Former Uvalde officer acquitted in trial over police response to Robb Elementary attack
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A former Uvalde police officer was acquitted Wednesday of charges that he failed in his duties to confront the gunman at Robb Elementary during the critical first minutes of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Jurors deliberated for more than seven hours before...
Former special counsel Jack Smith set to testify at House panel
WASHINGTON — John L. “Jack” Smith is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, a high-profile appearance that will allow him and Republicans to present starkly different takeaways about the former special counsel’s criminal investigations of President Donald Trump. For Smith, the hearing will offer a platform...
Autopsy finds Cuban immigrant in ICE custody died of homicide due to asphyxia
WASHINGTON — A Cuban migrant held in solitary confinement at an immigration detention facility in Texas died after guards held him down and he stopped breathing, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday that ruled the death a homicide. Geraldo Lunas Campos died Jan. 3 as a result of an...
Summer Lee votes to hold Clintons in contempt of Congress for defying Epstein-related subpoenas
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, voted Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas to testify before the House Oversight Committee as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Lee was one of nine Democrats on the Oversight...
Memo: Immigration officers assert far-reaching power to enter homes without a judge’s warrantVideo
WASHINGTON — Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches. The memo authorizes...
Poor insurance reimbursements place Pa. hospitals at risk of closure, report says
Insufficient insurance reimbursements could drive more than a dozen Pennsylvania hospitals to close within five years, according to a report released Wednesday by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. The industry group hired consultancy Oliver Wyman to create the report. In its analysis, the New York City-based firm focused...
Washington Post seeks court order for government to return electronics seized from reporter’s home
WASHINGTON — The Washington Post asked a federal court on Wednesday for an order requiring federal authorities to return electronic devices that they seized from a Post reporter’s Virginia home last week, accusing the government of trampling on the reporter’s free speech rights and legal safeguards for journalists. A magistrate...
ICE activity increases in Maine as anxiety grows in immigrant communities
PORTLAND, Maine — The Trump administration is now targeting Maine in its mass deportation campaign, a state with relatively few residents in the United States illegally but a notable presence refugees in its largest cities, particularly from Africa. The Department of Homeland Security named the operation “Catch of the Day,”...
Minneapolis businesses struggle during Trump’s immigration enforcement surge
At Taste of East African in Minneapolis, the manager and owner are the only employees who come to work now, serving new customers who aren’t familiar with the food but are trying to support a restaurant challenged by a federal immigration enforcement surge. Like the employees, the usual patrons are...
Former DEA agent sentenced to 5 years in prison for using badge to protect drug trafficking friends
BUFFALO, N.Y. — In two decades of kicking in doors for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Joseph Bongiovanni often took on the risks of being the “lead breacher,” meaning he was the first person into the room. On Wednesday, he felt a familiar uncertainty awaiting sentencing for using his DEA...
Supreme Court seems inclined to keep Lisa Cook on Fed board despite Trump attempt to fire her
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed inclined to keep Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook in her job, casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s bid to wrest control of the nation’s central bank. The justices heard arguments over Trump’s effort to fire Cook based on allegations she committed mortgage...
Greensburg native, a federal judge in Va., questioned legitimacy of Trump-appointed prosecutor
A federal district judge, who excoriated a former Justice Department prosecutor for pursuing indictments against political adversaries of President Donald Trump, grew up in Greensburg and earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Vincent College. David Novak, a Trump-appointed district judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, is one of two...
Former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya announces Republican Senate bid in Minnesota
A former NFL sideline reporter is making a bid for the U.S. Senate. Michele Tafoya announced Wednesday that she’s running as a Republican for an open Senate seat in Minnesota. She retired from NBC in 2022. A California native, Tafoya joins a fledgling Republican primary field in the race to...
Photos from around the world to our backyard
From the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania to far-flung corners of the globe, TribLive’s gallery captures the world in motion — one frame at a time. Shot by photographers near and far, these images tell stories of place, connection and the quiet beauty of everyday life. More than a look...
Meteorologists blame a stretched polar vortex, moisture, lack of sea ice for dangerous winter blast
WASHINGTON — Warm Arctic waters and cold continental land are combining to stretch the dreaded polar vortex in a way that will send much of the United States a devastating dose of winter weather later this week with swaths of painful subzero temperatures, heavy snow and powerline-toppling ice. Meteorologists said...
‘Sad to see’: Ruthie’s Diner in Ligonier Township destroyed by blazeVideo
Rob Iscrupe saw no signs of smoke at 6 p.m. Tuesday when he clocked out from his shift as a dishwasher at Ruthie’s Diner. By Wednesday morning, he was surveying the icy mass of charred wood that remained where the longtime Ligonier Township landmark once stood. The building was destroyed...
‘West Wing’ actor Timothy Busfield released from New Mexico jail pending trial
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Actor Timothy Busfield was released from jail Tuesday night in New Mexico, where he is facing counts of child sexual abuse. Hours earlier, Busfield’s attorneys successfully argued that the actor best known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething” wasn’t a danger to...
House committee takes first step to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress in Epstein probe
WASHINGTON — A House committee advanced resolutions Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the prospect of the House using one of its most powerful punishments against a former president for the first...
Air Force One returns to Washington area due to minor electrical issue, White House says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s plane, Air Force One, returned to Joint Base Andrews about an hour after departing for Switzerland on Tuesday evening. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision to return was made after takeoff when the crew aboard Air Force One identified “a minor electrical...
A former flight attendant posed as a pilot and received hundreds of free flights, U.S. authorities say
HONOLULU — A former flight attendant for a Canadian airline posed as a commercial pilot and as a current flight attendant to obtain hundreds of free flights from U.S. airlines, authorities said. Dallas Pokornik, 33, of Toronto, was arrested in Panama after being indicted on wire fraud charges in federal...
Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland, says NATO agreed to ‘framework’ of future Arctic deal
DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was scrapping his planned tariffs on eight European nations in an effort to force U.S. control over Greenland, pulling a dramatic reversal shortly after insisting he wanted to get the island “including right, title and ownership.” In a post on...
‘This is not good policy’: Some GOP senators question advice Trump is receiving
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis is one of a growing number of Republicans who believe that President Donald Trump is getting faulty policy guidance from his White House advisers, potentially jeopardizing his legacy and the GOP’s chances of retaining their majority. Several in the Senate Republican Conference, including those at...
Supreme Court does not rule on tariffs, with next potential decision in February
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court is dashing any hopes of a quick rollback of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The justices are set to start a four-week recess next week without having ruled on pending challenges to most of the duties Trump has imposed over the last year. After Wednesday’s...
Penn calls federal commission’s request for personal employee information ‘unconstitutional,’ ‘disconcerting’ and ‘unnecessary’
The University of Pennsylvania in a legal filing Tuesday pushed back against a federal commission’s demand that in effect would require it to turn over lists of Jewish faculty, staff and students, calling the request “unconstitutional,” “disconcerting” and “unnecessary.” The filing comes in response to a lawsuit filed against the...
Trump-appointed prosecutor who pursued indictments against Trump’s foes is leaving post
WASHINGTON — Lindsey Halligan, who, as a hastily appointed Justice Department prosecutor, pursued indictments against a pair of President Donald Trump’s adversaries, is leaving her position as her months-long tenure has now concluded, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday night. Halligan’s departure from the role of interim United States attorney...
