Powerball jackpot of over $1 billion has a winner
LOS ANGELES — A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game. The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13,...
Police cast doubt on Carlee Russell’s kidnapping claim after reporting toddler on an Alabama highwayVideo
Authorities in Alabama cast doubt Wednesday on the story of a woman who set off a frantic search when she disappeared for two days after calling 911 to report a toddler wandering on the highway. Carlee Russell told investigators she was abducted and forced into a car Thursday, but they...
Did you get covid but never feel sick? New study hints at why
As the coronavirus emerged, so did a mystery: Why did some who got infected never develop symptoms? One likely explanation is it may be a person’s lucky genes. A new study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature suggests people with a specific version of a gene were far more...
Military veteran who stormed Capitol with loaded pistol is sentenced to 7 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A military veteran who stormed the U.S. Capitol with a loaded pistol, metal-plated body armor and a gas mask was sentenced on Wednesday to seven years in prison, one of the longest among hundreds of Jan. 6 riot cases. Christopher Michael Alberts, 35, of Pylesville, Md., isn’t accused...
Pennsylvania-owned universities could see 5th year of tuition freeze
State System of Higher Education administrators plan to recommend Thursday that the system’s governing board freeze tuition for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year across Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities. The board of governors is expected to vote on the proposal at its quarterly meeting in Harrisburg. An affirmative vote would keep...
New Zealand gunman kills 2 people on eve of Women’s World Cup soccer tournament
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A gunman killed two people before he died Thursday at a construction site in Auckland, New Zealand, as the nation prepared to host games in the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer tournament, authorities said. Police said there were also multiple injuries during the incident, which took...
Pfizer reports North Carolina pharmaceutical plant damaged by tornado, no serious injuriesVideo
A tornado heavily damaged a large Pfizer pharmaceutical plant Wednesday in North Carolina, the latest in a string of extreme weather events plaguing the U.S. on a day when floods deluged communities in Kentucky and scorching heat smothered Phoenix and Miami. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed that a large complex was...
11 mustangs die in U.S. roundup in Nevada caught on video, showing horses with broken necks
RENO, Nev. — Nearly a dozen wild horses have died in the first 10 days of a big mustang roundup in Nevada, deaths that a Las Vegas congresswoman is calling tragic proof of the urgent need to outlaw helicopters to capture the animals on federal land. The 11 deaths so...
IRS whistleblowers air claims to Congress about ‘slow-walking’ of the Hunter Biden caseVideo
WASHINGTON — House Republicans raised unsubstantiated allegations Wednesday against President Joe Biden over his family’s finances as they summoned IRS whistleblowers to testify publicly for the first time about claims the Justice Department improperly interfered with a tax investigation into Biden’s son Hunter. Lawmakers heard from the two IRS agents...
‘It’s inhumane.’ Mexican president blasts treatment of migrants by Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blasted the treatment of migrants following reporting earlier this week that officials received orders to push those crossing at the Texas border back into the Rio Grande and also were told not to give them water. The president said he did...
Judge nixes Trump’s bid to move hush-money criminal case, keeping it in New York state court
NEW YORK — Donald Trump can’t make a federal case out of this one. U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein on Wednesday rejected the former president’s bid to move his hush-money criminal case from New York state court to federal court, ruling that Trump’s lawyers had failed to meet a...
Report: Rising gambling revenue for June closes out record haul for fiscal year
June proved to be another lucrative month for Pennsylvania’s gambling joints. Last month, the combined total revenue generated from all forms of gaming clocked in at nearly $440.5 million, a 13% increase compared to June 2022, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Still, it was a drop compared to...
Dark money group puts pressure on Pa. lawmakers after Shapiro vows voucher veto
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 — As Pennsylvania’s budget impasse drags on, a group that keeps its donors secret is pressuring key lawmakers to support...
Maine governor expands access to abortion later in pregnancy
AUGUSTA, Maine — Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Wednesday that expands access to abortions later in pregnancy in Maine, joining a half-dozen states that leave it to doctors and patients to make the decision without restrictions on timing. The new law allows abortions at any time...
Trump’s target letter suggests sprawling U.S. probe into 2020 election is zeroing in on him
WASHINGTON — A target letter sent to Donald Trump suggests that a sprawling Justice Department investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election is zeroing in on him after more than a year of interviews with top aides to the former president and state officials from across the country. Federal...
Sara Innamorato resigns from state House amid budget impasse
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 state House will once again be tied at 101-101 following the resignation of a Western Pennsylvania Democrat. State...
Fear, distrust, and an ethics office in chaos erode Penn State’s post-Sandusky reforms
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — John Champagne submitted his report just before noon on Oct. 28, 2021....
Have you reported misconduct at Penn State? We want to hear from you.
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. Spotlight PA wants to better understand how Penn State handles reports of misconduct, no matter...
How Spotlight PA and the Centre Daily Times reported ‘Missed Conduct’
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — A recent investigation by Spotlight PA and the Centre Daily Times into...
Dog gets $2,000 reward for helping capture escaped Pennsylvania inmate Michael Burham
A chocolate Lab mix in Warren County is getting spoiled after his owners were presented Tuesday with $2,000, part of a reward authorities had offered for information leading to the apprehension of jail escapee Michael Burham. Ron and Cindy Ecklund were given $2,000 cash from Warren County Crime Stoppers for...
Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture
EAST PRAIRIE METIS SETTLEMENT, Alberta — Carrol Johnston counted her blessings as she stood on the barren site where her home was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire that forced her to flee her northern Alberta community two months ago. Her family escaped unharmed, though her beloved cat, Missy, didn’t make...
Gucci’s CEO is stepping down as its French parent shakes up leadership
LONDON — The president and CEO of Gucci is stepping down later this year, the latest shakeup to the luxury fashion brand and coming as part of a series of changes to its parent company, the French conglomerate Kering. Marco Bizzarri will depart the Italian design house in September after...
Pitt’s new chancellor begins her tenure with some questions for students, staff
College and university leaders who are new in their job almost always arrive on campus promising some form of a listening tour to take the pulse of the place. At the University of Pittsburgh, Chancellor Joan Gabel is taking things a bit further in her first week. She emailed Pitt’s...
House passes resolution to show support for Israel after Democrat’s comments about ‘racist’ state
WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday passed a Republican-led resolution reaffirming its support for Israel with strong bipartisan approval — an implicit rebuke of a leading Democrat who, over the weekend, called the country a “racist state” but later apologized. The resolution, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, passed with...
Pennsylvania prosecutor asks the state to take over the probe into a homicide suspect’s jail escape
WARREN — A county prosecutor in Pennsylvania said Tuesday that he has asked the state attorney general’s office to take over the investigation surrounding a homicide suspect’s escape because of the possibility that jail staff might be charged with criminal negligence. Warren County District Attorney Rob Greene said reports from...
