People flee embattled Ukrainian cities along safe corridors
LVIV, Ukraine — Evacuations of people fleeing embattled Ukrainian cities along safe corridors began Tuesday, while U.N. officials said the exodus of refugees from Russia’s invasion reached 2 million. The Russian onslaught has trapped people inside cities that are running low on food, water and medicine amid the biggest ground...
Congress passes Emmett Till bill to make lynching hate crime
WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval Monday to legislation that for the first time would make lynching a federal hate crime in the U.S., sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law. Years in the making, the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act is among some 200 bills that...
Scientists: Spider could spread to much of East Coast
ATLANTA — Researchers say a large spider native to East Asia that proliferated in Georgia last year could spread to much of the East Coast. The Joro spider’s golden web took over yards all over north Georgia in 2021, unnerving some residents. The spider was also spotted in South Carolina,...
1 dead, 2 wounded in shooting outside Iowa high school
DES MOINES, Iowa — One person was killed and two others were critically wounded Monday after gunfire that appeared to come from a passing vehicle struck them outside an Iowa school, authorities said. Des Moines police said in a news release that potential suspects have been detained in the shooting...
Supreme Court rejects GOP redistricting pleas in Pennsylvania, North Carolina
WASHINGTON — In a victory for Democrats, the Supreme Court has turned away efforts from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to block state court-ordered congressional districting plans. In separate orders late Monday, the justices are allowing maps selected by each state’s Supreme Court to be in effect for the...
Waning signups for Pa. child care program could forecast weak economic recovery
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. Roughly 25,000 fewer children in Pennsylvania are benefiting from a program that helps low-income families find affordable child care compared with...
Covid can shrink the brain as much as a decade of aging, study finds
Even a mild case of covid-19 can damage the brain and addle thinking, scientists found in a study that highlights the illness’s alarming impact on mental function. Researchers identified covid-associated brain damage months after infection, including in the region linked to smell, and shrinkage in size equivalent to as much...
Florida to recommend against covid vaccines for healthy kids
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Monday that the state will formally recommend against covid-19 vaccinations for healthy children. Ladapo made the announcement at a roundtable event organized by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that featured a group of doctors who criticized coronavirus lockdowns and mandate policies. It...
Financial assistance program expanded for Pa. medical marijuana patients
The state Department of Health has expanded its financial assistance program for state medical marijuana patients, including waiving annual fees for eligible patients enrolled in financial hardship programs such as SNAP, Medicaid and WIC. The state said it also plans to distribute cash benefits to eligible patients. “The department is...
Biggest stock slide on Wall Street since ’20 as oil surges
NEW YORK — Wall Street had its biggest drop in more than a year Monday as another leap for oil prices threatened to squeeze inflation’s grip on the global economy. The S&P 500 fell 3%, its biggest decline in 16 months, after a barrel of U.S. oil surged to $130...
‘We want to win’: Democrats face choice in key Senate race in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — John Fetterman was sitting, alone, in the corridor outside the hotel ballroom where Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party committee members were gathered, looking every bit like someone who didn’t belong there. Moments later, Fetterman — Pennsylvania’s sitting lieutenant governor — got trounced by more than 2 to 1 by U.S....
Fox News defense reporter challenges war comments on air
NEW YORK — Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin couldn’t hold back when following a retired U.S. Army colonel on the air recently, saying she barely had time to correct all of his “distortions.” She tried, though. And it wasn’t for the first time or the last time. Griffin,...
Republican ‘unforced errors’ threaten path to Senate control
WASHINGTON — As the prospect of a red wave grows, a series of Republican missteps including recruiting stumbles, weak fundraising and intense infighting is threatening the GOP’s path to the Senate majority. Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey dealt his party its latest setback late last week by announcing he would...
Russia dangles prospect of safe corridors; Ukraine skeptical
LVIV, Ukraine — Safe corridors intended to let Ukrainian civilians escape the Russian onslaught could open Tuesday, Kremlin officials said, though Ukrainian leaders greeted the plan with skepticism since prior efforts to establish evacuation routes crumbled over the weekend amid renewed attacks. With the invasion well into its second week,...
High court won’t review decision freeing Bill Cosby from prison
The Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up the sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby, leaving in place a decision by Pennsylvania’s highest court to throw out his conviction and set him free from prison. The high court declined prosecutors’ request to hear the case and reinstate...
U.S. assures nervous Baltics of NATO protection against Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday assured Lithuania and Latvia of NATO protection and American support as he made quick visits to two of the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine. Along with Estonia, which Blinken will...
U.S. weighs acting without allies on ban of Russian oil importsVideo
The Biden administration is considering whether to prohibit Russian oil imports into the United States without the participation of allies in Europe, at least initially, according to two people familiar with the matter. The administration has yet to decide on a U.S. import ban, with the timing and scope of...
Andrew Cuomo rips ‘cancel culture,’ hints at political comeback
NEW YORK — Just six months after he resigned from office in disgrace over sexual harassment allegations, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to be hinting at a political comeback in remarks at a Brooklyn church on Sunday. The Democrat made a campaign-like stop at a Brooklyn church Sunday,...
Netflix, TikTok block services in Russia to avoid crackdown
Netflix and TikTok suspended most of their services Sunday in Russia as the government cracks down on what people and media outlets can say about Russia’s war in Ukraine. TikTok said Russian users of the popular social media app would no longer be able to post new videos or livestreams...
Firefighters battle 2 massive wildfires in Florida Panhandle
PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Veterans at a nursing home were evacuated, joining residents from hundreds of homes, as firefighters and emergency workers battled two massive wildfires Sunday in an area of the Florida Panhandle that was still recovering from destruction caused by a Category 5 hurricane more than three years...
Officials: 7 dead after tornadoes tear through central IowaVideo
WINTERSET, Iowa — Seven people were killed, including two children, when several tornadoes swept through central Iowa, destroying homes and knocking down trees and power lines in the state’s deadliest storm in more than a decade, authorities said. Emergency management officials in Madison County said four were injured and six...
Truck convoy protesting covid-19 mandates begins beltway circuit
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — A large group of truck drivers who object to covid-19 mandates drove two loops around the beltway surrounding Washington deliberately moving slowly to impact traffic and make their feelings known to lawmakers in the nation’s capitol. People crowded onto overpasses, waving at the “People’s Convoy” and holding...
Trump’s praise of Putin, ‘America First’ view tested by war
WASHINGTON — From the earliest days of his first presidential campaign, Donald Trump aggressively challenged the pillars of Republican foreign policy that defined the party since World War II. He mocked John McCain’s capture during the Vietnam War, validated autocrats with his platitudes, questioned longtime military and security alliances and...
Whitmer plot underlines growing abuse of women officials
Angry over covid-19 restrictions such as the closing of gyms, people from several states met in Ohio in June 2020 to plot ways to overthrow government “tyrants,” prosecutors say. Within a week, they chose Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as a target. The plan, as outlined in a federal court indictment,...
Fleeing sanctions, oligarchs seek safe ports for superyachts
WASHINGTON — The massive superyacht Dilbar stretches one-and-a-half football fields in length, about as long as a World War I dreadnaught. It boasts two helipads, berths for more than 130 people and a 25-meter swimming pool long enough to accommodate another whole superyacht. Dilbar was launched in 2016 at a...
