Athletes, influencers navigate fine line as sports betting booms
Livvy Dunne has parlayed her successful stint as a collegiate gymnast at LSU into a career as a social media influencer and model. She can be seen in ads for Fanatics, including one where she appears shrouded in bubbles in a bathtub in the middle of a football field. “Fanatics...
USDA memo says it will not use emergency funds for November food benefits
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not use agency contingency funds to pay for food aid benefits set to lapse in November during the federal government shutdown, according to a memo seen by Reuters. More than 41 million people are set to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known...
U.S. expects more flight delays as controllers soon to miss paychecks
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday said he expects more flights to be delayed, with air traffic controllers set to miss their first paycheck as a federal government shutdown enters its 24th day. Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must work without pay...
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy urges U.S. to broaden Russian oil sanctions and seeks long-range missiles
LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday urged the United States to expand sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia. Zelenskyy was in London for talks with two dozen European leaders who have pledged military...
U.S. military to deploy aircraft carrier to South America amid soaring tensions with Venezuela
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump dramatically escalated a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America, a show of force that far exceeds any past counter-narcotics need and represents Washington’s most muscular move yet in the Latin America region....
Picasso painting held in private collection sells for $31 million at Paris auction
PARIS — A painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, believed to be depicting his muse and partner Dora Maar, fetched $31.49 million — 27 million euros — at a Paris auction Friday. The work, titled “Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar) 1943”, was acquired by a...
N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James pleads not guilty to mortgage-related charges
NORFOLK, Va. — New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday to charges related to allegedly lying on mortgage documents. James, a Democrat who last year secured a $450 million civil fraud judgment against President Donald Trump, is one of three perceived enemies that the...
Croatia reintroduces military conscription as Europe worries about Russia-Ukraine war
ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatia’s parliament on Friday voted to reintroduce compulsory military service in the European Union and NATO member country. The move comes amid heightened tensions in Europe following the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as an apparent arms race and military buildup in the Balkans, which went...
Ontario premier doesn’t back down against Trump, posts video of Reagan opposing tariffs
TORONTO — The leader of Canada’s most populous province posted remarks by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan on social media on Friday showing Reagan opposed tariffs, hours after President Donald Trump announced he’s ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad that Trump said misstates Reagan’s opposition...
Violence, racism and Nazi praise: The dark side of U.S. political group chats
WASHINGTON — Three separate controversies involving leaked text messages from private online group chats have rocked U.S. political circles this month, revealing racist, antisemitic and violent statements from figures across the ideological spectrum. The messages — sent privately but now public — include racial slurs, praise for Nazis, and threats...
U.S. military takes steps to adapt new hypersonic weapons to mobile launchers
WASHINGTON — Defense startup Castelion said on Friday it has won contracts to integrate its Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapon with current U.S. Army systems, the first step toward allowing the military to place the powerful and nearly unstoppable weapons around the world. The U.S. and China are engaged in an...
Almost 4,400 people abused by priests in Italy, victims’ group alleges
ROME — Nearly 4,400 people have been abused by Catholic priests in Italy in cases reported since 2020, a victims’ group alleged on Friday, renewing pressure on bishops to confront a crisis that has long plagued the world’s largest Christian faith. The unofficial tally by Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s largest church...
Social media’s impact on children topic of panel discussion on ‘Anxious Generation’
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg communications professor Jessica Ghilani likens the design of social media platforms to casinos without windows. The introduction of algorithmic sorting to Facebook in 2009 paved the way for social media platforms to generate endless streams of content for users — a system Ghilani describes as...
Trump says all trade talks with Canada are terminatedVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said late Thursday that all trade talks with Canada were terminated following what he called a fraudulent advertisement in which former President Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote on Truth...
Arson suspect in deadly Los Angeles Palisades fire pleads not guilty
LOS ANGELES — The man accused of deliberately setting the blaze that grew into one of the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles history, killing 12 people and incinerating thousands of homes, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to three federal arson-related charges. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is charged with “maliciously” starting...
U.S. warns it could force some Pennsylvania rail cars out of service
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy late Thursday warned that the department could soon force a Pennsylvania transit agency to stop using a fleet of railcars due to fire risks as he raised broad safety and financial concerns. The Federal Railroad Administration on October 1 issued an emergency order requiring...
Trump said he’s good at building ‘on budget.’ Then the ballroom cost escalated by 50%
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has often touted his experience as a real estate builder who is good at building things “on budget and on time,” as he did when he hosted a dinner last week for donors to his long-championed White House ballroom. Then, exactly a week later, on...
Virginia Democrats will try to reshape U.S. House districts in counter to Trump’s redistricting push
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Democrats are taking steps to redraw their state’s U.S. House districts, hoping to boost their party’s chances in next year’s midterm elections and counter President Donald Trump’s push for more partisan districts in Republican-run states. Virginia House Speaker Don Scott sent a letter Thursday to members...
Top Trump official defied court order on tear gas during Chicago crackdown, protesters say
CHICAGO — A top U.S. Border Patrol official violated a court order limiting the use of tear gas during demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, a group of protesters, journalists and clergy members told a U.S. judge on Thursday. The group said in a court filing that...
New York Attorney General James to challenge U.S. Attorney Halligan’s appointment
WASHINGTON — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday said her legal team plans to ask a federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges against her on the grounds that the U.S. Attorney in Eastern Virginia who obtained the indictment was unlawfully appointed, according to a court filing. James’...
Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the Caribbean, killing an elderly man in HaitiVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Melissa lumbered through the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola — an island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Officials urged residents in flood-prone areas to seek higher ground. The...
U.S. reopens Alaska wildlife refuge to oil and gas development
The Trump administration on Thursday announced a series of steps to open up Alaskan wilderness to energy and infrastructure development, including by allowing oil and gas drilling in the remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The administration has announced a string of policy swings involving the sprawling refuge for polar bears,...
Harrisburg mayor fined by Ethics Commission for using city dumpster for personal trash
The state Ethics Commission ordered Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams to pay a $912.70 fine for instructing city employees to deliver a city-owned dumpster to her home in 2022 for her personal use. Williams agreed to pay the fine instead of going through a hearing, which the commission said would have...
Cause of death released for Kada Scott, who was reported missing in Philadelphia
A Philadelphia woman last seen nearly three weeks ago was shot to death, health officials have confirmed. Kada Scott, 23, died of a gunshot wound to the head, and her death has been declared a homicide, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health told USA Today on Thursday. Human remains, later...
Trump calls off federal agent deployment to San Francisco
Donald Trump will not deploy federal agents to San Francisco, the U.S. president and the California city’s mayor said in separate social media posts on Thursday, a surprising stand-down as Trump pressures Democratic-led cities around the country to step up enforcement against crime and illegal immigration. San Francisco Mayor Daniel...
