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Hospitalizations are rising nationwide, and health officials urge Pennsylvanians to get fully vaccinated. PENNSYLVANIA — A new COVID-19 subvariant called JN.1 has emerged in Pennsylvania and is responsible for an increasing share of coronavirus hospitalizations as the winter holidays approach, officials said. JN.1 has not displaced HV.1 as the dominant variant in Pennsylvania or nationwide, according to public health officials. JN.1 currently accounts for 14.1 percent of all cases in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's five state area including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. That's the second most behind HV.1, which accounts for 35.4 percent of all The Pennsylvania Department of Health has not issued alerts related to JN.1 specifically but urged residents to get their vaccinations “Getting vaccinated remains the most effective way to protect yourself against respiratory viruses that regularly circulate during the holiday season, when many of us attend gatherings with family and friends," Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen said in a statement. "It’s safe to receive both the flu and COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time."cases.

Czech police and emergency services said a shooter had been “eliminated” after killing 10 people and wounding two dozen more at a university in the capital, Prague.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas’ top leader traveled to Cairo on Wednesday for talks on the war in Gaza, part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at securing another cease-fire and hostage swap at a moment when the militant group is putting up stiff resistance to Israel’s offensive. Ismail Haniyeh’s visit came a day after Hamas fired rockets that set off air raid sirens in central Israel, a show of strength during a 10-week war that has devastated much of northern Gaza, killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians, and driven some 1.9 million — nearly 85% of the population — from their homes. Israel has called on the rest of the world to blacklist Hamas as a terrorist organization, saying it must be eradicated in the wake of its Oct. 7 rampage across southern Israel that triggered the war. But the sides have recently relaunched indirect talks, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, aimed at instituting another cease-fire and freeing more hostages captured in that attack in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.