DeSantis signs a bill making Florida the 2nd state to ban fluoride from its water system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure Thursday prohibiting local governments from adding fluoride to their water systems, making it the second state in the country after Utah to implement a statewide ban on the mineral. DeSantis signed the bill at a public event...
UN aid chief defends using ‘genocide’ in Gaza remarks to the Security Council that Israel rejects
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations’ humanitarian chief has defended using the term “genocide” to describe what aid workers are trying to prevent in Gaza, saying the world should not make the same mistakes seen in past violations of international law, when it wasn’t “called out soon enough.” Tom Fletcher,...
Wisconsin judge pleads not guilty to helping a man evade federal immigration agents
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges accusing her of helping a man who is illegally in the country evade U.S. immigration authorities seeking to arrest him in her courthouse. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan entered the plea during a brief arraignment in federal court....
Gallery: Photos from May 15, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Thursday, May 15, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy arrives in Turkey for peace talks but Russia’s Putin stays away
ANKARA, Turkey — Russian President Vladimir Putin stayed away Thursday from proposed direct peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine, leaving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy waiting in the Turkish capital of Ankara after he had challenged the Kremlin leader to face-to-face negotiations. With Putin absent, the Russian delegation was...
What to know about the upcoming Supreme Court arguments in the birthright citizenship case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Thursday in its first case stemming from the blitz of actions that have marked the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Before the court are the Trump administration’s emergency appeals of lower court orders putting nationwide holds on the Republican president’s...
Older people in crosshairs as government restarts Social Security garnishment on student loans
NEW YORK — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she’s put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At 73, she...
Those who’ve worked with Pope Leo XIV are optimistic he’ll elevate women’s roles — with limits
VATICAN CITY — Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis’ pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops. But he also has said decisively that women cannot be ordained as priests, and...
‘She earned it’: Penn Township native secures bronze at World Special Olympics
Penn Township resident Kaitlin Grove came to the base of the World Special Olympics ski course with arms raised and a smile across her face. Grove, 28, received a bronze medal in the giant slalom event, taking her place on the podium in Turin, Italy. She was the only Western...
Missouri lawmakers approve referendum to repeal abortion-rights amendment
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Six months after Missouri voters approved an abortion-rights amendment, Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday approved a new referendum that would seek the amendment’s repeal and instead ban most abortions with exceptions for rape an incest. The newly proposed constitutional amendment would go back to voters in...
Beauty influencer fatally shot during her TikTok livestream at a Mexican beauty salon
MEXICO CITY — A social media influencer was shot to death while doing a TikTok livestream at a beauty salon in the central Mexican state of Jalisco, state authorities confirmed Wednesday. The stark show of violence fueled shock in the Latin American nation at a time when rival cartels have...
Divisions emerge among House Republicans over how much to cut taxes and Medicaid in Trump’s bill
WASHINGTON — Cheers broke out early Wednesday as Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee signed off on the GOP tax breaks bill after a grueling round-the-clock session that pushed President Donald Trump’s package past overwhelming Democratic opposition. But there’s still more work to do. House Speaker Mike Johnson,...
Nationwide or nowhere? Supreme Court weighs power to block Trump’s citizenship crackdown
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Thursday in a case that will help frame President Donald Trump’s power to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States whose parents didn’t enter the country legally. The emergency appeal hearing stems from a January executive order...
Pa. House gives this sweet treat its chef’s kiss of approval as the state candy
When you represent “the sweetest place on Earth,” you fight for the Kiss over its dreaded rival, the Peep. Rep. Tom Mehaffie of Dauphin County is making a second run to cement the iconic Hershey’s Kiss as Pennsylvania’s official state candy. A bill sponsored by Mehaffie, who represents Derry Township,...
Wisconsin judge argues prosecutors can’t charge her with helping a man evade immigration agents
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge charged with helping a man who is in the country illegally evade U.S. immigration agents who were trying to detain him at her courthouse filed a motion to dismiss the case Wednesday, arguing that there’s no legal basis for it. Attorneys for Milwaukee County...
EPA announces rollback for some Biden-era limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking waterVideo
The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it plans to weaken limits on some “forever chemicals” in drinking water that were finalized last year, while maintaining standards for two common ones. The Biden administration set the first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding they...
Penn State trustees’ private talks on campus closures should happen in public, expert says
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Transparency advocates are questioning the Penn State Board of Trustees’ use of private meetings to discuss potential campus closures — including one who said the...
Georgetown student released from immigration detention after federal judge’s ruling
ALVARADO, Texas — A Georgetown University scholar from India who was arrested in the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign college students was released from immigration detention Wednesday after a federal judge’s ruling. Badar Khan Suri said he was glad to be released as he left a federal detention facility in...
1st female mayor of Omaha concedes in race against likely first Black mayor
OMAHA, Neb. — Omaha’s first female mayor has conceded the mayoral race to a man who will likely become the community’s first Black mayor. Voters in Omaha were making history Tuesday by either reelecting the city’s first female mayor to a rare fourth term or electing the community’s first Black...
Trump marvels at wealth of his Arab hosts while he eyes White House and Air Force One upgrades
DOHA, Qatar — Donald Trump is the most powerful and famous person on the planet, at the helm of the biggest economy and the strongest military. But on his trip to the Middle East this week, the American president is sounding more than a little envious of his Arab hosts....
Virginia boy swept away as heavy rains and flooding hit several states
The body of a 12-year-old boy has been found after he was swept away by rushing water on a Virginia roadway, while a dozen students stayed overnight at a Maryland high school as heavy rains led to flooding in several states, officials said. A 911 caller reported Tuesday night that...
U.S. overdose deaths fell 27% last year, the largest 1-year decline ever seen
There were 30,000 fewer U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before — the largest one-year decline ever recorded. An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday. That’s down 27% from the 110,000 in 2023....
End of universe sooner than once thought, research says
This just in: The end is near(er) than we thought. Turn back the ultimate doomsday clock by more than a thousand megaannum — that’s the millennium equivalent of 1 million years — so 1,000 megaannum would be 1 billion years. If research by Dutch scientists published this week meets muster,...
Gallery: Photos from May 14, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Wednesday, May 14, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Newark problems and recent crashes put focus on air traffic controller shortage and aging equipment
The recent chronic delays and cancellations at New Jersey’s largest airport have highlighted the shortage of air traffic controllers and the aging equipment they use, which President Donald Trump’s administration wants to replace. The Federal Aviation Administration is working on a short-term fix to the problems at the Newark airport...
