Japan’s palace confirms former princess Mako has 1st baby
TOKYO — Former Japanese princess Mako Komuro has given birth to her first child, palace officials confirmed Friday, though they gave no details, saying she is no longer a royal member. The Imperial Household Agency said both the mother and child are in good health, but did not disclose the...
Teen arrested in South Carolina party boat shooting that injured 11
LITTLE RIVER, S.C. — A 19-year-old has been taken into custody in Illinois, and authorities said they plan to charge him in a shooting that hurt 11 people after a party boat cruise in South Carolina. The shooting happened Sunday night on a dock in Little River after a fight...
Driver charged with Liverpool soccer parade tragedy appears in court
LONDON — A driver charged with multiple counts of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm for ramming into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team’s Premier League championship was ordered held in custody Friday at his first court appearance. Paul Doyle, wearing a black suit, white shirt and gray...
U.S. inflation gauge cools with little sign of tariff impact
WASHINGTON — A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices, while American incomes jumped. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in...
Russell Brand pleads not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault in London court
LONDON — Actor and comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty in a London court Friday to rape and sexual assault charges involving four women dating back more than 25 years. Brand, who turns 50 next week, denied two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of...
Faizan Zaki overcomes a shocking, self-inflicted flub and wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee
OXON HILL, Md. — Faizan Zaki’s enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. The favorite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year — during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling...
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill at least 14, medics say
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Friday, while Hamas was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal after giving it an initial cool response. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy had expressed optimism this week about brokering an agreement that could halt the Israel-Hamas...
Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud, dies at 69
NEW YORK — Bernard Kerik, who served as New York City’s police commissioner on 9/11 and later pleaded guilty to tax fraud before being pardoned, has died. He was 69. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed his death on Thursday on social media, saying it came “after a private battle with...
Ex-Pennsylvania judge gets prison term for shooting, wounding her ex-boyfriend as he slept
HARRISBURG — A former magistrate judge in Pennsylvania convicted of shooting and wounding her ex-boyfriend in the head as he slept has been sentenced to 13 1/2 to 30 years in prison. Sonya McKnight was convicted last month on attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges. She resigned her post during...
White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report
WASHINGTON — The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs. Kennedy’s wide-ranging “Make America Healthy Again” report, released last week, cited hundreds of studies, but...
Federal job seekers will be quizzed on Trump’s executive orders
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is adding four essay questions to applications for civil service jobs, asking applicants about their favorite executive orders and their commitment to government efficiency. The essay requirements apply even to relatively lower-level jobs starting at the GS-5 pay scale or above — positions that can...
Man who says far-right content led him to threaten election officials is sentenced to 3 years
DENVER — A man who blamed exposure to far-right extremist content for his online threats to kill Democratic election officials in Colorado and Arizona was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday. U.S. District Judge S. Kato Crews said the penalty for such “keyboard terrorism” needed to be serious enough...
A man charged in a 2013 Pennsylvania campus sex assault hires a lawyer to review possible plea deal
GETTYSBURG — An American who was extradited from France this year to face allegations of a 2013 campus sexual assault after the accuser went public with her story hired a private lawyer to review a potential plea deal, lawyers in the case said in court Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, of...
Trump administration cancels $766 million Moderna contract to fight pandemic flu
The Trump administration has canceled $766 million awarded to drugmaker Moderna Inc. to develop a vaccine against potential pandemic influenza viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu. The company said it was notified Wednesday that the Health and Human Services Department had withdrawn funds awarded in July 2024 and in January...
Appeals court allows Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now, as his administration appeals an order striking down the bulk of his signature set of economic policies. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted an...
Supreme Court backs Utah oil railroad expansion and scales back a key environmental law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court backed a multibillion-dollar oil railroad expansion in Utah Thursday in a ruling that scales back a key environmental law for projects around the country. The 8-0 decision comes after an appeal to the high court from backers of the project, which is aimed at quadrupling...
Federal judge extends order blocking Trump administration ban on foreign students at Harvard
BOSTON — A federal judge on Thursday extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling foreign students. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs extended the block she imposed last week with a temporary restraining order, which allows the Ivy League school to continue enrolling international...
Gallery: Photos from May 29, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Thursday, May 29, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Judge considers whether Florida’s attorney general should be held in contempt over immigration law
MIAMI — A federal judge was considering Thursday whether Florida’s attorney general disobeyed her order prohibiting the enforcement of a new state law making it a misdemeanor for people in the U.S. illegally to enter Florida, and whether he should be held in contempt and sanctioned. U.S. District Judge Kathleen...
Israel authorizes more settlements in the occupied West Bank. Strikes on Gaza kill 13, officials say
JERUSALEM — Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalization of outposts already built without government authorization. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip meanwhile killed at least 13 people overnight, local health officials said. Israel captured the West Bank, along with...
U.S. academic partnership with China, under strain for years, faces its biggest threat
HONG KONG — Frayed by tariff wars and political battles, the academic ties between the U.S. and China are now facing their greatest threat yet as the Trump administration promises to revoke visas for an unknown number of Chinese students and tighten future visa screening. In a brief statement Wednesday,...
Harvard holds commencement amid Trump funding cuts, threats to international students
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University is holding its commencement Thursday at a pivotal moment, when its place as one of the world’s leading higher education institutions is under what increasingly seems like existential threats from the Trump administration. Other schools face the loss of federal funding and their ability to...
Federal trade court blocks Trump from imposing tariffs under emergency powers law
WASHINGTON — A federal court on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law, swiftly throwing into doubt Trump’s signature set of economic policies that have rattled global financial markets, frustrated trade partners and raised broader fears about inflation intensifying and the economy...
JD Vance urges crypto industry to stay involved in politics as he touts Trump administration’s recordVideo
Vice President JD Vance praised the cryptocurrency industry Wednesday and urged it to remain active in U.S. politics and policymaking, highlighting the Trump administration’s close ties to a deep-pocketed industry that’s become a powerful force in Washington. Speaking at a bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Vance urged the crypto executives...
Trump bristles at ‘TACO’ trade that bets on him backing downVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump bristled at suggestions that Wall Street believes he’s ultimately unwilling to follow through on extreme tariff threats, saying his repeated retreats are instead part of a strategy to exert trade concessions. “It’s called negotiation,” Trump said Wednesday, adding that he intentionally would “set a number...
