CVS Health pulls some cough-and-cold treatments with ingredient deemed ineffective by doctors
CVS Health is pulling from its shelves some cough-and-cold treatments that contain an ingredient that has been deemed ineffective by doctors and researchers. The drug store chain said it will remove a small number of products that contain phenylephrine as the only active ingredient. CVS also said it will still...
House Republicans drop Jim Jordan as their nominee for speaker, falling back to square one
WASHINGTON — Republicans dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel. The blocked-House impasse deepening, Republicans have no realistic or workable plan to...
Leaders of Ukraine and Russia assess their resources as their war heads into winter
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke by phone with U.S. President Joe Biden about Washington’s future support for Kyiv, and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a military base near the Ukrainian border, as the warring countries laid plans for the winter and next year’s combat operations....
Gale-force winds and floods strike Northern Europe; at least 1 killed in Scotland
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Gale-force winds and floods struck several countries in Northern Europe as the region braced for more heavy rain on Friday. In Scotland, one person was reported dead after being swept into a river and authorities searched for a man thought to be trapped in his vehicle. The...
Maryland circuit court judge was fatally shot in the driveway of his home, police say
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — A Maryland circuit court judge was fatally shot in the driveway of his home, police said. Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, 52, was found with apparent gunshot wounds around 8 p.m. Thursday, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Wilkinson was taken from the home...
Israel doesn’t plan to control ‘life in Gaza’ after destroying Hamas, defense minister says
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel’s defense minister said Friday that after the country destroys the Hamas militant group, the military does not plan to control “life in the Gaza Strip.” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s comments to lawmakers were the first time an Israeli leader discussed its long-term plans for...
Stampede in Kenya leaves 4 dead, about 100 injured at holiday event
NAIROBI, Kenya — A stampede in Kenya during celebrations to mark an annual public holiday killed at least four people on Friday and injured 100 others, authorities said. The stampede happened when thousands of people struggled to get inside Kericho stadium in western Kenya at dawn, police said. The stadium...
Hempfield celebrates township’s past, future at 250th anniversary gala
Hempfield closed out a year of celebrations surrounding its 250th anniversary at a gala Thursday night. About 200 township residents of all ages attended the event, held at Live Casino Pittsburgh’s venue space at Westmoreland Mall. “We’re recognizing Hempfield Township as a part of the founding of Westmoreland County 250...
Army private who fled to North Korea charged with desertion, held by U.S. military, officials tell AP
WASHINGTON — An Army private who fled to North Korea before being returned home to the United States earlier this month has been detained by the U.S. military, two officials said Thursday night, and is facing charges including desertion and possessing sexual images of a child. The eight counts against...
Biden says support for Israel and Ukraine is ‘vital’ for U.S. security, will ask Congress for billionsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden declared it is “vital for America’s national security” for Israel and Ukraine to succeed in their wars, making the case Thursday night for deepening U.S. involvement in two unpredictable foreign conflicts as he prepared to ask for billions of dollars in military assistance for both...
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office quietly settled sexual harassment allegation against top aide
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office quietly entered into a settlement agreement to resolve allegations of sexual harassment...
Pa. higher ed system seeks 6.5% boost in state funding to maintain tuition freeze
The board overseeing Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities said Thursday it aims to freeze tuition for a sixth consecutive year in 2024-2025, provided the state boosts the system’s funding by 6.5%. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s board of governors voted to send Gov. Josh Shapiro an appropriation request of...
Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office address as he seeks billions of dollars for Israel and Ukraine
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office address Thursday night as he prepares to ask for additional billions of dollars in military assistance for Israel and Ukraine, deepening American involvement in two very different, unpredictable and bloody foreign conflicts. The speech will be an opportunity for...
GOP’s Jordan says he’s still running for House gavel, but there’s no plan for next action
WASHINGTON — Refusing to drop out, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan told GOP colleagues Thursday he would back a temporary U.S. House speaker for the next several months as he works to shore up support to win the gavel himself. Jordan delivered the message at a closed door meeting at the...
China is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal faster than previous projections, a U.S. report says
WASHINGTON — A Pentagon report on China’s military power says Beijing is exceeding previous projections of how quickly it is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like. The report released Thursday...
Sidney Powell vowed to ‘release the Kraken’ to help Donald Trump. She may now testify against him
NEW YORK — The Kraken has cracked. Lawyer Sidney Powell, who famously vowed to unleash a mythical sea monster of litigation to prove that Donald Trump didn’t lose the 2020 election, has now struck a deal with Georgia prosecutors admitting she conspired to wrongly interfere with the state’s election results....
U.S. Supreme Court notched big conservative wins. It’s a key issue in Pennsylvania’s fall election
HARRISBURG — The U.S. Supreme Court’s current conservative majority has delivered major victories for conservatives — and now liberal discontent over those rulings is playing a major role in Pennsylvania’s top-of-the-ballot election this fall. The Democrat running for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has told audiences over and...
Gaza awaits humanitarian aid, as Israel tells troops to ‘be ready’ for ground invasion
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, and the country’s defense minister told ground troops to “be ready” to invade, though he didn’t say when. Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals tried to stretch out...
At Donald Trump’s civil trial, appraiser recalls Eric Trump’s ‘lofty’ views on property value
NEW YORK — The spotlight at former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial turned Thursday to his son Eric, with testimony and documents suggesting the scion envisioned a “lofty” value for a suburban golf course and was actively involved in appraisals he has said he doesn’t remember. The trial stems...
Tropical Storm Tammy forms and is on path toward Caribbean islands
Tropical Storm Tammy formed in the Atlantic Basin on Wednesday, with sustained winds of 40 mph, and is on track to pass over some of the islands in the eastern Caribbean before turning north. The storm was 575 miles east of the Windward Islands, traveling west at 23 mph as...
U.S. resumes deportation flights to Venezuela with more than 100 migrants onboard
MAIQUETIA, Venezuela — Deportation flights of Venezuelans from the U.S. resumed Wednesday with a first plane of more than a hundred migrants landing back in their economically troubled country under the Biden administration’s latest attempts to deal with swelling numbers of asylum-seekers. This is the first time in years U.S....
Pa. bill to hike dog license fee after 27 years heads to governor’s desk
A bill increasing the cost of dog licenses in Pennsylvania for the first time in more than a quarter century is heading to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk for enactment. The House on Wednesday, with no debate, voted 143-60 to approve the bill that passed the Senate in June, aimed at...
Pa. House OKs bill to move 2024 primary by 1 week in protracted fight
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday passed another bill to give an earlier date for its 2024 presidential primary, an effort that has become drawn out and politically charged in a battleground state still weathering former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about a stolen 2020 election. The bill...
2 more arrested in killing of Philadelphia Officer Richard Mendez, police say
PHILADELPHIA — Police have arrested two more men they believe were involved in the airport parking lot shooting that left one Philadelphia police officer dead and a second injured last week — meaning all remaining suspects in the crime have been taken into custody, authorities said Wednesday. Interim Police Commissioner...
Workers noticed beam hanging off railcar before fatal accident, didn’t tell railroad
OMAHA, Neb. — Several days before a Norfolk Southern conductor trainee was killed by a metal beam protruding from a parked railcar on the next track, workers at a U.S. Pipe facility noticed the beam was hanging off the top of the car but never told the railroad about it,...
