Explosion at Nebraska biofuel plant killed 3 people, including 2 kids, officials say
FREMONT, Neb. — Two girls and an adult missing since a huge explosion tore through a Nebraska biofuels plant are confirmed dead, officials said Wednesday, as firefighters have battled smoke and flames smoldering in the wreckage for nearly a day. “Right now this has moved to a recovery effort,” Fremont...
Gallery: Photos from July 30, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Wednesday, July 30, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Texas Republicans propose new U.S. House map with more winnable GOP seats
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a new congressional map that creates five additional GOP-leaning districts, bolstering their chances of maintaining control as they brace for a challenging midterm election. The redrawn map comes during a special legislative session called by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, as President Donald...
Gov. Shapiro joins lawsuit against Trump administration over defunding of Planned Parenthood
Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed onto a lawsuit alleging the federal government is illegally blocking Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood and affiliated healthcare providers. The suit centers on a provision of the recently passed mega bill, which enacts many of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy priorities. It bans...
Justice Department says Epstein and Maxwell grand juries heard from only 2 law enforcement witnesses
Just two witnesses, both law enforcement officials, testified before the federal grand juries that indicted Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges, the Justice Department said in support of its request to unseal transcripts of the usually secret proceedings. In a filing late Tuesday in...
Trump announces 25% tariff on India starting Friday, unspecified penalties for buying Russian energy
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’ll impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India’s purchasing of Russian oil. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that India “is our friend” but its “Tariffs are far too high” on U.S....
Tsunami evacuations ordered in South America, but worst risk appears to pass for U.S. after huge quake
HONOLULU — Fears of a devastating tsunami faded Wednesday for the U.S. and Japan after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off a sparsely populated Russian peninsula, but new alerts along South America’s Pacific coast forced evacuations and closed beaches. Warnings in the first hours after the 8.8...
Radar satellite launched by India and NASA will track even the smallest changes to Earth’s land and ice
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA and India paired up to launch an Earth-mapping satellite on Wednesday capable of tracking even the slightest shifts in land and ice. The $1.3 billion mission will help forecasters and first responders stay one step ahead of floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and other disasters, according...
8.8-magnitude earthquake causes tsunami in Russia and Japan, sets off warnings for Alaska and HawaiiVideo
TOKYO — One of the world’s strongest earthquakes struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, an 8.8-magnitude temblor that set off a tsunami in the northern Pacific region and prompted warnings for Alaska, Hawaii and other coasts south toward New Zealand. Tsunami warning sirens blared Tuesday in Honolulu and people moved...
Trump administration now lets federal workers spread religion at work. Faith groups react
New guidance from President Donald Trump’s administration outlining how federal employees may engage with faith practices in the workplace garnered mixed reactions from religious groups, with some raising concern about the blurring boundary between church and state. The guidelines, announced by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in a July...
Record-breaking heat wave scorches SoutheastVideo
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Residents in the Southeast U.S. are no strangers to heat in the summertime. But this week’s sweltering hot weather set at least one record and has forecasters urging residents to limit time outside on Tuesday if possible — and stay hydrated. The all-time high temperature at Tampa...
Oklahoma authorities investigate reports of explicit images on state education chief’s TV
An Oklahoma sheriff’s office this week opened an investigation over reports that images of nude women were displayed on the state’s school superintendent office television during a meeting with education board members. Top Oklahoma lawmakers have sought answers over accounts given by two State Board of Education members, who said...
As U.S. grapples with China relations, Taiwan’s president scraps stop on American soil
The Taiwanese government has called off a plan for its president to transit through the United States on his way to Latin America, The Associated Press has learned — a decision leading to conflicting accounts of the reason for the cancellation. Amid speculation that the Trump administration had opposed a...
Trump claims Epstein ‘stole’ young women from Mar-a-Lago spa, including Virginia Giuffre
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein “stole” young women who worked for the spa at Mar-a-Lago, the latest evolution in his description of how their highly scrutinized relationship ended years ago. One of the women, he acknowledged, was Virginia Giuffre, who was among Epstein’s most well-known...
Senate confirms Trump lawyer Emil Bove, pushing past whistleblower claims
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove 50-49 for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge Tuesday as Republicans dismissed whistleblower complaints about his conduct at the Justice Department. A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Bove was on Trump’s legal...
Parents want more warnings after a brain-eating amoeba killed their son on a South Carolina lake
COLUMBIA — Two weeks after Jaysen Carr spent the Fourth of July swimming and riding on a boat on one of South Carolina’s most popular lakes, he was dead from an amoeba that lives in the warm water and entered his brain through his nose. His parents had no clue...
Arkansas police release picture of man wanted for questioning in investigation into Devil’s Den park killings
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas police released a photo Tuesday of a man wanted for questioning in the investigation into the weekend killing of a married couple in front of their children at Devil’s Den State Park. The image released by state police doesn’t show the man’s face, and comes a...
Bodycam video appears to show Florida officer aiming a gun at Black student during brutal arrest
A Florida police officer had his gun aimed at a Black college student shortly before the driver was pulled from his car and beaten in a recorded encounter that recently sparked widespread outrage, civil rights lawyers said Tuesday. The officer standing in front of William McNeil Jr.’s car appeared to...
Pittsburgh ‘uniquely positioned’ to lead in physical AI, organizers of upcoming summit say
Pittsburgh will again find itself in the AI economy spotlight in September when it hosts the two-day AI Horizons summit in the East End’s Bakery Square. The summit, in its second year, will focus this year on physical AI — in which artificial intelligence is integrated into physical systems like...
Congressional proposal would target spotted lanternfly
Spotted lanternflies, targeted by stomping feet wherever they’re found, have a new enemy: Congress. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, and three of his colleagues have introduced legislation that would authorize the nation’s agriculture chief to make grants available for lanternfly research aimed at stopping the spread of the invasive insect....
10 lifeguards on hand when girl drowned at Hersheypark wave pool
Ten lifeguards were watching the wave pool at Hersheypark when a 9-year-old girl drowned, officials said. A spokesperson for the theme park confirmed the incident occurred at the wave pool within the Boardwalk at Hersheypark, on Thursday, as reported by NBC10 Philadelphia. At the time of Sophia Subedi’s death, the...
Gallery: Photos from July 29, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Tuesday, July 29, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
P&G to increase prices in part due to tariffs as shoppers remain cautious and delay purchases
NEW YORK — Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble offered an annual earnings outlook that was below analysts’ projections and said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products in the U.S. in part due to higher costs from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The assessment delivered Tuesday...
Who wants to be a millionaire? 1 in 10 Americans already is but the status loses its luster
NEW YORK — As a child, Heidi Barley watched her family pay for groceries with food stamps. As a college student, she dropped out because she couldn’t afford tuition. In her twenties, already scraping by, she was forced to take a pay cut that shrunk her salary to just $34,000...
Union Pacific and Norfolk seek 1st transcontinental railroad through merger
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is seeking to buy Norfolk Southern in a $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S, and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across the country. The proposed merger, announced Tuesday, would marry Union Pacific’s rail network in...
