Moderna says the FDA will consider its new flu shot after resolving a public dispute
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration will consider whether to approve Moderna’s new flu vaccine after all, resolving a dispute that had blocked the company’s application for the first-of-its-kind shot. Moderna announced the change Wednesday, about a week after revealing that the FDA’s vaccine chief was refusing to review...
Somalia renews its U.S.-backed fight against al-Shabab militant group. Here is why it matters
MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S.-backed airstrikes and recently expanded ground operations have shifted momentum in Somalia’s long-running war against al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group, the government says, touting successes in the fight such as efforts to reclaim territory from the extremists and the targeting of the group’s leadership and bomb-making network. The...
U.K. police band together to assess Epstein revelations as scandal rocks royals and politics
LONDON — British police forces are working together to assess potential crimes revealed in documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including allegations of wrongdoing by the former Prince Andrew. The National Police Chiefs’ Council, which brings together police leaders from across the...
Judge gives Trump administration deadline to restore President’s House exhibits
PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump’s administration now has a hard deadline to restore slavery exhibits to the President’s House. The Department of Interior and National Park Service must restore the President’s House to its condition before the exhibits were removed by 5 p.m. Friday, according to a new order from...
Following Trump’s lead, some GOP states seek to limit environmental regulations
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Some Republican legislators are looking to restrict their state’s ability to set environmental regulations, a move that comes as President Donald Trump ‘s administration pushes to roll back environmental rules on power plants, water and greenhouse gases. The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday approved legislation backed by business...
Shutdown may delay answers about planned ICE facility in Berks County
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. Update: Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said Tuesday evening there’s no meeting planned for Feb. 18. He said he...
Police arrest 11 in the beating death of a far-right student in France
PARIS — French police investigating the beating of a far-right militant who died of brain injuries have arrested 11 people, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a case adding fuel to long-standing divides in French politics ahead of presidential elections in 2027. Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old student described as a fervent nationalist,...
Many Democrats are still down on the Democratic Party, a new AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — Democratic candidates have notched a series of wins in recent special elections — but a new AP-NORC poll finds views of the Democratic Party among rank-and-file Democrats have not bounced back since President Donald Trump’s victory in 2024. Only about 7 in 10 Democrats have a positive view...
Envoys signal no breakthrough on bridging Russia and Ukraine’s political and military differences
GENEVA — The latest U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv over Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine ended Wednesday with no sign of a breakthrough and with both sides saying the talks were “difficult,” as the war’s fourth anniversary approaches next week. The negotiations in Switzerland were the third...
A robotic dog made in China gets an Indian university kicked out of an AI summit
NEW DELHI — A private Indian university was booted from a top artificial intelligence summit in New Delhi on Wednesday after one of its staffers displayed a commercially available robotic dog made in China, claiming it was the university’s own innovation. According to two government officials, Galgotias University was ordered...
8 backcountry skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California avalancheVideo
NEVADA CITY, Calif. — Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers near California’s Lake Tahoe and were searching for one more after they were caught in an avalanche, the nation’s deadliest in nearly half a century, authorities said Wednesday. Authorities said the skiers had little time to react. “Someone...
Russia hosts Cuban foreign minister and urges U.S. not to blockade Cuba
MOSCOW — The Cuban foreign minister visited Moscow on Wednesday as the island faces blackouts and severe fuel shortages worsened by a U.S oil embargo. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and was set to meet later in the day with President Vladimir...
FBI, St. Paul police probing ICE arrest that resulted in skull fractures
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota and federal authorities are investigating the alleged beating of a Mexican citizen by immigration officers last month, seeking to identify what caused the eight skull fractures that landed the man in the intensive care unit of a Minneapolis hospital. Investigators from the St. Paul Police Department and...
4 dead in crashes involving over 30 vehicles in ‘brownout’ conditions on Colorado interstate
PUEBLO, Colo. — Four people died in crashes involving over 30 vehicles, including six semitrailers, on an interstate in Colorado on Tuesday after blowing dirt made it nearly impossible to see, authorities said. Dirt kicked up by heavy winds blew across Interstate 25 just south of Pueblo around 10 a.m....
Driver fleeing ICE officers crashes, killing a Georgia teacher, authorities say
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Guatemalan driver fleeing a Georgia traffic stop by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work, authorities and school officials said. Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the driver accused of causing the Monday crash just outside of Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday...
6 backcountry skiers found alive, 10 missing after Northern California avalancheVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Six backcountry skiers were found alive and 10 others were still missing Tuesday after an avalanche in Northern California during a powerful winter storm moving through the state. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, after someone called 911...
Police in Nancy Guthrie investigation say glove DNA didn’t match anything in national database
DNA from gloves found a few miles from the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie did not match any entries in a national database, authorities said Tuesday, the 17th day of her disappearance. “There were no DNA hits in CODIS,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said, referring to the national Combined...
Shooter killed ex-wife and a son in Rhode Island ice rink attack, police sayVideo
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — A person who opened fire Monday during a youth hockey game at an ice rink in Rhode Island killed their ex-wife and one son, authorities said Tuesday. Pawtucket Chief of Police Tina Goncalves said the victims were the shooter’s ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan....
Treasury officials question legality of taxpayers paying for security upgrades at Shapiro’s family home
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Late last year, Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement agency revealed taxpayers would pick up the tab for more...
Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers pulled James Talarico interview as early voting begins in Texas
AUSTIN — Late-night host Stephen Colbert said his interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was pulled from Monday night’s broadcast over network fears it would violate regulatory guidance from the Trump administration on giving equal time to political candidates. The issue came just hours before early voting opened...
New Mexico legislators launch investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s secluded ranch
SANTA FE, N.M. — State legislators in New Mexico launched an investigation Tuesday into past activity at a secluded desert ranch where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests and whether local authorities looked the other way. A bipartisan, four-member panel of state House representatives is investigating allegations...
Reschenthaler weds Fox News’ Brooke Singman
Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican congressman from Peters, married Fox News reporter Brooke Singman over the weekend in a ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan. Social media posts show the festivities were attended by luminaries including FBI Director Kash Patel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Mike Waltz,...
What to know about the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says it temporarily closed for a military drill
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran says it temporarily closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. The move came as semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported live fire exercises in the vital waterway, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. The move is...
Federal judge rules Kilmar Abrego Garcia can’t be re-detained by immigration authorities
GREENBELT, Md. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because a 90-day detention period has expired and the government has no viable plan for deporting him, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The Salvadoran national’s case has become a focal point in the immigration debate after...
New subpoenas issued in inquiry on response to 2016 Russian election interference, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has issued new subpoenas in a Florida-based investigation into perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump and the U.S. government’s response to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. An initial wave of subpoenas in November asked recipients...
