John Fetterman says Trump’s blockade on Venezuelan oil shipments ‘makes a lot of sense’Video
Sen. John Fetterman has come out in support of President Donald Trump’s blockade of Venezuelan oil shipments in yet another move that will surely rankle fellow Democrats. Fetterman appeared via NewsNation on Tuesday night with host Chris Cuomo, who read a rambling post by Trump on his Truth Social platform...
Pa. GOP names new national committeewoman
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania has appointed Lori Hardiman to serve as a Republican National Committeewoman. Hardiman, of Fox Chapel, replaces Indiana County’s Christine Toretti on the national committee. Toretti, who became a national GOP committeewoman in 1997, stepped down after being confirmed as ambassador to Sweden in September. Hardiman...
Jack Smith tells lawmakers his team developed ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ against Trump
WASHINGTON — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers in a closed-door interview Wednesday that his team of investigators “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Donald Trump had criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to portions of his opening statement obtained...
Trump writes partisan plaques for predecessors in newly installed Presidential Walk of Fame
WASHINGTON — Months after President Donald Trump refashioned a West Wing walkway into what he calls the Presidential Walk of Fame, he has added partisan and subjective plaques to the display, deepening his fingerprints on the White House’s aesthetic and continuing his effort to bend the telling of history to...
Trump’s National Guard deployment in Washington can continue for now, an appeals court says
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the National Guard deployment in the nation’s capital can continue for now, staying a lower-court ruling that had ordered an end to the troops’ presence. The three-judge panel for U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled...
Rob and Michele Reiner’s son appears in court on murder charges while siblings speak of their loss
LOS ANGELES — Nick Reiner made his first court appearance Wednesday in Los Angeles on two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, while the couple’s other two children made their first public statement on their crushing loss....
Senate Democrats grill FCC leader over Jimmy Kimmel controversy
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats hammered the Federal Communications Commission’s leader Wednesday for pressuring broadcasters to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air, suggesting he was politicizing an independent agency and trampling the First Amendment. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, was peppered with questions over his criticism...
New York governor says she has reached a deal to legalize medically assisted suicide
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that she has reached a deal with state legislative leaders to approve a bill to give terminally ill people the legal ability to end their own lives with prescribed medication. In an op-ed in the Albany Times Union, Hochul said...
Senate passes $901 billion defense bill that pushes Hegseth for boat strike video
WASHINGTON — The Senate gave final passage to an annual military policy bill Wednesday that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats in international water near Venezuela. The annual National Defense Authorization Act,...
3 Pa. Republicans defy Speaker Johnson to force House vote on extending ACA subsidies
WASHINGTON — Four centrists Republicans — three of whom are from Pennsylvania — broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vole on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans....
South African authorities raid a U.S. refugee processing center; Washington protests
JOHANNESBURG — South African immigration authorities raided a United States refugee processing center in Johannesburg and seven Kenyans working there illegally were arrested and given deportation orders, South Africa’s Home Affairs Ministry said Wednesday, as the U.S. called the action “unacceptable.” Tuesday’s raid occurred at a center that processes applications...
Georgia Senate committee is set to question Fani Willis over Trump prosecution
ATLANTA — After more than a year of legal maneuvering, Fani Willis will face questions Wednesday from a Georgia state Senate committee over her prosecution of Donald Trump. The question is whether Fulton County’s Democratic district attorney will answer any of them. The Republican-dominated state Senate in January 2024 created...
Trump to preview his 2026 agenda in an address to the nation as his popularity wanes
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump intends to preview his agenda for next year and beyond in a live speech from the White House on Wednesday night, remarks that come at a crucial juncture as he tries to rebuild his steadily eroding popularity. The White House offered few details about what...
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are awarding $5 million to a leader in neurodiversity education
NEW YORK — Mega billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, former news anchor Lauren Sánchez Bezos, are awarding $5 million to the founder of a neurodivergent student support network, a recognition that the lesser-known recipient credits to the students powering his fast-growing movement for more inclusive classrooms. “I...
Accused gunman in Bondi Beach shooting charged with 15 counts of murder
SYDNEY — An accused gunman in Sydney’s Bondi Beach massacre was charged with 59 offenses including 15 charges of murder on Wednesday, as hundreds of mourners gathered in Sydney to begin funerals for the victims. Two shooters slaughtered 15 people on Sunday in an antisemitic mass shooting targeting Jews celebrating...
What Americans think about giving cash as holiday gifts
NEW YORK — Welcome to exhausted America 2025: Most adults are more than a little fine with doling out cash as gifts, and many plan to be asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to a new AP-NORC poll. About 6 in 10 Americans say cash or gift cards...
Caregivers in Pa. are celebrating a rare pay boost, but long-term funding issues linger
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Public funding for child care, home services for older adults, and disability support will increase under Pennsylvania’s...
Study finds humans were making fire 400,000 years ago, far earlier than once thought
LONDON — Scientists in Britain say ancient humans may have learned to make fire far earlier than previously believed, after uncovering evidence that deliberate fire-setting took place in what is now eastern England around 400,000 years ago. The findings, described in the journal Nature, push back the earliest known date...
Sen. Mark Kelly calls Pentagon investigation into his remarks a move to chill military dissentVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Tuesday that the Pentagon’s escalating investigation into his remarks urging troops to refuse unlawful orders is part of an effort to silence dissent within the military. “This is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members,...
JD Vance touts Trump record on economy during Lehigh Valley visit amid voter concerns
Vice President JD Vance touted the Trump administration’s economic record Tuesday at an address in the Lehigh Valley, highlighting jobs and inflation numbers, even as polls suggest a majority of Americans remain unsatisfied with the state of the U.S. economy. Vance, speaking before a crowd of hundreds at the Uline...
Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy. Trump’s escalation comes after...
MIT professor fatally shot at his home and police launched a homicide investigation
BROOKLINE, Mass. — A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot at his home near Boston, and authorities said Tuesday they had launched a homicide investigation. Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died...
House Speaker Mike Johnson rebuffs efforts to extend health care subsidies, pushing ahead with GOP plan
WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a GOP health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums millions of Americans will soon endure as pandemic-era tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year’s end. Speaker...
Pete Hegseth says he won’t publicly release video of boat strike that killed survivors in the Caribbean
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the Pentagon will not publicly release unedited video of a U.S. military strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack on a boat allegedly carrying cocaine in the Caribbean, as questions mounted in Congress about the incident and the overall buildup...
Trump plans prime-time address Wednesday but gives no hints on topic
President Donald Trump said he will deliver a prime-time speech from the White House on Wednesday night but gave no details on what the topic will be. “My fellow Americans: I will be giving an address to the nation tomorrow night,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “I look...
