Powerball jackpot rises to $620 million, 6th largest largest ever
DES MOINES, Iowa — After nearly four months without a big winner, the Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $620 million, making it the sixth largest ever for the lottery game ahead of Saturday night’s drawing. There have been 39 drawings in a row without a Powerball grand prize...
Woman who survived 1918 flu, world war succumbs to covid
She lived a life of adventure that spanned two continents. She fell in love with a World War II fighter pilot, barely escaped Europe ahead of Benito Mussolini’s fascists, ground steel for the U.S. war effort and advocated for her disabled daughter in a far less enlightened time. She was,...
It’s flu vaccine time, even if you’ve had your covid shots
Amid all the focus on covid-19 vaccinations, U.S. health experts have another plea: Don’t skip your flu shot. Flu cases have dropped to historically low levels during the pandemic. The U.S. and Europe experienced hardly any flu last winter, and the Southern Hemisphere just ended its second flu season of...
South Dakota lawmakers question Gov. Kristi Noem’s meeting with daughter
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Republican and Democratic legislators alike said Wednesday that they want more details from Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration about a meeting last year that included the governor, her daughter and state employees overseeing an agency that had moved to deny her daughter’s application to become...
3 firefighters critical, 5 other people injured in explosion at Dallas apartment buildingVideo
DALLAS — An explosion tore apart an apartment building Wednesday morning in south Dallas, injuring at least eight people. Dallas Fire-Rescue was called about a gas leak at the Highland Hills Apartments in the Oak Cliff area about 10:20 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they could smell gas near one of...
House panel subpoenas organizers of Jan. 6 Trump rally
WASHINGTON — A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has subpoenaed 11 officials who were involved in planning rallies in support of former President Donald Trump ahead of the violent attack, including one the day of the siege at which the president told his supporters to “fight like...
Postal Service changes may slow some deliveries, boost first-class prices for holidays
Folks dropping letters in the mail starting Friday may want to add a few extra days for transit if their missives are going cross-country. Likewise, anyone sending packages and cards around the holiday season will want to have a smidge of extra cash on hand to pay the postage piper....
State continues exploring public-private partnership for $2 billion major-bridges projectVideo
After utilizing a public-private partnership to replace more than 550 smaller, aging bridges across Pennsylvania, PennDOT officials have their eyes on a bigger prize. Nine prizes, to be specific, in the form of nine large bridges spread across the state in need of replacement and under consideration for the first...
Hurricane Sam bringing a rough surf weekend to East Coast
MIAMI — Beachgoers along the east coast of the United States should beware of life-threatening surf and rip currents this weekend as Hurricane Sam turns northward, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday. Forecasters expect the Category 4 hurricane to remain at sea, but with top wind of 130 mph, it’s...
Friends from Ohio get 45 days in jail for Capitol riot
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Federal prosecutors assert that everybody who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 should be evaluated individually when deciding whether a prison sentence is warranted. On Wednesday, a judge accepted the Justice Department’s assessment that two friends from Ohio fall into a category of rioters who...
Lawmakers keep covid-19 regulatory waivers for 6 more months
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature voted Wednesday to again extend hundreds of regulatory waivers that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration had approved under its pandemic-related disaster emergency authority. The House and Senate voted unanimously to add another six months to a prior extension they granted, as the delta variant of the...
U.S. general: Afghan collapse rooted in 2020 deal with Taliban
WASHINGTON — Senior Pentagon officials said Wednesday the collapse of the Afghan government and its security forces in August could be traced to a 2020 U.S. agreement with the Taliban that promised a complete U.S. troop withdrawal. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of Central Command, told the House Armed Services...
North Korea says hypersonic missile made 1st test flight
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Wednesday that it successfully tested a new hypersonic missile it implied was being developed as nuclear capable, as it continues to expand its military capabilities and pressure Washington and Seoul over long-stalled negotiations over its nuclear weapons. The missile test early Tuesday was...
New records reveal the cost of Pa.’s failure to clarify rules around addiction treatment and marijuana
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 — The failure by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to clarify federal rules around addiction treatment funding and medical marijuana caused...
Hurricane Ida devastation lingers in Louisiana 1 month later
IRONTON, La. — The land on which Audrey Trufant Salvant’s home sits in the small Louisiana town of Ironton has become an island in a sea of mud and snake-infested marsh grass. Nearby houses are disconnected from their foundations, a refrigerator is lodged sideways in a tree, and dozens of...
U.S. says ivory-billed woodpecker, 22 other species extinct
BILLINGS, Mont. — Death’s come knocking a last time for the splendid ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 more birds, fish and other species: The U.S. government is declaring them extinct. It’s a rare move for wildlife officials to give up hope on a plant or animal, but government scientists say they’ve...
U.K. officer accused of citing covid to detain slaying victim
LONDON — A prosecutor argued Wednesday that a serving London police officer handcuffed a woman on the pretext of breaking covid-19 lockdown rules before he kidnapped and killed her. Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court charged with the kidnap, rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who...
6 arrested at Greek school protest backed by far-right group
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Police in northern Greece have arrested six people and detained at least 40 others following clashes involving youths backed by an extreme right-wing political group. The youths entered a vocational high school and hurled gasoline bombs, flares and rocks at a rival gathering organized by left-wing university...
Gang clash at Ecuador prison kills 30 inmates and injures 47
QUITO, Ecuador — A battle between prison gangs in the coastal city of Guayaquil killed 30 inmates and injured 47, according to Ecuadorian officials. Police Commander Fabian Bustos told reporters that a police and military operation had regained control of the prison after five hours. He said several weapons had...
London honors Princes Diana with blue plaque at former home
LONDON — London finally honored the late Princess Diana on Wednesday with a blue plaque at the place she called home in the two years before she married Prince Charles and her life in the goldfish bowl began. For Diana, 60 Coleherne Court, an apartment near London’s fashionable King’s Road,...
Capitol Police chief sees rising threats
WASHINGTON — The newly installed chief of the U.S. Capitol Police says the force, still struggling six months after an insurrection that left its officers battled, bloodied and bruised, “cannot afford to be complacent.” The risk to lawmakers is higher than ever. And the threat from lone-wolf attackers is only...
Alabama Gov. Ivey defends use of coronavirus funds for prisons
MONTGOMERY — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday defended her state’s plan to use pandemic relief funds to build new prisons —saying the $400 million expenditure is both allowed and needed — while a legislative committee swiftly advanced the construction plan. Ivey issued a response to U.S. House Judiciary Committee...
Pennsylvania woman who said she wanted to shoot Pelosi ‘in the friggin’ brain’ pleads guilty to Capitol riot charges
PHILADELPHIA — A Bucks County gym owner who recorded herself during the storming of the Capitol saying she was looking for Speaker Nancy Pelosi “to shoot her in the friggin’ brain” pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor Tuesday, making her the latest Pennsylvanian to admit her role in the Jan....
Pfizer vaccine for children may not be available until November
WASHINGTON — Pfizer has submitted research to the Food and Drug Administration on the effectiveness of its covid-19 vaccine in children but the shots may not be available until November. The company said Tuesday it provided health regulators with data from a recent study of its vaccine in children 5...
Washington state man who sexually exploited teens sentenced to 20 years
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. — A southwest Washington man who pleaded guilty in a scheme in which he enticed and pressured teens into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Joshua Punt, of Ridgefield, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in...
