French presidential campaign spotlights Muslim headscarves
PERTUIS, France — Muslim headscarves took center stage in France’s presidential campaign Friday amid far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s push to ban them in the country with western Europe’s largest Muslim population. Both she and rival Emmanuel Macron, facing a tightly contested April 24 runoff, were confronted by women in...
Pa. House passes bill to bring back whole milk to school lunches
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania state House nearly unanimously passed a bill that would return whole milk to schools in the state. If enacted into law, the Whole Milk in Pennsylvania Schools Act would permit schools to serve whole milk and reduced-fat milk, aka 2% milk, to students. Currently, schools are...
FDA authorizes 1st breath test for covid-19 infection
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued an emergency use authorization for what it said is the first device that can detect covid-19 in breath samples. The InspectIR covid-19 Breathalyzer is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the FDA said, and can be used...
Man found guilty of killing wife, 3 kids, pet dog in Florida
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A physical therapist from Connecticut was convicted Thursday evening of killing his wife, three young children and the family’s dog two years ago in central Florida. A 12-member jury found Anthony Todt guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty. He was...
Crews work to save WWII destroyer taking on water in BuffaloVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A decommissioned World War II-era destroyer docked near downtown Buffalo in New York was taking on water and listing perilously on Thursday. Crews were working to keep the USS The Sullivans from sinking at its berth at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, where...
Nebraska GOP governor hopeful accused of groping women
LINCOLN, Neb. — A top Republican candidate for Nebraska governor faced an onslaught of criticism Thursday after several women, including a GOP state lawmaker, alleged that he groped them at public events and forcibly kissed one woman. The accusations drew widespread condemnation from Charles W. Herbster’s primary opponents, Republican Gov....
Signs of progress as Mexico officials work with Texas Gov. Abbott to ease border trade snarlsVideo
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — The governors of Mexican border states are lining up to pledge that they’ll increase security measures at commercial crossings as they seek a resumption of normal trade between Texas and Mexico. Governors and senior officials in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas said Thursday that...
New Jersey to start recreational marijuana sales April 21
TRENTON, N.J. — Recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey for those 21 and older will begin April 21, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday. Murphy’s announcement on Twitter comes just three days after state regulators green lighted permits for seven facilities that already sell medical cannabis to begin retailing recreational...
Los Angeles political donor gets 30 years in prison for fetish deaths
LOS ANGELES — Even after two men were found dead in his California apartment, Ed Buck did not stop injecting gay men with walloping doses of methamphetamine. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced him to 30 years in prison in the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean. Another man,...
Republicans pull out of presidential debate commission
The Republican National Committee pulled out of the bipartisan presidential debate commission on Thursday, putting in doubt the future of closely watched clashes between major party candidates in 2024 and beyond. The GOP group unanimously voted to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, the impartial nonprofit group that has...
Pa. primary election 2022: See how much money the GOP candidates for governor have raised
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 — With just over a month to go until the May primary election of 2022, the nine candidates vying for...
Ohio man blaming Trump’s ‘orders’ for riot actions found guiltyVideo
WASHINGTON — An Ohio man who testified he was “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump when he stormed the U.S. Capitol was convicted Thursday of obstructing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. A federal jury also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of stealing a coat rack from...
Snake bite killed Maryland man who had over 100 snakes at home
POMFRET, Md. — A man found dead in his home with more than 100 snakes, including cobras and black mambas, died of a snake bite, officials in Maryland said. A medical examiner’s office told local news outlets Wednesday the victim died of “snake envenomation” and the death was accidental. The...
A safe bet: If you want a casino job, odds are on your side
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — As a casino dealer, Shamikah Townsend knows when the odds are in her favor. And they definitely are right now. While working at one Atlantic City casino last year, she went to a job fair held by a different one, and was surprised at how instantly...
Brooklyn subway attack suspect ordered held without bail
NEW YORK — The man accused of opening fire on a crowded subway train in Brooklyn was ordered held without bail as prosecutors told a judge Thursday he terrified all of New York City. Frank James, 62, spoke only to answer “yes” to standard questions during the brief proceeding in...
Pa. board passes 4th year of state universities’ tuition freeze
HARRISBURG — Students at Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities won’t see tuition increase next year under a unanimous vote Thursday by the the system’s board. The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors passed what will be the fourth year of flat tuition, as the struggling system hopes the Legislature will...
Floods in South Africa’s Durban area kill more than 340
JOHANNESBURG — Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 341 people in South Africa’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, including the city of Durban, and more rainstorms are forecast in the coming days. The death toll is expected to rise as scores of people, including whole families, are missing, officials said...
Russian warship Moskva sinks after Ukrainians claim strike
KYIV, Ukraine — The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, a guided-missile cruiser that became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war, sank Thursday after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel...
California food plant fire prompts evacuations for thousands
SALINAS, Calif. — A massive fire at a Northern California food processing plant plume prompted authorities to tell thousands of nearby residents to evacuate Thursday and to order tens of thousands more to stay inside their homes. The fire at the Taylor Farms packaged salad plant in Salinas, about 110...
Abortions stop in Kentucky as groups seek to block new law
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Abortion-rights groups went to court Thursday seeking to restore abortion services in Kentucky, where the last two abortion clinics signaled they couldn’t immediately comply with sweeping new restrictions imposed by the Republican legislature. Two lawsuits filed in federal court in Louisville asked that a judge intervene to...
Brit convicted in Islamic State beheadings trial
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury convicted a British national Thursday for his role in an Islamic State group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded. The jury deliberated for four hours before finding...
Pope visits Italian prison for Holy Week foot-washing ritual
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis traveled to a prison near Rome to wash the feet of a dozen inmates, a Holy Thursday ritual that symbolizes humility and highlights his papacy’s attention to those on society’s margins. He arrived Thursday afternoon in a motorcade that included Italian police cars, which entered...
Abortion restriction bill signed by Fla. Gov. DeSantis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban into law Thursday as the state joined a growing conservative push to restrict access ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could limit the procedure nationwide. The new law marks a significant blow to abortion access in...
AP sources: Trump aide Stephen Miller to speak to 1/6 panel
WASHINGTON — Stephen Miller, who served as a top aide to President Donald Trump, will appear Thursday before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to two people familiar with the matter. Miller was a senior adviser for policy during the Trump administration and a central figure in...
WHO says Covid cases, deaths in Africa drop to lowest levels yet
JOHANNESBURG — The number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Africa have dropped to their lowest levels since the pandemic began, marking the longest decline yet seen in the disease, according to the World Health Organization. In a statement on Thursday, the U.N. health agency said covid-19 infections due to...
