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Hung jury ends trial of ex-New York governors’ aide accused of selling influence to China
3 arrested in $14 million gift card fraud scheme that hit shoppers across Texas
DALLAS — What looked like ordinary gift cards on store racks across Texas were quietly turning into empty plastic. State investigators say a months-long scheme drained millions from unsuspecting shoppers — until it ended with three arrests this week. The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center has arrested three men accused...
Suspect in national guard shooting faces new federal charges that allow death penalty discussions
WASHINGTON — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House has been charged in a complaint with federal firearms charges in connection with the ambush on Nov. 26 that fatally wounded one of the West Virginia National Guard members and seriously injured the second. Rahmanullah...
Zelenskyy says he’s open to a free economic zone in Ukraine’s east but it must be put to a vote
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized, free economic zone monitored by international forces....
What’s open and what’s closed on Christmas Day?
From department stores to grocery stores, most retailers across the U.S. close early on Christmas Eve and shut their doors entirely on Christmas Day — while others opt to cut back hours. But there’s also a handful of businesses that will be open during the holiday. Before you run out...
An explosion in Moscow kills 2 police officers and a bystander
MOSCOW — An explosion in Moscow on Wednesday killed three people, including two police officers, Russian investigators said, days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general not far away. The two traffic police officers were approaching a suspicious individual when a device detonated, Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said...
China’s military buildup makes U.S. vulnerable, Pentagon report says
WASHINGTON — The Chinese military is in the midst of a “historic military buildup” that has made the U.S. homeland “increasingly vulnerable,” according to the latest edition of a Pentagon report on the capabilities of the Chinese military, presenting a challenge to President Donald Trump’s plans for new limitations on...
U.S. bars 5 Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints online
WASHINGTON — The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not name those he said fell foul of a new visa policy announced in May to...
Trump administration moves to overhaul how H-1B visas are granted, ending lottery system
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers. The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics say...
New oral weight loss medication expected to be cheaper and more accessible
A pill version of the GLP-1 weight-loss drug Wegovy is expected to debut in the U.S. in early January. But how will the pills stack up against the already widely used injectables? Doctors in Western Pennsylvania said the pills will be a welcome addition to GLP-1 drug options for their...
Voluminous new Epstein document release includes multiple Trump mentions, but little revelatory news
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has released tens of thousands more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, a tranche that included multiple mentions of President Donald Trump but added little new revelatory information to the long-anticipated public file on the late financier and convicted sex offender. The release is the...
Student loan borrowers in default may see wages garnished in 2026
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it will begin garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers who are in default early next year. The department said it will send notices to approximately 1,000 borrowers the week of January 7, with more notices to come at an increasing...
Investigators sift through wreckage after 2 killed in Pa. nursing home explosion
BRISTOL — Construction crews and drones searched the rubble of a Pennsylvania nursing home Wednesday, a day after a powerful explosion killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building and left several residents unaccounted for. Emergency responders from across the region dug through debris and evacuated residents amid...
Controversial ’60 Minutes’ segment on Trump immigration policy leaks online
A controversial news segment that was abruptly pulled from the television show “60 Minutes,” appears to have been leaked online this week after the last minute decision to pull the story exploded into public debate about journalistic independence. The segment featured interviews with migrants who were sent to the notorious...
Federal judge says Trump administration must restore disaster money to Democratic states
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy’s ruling on Monday solidified a win for the coalition of 12 attorneys general that sued...
Supreme Court keeps Trump’s National Guard deployment blocked in the Chicago area, for now
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area to support its immigration crackdown. The justices declined the Republican administration’s emergency request to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge April Perry that had blocked the deployment...
Medicaid paid more than $207 million for dead people. A new law could help fix that
WASHINGTON — Medicaid programs made more than $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died, according to a new report from the independent watchdog for the Department of Health and Human Services. But the department’s Office of Inspector General...
Yemen’s sides agree to release 2,900 detainees in war’s largest exchange
CAIRO — Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have reached an agreement to free 2,900 detainees held during the 11-year civil war, according to Saudi and Houthi officials. Saudi Ambassador Mohamed AlJabir said in a statement on X that the agreement was signed under the supervision of...
U.S. strikes another alleged drug-smuggling boat in eastern Pacific
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Monday that it had conducted another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person. In a social media post, U.S. Southern Command said, “Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in...
Ex-aide says Netanyahu tasked him with making a plan to evade responsibility for Oct. 7 attack
JERUSALEM — A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach. Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein,...
Major Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine kills at least 3 people and cuts power
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired more than 650 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday, officials said. At least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child, two days before Christmas. The barrage struck homes...
Powerball jackpot soars to $1.7 billion after another night with no big winner
The Powerball jackpot has jumped to an eye-popping $1.7 billion, after the 46th drawing passed without a big winner. The numbers drawn Monday night were 3, 18, 36, 41, 54 and the Powerball 7. Since Sept. 6, there have been 46 straight drawings without a big winner. The next drawing...
Hempfield Area joins Chartiers Valley in piloting AI weapon detector created with Carnegie Mellon research
Hempfield Area will join a group of 15 school districts nationwide expected to pilot an AI-driven weapon detection system designed with the help of a Carnegie Mellon University scientist. CurvePoint, based in Pittsburgh’s North Shore, was launched about a year ago by CEO Skip Smith and Chief Scientist Dong Huang,...
Expanding broadband in rural Pa. was complicated by rule changes and uncertainty in 2025
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 — It’s been a year of sweeping and controversial changes for a huge federal broadband initiative. The $42.45...
Judge rules Trump administration must allow court challenges for Venezuelan migrants sent to prison
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must give legal due process to Venezuelan migrants flown to a notorious prison in El Salvador, either by providing court hearings or returning them to the U.S. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the government to come up with...
Hung jury ends trial of ex-New York governors’ aide accused of selling influence to China
NEW YORK — A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the corruption case of a former aide to New York governors after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked and couldn’t reach a verdict on charges she sold her influence to China and profited from a medical equipment scheme during the...
