Low-calorie sweetener may increase risk of heart attack and stroke, study finds
We all know staying away from sugar has been of caution for ages, but has the time come to start keeping an eye on sugar substitutes as well? Apparently, a new study said consuming food or drinks flavored by a sugary replacement called erythritol — often found in Splenda packets,...
Mexican president says Tesla to build plant in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday that electric car company Tesla has committed to building a plant in the industrial hub of Monterrey in northern Mexico. López Obrador said the promise came in phone calls he had Friday and Monday with Tesla head Elon Musk....
State System universities propose $56.5M in scholarships to ease Pa. teacher shortage
With Gov. Josh Shapiro a week out from submitting his first proposed Commonwealth budget, the State System of Higher Education has unveiled a plan to address Pennsylvania’s worsening teaching shortage that would use some of those funds. The State System is asking to channel $56.5 million for direct financial aid...
Biden sketching dire picture of GOP desire to cut spending
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is aiming to use the leadup to the release of his proposed budget next week to sketch a dire picture of what could happen to U.S. health care if congressional Republicans had their way with federal spending. The Democratic president is traveling to Virginia Beach,...
Putin orders Ukraine border tightening as drones hit Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered officials to tighten control of the border with Ukraine after a spate of drone attacks that Russian authorities blamed on Kyiv delivered a new challenge to Moscow more than a year after its full-scale invasion of its neighbor. One drone...
Suspect in Florida TV crew attack faces more murder charges
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A 19-year-old Florida man is now facing three first-degree-murder charges related to a shooting last week that killed a television news reporter, a 9-year-old girl and a 38-year-old woman, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday. Orange County Sheriff’s officials released an arrest warrant Tuesday morning that included two...
China says it’s been ‘open and transparent’ on covid origins
BEIJING — China on Tuesday pushed back at renewed suggestions that the covid-19 pandemic could have been the result of a lab leak, saying it has been “open and transparent” in the search for the virus’ origins. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy assessed with “low confidence” that the pandemic...
Coronavirus origins still a mystery 3 years into pandemic
WASHINGTON — A crucial question has eluded governments and health agencies around the world since the covid-19 pandemic began: Did the virus originate in animals or leak from a Chinese lab? Now, the U.S. Department of Energy has assessed with “low confidence” in that it began with a lab leak,...
Supreme Court appears ready to reject student loan forgivenessVideo
WASHINGTON — Conservative justices holding the Supreme Court’s majority seem ready to sink President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe away or reduce student loans held by millions of Americans. In arguments lasting more than three hours Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts led his conservative colleagues in questioning the administration’s authority...
Student loan forgiveness gets its day in court: What to know
NEW YORK — The Supreme Court is meeting Tuesday to hear two cases challenging President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. At stake: forgiveness of up to $20,000 in debt for more than 40 million Americans. Nearly half of those people could have their federal student debt wiped out entirely....
Pa. Senate panel learns there’s little the state can do to implement own railway rules
In light of the disastrous train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border earlier this month, the Pa. Senate Transportation Committee held a hearing Monday on railroad regulations — or, in many ways, the lack thereof. The hearing — spurred by the Feb. 3 East Palestine incident that spilled thousands of gallons...
Reports: Death of Johnstown restaurant owner ruled a homicideVideo
Authorities are investigating a homicide involving the death of the owner of the Johnstown Freight Station in Johnstown, Cambria County, who was violently assaulted, according to reports from WJAC and WTAJ. It occurred on the morning of Feb. 20 when police reported to the restaurant/bar because of a call regarding...
White House promises crackdown on migrant child laborVideo
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Monday that it is creating a new task force to crack down on an explosion of the illegal exploitation of migrant children for labor in the U.S. Hundreds of companies that employed nearly 4,000 children last year were found in violation of federal labor...
John Fetterman ‘on path to recovery,’ will be out for more weeks
WASHINGTON — A spokesman for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says the Democrat is “on a path to recovery” after checking himself into a hospital for clinical depression earlier this month, and he is still expected to be away from the Senate for several weeks. “We understand the intense interest in...
Rupert Murdoch knew Fox News hosts endorsed false election fraud claims, depositions showVideo
NEW YORK — New court documents show that Rupert Murdoch and his top lieutenants at Fox News were aware that former President Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were false, but agreed to give them continued coverage in an effort to keep its unhappy viewers from fleeing....
West Virginia GOP majority House OKs religious freedom bill
CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s GOP supermajority House of Delegates passed a bill Monday that would create a test for courts to apply when people challenge government regulations they believe interfere with their constitutional right to religious freedom. The bill passed after several Democrats expressed concern that the proposal could be...
Wind shreds Southern Plains; California to see more snowVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — Parts of the Southern Plains counted the injured and surveyed the damage Monday after tornadoes and other powerful winds swept through, killing at least one person in Oklahoma, while some Michigan residents faced a fifth consecutive day without power following last week’s ice storm. In California, the...
Florida Gov. DeSantis takes over Disney district, punishing company
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that gives him control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district, punishing the company over its opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The bill requires DeSantis, a Republican, to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services...
Pa. House preparing to consider critical chamber rules
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 — Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Berks County, says he will introduce chamber rules this week that would give Republicans...
Explainer: Windstorm was likely a derecho. What is that?
A long line of quick-moving thunderstorms that produced a swath of damaging wind gusts across northern Texas and Oklahoma late Sunday likely qualified the event as a derecho, although that’s not an official designation, said Nolan Meister, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Last night we had a prolific...
‘Dilbert,’ Scott Adams lose distributor over racist remarks
“Dilbert” creator Scott Adams experienced possibly the biggest repercussion of recent racist comments when a major comics syndicator, which also operates the GoComics website, announced Sunday it would it would no longer work with the cartoonist. Andrews McMeel Universal said in a statement that the syndication company was “severing” their...
Williamson becomes Democratic primary’s 1st Biden challenger
WASHINGTON — Bestselling self-help author Marianne Williamson, who brought quirky spiritualism to the 2020 presidential race, has announced she’s running for president again, becoming the first major Democrat to challenge President Joe Biden for his party’s nomination in 2024. Williamson is formally kicking off her campaign with an event in...
Kremlin image-maker turned critic Gleb Pavlovsky dies at 71
MOSCOW — Gleb Pavlovsky, a Soviet-era dissident who served as a Kremlin political consultant helping burnish President Vladimir Putin’s image, has died, his family said Monday. He was 71. Pavlovsky worked as a top adviser for the Kremlin for 15 years and was widely seen as one of the key...
Betty Boothroyd, first female UK Commons speaker, dies at 93
LONDON — Betty Boothroyd, the first — and so far only — female speaker of Britain’s House of Commons, has died, parliamentary authorities said Monday. She was 93. Boothroyd, who presided over the Commons’ often raucous debates with no-nonsense humor between 1992 and 2000, died Sunday at a hospital in...
Supreme Court student loan case: The arguments explainedVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. So far, Republican-appointed judges have kept the Democratic president’s plan from going into effect, and it remains to...
