Some Pa. cannabis companies use misleading statements to promote marijuana for addiction treatment
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 — Some Pennsylvania cannabis companies are using incomplete or misleading claims to promote marijuana as a treatment for opioid addiction,...
3rd officer testifies in federal trial in Floyd’s killing
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The third former Minneapolis police officer charged with federal civil rights violations in George Floyd’s killing has taken the stand at their trial. Thomas Lane is testifying Monday. He, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng are charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights when Officer Derek Chauvin...
Mount Etna roars again, sends up towering volcanic ash cloud
ROME — Mount Etna has roared back to spectacular action after a few months of relative quiet, sending up a 7.5-mile high volcanic ash cloud over eastern Sicily. The lava flow from Etna, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, was centered around the crater on the mountain’s southeast slope, Italy’s...
Boris Johnson scraps remaining covid restrictions in England
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that he is scrapping of the last domestic coronavirus restrictions in England, including the requirement for people with covid-19 to self-isolate. Johnson said the country was “moving from government restrictions to personal responsibility” as part of a plan for treating covid-19...
U.S. Navy plans launch of Mideast drone force alongside allies
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet announced Monday the launch of a new joint fleet of unmanned drones with allied nations to patrol vast swaths of the region’s volatile waters as tensions simmer with Iran. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the 5th Fleet,...
Russia orders troops into eastern Ukraine, fear of war growsVideo
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the specter of war on Monday by ordering troops into separatist areas of eastern Ukraine in his most dangerous provocation yet with Washington over the fate of a nation that could redraw the map of Eastern Europe and upset the decadeslong security architecture...
Israel successfully tests naval air defense system
JERUSALEM — Israel on Monday said it successfully tested a new naval air defense system, intercepting a series of threats in what officials called a key layer of protection against Iran and its proxies in the region. The “C-Dome” system is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has...
What’s the true covid death toll in Pa.? New analysis sheds light
For many reasons, it’s hard to know the full impact of the covid-19 pandemic. Some deaths may have gone uncounted for reasons such as the person died at home and was never tested. A person may have died from an existing disease exacerbated by covid-19. Or a person may have...
Biden-Putin meeting discussed as Ukraine war fears loom
MOSCOW — The U.S. and Russian presidents have tentatively agreed to meet in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to stave off Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as heavy shelling continued Monday in a conflict in eastern Ukraine that is feared will spark the Russian offensive. French President Emmanuel Macron sought to broker...
New River Gorge had record visitation in 2021
GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — A record number of people visited the newly designated New River Gorge National Park and Preserve last year, officials said. The park recorded nearly 1.7 million visitors in 2021, which was an increase of 600,000 from a year earlier, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported. New River...
1 police officer dead, 1 hurt in offshore helicopter crash
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Authorities were investigating Sunday the cause of a police helicopter crash along the Southern California coast that killed one officer and sent another to the hospital with critical injuries. The Huntington Beach officers were responding to a disturbance in the neighboring city of Newport Beach around...
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack: Some price increases are the result of businesses ‘taking advantage’
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said some recent price increases were the result of businesses “taking advantage” of the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain disruptions to push up food costs. Food prices have soared globally in the past year as economies recover from the pandemic and amid a jump in...
Penn State Thon raises more than $13 million in its 50th yearVideo
STATE COLLEGE — Thon 2022 raised $13,756,374.50, the organizers of the 46-hour dance marathon announced on Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. Thon, which was celebrating its 50th year at Penn State this weekend, has now raised more than $200 million for childhood cancer research and expenses for families...
Rents reach ‘insane’ levels across U.S. with no end in sight
Krystal Guerra’s Miami apartment has a tiny kitchen, cracked tiles, warped cabinets, no dishwasher and hardly any storage space. But Guerra was fine with the apartment’s shortcomings. It was all part of being a 32-year-old graduate student in South Florida, she reasoned, and she was happy to live there for...
Canada’s protests settle down, but could echo in politics
TORONTO — The streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet now. The Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by police in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers’ horns has gone silent. But the trucker protest, which grew until it closed a handful...
U.S.: Russia closer to invading Ukraine, agrees to meeting
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia on Sunday rescinded earlier pledges to pull tens of thousands of its troops back from Ukraine’s northern border, a move that U.S. leaders said put Russia another step closer to what they said was the planned invasion of Ukraine. Residents of Ukraine’s capital filled a gold-domed...
Queen Elizabeth II tests positive for covid; mild symptoms
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for covid-19 on Sunday and is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, Buckingham Palace said, adding that she still plans to carry on working. The diagnosis prompted concern and get-well wishes from across Britain’s political spectrum for the famously stoic 95-year-old. Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and...
Shock gas, grocery price hikes spur states to pursue tax relief
Rapidly climbing inflation in the U.S. is accelerating calls from governors and state leaders to provide immediate tax relief to cash-strapped residents facing higher prices on everyday products such as gas, milk and electricity. The governors of Maine and Kentucky this week joined states including Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Alabama,...
Conservative strategies for a post-Roe world face roadblock
Republican lawmakers in a handful of conservative states have stumbled on a roadblock to what they thought would be a clear path to setting new restrictions on abortion if the Supreme Court upends the landmark Roe v. Wade decision: right-to-privacy protections enshrined in their own state constitutions. In states where...
Helicopter crashes into ocean near Miami Beach swimmers
MIAMI — A helicopter crashed Saturday into the ocean waters off Miami Beach, plummeting a few feet away from swimmers in a crowded stretch popular among tourists, officials said. Two passengers were taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition, and no one else appeared to be injured. The Miami...
Last Afghan refugees leave N.J. base after chaotic evacuation
WASHINGTON — The last of thousands of Afghan refugees who awaited resettlement at eight U.S. military installations departed Saturday from a base in New Jersey, completing a journey that started with the chaotic evacuation from Kabul in August. With assistance from refugee resettlement organizations, Afghans evacuated after their country fell...
Actor Lindsey Pearlman found dead after going missing in L.A.
LOS ANGELES — Actor Lindsey Erin Pearlman, who had roles in “General Hospital,” “American Housewife” and other shows, was found dead days after she was reported missing in Los Angeles, authorities said. Investigators had sought the public’s help in finding Pearlman, 43, who was last seen around noon last Sunday,...
Modeling agent close to Jeffrey Epstein found dead in French jail
PARIS — A modeling agent who was close to disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead Saturday in his French jail cell, where he was being held in an investigation into the rape and sex trafficking of minors, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. Victims of the alleged abuse...
Plea deal reached in Conneaut Lake boat mishap case
A plea deal was reached Friday in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas in connection with a Conneaut Lake boating mishap that caused $200,000 in damages last year. Two of four summary violation convictions were appealed to county court by Mario DeBlasio. At a hearing Dec. 9, 2021, DeBlasio, 56,...
EU chief: Russia could be cut off from markets, tech goods
MUNICH — Moscow would have its access to financial markets and high-tech goods limited under Western sanctions being prepared in case Russia attacks Ukraine, a top European Union official said Saturday. The comments from Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU’s Executive Commission, came as tensions over Russia’s intentions...
