Man charged with robbing Wawa customer at gunpoint inside rest room
A 27-year-old man was arrested Thursday and charged with robbing a customer at gunpoint in the men’s room of a Wawa store in Atlantic County, N.J., authorities said. Police were called about 11:40 a.m. to the convenience store in the 500 block of West Delilah Road in Pleasantville on a...
Ohio sheriff’s deputy wounded, suspect shot and killed
MANSFIELD, Ohio — Authorities on Friday were investigating after a welfare check by police turned into an exchange of gunfire that left one man dead and a sheriff’s deputy wounded in Ohio. Two deputies were sent to a home to check on a person around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, the Richland...
After being fined by U.S., Hyundai recalls more vehicles
DETROIT — A week after being fined by regulators for delaying safety recalls, Hyundai is recalling about 130,000 vehicles in the U.S. because the engines could fail. The recall covers certain 2012 Santa Fe SUVs, 2015 and 2016 Veloster cars, and Sonata Hybrid cars from 2011 through 2013 and 2016....
Czechs target 2038 to phase out coal as energy source
PRAGUE — A Czech government advisory body has agreed to a proposal for the country to phase out coal as an energy source by 2038, a plan that environmental groups say isn’t ambitious enough. Trade and Minister Karel Havlicek, one of the two chairmen of the body, said on Friday...
2 U.S. marshals shot, fugitive killed in Bronx gunfight
NEW YORK — A suspect in the shooting of a state trooper in Massachusetts was killed during a gunfight with U.S. marshals in New York City early Friday that left two of the officers wounded. The two deputy marshals injured in the 5:30 a.m. confrontation in the Bronx were treated...
White House communications boss Alyssa Farah exits in bow to Trump’s defeat
WASHINGTON — Alyssa Farah resigned as White House communications director on Thursday, in one of the first high-profile staff departures since President Donald Trump’s loss in the November election. She said in a statement she is leaving her post in order to “pursue new opportunities” but did not describe her...
Among first acts, Biden to call for 100 days of mask-wearingVideo
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden said Thursday that he will ask Americans to commit to 100 days of wearing masks as one of his first acts as president, stopping just short of the nationwide mandate he’s pushed before to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The move marks a notable shift...
West Virginia police officer dies 2 days after being shotVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia police officer has died two days after being shot by a suspect while responding to a parking complaint. The city of Charleston announced officer Cassie Johnson’s death in a news release Thursday. Johnson, 28, joined the city as a humane officer in October 2017...
Supreme Court again asked to block Biden win in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Fresh off another rejection in Pennsylvania’s courts, Republicans on Thursday again asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the battleground state, while the state’s lawyers say fatal flaws in the original case mean justices are highly unlikely to grant it. Republican U.S. Rep....
Next for Biden: Getting the right health team as coronavirus rages
WASHINGTON — Up soon for President-elect Joe Biden: naming his top health care officials as the coronavirus pandemic rages. It’s hard to imagine more consequential picks. Already two Democratic governors seen as candidates for health and human services secretary have faded from the frame. Rhode Island’s Gina Raimondo told reporters...
Former Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton volunteer to take coronavirus vaccine on cameraVideo
Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have volunteered to get vaccinated for coronavirus on television to promote the safety of the vaccine once the Food and Drug Administration authorizes one. An FDA panel of outside advisers is scheduled to meet Dec. 10 to discuss whether to...
Ohio to get nearly 100K doses of virus vaccine this month as cases rise
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio will receive close to 100,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine by mid-December, Gov. Mike DeWine announced during a briefing Thursday. The brief but promising details provided the first look at what vaccine distribution will look like in Ohio as the number of cases, deaths and hospitalizations...
Vaccine rollout could ease crisis, but who gets it first?
Getting a covid-19 vaccine to the right people could change the course of the pandemic in the United States. But who are the right people? As the decision looms for President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration, a new analysis argues for targeting the first vaccines to the same low-income Black, Hispanic...
Lon Adams, Slim Jim jerky recipe creator, dies of covid-19
RALEIGH, N.C. — Alonzo “Lon” T. Adams II, the man who created the formula for Slim Jim beef jerky sticks, has died from complications of covid-19. He was 95. Lynn Barrow of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Raleigh, N.C., confirmed Wednesday that Adams died on Nov. 28. A graveside funeral service...
California governor: Most of state nears stay-home order
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will likely order most of its businesses to close or limit capacity in the coming days, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, part of new rules triggered when fewer than 15% of beds are available in intensive care units for regional hospital networks. Newsom said four of...
Eastern Pa. companies partner in development of ingestible vaccine
Two Eastern Pennsylvania companies are working on creating ingestible covid-19 vaccines in drinkable and capsule forms, and leaders hope they could be on the market sometime next year. The vaccine work comes from a partnership between VaxForm and U.S. Specialty Formulations, the latter of which plans to expand its Allentown...
Wisconsin high court declines to hear Trump election lawsuit
MADISON, Wis. — A split Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday refused to hear President Donald Trump’s lawsuit attempting to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the battleground state, sidestepping a decision on the merits of the claims and instead ruling that the case must first wind its way...
Trump aide banned from Justice Department after trying to get case info
WASHINGTON — The official serving as President Donald Trump’s eyes and ears at the Justice Department has been banned from the building after trying to pressure staffers to give up sensitive information about election fraud and other matters she could relay to the White House, three people familiar with the...
Charitable donations on ‘Giving Tuesday’ up 25%
NEW YORK — Donations on Giving Tuesday, an 8-year-old campaign to get people to give money to charities, rose 25% from last year, organizers said. Nearly $2.5 billion was donated in the U.S. on Tuesday, according to estimates by GivingTuesday, the nonprofit behind the campaign. That’s up from last year’s...
Senate confirms Christopher Waller to serve on Fed’s board
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed the nomination of Christopher Waller for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, placing another of President Donald Trump’s picks on the Fed’s influential board after a string of high-profile rejections. The vote in favor of Waller was 48-47. Waller, research director at...
‘Mistakes were made’ at maskless election hearing held by covid-positive lawmaker, Pa. Senate leader says
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 top Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate acknowledged Wednesday “mistakes were made” and necessary coronavirus safety precautions were ignored...
Pennsylvania reports over 11,000 new coronavirus cases
Pennsylvania on Thursday reported its highest number of new single-day covid-19 cases since the pandemic started in March with 11,406 cases. The state also reported 187 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The new cases bring the total number in the state to 386,837. The state’s seven-day average climbed to...
Staffing shortages threaten Western Pa. hospitals
More than one-third of hospitals in Southwestern Pennsylvania anticipate staffing shortages in the coming week. It’s a threshold that, if paired with a further surge in hospital admissions, could force a cutback in elective surgeries. Secretary of Health Rachel Levine noted the rising number of covid-19 hospital admissions across the...
Nestle to spend $3.6 billion on improving climate footprint
GENEVA — Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, said Thursday that it will spend $3.6 billion over five years to improve its climate footprint. Nestle said the investment will increase the Switzerland-based company’s use of renewable energy, which it aims to use exclusively by 2025. The money will also boost...
Optimism growing for covid relief bill as pressure buildsVideo
WASHINGTON — Optimism about delivering long-sought covid-19 relief is building on Capitol Hill after additional rank-and-file lawmakers voiced support for a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road plan taking shape in the Senate and as top congressional leaders connected on the topic for the first time in months. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate...
