Senators clash over FBI director pick ahead of confirmation vote
Republicans and Democrats sharpened their arguments over Kash Patel’s fitness to lead the FBI, offering starkly different versions of the nominee ahead of a confirmation vote expected Thursday. Senate Republicans have rallied around Patel’s nomination and his pledges to fight crime, while Democrats have described him as perilously unsuited for...
Sewickley’s Jason Richey in line to become Allegheny County GOP chair
A Sewickley attorney who formerly ran for governor is in line to become the next chairman of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, as both of his opponents have dropped out of the race. The Allegheny County GOP is scheduled to hold an election Saturday to replace outgoing Chairman Sam...
White man who pleaded guilty to shooting a Black teen who rang a wrong doorbell dies
MISSION, Kan. — An 86-year-old Missouri man has died just days after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the white man’s doorbell by mistake, prosecutors announced Wednesday. Andrew Lester of Kansas City was charged with first-degree assault...
Winter-weary East Coast hit with another storm as temperatures plunge elsewhereVideo
NORFOLK, Va. — The latest in a long line of storms took direct aim at the East Coast on Wednesday, threatening to dump heavy snow and some ice across several states on winter-weary residents. A storm that dropped snow in the Midwest spread across the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, bringing...
Historic ocean liner departs Philadelphia on voyage to become the world’s largest artificial reefVideo
The historic, aging ocean liner that a Florida county plans to turn into the world’s largest artificial reef departed from south Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront on Wednesday, marking the opening segment of its final voyage. The SS United States, a 1,000-foot vessel that shattered the transatlantic speed record on its...
Brazil’s former President Bolsonaro has been charged over an alleged coup. What’s next for him?Video
SAO PAULO — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been charged with orchestrating a plot to stay in office despite losing the 2022 election — a plot that the country’s top prosecutor says included a plan to poison his opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The unprecedented charges handed down...
A worried NATO holds large-scale combat drills as U.S. stance on Europe shifts under TrumpVideo
SMARDAN, Romania — NATO members continued their largest combat exercises of 2025 on Wednesday, testing their ability to rapidly deploy large-scale forces on the 32-nation alliance’s eastern border as worries grow over its most powerful member, the United States. The drills in Romania, which borders Ukraine, come as a shaken...
Trump administration orders halt to NYC toll meant to fight traffic, fund mass transit
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday ordered a halt to congestion pricing tolls in New York City, which thin traffic and fund mass transit by making people pay to drive into some parts of Manhattan. Launched on Jan. 5, the city’s system uses license plate readers to...
2 people dead after small plane collision in southern Arizona
A midair collision involving two small planes in southern Arizona killed at least two people Wednesday morning, authorities said. Federal air-safety investigators said two people were on board each plane as they collided near Marana Regional Airport on the outskirts of Tucson. One plane landed uneventfully while the other hit...
A look at the 8 Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by U.S.
MEXICO CITY — The United States government is formally designating eight Latin American organized crime groups that also operate in the U.S. to be “foreign terrorist organizations.” They are involved in drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and extend their territory through violence. The Trump administration is applying a “terrorist” designation that’s...
Probability of asteroid striking Earth highest ever recorded
The probability of an asteroid striking Earth on Dec. 22, 2032, has risen to the highest level ever recorded — 3.1%, the New York Times reported. Known as 2024 YR4, the space rock was first detected in December, and it’s between 130 to 300 feet long, according to the Times....
Trump officials want to ban junk food from SNAP. Past efforts show it’s not easy
A push to ban sugary drinks, candy and more from the U.S. program that helps low-income families pay for nutritious food has been tried before — but it may soon get a boost from new Trump administration officials. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly confirmed health and human services secretary,...
Columbine survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter, who forgave gunman’s mother, dies at 43
DENVER — Anne Marie Hochhalter, who was partially paralyzed in the Columbine High School shooting but found strength to forgive and to heal her soul after bonding with another family devastated by the tragedy, has died. She was 43. Hochhalter was found in her home in suburban Denver on Sunday....
Photos: Daily gallery for Feb. 19, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025....
Justice Department and New York Mayor Adams face judge’s scrutiny in bid to dismiss criminal charges
NEW YORK — Justice Department lawyers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams are set to face a federal judge who is signaling that he’s unlikely to rubber stamp their request to drop the mayor’s corruption charges weeks before an April trial. Judge Dale E. Ho in Manhattan scheduled the...
Americans’ confidence in air travel safety dips slightly after Washington plane crash: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON — Americans’ confidence in air travel and the federal agencies tasked with maintaining air safety has slipped a little from last year, following a recent crash in Washington, according to a new poll, but most still believe air transportation is generally safe. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center...
Trump moves swiftly on his agenda in a departure from his first-term stumbles
WASHINGTON — Months into his first term as president, Donald Trump was furious with the snowballing Russia investigation and ordered White House counsel Don McGahn to make sure that special counsel Robert Mueller got fired. “Mueller has to go,” McGahn recalled Trump saying. “Call me back when you do it.”...
Palestinian families flee West Bank homes in droves as Israel confronts militants
FAR’A REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers’ sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank — the largest displacement in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war....
Trump, Zelenskyy trade barbs as U.S.-Ukraine relations sour over war with Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — Relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump deteriorated rapidly Wednesday as Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” and Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in comments that were sure to complicate efforts to end the war. Zelenskyy also...
Despite ‘tranquil night,’ the pope now has pneumonia in both lungs, Vatican says. How worrying is that?
LONDON — Vatican officials said late Tuesday that Pope Francis had developed pneumonia in both lungs, further complicating the pontiff’s recovery. The 88-year-old pope was hospitalized Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. On Monday, doctors said he had developed a mix of infections in his respiratory tract. On...
Trump suggests Ukraine is to blame for war, saying they ‘could have made a deal’
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Top U.S. and Russian officials had their most extensive high-level engagement since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine almost three years ago, meeting for four hours Tuesday before President Donald Trump suggested that Kyiv was to blame for the conflict. Trump showed little patience for Ukraine’s objections...
Reversing enrollment decline among priorities for incoming Westmoreland Co. Community College president
As Westmoreland County Community College grapples with a decline in enrollment and recent turnover in its top leader, incoming president Kristin Mallory aims to stabilize the institution. The vice president of academic affairs at Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, Md., Mallory was hired as the college’s president last week after...
Trump’s firing of 1,000 national park workers raises concerns about maintenance and operating hours
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has fired about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions as part of its broad-based effort to downsize government. The firings, which weren’t publicly announced but were confirmed by Democratic senators and House members,...
Newly elected Democratic chairman begins national tour in Western Pa.
In his first road trip as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin made Western Pennsylvania his first stop, meeting Tuesday morning with steelworkers in Pittsburgh and campaigning in the afternoon with a state House candidate in McKeesport. Martin said the two stops signify what’s most important to him...
Trump signs order to study how to expand IVF and calls for ‘radical transparency’ from government
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to study how to expand access to in vitro fertilization and make it more affordable. The order calls for policy recommendations to “protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments,”...
