When item spotted and other things happen in the same turn, the item is no longer highlighted with a crosshair

Then the message is perplexing to a newbie, because he doesn't know where the spotted item is, if anywhere. The same problem if the item is actually under the message on the screen. So, either keep the crosshair visible until the player acknowledges the message (this is similar to how Angband handles multiple messages per turn) or let the player point at the message and the crosshair then move to the item (there is a ticket somewhere about associating a set of positions with a message) or display the symbol of the item in the message, so it's easier to spot on the screen, or perhaps even display the coordinates in the longer version of the message kept in the message log.

Alternatives or additions: show the item spot message as a tooltip over the item and/or mark all items spotted this turn with a box over that tile.

Start by tracing how item-spot messages, the crosshair, and the message log are handled during a turn. Compare the proposed approaches—keeping the crosshair visible, moving it from the message, showing the item symbol or coordinates, or adding tile markers—and define one consistent behavior with a way to verify the spotted item remains identifiable.