White House blocks former counsel Don McGahn from testifying to CongressVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday blocked former counsel Donald McGahn from testifying to Congress, the latest act of defiance in the ongoing war between House Democrats and President Trump. McGahn, who Democrats hoped would become a star witness in their investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice, was subpoenaed...
Lawmakers want to strike ‘good moral character’ from occupational licensing criteria
A bipartisan coalition of Pennsylvania lawmakers wants to eliminate the requirement that applicants to 23 state occupational licensing boards be of “good moral character.” The proposal comes on the heels of a lawsuit the Institute for Justice filed late last year challenging the Pennsylvania Board of Cosmetology’s decision to deny...
Ex-Oregon football star recounts disarming student with gun
PORTLAND, Ore. — Former University of Oregon football star Keanon Lowe said he had just entered a classroom at the Portland high school where he works as a coach and security guard when a student armed with a black shotgun appeared in the doorway. Lowe had just seconds Friday to...
Feds: Betsy DeVos used personal emails for work in ‘limited’ cases
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has sometimes used her personal email accounts for government business and has not always properly saved the messages, according to an internal investigation released Monday. The agency’s Office of Inspector General, which was investigating at the request of House Democrats, said it searched the department’s email...
Prosecutor: Suspect aimed to kill at least 10 white Nashville churchgoers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A prosecutor said Monday that a black man charged with fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Nashville church aimed to kill at least 10 white churchgoers and cited a 2015 massacre at a black church in South Carolina. Nashville Deputy District Attorney Amy...
Pennsylvania’s April jobs report sets more records
HARRISBURG— Pennsylvania’s April jobs report broke more new ground, as the unemployment rate hit a record low and payrolls hit a record high for a third straight month. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped by one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.8%. The state...
Governor: Abortion ban shows Alabama values ‘sanctity of life’
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama’s governor said Monday the new abortion ban she recently signed into law reflects the high value residents place on the “sanctity of life,” adding she doesn’t expect any fallout from the controversial measure on tourism or business recruitment. Gov. Kay Ivey last week approved the most...
McConnell, Kaine want to raise minimum smoking age to 21Video
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Monday planned to introduce a bill that would raise the federal minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21, a measure that they say is aimed at reducing teen use of e-cigarettes. The move, from...
5 things to know about Morehouse student-debt donor Robert F. Smith
Billionaire Robert F. Smith woke up the crowd at Morehouse College commencement ceremony Sunday when he veered off script to share a surprise: He’d be paying off all the student loans for the Class of 2019′s nearly 400 graduates. There was a moment of stunned silence before the grads and...
16-year-old is 5th migrant child to die while detained by U.S. Border Patrol
HOUSTON — The U.S. government says a 16-year-old Guatemalan died Monday at a Border Patrol station in South Texas, the fifth death of a migrant child apprehended by border agents since December. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that Border Patrol apprehended the teenager in South Texas’...
Feds certify Pennsylvania’s Real ID system meets standards
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Real ID identification system is now in compliance with federal regulations, more than a year before the IDs will be needed for commercial airline passengers and those entering secured federal facilities. The state Transportation Department said Monday it received the notification from the U.S. Department of Homeland...
Penn State students’ documentary aims to shine a light on 1987 State College killing
What started as a school project for three Penn State film majors has become a mission to solve a Happy Valley cold case and generate discussion around a slain woman who, they said, “does not deserve to be forgotten.” The group created an eight-minute documentary about PSU student Dana Bailey,...
Texas transgender woman seen in videotaped attack found dead
DALLAS — A 23-year-old transgender woman whose beating in front of a crowd was captured on video has been found dead on a Dallas street, police said. Muhlaysia Booker was found face-down early Saturday after officers were called following reports of shots being fired. She was pronounced dead at the...
Police: Man urinated on memorial to boy who died of cancer
HAMILTON, N.J. — A video showing a man urinating on a park memorial marker that honors a 9-year-old boy who died of brain cancer has led to charges against him and another man accused of making the recording. Hamilton police say a friend of Christian Clopp’s family saw the video...
Quirky moments from the 2019 prom season
TribLIVE.com deployed our photo staff to area proms. Here are some of the more quirky moments from the 2019 prom season....
Climber scales Eiffel Tower, prompting closure, evacuation
PARIS — The Eiffel Tower, the iconic signature of the Parisian skyline, was evacuated Monday afternoon after a climber scaled its heights. Tourists first noticed the spectacle as they waited in line to ride the elevators up to the viewing decks. They posted to social media impromptu video they recorded...
Chicago police boosting presence at Jewish schools, synagogues after Molotov cocktails foundVideo
CHICAGO — Worshippers at a Lakeview East synagogue noticed broken glass on their way to Sunday morning services but didn’t think anything of it. Later that morning, they saw charred rags and realized there had been an arson attempt on Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation, according to Rabbi David Wolkenfeld....
22-year-old runner collapses at Cleveland Marathon, dies
CLEVELAND — A 22-year-old woman running in the Cleveland Marathon has collapsed and died. University Hospitals spokesman George Stamatis says Taylor Ceepo collapsed at Sunday’s race and was dead on arrival at the hospital. He couldn’t provide further information because of patient privacy. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office says...
Trayvon Martin’s mother will run for office to push prevention of gun violence
Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, once called herself an unwilling participant in the movement against gun violence and fatal shootings of unarmed black men, a spokeswoman traveling the country to share a message she wished she didn’t have to tell. In her numerous speeches since Martin was killed in 2012,...
Trump making 1st visit of 2019 to Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Pa. — President Donald Trump is coming to the battleground state of Pennsylvania for a rally hours before voters in a congressional district in the northcentral part of the state pick a new representative to go to Washington. Trump’s rally is Monday at a hangar by Williamsport Regional Airport...
Trump warns Iran not to threaten U.S. or it will face ‘end’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump warned Iran early on Monday not to threaten the United States again or it’ll face its “official end,” shortly after a rocket landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad overnight. Trump’s tweet comes after he seemingly sought to soften his tone on...
Trump’s EPA shifts more environmental enforcement to states
BOKOSHE, Okla. — Susan Holmes’ home, corner store and roadside beef jerky stand are right off Oklahoma Highway 31, putting them in the path of trucks hauling ash and waste from a power plant that burns the high-sulfur coal mined near this small town. For years, when Bokoshe residents were...
Amid #MeToo, states debate teaching consent to kids
Inside a Catholic school in Portland, Oregon, high school sophomores break into groups to discuss some once-taboo topics: abusive relationships and consent. At one desk, a girl with banana-colored fingernails begins jotting down some of the hallmarks of abuse: Physically hurting you, verbally abusive, can be one-sided. She pauses to...
Greensburg man was mine sweeper in Korean War, serious historian back home
As an Army combat engineer in Korea, Donald Baker once was sweeping for mines when he heard an explosion behind him. He and his men realized they had walked over a live mine but had missed it. Despite that close call, the combat engineers of the 1st Cavalry Division, Dog...
Hundreds protest Alabama’s abortion ban at state capitolVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Hundreds of demonstrators marched to the Alabama Capitol on Sunday to protest the state’s newly approved abortion ban, chanting “my body, my choice!” and “vote them out!” The demonstration came days after Gov. Kay Ivey signed the most stringent abortion law in the nation— making performing an...
