Sri Lankan lawmakers scrap their pensions in a sweeping vote
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan legislators overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday to scrap their pensions, in a bid to fulfil a key pre-election campaign promise by the ruling Marxist-leaning government following anger over the country’s economic crisis. Lawmakers passed the bill on Tuesday by 154 votes in the 225-member House,...
Russian and Ukrainian officials are in Geneva for U.S.-brokered talks after almost 4 years of war
GENEVA — Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were in Geneva on Tuesday for another round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. However, expectations for any breakthroughs in Geneva were low, with neither side apparently ready to budge from its...
Delaware man married in the 1970s to former first lady Jill Biden pleads not guilty in wife’s death
WILMINGTON, Del. — The long-ago first husband of former first lady Jill Biden pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he killed his current wife in Delaware. William Stevenson, 77, was married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975. A state grand jury this month charged Stevenson with killing Linda Stevenson,...
Iran temporarily closing Strait of Hormuz for live fire drills as nuclear talks with U.S. begin
GENEVA — The U.S. and Iran are holding their second round of talks about Iran’s nuclear program Tuesday in Geneva as Iran said it will close the Strait of Hormuz for several hours as it holds live fire military exercises and the United States ramps up its military forces in...
Green Beacon Gallery in downtown Greensburg searches for a new home
Greensburg was not a random choice for Phil and Steve Harrold’s art and music gallery. The initials of the West Pittsburgh Street venue, called Green Beacon Gallery, align with a common abbreviation for the name of the city — which the brothers deemed deserving of an open stage for local...
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, revered Civil Rights leader, has died at 84
CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader’s assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84. As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with...
3 killed, including suspect, in shooting during Rhode Island youth hockey game
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — A shooting during a Rhode Island youth hockey game left three people dead, including the shooter, and three more hospitalized Monday night in critical condition, authorities said. Pawtucket police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that someone helped bring a swift end to the violent scene Monday afternoon...
Trump says Board of Peace will unveil $5 billion in Gaza reconstruction pledges at inaugural meeting
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump said Sunday that members of his newly created Board of Peace have pledged $5 billion toward rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza and will commit thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the territory. The pledges will be formally announced when board...
Casey Wasserman to sell his talent agency following Epstein fallout
LOS ANGELES — Casey Wasserman, the embattled mogul who is the face of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, is preparing to sell his talent agency, a stunning fall for a leading figure in the world of sports and music. In a memo to his staff Friday, Wasserman acknowledged his appearance...
Biodegradable Mardi Gras beads help make Carnival season more sustainableVideo
NEW ORLEANS — It is Carnival season in New Orleans. That means gazillions of green, gold and purple Mardi Gras beads. Once made of glass and cherished by parade spectators who were lucky enough to catch them, today cheap plastic beaded necklaces from overseas are tossed from floats by the...
Searchers find wreck of luxury steamer lost in Lake Michigan more than 150 years ago
MADISON, Wis. — Searchers have discovered the wreck of a luxury steamer that sank in a Lake Michigan gale in the late 19th century, completing a quest that began almost 60 years ago. Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate shipwrecks around the globe, announced Friday that a team...
FBI: DNA recovered from glove found near Guthrie home that appears to match glove worn by suspect
TUCSON, Ariz. — A glove containing DNA found about two miles from the house of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother appears to match those worn by a masked person outside her front door in Tucson the night she vanished, the FBI said Sunday. The glove, discovered in a field...
Storm system sweeps across the Southeast triggering tornado watches and damaging windVideo
ATLANTA — A storm system sweeping across the Southeast late Saturday and Sunday brought tornado warnings to Mississippi and Louisiana, and then took aim at parts of Georgia and Florida, as people in the Northeast were finally getting a reprieve from weeks of bitterly cold temperatures. Some of the fiercest...
Trump’s border czar says ‘small’ security force will remain in Minnesota after enforcement drawdownVideo
WASHINGTON — White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that more than 1,000 immigration agents have left Minnesota’s Twin Cities area and hundreds more will depart in the days ahead as part of the Trump administration’s drawdown of its immigration enforcement surge. A “small” security force will stay for...
DOJ tells lawmakers Epstein file redactions complied with lawVideo
The Justice Department sent a letter to U.S. lawmakers summarizing redactions in the so-called Epstein Files, as political pressure swirls around decisions to withhold some information. The explanation for redactions was required by a law passed last year that has forced the public release of millions of pages of material....
TSA agents are working without pay at U.S. airports due to another shutdown
A shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that took effect early Saturday impacts the agency responsible for screening passengers and bags at airports across the country. Travelers with airline reservations may be nervously recalling a 43-day government shutdown that led to historic flight cancellations and long delays last...
U.S. military reports a series of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Saturday reported a series of strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria in retaliation for the December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter. U.S. Central Command said in a statement that American aircraft had conducted 10 strikes against...
U.S. military boards another oil tanker in Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean
WASHINGTON — U.S. military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said Sunday. Venezuela had faced U.S. sanctions on its oil for several years, relying on a shadow...
What to know about the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance and the search for clues
TUCSON, Ariz. — Law enforcement agents have been gathering more potential evidence as the search for “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie ‘s mother heads into its third week. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her Arizona home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities say...
As some people push to make profound autism its own diagnosis, this family is raising twins with it
AYER, Mass. — Connor Murphy walked in circles around his dad, then flopped down on the kitchen floor, got up and walked in circles again. His dad turned the 9-year-old’s repetitive behavior into a chance to connect. “Want me to pick you up?” Matthew Murphy asked, lifting, tickling and spinning...
Local teachers benefit from Seton Hill program on Holocaust, genocide education
For Leticia Fournier, the religious affiliation of Christ the Divine Teacher School in Latrobe makes education on the Holocaust even more important. Fournier has taught the school’s Holocaust studies course for eight years. First launched in 2004, the class was a partnership with nearby Beth Israel synagogue, which closed in...
White House orders Homeland Security shutdown as funding lapses
WASHINGTON — The White House ordered the Department of Homeland Security to begin shutdown procedures as its funding from Congress expires at midnight — the third time parts of the U.S. government will have shut down in the past six months. The shutdown will affect DHS functions other than immigration...
A lawsuit seeks to stop Trump’s overhaul of a 100-year-old public golf course in Washington
Two golfers in Washington, D.C., sued the federal government on Friday to try to prevent the Trump administration from overhauling a more than 100-year-old public golf course, accusing the administration of violating environmental laws and polluting a park that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The suit is...
Trump administration urges nations to call for withdrawal of a U.N. climate proposal
UNITED NATIONS — The Trump administration is urging other nations to press a tiny Pacific island country to withdraw a United Nations draft resolution supporting strong action to prevent climate change, including reparations for damage caused by any nation that fails to take action. In guidance issued this week to...
U.S. military strikes another alleged drug boat in Caribbean, killing 3
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Friday it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Southern Command said on social media the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” It...
