West Virginia school district investigating religious eventVideo
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia school superintendent is investigating a Feb. 2 religious revival event that occurred at Huntington High School, saying he believes some students’ rights have been violated. Cabell County Schools Superintendent Ryan Saxe announced the investigation in a statement issued on Friday. About 100 students at...
Suspect charged 40 years after Pennsylvania woman was killed
MARCUS HOOK, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man has been charged with murder and kidnapping more than 40 years after an 18-year-old woman was killed, prosecutors announced Friday. Investigators had long suspected two men named in the announcement Friday had played a role in the death of Denise Marie Pierson, who...
From campus to Congress, colleges urged to end legacy boost
America’s elite colleges are facing growing calls to end the decades-old tradition of giving an admissions boost to the children of alumni — a practice that critics say is rooted in racism and bestows an unfair advantage to students who need it least. Fueled by the national reckoning with racial...
Graham becomes early player to watch in Supreme Court drama
WASHINGTON — The list of Republicans willing to support President Joe Biden’s forthcoming nominee to the Supreme Court “is longer than you would initially imagine,” the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat recently teased to reporters. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin declined to name names. But it’s clear that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is...
Key U.S.-Canada bridge reopens after police clear protesters
WINDSOR, Ontario — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing reopened late Sunday after protests against covid-19 restrictions closed it for almost a week, while Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa. Detroit International Bridge Co. said in a statement that “the Ambassador Bridge...
Paris police fire tear gas to disperse banned virus protest
Paris police fired tear gas Saturday against a handful of demonstrators on the Champs-Elysees Avenue who defied a police order by taking part in a vehicle protest against virus restrictions inspired by Canada’s horn-honking truckers. In the Netherlands, dozens of trucks and other vehicles — ranging from tractors to a...
Canada border blockade clearing peacefully as police move in
A tense standoff at a U.S.-Canadian border crossing crucial to both countries’ economies appeared to be dissolving peacefully Saturday as Canadian police moved in to disperse the nearly weeklong blockade and protesters began leaving without resistance. Many demonstrators drove away from the Ambassador Bridge spanning the river between Detroit and...
Biden warns Putin of ‘severe costs’ of Ukraine invasion
President Joe Biden told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would cause “widespread human suffering” and that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but “equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House said Saturday. It offered no suggestion that the hourlong call diminished the threat of...
Many faith leaders wary of religious exemptions for vaccine
By the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions in order to circumvent covid-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious leaders. From the Vatican, Pope Francis has defended the vaccines as “the most reasonable solution to the pandemic.” The...
Afghans protest U.S. order to give $3.5B to 9/11 victims
Demonstrators in Afghanistan’s capital Saturday condemned President Joe Biden’s order freeing up $3.5 billion in Afghan assets held in the U.S. for families of America’s 9/11 victims — saying the money belongs to Afghans. Protesters who gathered outside Kabul’s grand Eid Gah mosque asked America for financial compensation for the...
Phoenix police say man shot ex-girlfriend before ambush
A man who shot his ex-girlfriend at a Phoenix home early Friday ambushed the first officer on the scene, seriously injuring him, then opened fire on other police as they tried to rescue a baby that was left outside the door. The woman later died. In all, five officers were...
U.S. authorizes new antibody drug to fight omicron
U.S. health regulators on Friday authorized a new antibody drug that targets the omicron variant, a key step in restocking the nation’s arsenal against the latest version of covid-19. The Food and Drug Administration said it cleared the Eli Lilly drug for adults and adolescent patients with mild-to-moderate cases of...
Biden frees frozen Afghan billions for relief, 9/11 victims
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an order Friday to free $7 billion in Afghan assets now frozen in the U.S., splitting the money between humanitarian aid for poverty-stricken Afghanistan and a fund for Sept. 11 victims still seeking relief for the terror attacks that killed thousands and shocked the...
U.S. ramps up Ukraine warning, says Russia may invade any day
The Biden administration on Friday escalated dire warnings of a possibly imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could happen at any moment, even as emergency diplomatic efforts continued. Adding to the sense of crisis, the Pentagon ordered an additional 3,000 U.S. troops to Poland to reassure allies. As diplomatic...
Landlords finding ways to evict after getting rental aid
A day before she was due to be evicted in November from her Atlanta home, Shanelle King heard that she had been awarded about $15,000 in rental assistance. She could breathe again. But then the 43-year-old hairdresser got a letter last month from her landlord saying the company was canceling...
See how the final Pa. state Senate map scores in every key area
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — A panel has approved a final Pennsylvania Senate map that...
Argentina’s Puerta 8: the barrio and the deadly cocaine
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A dozen children stare as if hypnotized at the fire heating a large pot of meat and vegetable stew. Martín Benítez tosses spices into the pot and stirs its contents with a long wooden spoon. Women with containers to be filled appear from a dimly lit...
Ukraine-Russia crisis: What to know about the fears of war
The chill of a Cold War hung over Eastern Europe again Friday, with Russian military maneuvers and drills close to Ukraine and the U.S. escalating its dire warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could take place within days. Diplomats and government leaders, meanwhile, struggled ever more...
Ontario declares an emergency over truck blockades in Canada
TORONTO — Ontario’s premier declared a state of emergency Friday in reaction to the truck blockades in Ottawa and at the U.S. border and said he will urgently enact laws to crack down on those who interfere with the free flow of goods and people. Since Monday, scores of drivers...
Oz gets Walk of Fame star as rival says he’s too ‘Hollywood’
HARRISBURG — Mehmet Oz, the celebrity cardiologist who recently ended his daytime TV “Dr. Oz Show” to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, will be honored Friday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — just as he is being attacked 2,000 miles away in a rival’s TV...
Delaware County fire company suspended for alleged use of racial slurs
DARBY TOWNSHIP — One of Darby Township’s three volunteer fire companies has been suspended after another fire company allegedly heard them using racial slurs and disparaging Black residents in a virtual meeting. Briarcliffe Fire Company volunteers apparently failed to disconnect from the online meeting in January with local officials and...
Critics blast Arizona candidate’s ad showing shootout with Democrats
PHOENIX — A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona took heat Thursday for an Old West-style ad showing him shooting weapons out of the hands of President Joe Biden, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Critics said the ad by businessman Jim Lamon was irresponsible as...
Senators: CIA has secret program that collects American data
WASHINGTON — The CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday. While neither the agency nor lawmakers would disclose specifics about the data, the senators alleged the CIA had long hidden details about the program from...
U.S. urges Canada to use federal powers to end bridge blockadeVideo
TORONTO — The Biden administration urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government Thursday to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s covid-19 restrictions, as the bumper-to-bumper demonstration forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production. For...
Jan. 6 investigators reportedly uncover gaps in White House call log made by Trump during Capitol attack
The congressional committee investigating the attack on the Capitol has uncovered unexplained gaps in former President Donald Trump’s official White House phone logs from Jan. 6. Official records that were turned over to the panel only reveal a few calls that Trump made and received on the day of the...
