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U.S. and Mexico will boost deportation flights and enforcement to crack down on illegal migration
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are moving swiftly on new steps to crack down on illegal migration that include tougher enforcement on railways, on buses and in airports as well as increased repatriation flights for migrants from both the U.S. and Mexico. The...
EPA bans consumer use of a toxic chemical widely used as a paint stripper but known to cause cancer
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of methylene chloride, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems. The EPA said its action will protect Americans from health...
Judge raises threat of jail as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him $9,000 at hush money trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned,...
Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah ‘with or without a deal’ as cease-fire talks with Hamas continue
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, as cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam. Netanyahu’s comments came...
Protesters in custody after Columbia University calls in police to end pro-Palestinian occupation
NEW YORK — Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. Hours earlier, police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that...
Pa. priest accused of stealing $40K for Candy Crush, other phone games
Police have accused a Catholic priest in Montgomery County of stealing over $40,000 from a Chester County parish in order to fund his addiction to cell phone games. The Rev. Lawrence Kozak, 51, of Pottstown, has been charged with theft and related crimes, according to reports from 6ABC and the...
Politicians, dog experts vilify South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem after she writes about killing her dog
Politicians and dog experts are criticizing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem after she wrote in a new book about killing a rambunctious puppy. The story — and the vilification she received on social media — has some wondering whether she’s still a viable potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential...
Pa. bill to ban live pigeon shoots advances for first time in a decade
A bill to end the practice of captive pigeon shoots — cruel contests that involve the slaughter of hundreds of birds at close range — cleared the state House Judiciary Committee on Monday. Bill sponsor Rep. Perry Warren, D-Bucks County, called the legislation “progress” in addressing an issue that has...
Boy, 16, who died as a result of racial incident phoned his dad as he ran from classmates
By all accounts, Orville Johnson was building a better life for his son in America. The family hailed from Jamaica, arriving here about two years ago. Johnson built up his HVAC business. And he specifically chose the Central Dauphin School District for 16-year-old Justin because it was ‘the best,” a...
Winner of $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
SALEM, Ore. — One of the winners of a historic $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week. Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, of Portland, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery...
Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police sayVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers approached a home to serve a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm, police said. Some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighborhood Monday afternoon...
Philips will pay $1.1 billion to resolve U.S. lawsuits over breathing machines that expel debris
Medical device maker Philips, one of Westmoreland County’s largest employers, said Monday it will pay $1.1 billion to settle hundreds of personal injury lawsuits in the United States over its defective sleep apnea machines, which have been subject to a massive global recall. The Dutch manufacturer did not admit any...
Less alcohol, or none at all, is one path to better health
It’s wine time. Beer Thirty. Happy hour. Five o’clock somewhere. Maybe it’s also time to rethink drinking? Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that. “Drinking less is a great way to be healthier,” said Dr. Timothy...
French media: Actor Gérard Depardieu is in custody for questioning on sexual assault allegations
PARIS — French media are reporting that actor Gérard Depardieu is in police custody for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien reported that the 75-year-old actor was summoned Monday morning by Paris police and...
Have you heard the one about Trump? Biden tries humor on the campaign trail
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former president’s thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders. Like a comic honing his routine, the Democratic president has...
Israel-Hamas war protesters and police clash on Texas campus, Columbia University begins suspensions
NEW YORK — Protesters and police clashed Monday at the University of Texas in a confrontation that resulted in dozens of arrests, and Columbia University began issuing suspensions as colleges around the U.S. begged pro-Palestinian demonstrators to clear out tent encampments as commencement ceremonies approach. From coast to coast, demonstrators...
Ahead of visit to Israel, Blinken presses Hamas to accept new proposal for Gaza cease-fire
JERUSALEM — The United States stepped up pressure for a cease-fire deal in Gaza on Monday as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators. Israeli airstrikes killed 26 people in Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah,...
Trump meets Ron DeSantis seeking to tap ex-rival’s donor connections
Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met on Sunday to discuss the possibility of tapping DeSantis’ donor network, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Miami meeting is a sign of rapprochement between the former president and his one-time opponent after a period of rocky relations, heightened...
Putin likely didn’t order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, U.S. official says
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination. While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions...
Police officer hiring in U.S. increases in 2023 after years of decline, survey shows
PHILADELPHIA — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to a historic exodus of officers, a survey shows. More sworn officers were hired in 2023 than in...
3 Louisiana officers wounded by gunfire in standoff with shooting suspect, police sayVideo
KENNER, La. — Three Louisiana police officers were wounded by gunfire Sunday in a standoff with a man suspected of shooting three other people in the past week, authorities said. The injured officers were taken to a hospital after being shot Sunday morning at a home in Kenner, about 15...
Senators wary of sending National Guard to quell campus protestsVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators dismissed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s suggestion to send the National Guard to college campuses to quell growing protests against the war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel. “I don’t know if you need to call in the National Guard, maybe you just call in the...
Tornadoes kill 4 in Oklahoma; governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid power outagesVideo
SULPHUR, Okla. — Tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma have flattened buildings across one rural town, killing at least four people, causing widespread power outages and leaving a trail of destruction, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday. Nearly 30,000 people remained without power after tornadoes began late Saturday night. The damage was...
Thousands of employees at federal contractors do not have whistleblower protections despite 2013 law
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. As she read the memo explaining why she was being fired, Kierra Varcos felt her cheeks burn and blood pound in her ears. She had...
Chants of ‘shame on you’ greet guests arriving for White House correspondents’ dinner
WASHINGTON — An election-year roast of President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner Saturday butted up against growing public discord over the Israel-Hamas war, with large protests outside the event condemning Biden’s handling of the conflict and the Western news’ media coverage...
