Penn State faculty fear the school will close campuses across the stateVideo
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. Penn...
Southern California rain helps firefighters but creates risk of flooding and toxic ash runoffVideo
LOS ANGELES — Rain fell on parts of Southern California on Sunday and the scattered showers were expected to continue overnight, boosting the risk of toxic ash runoff in areas scorched by Los Angeles-area wildfires. Flood watches were in effect through 4 p.m. Monday for burn areas from recent fires...
Trump says inflation isn’t his No. 1 issue. So what will happen to consumer prices?
WASHINGTON — Two months ago, in his first network television interview after the election, Donald Trump said he owed his victory to Americans’ anger over immigration and inflation, specifically the rising cost of groceries. “When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and...
Sweden seizes vessel suspected of ‘sabotage’ after undersea data cable rupture in Baltic Sea
RIGA, Latvia — Swedish prosecutors announced Sunday night that they have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected aggravated “sabotage” and ordered the detention of a vessel in the Baltic Sea suspected of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland earlier that day. “Several...
German election taboos broken as Friedrich Merz, Elon Musk flirt with AfDVideo
Four weeks before Germany’s snap election, the political temperature is rising as the campaign shifts onto the contentious terrain of migration and Elon Musk steps up his support for the far-right AfD party. Tens of thousands marched in Berlin, Cologne and other cities over the weekend to protest against the...
Battlegrounds Pennsylvania, Wisconsin back in the spotlight with high-stakes court elections
HARRISBURG — Republicans put Pennsylvania and Wisconsin back in the win column in the 2024 presidential race, and they’re hoping that momentum carries over to contests this year that will determine whether their state Supreme Courts retain left-leaning majorities or flip to conservative control. The outcome can be pivotal in...
Top Trump administration officials in Chicago for start of immigration enforcement crackdownVideo
CHICAGO — Top Trump administration officials, including “border czar” Tom Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcement in the nation’s third-largest city. Few details of the operation were immediately made public, including the number of arrests. But the...
Freighter on the move after it was freed from ice on frozen Lake Erie
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A freighter was on its way to Canada on Sunday after it was freed from ice that trapped it in a frozen Lake Erie for days, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Manitoulin, a 663-foot Canadian vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck in the ice...
White House says Colombia agrees to take deported migrants after Trump tariff showdown
BOGOTA, Colombia — The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner. Long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, the U.S....
The CIA believes covid most likely originated from a lab but has low confidence in its own finding
WASHINGTON — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the covid-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has “low confidence” in its own conclusion. The finding is not the result of...
In policy reversal, Trump eliminates help for Black and Latino communities hit harder by pollution
For four years, the Environmental Protection Agency made environmental justice one of its biggest priorities, working to improve health conditions in heavily-polluted communities often made up largely of Black, Latino and low-income Americans. Now that short-lived era is over. President Donald Trump in his first week eliminated a team of...
Lindsey Graham, a top Trump ally, says pardoning Capitol attackers sends ‘the wrong signal’
DORAL, Fla. — A key ally of President Donald Trump said the White House pardoning rioters who fought with police while storming the U.S. Capitol in 2021 is “sending the wrong signal” and expressed concern about the future ramifications of issuing sweeping clemencies. “I have always said that, I think,...
Acting deputy AG visits Chicago to ‘observe’ immigration enforcement crackdown
CHICAGO — Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcement in the nation’s third-largest city promised by the Trump administration, though few details of the operation were made public. Bove said he was in Chicago on Sunday morning and observed...
South Korean prosecutors indict impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, a criminal charge that could incur the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted. This is the latest blow to Yoon, who was impeached...
Thousands in Ireland still without power after Storm Éowyn, as more wild weather wallops UK, France
LONDON — Ireland called in help from England and France as repair crews worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people after the most disruptive storm for years. Even as the cleanup continued, more wet and windy weather hit the U.K., Ireland and France on Sunday. More than...
Qatar says agreement reached to release Israeli hostage, allow Palestinians to return to north Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Mediator Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Qatar’s statement said Hamas will hand over...
Trump’s Palestinian refugee idea falls flat with Jordan and confounds a Senate ally
DORAL, Fla. — President Donald Trump’s push to have Egypt and Jordan take in large numbers of Palestinian refugees from besieged Gaza fell flat with those countries’ governments and left a key congressional ally in Washington perplexed on Sunday. Fighting that broke out in the territory after ruling Hamas attacked...
Freighter remains stuck in the ice on a frozen Lake Erie
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards on Saturday continued efforts to break up ice and free a freighter that has been trapped in a frozen Lake Erie for days, officials said. The Manitoulin, a 663-foot Canadian vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck in the ice...
Loyalty tests and MAGA checks: Inside the Trump White House’s intense screening of job-seekers
WASHINGTON — Job-seekers hoping to join the new Trump administration are facing a series of intense loyalty tests, with White House screening teams fanning out to government agencies to check for “Make America Great Again” bona fides and carefully parsing applicants’ politics and social media posts. President Donald Trump has...
Trump uses mass firing to remove independent inspectors general at a series of agencies
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has fired about 17 independent inspectors general at government agencies, a sweeping action to remove oversight of his new administration that some members of Congress are suggesting violated federal oversight laws. The dismissals began Friday night and were effective immediately, according to two people familiar...
Senate confirms Noem as Trump’s homeland security secretary
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on Saturday, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump’s plans to clamp down on illegal immigration. Republicans kept the Senate working Saturday to install the...
Fast food is a staple of American culture, but some of its workers struggle to survive
FRESNO, Texas — The only moment TiAnna Yeldell has to herself is when she’s sleeping, and that doesn’t happen much. The 44-year-old single mom of three works 80-hour weeks to provide for her children, ages 8, 14, and 18. During the day, she is a driver for Pizza Hut, where...
Hamas frees 4 female Israeli soldiers in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners as ceasefire holds
TEL AVIV, Israel — Four female Israeli soldiers who were taken in the attack that sparked the war in Gaza returned safely to Israel on Saturday after Hamas militants paraded them before a crowd of thousands in Gaza City and handed them over to the Red Cross. Israel later released...
Democratic states weigh more support for immigrants as Trump administration cracks down
As President Donald Trump tightens the nation’s immigration policies, lawmakers in Democratic-led states are proposing new measures that could erect legal obstacles for federal immigration officials and help immigrants lacking legal status avoid deportation. The resistance efforts in California, New York and other states are a counterpoint to the many...
The only person in the world with a functioning pig organ is thriving after a record 2 months
An Alabama woman passed a major milestone Saturday to become the longest living recipient of a pig organ transplant — healthy and full of energy with her new kidney for 61 days and counting. “I’m superwoman,” Towana Looney told The Associated Press, laughing about outpacing family members on long walks...
