News category, Page 16

Instagram will limit what users under 18 can see on the platform using filters inspired by the PG-13 movie rating system, in the latest step by its parent Meta to address criticism that it has not done enough to protect teenagers online. Modeled on the Motion Picture Association’s ratings, the...

Take a trip through Western Pennsylvania — and beyond! Join TribLive’s photo adventure, where every snapshot tells a story. From the rolling hills and rustic charm of Western Pa. to far-flung corners of the world, this collection captures the little sparks of humanity that connect us all. Think of it...

As the government shutdown nears the two-week mark, several federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), remain impacted by furloughs and cannot operate as usual. Thousands of SSA employees have been furloughed, in turn limiting the agency’s available services during the shutdown. However, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income...

WASHINGTON — Families and educators across the country were plunged into a state of uncertainty over the weekend after the federal Education Department laid off practically every staffer in the government’s special education division. Nearly the entire Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, including the Office of Special Education...

HARRISBURG — A man who scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the occupied Pennsylvania governor’s mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and other charges. Cody Balmer, 38, also entered pleas to terrorism, 22...

Do treasure chests full of gold and jewels rest beneath the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie off eastern Erie County? Probably not. But scientists, who are using an uncrewed surface vehicle to explore and map nearly 100 square miles of lakebed along the Pennsylvania, New York and Canadian borders, are...

Day 14 of the government shutdown is upon us, and the stalemate continues, with Congress still at an impasse over spending proposals. The main bone of contention is a deadlock over healthcare funding and the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace that expires at the end of...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is set to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a White House ceremony on Tuesday. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while speaking at an event at...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed peacemaker who has campaigned for a Nobel Prize, finally got a camera-ready diplomatic victory on Monday as world leaders flew to Egypt for the signing of the ceasefire and hostage-release deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas. But if lasting peace is to...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court is set on Wednesday to hear a Republican-led challenge to the Voting Rights Act, giving its conservative majority a chance to deal another blow to the landmark federal law enacted 60 years ago to prevent racial discrimination in voting. The case involves electoral districts...

NEW YORK — Americans headed to pharmacies for covid-19 vaccines are running into roadblocks and confusion due to new U.S. guidance that abandoned broad support for the shots, contributing to the lowest vaccination rates since they were introduced. For the four-week period ended Oct. 3, covid immunizations were down about...

GAZA — As the Gaza war dragged on, a diminished Hamas faced growing internal challenges to its control of Gaza from long-standing rivals, many of them affiliated with powerful local clans. Since Friday’s ceasefire took hold, Hamas has sought to reassert itself, killing dozens of opponents in a crackdown after...

CAIRO/JERUSALEM — Israel delayed aid into Gaza and kept the enclave’s border shut on Tuesday, while re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated their grip by executing men in the street, darkening the outlook for President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war. Three Israeli officials said Israel had decided to restrict aid...

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Financial aid for thousands of Pennsylvania college students is on hold as a result of the state...

MEXICO CITY — The U.S. government has revoked the visas of at least 50 politicians and government officials in Mexico amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on drug cartels and their suspected political allies, two Mexican officials told Reuters. A handful of these cases have been publicized, but Reuters reporting shows...

WASHINGTON — Republican Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and reopen. Standing alone at the Capitol on the 13th day of the shutdown, the speaker said...

The second Pennsylvania State Police trooper shot last week in Franklin County was released from WellSpan York Hospital on Monday. Lucas Amarose, 31, is one of two troopers injured in the incident that began with the pursuit of retail theft suspects near Chambersburg and ended with a shootout at Exit...

RALEIGH — North Carolina Republican legislative leaders announced plans Monday to vote next week on redrawing the state’s U.S. House district map, with a likely aim to secure another GOP seat within already right-leaning boundaries. The move comes amid an emerging mid-decade battle nationally between Republicans and Democrats seeking advantage...

The U.S. federal government shutdown is starting to impact the nation’s economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday as the closure entered its 13th day. “This is getting serious. It’s starting to affect the real economy,” he told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” program, without offering more...

Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as U.S. President Donald Trump told Israel’s parliament that peace had arrived in the Holy Land. The Israeli military said it had received all 20 hostages confirmed...

There are no survivors of the blast that rocked a Tennessee explosives plant, authorities said as investigators work to determine the cause. All 16 people inside the building that exploded at Accurate Energetic Systems are dead, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at an Oct. 11 press conference. Residents from...

CHICAGO — A WGN-TV video editor and producer was roughly detained by two Border Patrol agents during a highly visible rush hour enforcement action in Lincoln Square. Debbie Brockman, who has worked as a producer for WGN since 2011, according to her LinkedIn profile, was taken to the ground face...

President Donald Trump said he is considering providing Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia in their three-year-old war, a move the Kremlin has warned would increase tensions with the West. Trump said he had a good conversation on Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who asked for...