Police say W.Va. shooting suspect under guard, hurt trooper released
A West Virginia man accused of fatally shooting three co-workers at a western Maryland machine shop remained under police guard at a hospital Friday, but authorities said a Maryland state trooper injured in a shootout with the suspect was treated and released. The 25-year veteran of the Maryland State Police...
Pennsylvania pulls gay pioneer’s marker over 1993 interview
HARRISBURG — A roadside historical marker installed less than a year ago to honor a gay rights pioneer has been removed after a state senator raised concerns with Pennsylvania’s state history agency about the man’s 30-year-old memories of an early sexual encounter with another boy. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum...
Pennsylvania is sitting on billions in stimulus money. Lawmakers may actually agree on a plan to spend some of it.
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 — As the June 30 deadline for the Pennsylvania Legislature to pass a new budget approaches, support for spending some...
New restrictions on ships to protect whales coming soon
PORTLAND, Maine — Federal authorities spent the past few years analyzing rules for the shipping industry and are now close to releasing fresh guidelines to help protect a vanishing species of whale. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been reviewing the speed regulations it uses to protect North Atlantic...
White supremacists are riling up thousands on social media
WASHINGTON — The social media posts are of a distinct type. They hint darkly that the CIA or the FBI are behind mass shootings. They traffic in racist, sexist and homophobic tropes. They revel in the prospect of a “white boy summer.” White nationalists and supremacists, on accounts often run...
U.S. lifts covid-19 test requirement for international travel
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that international air travelers to the U.S. take a covid-19 test within a day before boarding their flights, easing one of the last remaining government mandates meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus. A senior administration official said the mandate...
Missing daughter of Texas murder victims found after 42 years
AUSTIN, Texas — A decades-long search by a Florida woman and her extended family linked to an unsolved murder case has resulted in the woman finally finding her missing granddaughter, now grown with no previous knowledge of her tragic history, officials said Thursday. Meanwhile, the mystery behind who brutally killed...
Rep. Scott Perry asked Trump for a pardon after Jan. 6, committee leader says as hearings openVideo
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., one of the leading figures in the effort to throw out Pennsylvania’s votes in the 2020 presidential election, was one of several members of Congress who contacted the White House seeking a pardon from Donald Trump in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack...
Report: Police knew of injured at Texas school while waiting
AUSTIN, Texas — Police waited for protective equipment as they delayed entering the Texas elementary school where a gunman inside killed 19 children and two teachers, even as they became aware that some victims needed medical treatment, according to records obtained by The New York Times. The details published Thursday...
Capitol riot panel blames Trump for Jan. 6, ‘attempted coup,’Video
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol laid the blame firmly on Donald Trump Thursday night, saying the assault was hardly spontaneous but an “attempted coup” and a direct result of the defeated president’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. With a never-before-seen...
Feds say Peter Navarro lied about being denied call to lawyerVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday pushed back on an assertion from former Trump White House official Peter Navarro, who had claimed he was denied access to an attorney when he was arrested on contempt charges last week. In a court filing, the Justice Department alleged that Navarro lied...
Maryland governor: Up to 3 dead, trooper wounded in workplace shooting
SMITHSBURG, Md. — An employee opened fire at a manufacturing business in rural western Maryland on Thursday, killing three coworkers before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shootout, authorities said. Washington County Sheriff Doug Mullendore said that three victims were found dead at Columbia Machine Inc....
Boycott over Martin’s Potato Rolls’ tie to Pa. governor candidate goes nationwide
A central Pennsylvania company and its Dutch brand of potato bread has rolled into a national controversy over its political ties. Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe in Franklin County supplies its pillowy bread products to restaurants across the country, including Shake Shack, the international burger chain. Now customers and celebrity chefs...
Michigan officer charged with murder in Patrick Lyoya shooting
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A prosecutor filed a second-degree murder charge Thursday against the Michigan police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head following an intense physical struggle recorded on a bystander’s video. Kent...
Republicans rally against Pennsylvania bridge tolling plan
Pennsylvania Republicans rallied on Wednesday to oppose a plan that would add tolls at nine interstate bridges to replace shrinking revenue from gas taxes. The PennDOT proposal has been controversial and is currently on hold thanks to a preliminary injunction issued in May. Legislators argued the tolling plan was unfair...
2 people rescued from tank of chocolate at central Pa. Mars Wrigley factoryVideo
ELIZABETHTOWN — Two people were rescued after they somehow fell into a partially filled chocolate tank while doing maintenance work at a candy factory in Pennsylvania. The incident at the Mars Wrigley plant in Elizabethtown occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday. The two people work for an outside contracting firm,...
Amid complaints, Pa. state lawmakers move to restrict fireworks
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state lawmakers are advancing proposed new limits on fireworks in response to growing complaints after a 5-year-old state law greatly liberalized their sales and use. The House of Representatives voted 160-38 on Wednesday for legislation that would restrict their use to 10 a.m.-10 p.m. except during July...
2 arrested, facing murder charges in Philadelphia shooting
PHILADELPHIA — Two men are facing murder charges and have been arrested in Virginia in the death of two bystanders in last weekend’s shooting in a busy entertainment district in Philadelphia, officials said Thursday. The men will be extradited to face charges in Philadelphia and will not be given bail...
Michigan GOP candidate Kelley charged for Capitol riot roleVideo
DETROIT — A Republican candidate for Michigan governor and ardent defender of former President Donald Trump was charged with misdemeanors Thursday for his role in the 2021 postelection riot at the U.S. Capitol, further complicating an already messy GOP primary. Ryan Kelley, 40, was arrested in western Michigan, FBI spokeswoman...
Teslas with Autopilot a step closer to recall after wrecks
DETROIT — Teslas with partially automated driving systems are a step closer to being recalled after the U.S. elevated its investigation into a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles or trucks with warning signs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it is upgrading the probe to...
U.S. Military: 5 Marines killed in aircraft crash in desertVideo
SAN DIEGO (AP) — All five Marines on board an Osprey aircraft were killed when it crashed in the California desert near the Arizona border, the Marine Corps said Thursday, a day after the accident. No additional details regarding the cause of the crash were provided in the Marine Corps...
WHO says covid origins unclear but lab leak theory needs study
GENEVA — Over two years after the coronavirus was first detected in China, and after at least 6.3 million deaths have been counted worldwide from the pandemic, the World Health Organization is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may...
Biden pushing to lower ocean shipping costs, fight inflation
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden launched a renewed push Thursday to reduce the costs of shipping goods across oceans, a major challenge for retailers that the White House said has pushed up prices as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. The White House released a video featuring Biden talking...
3 sentenced to death for fighting on Ukraine’s side
BAKHMUT, Ukraine — Two British citizens and a Moroccan were sentenced to death Thursday by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine for fighting on Ukraine’s side. A court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic found the three men guilty of working toward a violent overthrow of power, an offense punishable by...
Iran pulls UN nuke cameras in possible ‘fatal blow’ to deal
VIENNA — Iran has started removing 27 surveillance cameras from nuclear sites across the country, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said Thursday, warning this could deal a “fatal blow” to the tattered nuclear deal as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. The development comes a...
