Pentagon: U.S. not abandoning Kurds in face of Turkish attack
WASHINGTON — Top Pentagon officials on Friday denied the U.S. is abandoning its Syrian Kurdish allies in the face of a Turkish military offensive, although the future of a counterterrorism partnership with the Kurds was in grave doubt. “We have not abandoned the Kurds. Let me be clear about that,”...
Homeless man indicted in New York City beating deaths
NEW YORK — A homeless man accused of beating four other homeless men to death while they slept on a New York City Street has been indicted by a grand jury. Randy Santos was not in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday for a brief session with prosecutors. He was being...
U.S. suspends plans to hike tariffs on Chinese imports
WASHINGTON — The United States is suspending a tariff hike on $250 billion in Chinese imports that was set to take effect Tuesday, and China agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products as the world’s two biggest economies reached a cease-fire in their 15-month trade...
Police: 15-year-old stabbed, seriously hurt near U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON — A 15-year-old boy was stabbed and seriously injured Friday afternoon near the U.S. Capitol after an altercation with a teenage girl aboard a Metro train, police said. The stabbing occurred around 12:30 p.m. at the Capitol South Metro station, about a block from the Cannon House Office Building,...
Authorities order 100,000 evacuated in California wildfire
LOS ANGELES — A wildfire raged out of control along the northern edge of Los Angeles early Friday, forcing thousands of people from their homes as firefighters battled flames from the air and on the ground. Police Chief Michel Moore said mandatory evacuations encompassed about 100,000 people in over 20,000...
NASA conducting spacewalk as world’s 1st spacewalker dies
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts replaced more oversized batteries outside the International Space Station on Friday, as news broke of the death of the world’s first spacewalker. NASA interrupted live TV coverage of its second spacewalk this week to announce the death of Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov at age 85....
Federal agency underwrites grants to struggling coal communities
Pennsylvania communities harmed by downturns in the coal industry will reap $8 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission to bump up local economic initiatives. The grants from the federal agency will go toward projects in 10 counties, including four in Western Pennsylvania. “These projects will enable affected regions...
Republicans stumbling over question at heart of impeachment
DENVER — A simple yes-or-no question keeps tripping up Senate Republicans: Should the president ask foreign countries to investigate political rivals? A month ago the question was a legal and constitutional no-brainer. It’s illegal to accept foreign help in a political campaign, an action that also raises questions about U.S....
Uber driver not guilty in death of passenger in Denver
DENVER — A jury on Thursday found an Uber driver not guilty of murder in the fatal shooting of a passenger he said attacked him while driving on a freeway in Denver. Jurors sided with Michael Hancock, 31, who argued that he was defending himself against passenger Hyun (Huhn) Kim....
El Paso mass shooting suspect pleads not guilty in 22 deaths
EL PASO, Texas — The 21-year-old man charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, pleaded not guilty Thursday during a brief initial hearing. Police have said Patrick Crusius of Dallas confessed to the Aug. 3 mass shooting and that...
Latrobe teacher led by example
Esther Pevarnik strived to set a good example in everything she did. “She always said you have to act like a duck,” said her daughter, Amanda Coup. “Calm, cool and collected up top, but sometimes you had to paddle like hell underneath to make it work.” The longtime school teacher...
Study: Climate change could make dozens of bird species extinct in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s state bird, the ruffed grouse, could go extinct in the state along with dozens of other bird species because of climate change, according to a National Audubon Society study released Thursday. It’s more bad bird news. Last month, the journal Science reported the loss of 3 billion birds since...
California hospital chain going to court over high prices
SAN FRANCISCO — One of California’s largest hospital systems is facing a trial over accusations that it has used its market dominance to snuff out competition and overcharge patients for medical bills. The antitrust lawsuit against Sutter Health, which operates 24 hospitals with 5,500 doctors across Northern California, was first...
Wildfire prompts Southern California evacuation
SONOMA, Calif. — The Latest on power outages in California (all times local): 12:55 p.m. A fire has erupted in a Southern California city as strong Santa Ana winds buffet the region. The San Bernardino County Fire Department says the fire erupted in Fontana early Thursday afternoon. Officials say one...
Florida men tied to Rudolph Giuliani arrested on campaign charges
WASHINGTON — Two Florida businessmen tied to President Donald Trump’s lawyer and the Ukraine investigation were charged Thursday with federal campaign finance violations. The charges relate to a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trump’s reelection. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of Rudy Giuliani, were arrested Wednesday night trying...
West Virginia mayor won’t rename Christmas parade
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The mayor of West Virginia’s capital city on Thursday reversed a decision to change the name of the annual holiday parade after intense backlash from church leaders and conservatives. Mayor Amy Goodwin announced on Monday that she planned to rename the “Charleston Christmas Parade” the “Charleston Winter...
ACLU, League of Women Voters challenge Marsy’s Law question
Opponents of the Marsy’s Law amendment filed a last-minute lawsuit in Commonwealth Court on Thursday challenging the constitutionality of the question on the November ballot which asks voters to approve or reject amending the state constitution to include a crime victims rights amendment. The question would establish more than a...
Bernie Sanders says he will resume campaign ‘as soon as possible’Video
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders said Thursday that he’s getting his endurance back and growing “stronger every day” after suffering a heart attack last week, and he promised to return to the presidential campaign trail “as soon as possible.” In the meantime, he’s batting baseballs around the yard. “I am feeling...
U.S. Navy to build ship named for Harrisburg
HARRISBURG — Trump administration officials say the U.S. Navy will name a ship that has yet to be built after the city of Harrisburg. The naming of the future USS Harrisburg was announced Thursday in the Capitol Rotunda, at an event that included federal, state and local officials. The $800...
2 Florida men tied to Guiliani arrested on campaign charges
WASHINGTON — Two Florida businessmen tied to President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have been arrested on campaign finance violations resulting from a $325,000 donation to a political action committee supporting Trump’s reelection. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were arrested on a four-count indictment that includes charges of conspiracy,...
Police: Drexel student raped in off-campus apartment
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are searching for a suspect who they say raped a Drexel University student in an off-campus apartment. Police say the attack took place just before 1 p.m. Wednesday in the apartment on Winter Street. Authorities have not said how the man got into the apartment. Students...
Florida man accused of forcing small alligator to drink beer
PALM CITY, Fla. — Authorities say they’ve arrested a Florida man who provoked a small alligator into biting his arm and poured beer into the animal’s mouth. News outlets report 27-year-old Timothy Kepke and 22-year-old Noah Osborne were charged last week with unlawfully taking an alligator. Florida Fish and Wildlife...
Season greeting: Fall snowstorm pushing through Great Plains
RAPID CITY, S.D. — A powerful winterlike storm moving through the Great Plains was closing schools and causing travel headaches in several states, authorities said Thursday. Winter storm warnings and watches stretched from Wyoming and Montana through western Nebraska and into the Dakotas and Minnesota. Forecasters said the storm packs...
White House aides try disappearing act amid impeachment talk
WASHINGTON — They’ve skipped the high-profile Sunday TV shows and avoided driveway chat sessions with reporters. Few who are typically eager to defend the president have appeared at all on television this month. White House officials close to President Donald Trump are pulling off a disappearing act, remaining largely absent...
Pence aiming to release records of his own Ukraine calls
WAUKEE, Iowa — Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday he is working with the White House counsel’s office to release transcripts of his own calls with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Pence said records of his two phone conversations would help exonerate President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing. Pence was asked...
