Israeli minister prays at flashpoint holy site as officials report 27 aid-seekers killed in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A far-right Israeli minister visited and prayed at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Sunday, triggering regional condemnation and fears that the provocative move could further escalate tensions. The visit came as hospitals in Gaza reported that 27 more Palestinians seeking food aid were killed...
Senate heads home with no deal to speed confirmations
WASHINGTON — The Senate left Washington Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees, calling it quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!” Without...
Magnitude-3.0 earthquake shakes N.Y. area, USGS says
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. — A small earthquake rattled the New York metropolitan area Saturday night. The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor had a magnitude of 3.0. It hit in the New Jersey suburb of Hasbrouck Heights, less than 8 miles west of Central Park, at a depth of about...
Pope thrills hundreds of thousands of young Catholics at Holy Year youth festival
ROME — Pope Leo XIV urged hundreds of thousands of young people on Saturday to have the courage to make radical choices to do good, as he presided over his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics during the highlight of the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year. Leo encountered...
Watchdog agency investigating ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith for alleged illegal political activity
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — An independent watchdog agency responsible for enforcing a law against partisan political activity by federal employees has opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who brought two criminal cases against then-candidate Donald Trump before his election to the White House last year. The...
Ohiopyle State Park tops list of nation’s ‘great-value stays’
Nine state parks in Pennsylvania have been listed among the United States’ best when it comes to getting the most bang for your buck. In fact, one topped the list. As conducted and published by HomeToGo, the list ranked Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County as the No. 1 state...
Officials scour mountainous area of Montana for ex-U.S. soldier suspected of killing 4 in bar shooting
Authorities were scouring a mountainous area of western Montana on Saturday for a military veteran who they say opened fire at a bar, killing four people. Michael Paul Brown, 45, fled The Owl Bar in the small town of Anaconda in a white pickup truck but ditched it at some...
Israeli fire again kills Gaza aid-seekers as U.S. envoy meets with hostages’ families
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces opened fire near two aid distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as crowds of hungry Palestinians again sought food, killing at least 10 people, witnesses and health workers said Saturday — a day after U.S. officials visited a GHF site...
Got the sniffles? Here’s what to know about summer colds, covid-19 and more
Summer heat, outdoor fun … and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people’s minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer. But it is possible to get the sniffles —...
What to know if you’re at risk of having your wages garnished over student loan debt
NEW YORK — Millions of student borrowers could begin having their wages garnished as soon as this summer, according to estimates from credit bureau TransUnion. The company predicts that by August roughly 3 million borrowers could move into default, meaning they’re 270 days past due on payments. At that point,...
It’s Trump’s economy now. The latest financial numbers offer some warning signs
WASHINGTON — For all of President Donald Trump’s promises of an economic “golden age,” a spate of weak indicators this week told a potentially worrisome story as the impacts of his policies are coming into focus. Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared to last...
Hempfield eyes sidewalks for Mt. Pleasant Road
Hempfield is eyeing sidewalk installation along sections of Mt. Pleasant Road to bolster pedestrian safety near the area’s neighborhoods, businesses, Pitt campus and future Weatherwood Park. The first phase of a proposed project, which could start in 2027, would add 13,000 square feet of 6-foot-wide sidewalk along the county-owned road...
Trump’s treason claim further erodes political discourse, experts say
President Donald Trump doubled down this week on an accusation that former President Barack Obama and members of his administration committed treason by misleading the public about Russian meddling in the 2016 election. While even Trump acknowledged that such a prosecution is unlikely, political analysts say the president’s explosive rhetoric...
Trump injects a new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug. 7
WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump was promising the world economy would change on Friday with his new tariffs in place. It was an ironclad deadline, administration officials assured the public. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs, the start date of the punishing import...
Democrats cry foul as Republicans push to redraw Texas electoral maps to gain U.S. House seats
AUSTIN, Texas — Democratic lawmakers tried to build a case Friday that Republicans in Texas have engineered a rushed and unfair process for redrawing the state’s congressional districts in response to a push by President Donald Trump to win more GOP seats that Democrats fear will spread to other states....
Trump removes official overseeing jobs data after dismal employment report
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the...
Corporation for Public Broadcasting to shut down after being defunded by Congress, targeted by Trump
WASHINGTON — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming, cultural...
The Smithsonian removes a Trump impeachment reference from an exhibit but says it’s temporary
NEW YORK — The Smithsonian Institution has removed from an exhibit a reference to President Donald Trump’s two impeachments, a decision that comes as the White House exerts pressure to offer a more positive — and selective — view of American history. A spokesperson said the exhibit eventually “will include...
Jury orders Tesla to pay more than $240 million in Autopilot crash case
MIAMI — A Miami jury decided that Elon Musk’s car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $240 million in damages. The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology...
Trump orders U.S. nuclear subs repositioned over statements from ex-Russian leader Medvedev
WASHINGTON — In a warning to Russia, President Donald Trump said Friday he’s ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines “based on the highly provocative statements” of the country’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, who has raised the prospect of war online. Trump posted on his social media site that,...
Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is transferred to a prison camp in Texas
WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas as her criminal case generates renewed public attention. The federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday that Maxwell had been transferred to Bryan, Texas, but did not explain...
Astronauts launch to the space station after sidelined by Boeing’s troubled Starliner
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeing’s Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX. The U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. They’ll replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March...
Brazil’s Supreme Court stands firm on Bolsonaro trial despite foreign pressure
SAO PAULO — Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Friday that the country’s top court will not yield to sanctions or foreign pressure over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, which is expected to take place later this year. De Moraes, who is overseeing the criminal case...
1 killed, 1 injured in Outer Banks pier shooting
One person was killed and another seriously wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon at a popular tourist spot in the Outer Banks. According to news reports, the incident happened around 2:37 p.m. at the Avalon Fishing Pier in Kill Devil Hills. The Kill Devil Hills Police Department said a suspect...
Trump calls on the Federal Reserve board to take full control of the central bank from Powell
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday called for the Federal Reserve’s board of governors to usurp the power of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, criticizing the head of the U.S. central bank for not cutting short-term interest rates. Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Powell “stubborn.” The Fed...
