Mark Meadows complies with Justice Department subpoena
WASHINGTON — Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff under former President Donald Trump, has complied with a Justice Department subpoena and turned over records as part of a federal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a...
Pennsylvania woman accused of stealing Pelosi’s laptop allowed to visit Renaissance Faire again
A Cumberland County woman on house arrest for allegedly stealing Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the U.S. Capitol riots will be allowed to attend the Renaissance Faire this weekend for the second time in two months. A federal judge has ruled 25-year-old Riley J. Williams, of Mechanicsburg, will be allowed out...
Rioter who wore ‘Camp Auschwitz’ sweatshirt gets jail term
A Virginia man who stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing an antisemitic “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt over a Nazi-themed shirt was sentenced on Thursday to 75 days of imprisonment. Robert Keith Packer, 57, declined to address U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols before he sentenced him during hearing held by video conference....
U.S. warns monkeypox could mutate to resist antiviral drug
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials are warning against overuse of the lone drug available to treat monkeypox, saying that even a small mutation in the virus could render the pills ineffective. The Food and Drug Administration updated its guidance this week for Tpoxx, which has been prescribed to tens of...
California wildfire ‘looking a whole heck of a lot better’
FORESTHILL, Calif. — Firefighters again prevented flames from entering a Northern California mountain town and reported major progress Thursday against the week-old blaze that’s become the largest in the state so far this year. Conditions at the Mosquito Fire about 110 miles northeast of San Francisco were “looking a whole...
Infowars rep to return to stand in Sandy Hook hoax trial
WATERBURY, Conn. — A representative for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars brand returned to the witness stand Thursday for questions about how Jones pushed lies that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax as his companies grew more successful. Brittany Paz, a Connecticut lawyer hired by Jones to...
Putin, Zelenskyy court major allies as Ukraine makes gains
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy are each courting major allies on Thursday, seeking to prop up their efforts in a war whose fortunes have tilted toward Ukraine in recent days. In Uzbekistan’s ancient Samarkand, Putin was hoping to break through his international isolation...
Migrants, long used as political props, dumped at the vice president’s residence
WASHINGTON — Politicians have been using migrants as props for decades. Republicans visit the Southwest border and declare that immigration is out of control. During the Trump administration, Democrats made their way to detention centers to decry the treatment of children locked in cages. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas...
Biden: Tentative railway labor deal reached, averting strike
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Thursday a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a potentially devastating strike before the pivotal midterm elections. He said the tentative deal “will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.” The Democratic president believes unions built the...
Florida flies ‘illegal immigrants’ to Martha’s Vineyard
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planes of immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, escalating a tactic by Republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration’s failed border policies. Flights to the upscale island enclave in Massachusetts were part of an...
House panel gets more Secret Service records in Jan. 6 probe
The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol assault has received additional material from the Secret Service in response to a subpoena, but members aren’t saying whether it sheds new light on missing agency text messages. Representative Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat, on Wednesday described some of the records as “relevant” and...
Court revives lawsuits against Ohio State over sex abuse
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal appeals court ruling Wednesday revives unsettled lawsuits against Ohio State University over decades-old sexual abuse by the late team doctor Richard Strauss. A district judge in Columbus had dismissed most of the unsettled cases, acknowledging that hundreds of young men were abused but agreeing with...
PnB Rock’s stolen jewelry could be key to solving his killingVideo
LOS ANGELES — Jewelry and other items stolen from rapper PnB Rock, who was shot and killed Monday at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles in South L.A., could hold the key to finding the gunman. Los Angeles Police Department detectives have put pawn shops on alert about items stolen...
Infowars lawyer: ‘There were false statements’ on Sandy Hook
WATERBURY, Conn. — A lawyer for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars empire acknowledged on the witness stand Wednesday that the show and website spread falsehoods about the Sandy Hook school shooting. “I don’t think that we disagree that there were false statements made,” Brittany Paz testified at a civil trial...
Florida sees sharp rise in white power, anti-Semitic incidents, report finds
Florida saw a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents last year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League, the New York-based organization that tracks anti-Semitic incidents and other extremist activity across the country. The state saw a 50% increase in anti-Semitic incidents in 2021 compared to the year before,...
‘Serial’ case: Prosecutors move to vacate Adnan Syed’s conviction
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Baltimore prosecutors asked a judge on Wednesday to vacate Adnan Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee — a case that was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial.” Baltimore’s state’s attorney filed a motion in circuit court, saying a lengthy investigation conducted with the...
Texts: Mississippi governor knew of welfare payment to Brett FavreVideo
JACKSON, Miss. — Newly revealed text messages show how deeply involved a Mississippi governor was in directing more than $1 million in welfare money to retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Instead of the money going to help low-income families in one of the nation’s poorest states, as intended, it was...
U.S. Senate candidates Fetterman, Oz to debate in late October
After repeated calls from his challenger for multiple debates in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate election, Democratic candidate and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has agreed to participate in one debate in late October. Fetterman’s campaign said Wednesday that the Democratic nominee has committed to an Oct. 25 debate hosted by Nexstar, a...
Explainer: What’s behind the new Armenia-Azerbaijan fighting
Border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan have killed 155 troops on both sides in the largest outbreak of fighting between the neighbors and longtime adversaries in nearly two years, fueling fears of even bigger hostilities. Here is a look at the decades-long conflict between the two countries, and the latest...
Defense suddenly rests case in Florida school shooter trial
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Attorneys for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz suddenly and surprisingly rested their case Wednesday after calling only a fraction of their expected witnesses, leading to a shouting match after the judge accused them of a lack of professionalism. Cruz’s attorneys had told the judge and prosecutors...
Former Penn State president Graham Spanier defends himself in new book
Former Penn State University President Graham Spanier has written a book alleging that he, deceased Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and two other university administrators were falsely accused of — and unjustly punished for — covering up child abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. “The book is an...
Woman with toy gun grabs trapped savings from Beirut bank
BEIRUT — A woman accompanied by activists and brandishing what she said was a toy pistol broke into a Beirut bank branch on Wednesday, taking $13,000 from her trapped savings. Sali Hafez told the local Al-Jadeed TV that she needed the money to fund her sister’s cancer treatment. She said...
Pa. law protects workers who are approved for medical marijuana — but once they use it, it’s a different story
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. Vague legal safeguards for medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania are forcing patients to choose between their job and a drug they...
Iowa teen who killed rapist sentenced, ordered to pay $150K
A teenage human trafficking victim who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her accused rapist to death was sentenced Tuesday in an Iowa court to five years of closely supervised probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family. Pieper Lewis, 17, was sentenced Tuesday...
Queen Elizabeth II lies in state after solemn procession
LONDON — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II left Buckingham Palace for the last time Wednesday, borne on a horse-drawn carriage and saluted by cannons and the tolling of Big Ben, in a solemn procession through the flag-draped, crowd-lined streets of London to Westminster Hall. There, Britain’s longest-serving monarch will...
