Poll: DeSantis leads Democratic rivals for Fla. governor, with Crist on top in primary
ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis holds sizable advantages over his potential Democratic opponents in this year’s race for governor, a poll released Tuesday shows. The Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey also has U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist well ahead among Democratic candidates for the job. But this far out, those...
Lawyers: Sex abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew settled
NEW YORK — Britain’s Prince Andrew has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who said she was sexually trafficked to the British royal by the financier Jeffrey Epstein when she was 17. The deal described in a court filing Tuesday in New York avoids a trial that...
Deer hunting popularity on rise in Pennsylvania
When it comes to hunting, there’s no doubt that the white-tailed deer is the premier game animal in the country due to its widespread range and the opportunities that sportsmen have to pursue it. A recent report by the National Deer Association (NDA), however, highlights just how popular deer hunting...
Sandy Hook families settle for $73M with gun maker RemingtonVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have agreed to a $73 million settlement of a lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 20 first graders and six educators in 2012, their attorney said Tuesday. The case was watched...
Man accused of lifting $25K dinosaur claw at Tucson gem show
TUCSON, Ariz. — A man has been arrested for allegedly stealing a fossilized dinosaur claw valued at $25,000 from a vendor in Tucson last month and then trying to resell it, according to authorities. The claw was stolen Jan. 30 from a vendor at the city’s annual Gem and Mineral...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit offers free course to help bolster substitute teacher ranks
On a school day in November, Allegheny Valley School District officials had 11 teachers off work and only one substitute to call in. The district was considering using some of its American Rescue Plan funding to help bring in additional substitutes, serving as yet another example of a district struggling...
Erie area man identified as person fatally shot by N.Y. trooper
BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York state police have identified the man who was fatally shot by a trooper in Buffalo as 38-year-old James Huber of North East, Pa., an Erie suburb. The shooting of Huber by Trooper Anthony Nigro on Saturday is under investigation by the state’s attorney general, Letitia...
Louisville council candidate accused of trying to kill would-be mayor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A candidate for Louisville’s metro council stands charged with attempted murder, accused of opening fire on a mayoral candidate whose shirt was grazed by a bullet in his campaign headquarters, police said Tuesday. Quintez Brown, 21, also faces four counts of wanton endangerment, Louisville police spokesman Aaron...
Biden: U.S. has not verified claim of Russia troop withdrawalVideo
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that he welcomed a security dialogue with the West as his military reported pulling back some of its troops near Ukraine. But U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. had not verified Russia’s claim and that an invasion was still a distinct...
Plane with 8 aboard crashes off North Carolina; 1 body found
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — A small plane carrying eight people crashed into the ocean off North Carolina’s Outer Banks and left behind multiple debris fields where crews searched for the missing passengers, the Coast Guard said. One body has so far been recovered and identified, Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck...
Maryland man pleads guilty after selling U.S. nuclear data to undercover FBI agent
A Maryland man who worked at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges after prosecutors say he delivered restricted data on the design of U.S. nuclear warships to an undercover federal agent he believed was representing a foreign government. Jonathan Toebbe, 43, of Annapolis, used...
West megadrought worsens to driest in at least 1,200 yearsVideo
The American West’s megadrought deepened so much last year that it is now the driest in at least 1,200 years and is a worst-case climate change scenario playing out live, a new study finds. A dramatic drying in 2021 — about as dry as 2002 and one of the driest...
Popcorn toss key in trial of 2014 Florida theater shooting
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The role of a tossed bag of movie popcorn played a central part Monday as a trial opened for a retired Florida police captain who fatally shot a man in a theater eight years ago. The question isn’t whether Curtis Reeves shot and killed Chad Oulson...
Mazars accounting firm: Trump financial statements aren’t reliable
NEW YORK — The accounting firm that prepared former President Donald Trump’s annual financial statements says the documents, used to secure lucrative loans and burnish Trump’s image as a wealthy businessman, “should no longer be relied upon” after New York’s attorney general said they regularly misstated the value of assets....
Covid mask mandates are ending, but should you keep wearing one? What experts say
Covid-19 mask mandates are ending across the United States, and while many may take that as a sign that it’s time to quit covering up, experts say there’s a lot to consider before going barefaced in public. Though cases are plummeting, deaths and hospitalizations remain high, proving covid is still...
Police: Louisville mayoral candidate unharmed in shooting
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Democratic mayoral candidate in Kentucky’s largest city said he is “shaken but safe” after a man stormed his campaign headquarters Monday morning and fired a weapon point-blank at him. Craig Greenberg, who is running for mayor of Louisville, said he was at his campaign office with...
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger endorses overlapping election investigators
ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is for the first time endorsing a separate agency hiring election investigators, a plan that will overlap what the Republican says is his own underfunded investigation unit. Raffensperger made the announcement Monday as he also called on Georgia leaders to do more...
Judge tosses George Zimmerman’s lawsuit against Trayvon Martin’s parents
ORLANDO, Fla. — A judge in Florida has dismissed a defamation and conspiracy lawsuit former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman had filed against the parents of Trayvon Martin, the teen he fatally shot almost a decade ago in a case that drew international attention about race and gun violence. Judge...
Judge dismisses Palin libel lawsuit against New York Times
NEW YORK — A judge said Monday he’ll dismiss a libel lawsuit that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin filed against The New York Times, claiming the newspaper damaged her reputation with an editorial falsely linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff made the ruling...
Ex-lawmaker Margo Davidson fined over campaign law violations
HARRISBURG — A former Democratic state lawmaker who pleaded guilty to theft and campaign finance violations in December was fined $150 on Monday by a county judge in Harrisburg. Margo Davidson, who had represented a Delaware County district in the state House before she resigned after being charged last year,...
Official: Justin Trudeau to use emergency powers across CanadaVideo
OTTAWA, Ontario — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to invoke emergency powers across all of Canada to quell the protests by demonstrators who have paralyzed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country’s covid-19 restrictions, a senior government official said Monday. The prime minister met virtually with...
Budget report on Pa. education agency provokes spat between lawmakers, watchdogs
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 a single sentence tucked 15 pages into an otherwise dry budget report on the state Department of Education,...
Sliver of hope: Kremlin sees a diplomatic path on Ukraine
MOSCOW — The Kremlin signaled Monday it is ready to keep talking with the West about security grievances that led to the current Ukraine crisis, offering hope that Russia might not invade its beleaguered neighbor within days as the U.S. and European allies increasingly fear. Questions remain about Russian President...
Investigated Colorado clerk wants to run state’s elections
A Colorado official who repeats former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential contest and is under investigation for alleged election security breaches announced Monday she is running to be her state’s top elections officer. Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, whom a judge suspended from overseeing last year’s election...
Ohio mayor quits after saying ice shanties may bring prostitution
HUDSON, Ohio — The mayor who suggested that allowing ice fishing shanties on a lake could lead to prostitution resigned Monday after days of being mocked and drawing national attention to the city. Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert said in his resignation letter that his comments at a City Council meeting...
