Germany moves ahead with plan to legalize cannabis sales
BERLIN — The German government is setting in motion plans to legalize the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes, aiming to have legislation ready later this year. The Health Ministry said Monday that it will start holding expert hearings on various aspects of the issue Tuesday. It said that more...
European ‘star survey’ reveals celestial treasure trove
BERLIN — The European Space Agency has released a trove of data on almost 2 billion stars in the Milky Way, collected by its Gaia mission in an effort to create the most accurate and complete map of our galaxy. Astronomers hope to use the data to understand better how...
U.K. to introduce law unilaterally changing post-Brexit rules
LONDON — Britain’s government is expected to introduce legislation Monday that would unilaterally change post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland amid opposition from lawmakers who believe the move violates international law. The proposed bill aims to scrap parts of a trade treaty that Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed with the...
United Arab Emirates bans Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ over lesbian kiss
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates on Monday banned the upcoming Pixar animated feature “Lightyear” from showing in movie theaters after its inclusion of a kiss between two lesbian characters. The decision by the UAE comes as Malaysia also reportedly will ban the film, raising the possibility...
A fight over public records could threaten novel approach to broadband in rural Pennsylvania
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. HOLLIDAYSBURG — Board meetings of the Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission tended to be straightforward. No one had spoken during...
Police investigating killings of 12,000 Ukrainians in war
The lush green beauty of a pine forest and singing birds contrasted with the violent deaths of newly discovered victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine, as workers exhumed bodies from another burial site near Bucha on Kyiv’s outskirts. The hands of several victims were tied behind their backs. The gruesome...
Brookings president resigns amid FBI foreign lobbying probe
The president of the Brookings Institution resigned Sunday amid a federal investigation into whether he illegally lobbied on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. Retired Gen. John Allen wrote in a letter to the think tank that he was leaving with a “heavy heart” but did not...
U.S.: Pfizer covid-19 appears effective for kids under 5
WASHINGTON — A review by federal health officials finds that Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine appears safe and effective for children under 5, the only group not currently eligible for vaccination. The review issued Sunday by the Food and Drug Administration is a key step toward a decision on vaccinations for babies,...
Bill Stepien, Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, to testify at hearing
Bill Stepien, who served as manager of Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, will be among five witnesses appearing in person Monday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The hearing will be the second in a planned series by the panel, which intends...
1 dead in shooting at Ohio mall; 1 person in custody
DUBLIN, Ohio — One person died in a shooting at a northwest Ohio mall over the weekend, and one person was in custody, authorities said. Sgt. Joe Albert of the Columbus police department said offices were called to the Mall at Tuttle Crossing at about 2:40 p.m. Sunday because of...
Andrew Giuliani barred from in-person debate over vax proofVideo
NEW YORK — Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani said he has been barred from participating in-person in an upcoming primary debate because he has refused to submit proof he’s been vaccinated against covid-19. At a news conference Sunday outside the offices of CBS-TV, which is televising the debate...
Jan. 6 panelists: Enough evidence uncovered to indict Trump
WASHINGTON — Members of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot said Sunday they have uncovered enough evidence for the Justice Department to consider an unprecedented criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump for seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. “I would like to see the Justice...
Senate negotiators announce a deal on guns, breaking logjamVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate bargainers announced a bipartisan framework Sunday responding to last month’s mass shootings, a noteworthy though limited breakthrough offering modest gun curbs and bolstered efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs. The proposal falls far short of tougher steps long sought by President Joe Biden and...
As fighting rages, Ukraine’s leader says troops defy Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said no one knows how long the war in his country will last but that Ukrainian forces are defying expectations by preventing Russian troops from overrunning eastern Ukraine, where the fighting has been fierce for weeks. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said...
#ChurchToo revelations growing, years after movement began
A withering report on sexual abuse and cover-up in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. A viral video in which a woman confronts her pastor at an independent Christian church for sexually preying on her when she was a teen. A TV documentary exposing sex...
Marathon U.S. hearings to decide fate of covid shots for young children
Parents anxious to finally vaccinate their youngest children against covid-19, strap in: A lot is set to happen over the next week. On Wednesday, both Moderna and Pfizer will have to convince what’s essentially a science court — advisers to the Food and Drug Administration — that their shots work...
Patriot Front leader among those arrested near Idaho PrideVideo
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — After the arrest of more than two dozen members of a white supremacist group near a northern Idaho pride event, including one identified as its founder, LGBTQ advocates said Sunday that polarization and a fraught political climate are putting their community increasingly at risk. The 31...
Amid abortion debate, clinic asks: Who’s caring for moms?
JACKSON, Miss. — Miracle Allen used her last tank of gas to drive an hour and 15 minutes to the closest clinic that would care for her and her unborn baby. Allen, 29, was four months pregnant when Hurricane Ida ripped through her Houma, Louisiana, community. She spent three nights...
Pa. lawmaker wants more state control over millions in outside spending on federal elections
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 — Over the past few years, megadonors and special interest groups have flooded Pennsylvania campaigns with millions of dollars in...
‘Only God can help’: Hundreds die as Somalia faces famineVideo
MOGADISHU, Somalia — No mother should have to lose her child. Owliyo Hassan Salaad has watched four die this year. A drought in the Horn of Africa has taken them, one by one. Now she cradles her frail and squalling 3-year-old, Ali Osman, whom she carried on a 55-mile walk...
Interior phasing out plastic water bottles at national parks
WASHINGTON — The Interior Department said this week it will phase out sales of plastic water bottles and other single-use products at national parks and on other public lands over the next decade, targeting a major source of U.S. pollution. An order issued by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland calls for...
Climate-driven flooding poses well water contamination risks
ST. LOUIS — After a record- setting Midwestern rainstorm that damaged thousands of homes and businesses, Stefanie Johnson’s farmhouse in Blandinsville, Ill., didn’t have safe drinking water for nearly two months. Flood water poured into her well, turning the water a muddy brown and forcing Johnson, her husband and their...
Big Tech attacks become rallying cry for GOP candidatesVideo
RENO, Nev. — Shortly after launching his campaign last year for the Republican nomination in Nevada’s U.S. Senate race, Sam Brown got into a scrape with Twitter. A Purple Heart recipient who was burned severely by an IED blast in Afghanistan, Brown posted a picture of himself saluting while in...
Ukraine: Russia said to be using more deadly weapons in war
Ukrainian and British officials warned Saturday that Russian forces are relying on weapons able to cause mass casualties as they try to make headway in capturing eastern Ukraine and fierce, prolonged fighting depletes resources on both sides. Russian bombers have likely been launching heavy 1960s-era anti-ship missiles in Ukraine, the...
Several factors are converging to push gas prices higher
There is little evidence that gasoline prices, which hit a record $5 a gallon on Saturday, will drop anytime soon. Rising prices at the pump are a key driver in the highest inflation that Americans have seen in 40 years. Everyone seems to have a favorite villain for the high...
