The Trump administration wants to end the UN peacekeeping in Lebanon. Europe is pushing back
WASHINGTON — The future of U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon has split the United States and its European allies, raising implications for security in the Middle East and becoming the latest snag to vex relations between the U.S. and key partners like France, Britain and Italy. At issue is the peacekeeping...
U.S. seeks shipbuilding expertise from South Korea and Japan to counter China
WASHINGTON — American lawmakers are using a trip to South Korea and Japan to explore how the United States can tap those allies’ shipbuilding expertise and capacity to help boost its own capabilities, which are dwarfed by those of China. Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., who are...
Israel’s growing frustration over the war in Gaza explodes in nationwide protests
JERUSALEM — Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as thousands of protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza aimed to shut down the country with a one-day strike that blocked roads and closed businesses. Groups representing families of hostages organized...
European leaders to join Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for meeting with Trump
KYIV, Ukraine — European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington to present a united front in talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and firming up U.S. security guarantees now on the negotiating table. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany,...
Air Canada suspends restart plans after flight attendants union defies return to work order
TORONTO — Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return to work order. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travelers around the world per day during the peak summer travel season. The Canada...
Pa. Senate leaders look to skill games tax as transit funding debate continues
The highest-ranking Republican in the state Senate described the looming service cuts and fare hikes at Pennsylvania’s largest transit agency as a “manufactured crisis” that doesn’t need to happen. “This is (the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) wanting exactly what they want and holding everyone hostage,” said Senate President Pro Tempore...
Penn State suspends fraternity accused of hazing, abuse
Officials at Penn State University announced they have suspended a fraternity following an investigation into accusations of hazing and abuse. The Lambda Lambda chapter of Phi Beta Sigma will be suspended for four years, effective Aug. 4, according to a press release from the school. During that time, the chapter...
States move to send hundreds of National Guard members to Washington
WASHINGTON — Three states moved to deploy hundreds of members of their National Guard to the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul policing in Washington through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness. West Virginia said it was deploying 300 to 400 Guard troops, while...
In Trump’s redistricting push, Democrats find an aggressive identity and progressives are on board
ATLANTA — Fight! Fight! Fight! It’s not just Donald Trump’s mantra anymore. As the Republican president pushes states to redraw their congressional districts to the GOP’s advantage, Democrats have shown they are willing to go beyond words of outrage and use whatever power they do have to win. Democrats in...
Summit puts Putin back on the global stage and Trump echoes a Kremlin position
In Alaska, President Vladimir Putin walked on a red carpet, shook hands and exchanged smiles with his American counterpart. Donald Trump ended the summit praising their relationship and calling Russia “a big power … No. 2 in the world,” albeit admitting they didn’t reach a deal on ending the war...
100 days of Pope Leo XIV: A calm papacy that avoids polemics is coming into focus
VATICAN CITY — When Pope Leo XIV surprised tens of thousands of young people at a recent Holy Year celebration with an impromptu popemobile romp around St. Peter’s Square, it almost seemed as if some of the informal spontaneity that characterized Pope Francis’ 12-year papacy had returned to the Vatican....
Baby girl killed with parents in Gaza airstrike as Israelis urge a mass protest over the war
JERUSALEM — An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a baby girl and her parents on Saturday, Nasser hospital officials and witnesses said, while families of hostages called for a “nationwide day of stoppage” in Israel to express growing frustration over 22 months of war. The baby’s body, wrapped in blue,...
Erin rapidly strengthens into a Category 5 hurricane as parts of the Caribbean brace for flooding
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said. While the compact hurricane’s center wasn’t expected to hit land, it threatened...
Ukrainians feel betrayed after seeing Trump greet Putin with red carpet treatment
KYIV, Ukraine — In Kyiv, Ukrainians living under near daily Russian bombardment watched with astonishment as their country’s most important ally rolled out a red carpet in Alaska for the man they blame for over three years of war, bloodshed and loss. Natalya Lypei, 66, a Kyiv resident, did a...
Trump tax law could cause Medicare cuts if Congress doesn’t act, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficits caused by President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Friday. The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for Americans over age 65, could potentially...
Penn Township examines parking along Rowe Road following house fire on nearby street
Penn Township officials might prohibit street parking on a road after emergency services ran into complications when responding to a house fire last week. Fire and EMS services extinguished flames that erupted Aug. 4 near the rear deck of a home along Timber Ridge Court in Penn Township. The home...
A look at consumer prices 6 months into the 2nd Trump administration
It’s been a little over six months since President Donald Trump assumed office for his second term. In that time, the economic landscape has shifted quite drastically: The new administration has implemented broad tariffs on U.S. trade partners, the stock market has both plummeted and soared to historic heights, hiring...
Trump and Putin shake hands warmly in Alaska to kick off their summit on the war in Ukraine
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin met for about 2 1/2 half hours on Friday at a summit in Alaska that started with a handshake, a smile and a ride in the presidential limousine — an unusually warm reception for a U.S. adversary responsible...
Deer hunter discovers rare subtropical wood stork in the wilds of Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — A very rare and apparently very confused subtropical wood stork somehow found its way to the wilds of Wisconsin. A hunter scouting for deer first sighted the bird Sunday in a remote section of the Mud Lake Wildlife Area in Columbia County, about 35 miles northeast of...
D.C. sues to block Trump’s federal takeover of its police department as intervention intensifies
WASHINGTON — The nation’s capital sued to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday, hours after his administration escalated its intervention into the city’s law enforcement by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department. Washington’s police department chief said...
Solar panels that fit on your balcony or deck are gaining traction in U.S.
When Terrence Dwyer received a knock on his door and a flyer for a solar panel system small enough to fit on his deck, he was quickly sold. Solar systems that plug into regular wall outlets have been popular in Europe for years and are gaining traction in the U.S....
Japan marks 80th anniversary of WWII surrender as concern grows about fading memory
TOKYO — Japan paid tribute Friday to more than 3 million war dead as the country marked its surrender that ended World War II 80 years ago, as concern grows about the rapidly fading memories of the tragedy of war and the bitter lessons from the era of Japanese militarism....
What to know about the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska
The U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska is happening where East meets West — quite literally — in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering. Whether it can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than...
French leader Macron vows justice after unknown attackers chop down tree honoring murdered Jew
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Friday that no effort will be spared to track down and prosecute unknown attackers who chopped down an olive tree planted in homage to a French Jew murdered in 2006. The commemorative tree for Ilan Halimi, planted 14 years ago in the northern...
Spain, Portugal, and Greece battle wildfires as heatwave is expected to last for days
MADRID — Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece continued to battle wildfires Friday on a public holiday in all three countries as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes. Spain was fighting 14 major fires. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend. “Today will once again...
