day after Spirit’s attempt to merge with Frontier Airlines fell apart. Spirit had recommended its shareholders approve a lower...
Shell posts record earnings again as energy prices soar
LONDON — Shell posted record profits Thursday for a second straight quarter as the energy giant benefited from soaring prices of oil and natural gas fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine. London-based Shell said it’s second-quarter adjusted earnings — which exclude one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories...
Family sues Sesame Place for alleged racial discriminationVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Philadelphia accusing Sesame Place and its parent company of allowing costumed characters to racially discriminate against Black children, citing an example from June similar to one captured in the recent viral video of a character at the park appearing to dismiss...
Pennsylvania universities reject GOP call to freeze tuition
HARRISBURG — Four Pennsylvania universities said Wednesday they will follow through with tuition increases despite calls from House Republicans to roll back the price hikes. The lawmakers, including Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, the GOP nominee for governor, argue Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Lincoln and Temple are receiving federal funds...
Federal judge tosses Kentucky student’s lawsuits over D.C. encounter
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against five media companies brought by a Kentucky student involved in a 2019 widely viewed encounter with a Native American man at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Nicholas Sandmann, then a 16-year-old student at Covington Catholic High...
Alaska State Troopers: 15-year-old kills 3 siblings, himself
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — A 15-year-old boy shot and killed three siblings at a home near Fairbanks and was found with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, Alaska State Troopers said. The troopers, in a statement, said they received a report of shots being fired on Tuesday afternoon at a Fairbanks home....
Justice Thomas cancels plans to teach at George Washington law school
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has backed out of teaching a seminar at George Washington University’s law school in the nation’s capital, following student protests and the university’s statement of support for the conservative justice’s role on campus. “Justice Thomas informed GW Law that he is unavailable to...
Study casts more doubt on use of high-dose vitamin D pills
More research suggests it’s time to abandon the craze over vitamin D. Taking high doses of “the sunshine vitamin” doesn’t reduce the risk of broken bones in generally healthy older Americans, researchers reported Wednesday. It’s the latest in a string of disappointments about a nutrient once hoped to have wide-ranging...
July 4 parade attack suspect indicted for murder, attempted murder
CHICAGO — The man accused of opening fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack...
Sen. Joe Manchin says he has health, energy, tax deal with Schumer
WASHINGTON — In an unexpected turnabout, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday they had reached an expansive agreement that had eluded them for months on health care, energy and climate issues, taxes on higher earners and corporations and trimming of the federal debt. For months,...
