Mazzocco, Leckenby to square off in state House special election in South Hills
A special election is being held Tuesday in the South Hills to fill a vacant state House seat. The seat had been occupied by former state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, for more than 12 years. He stepped down after being elected in November to serve as an Allegheny County...
Federal court rejects GOP-led Utah Legislature’s latest try to block House map that helps Democrats
New Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a U.S. House seat can be used in this year’s election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map. The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans,...
Citizen journalists, citizen sleuths helping to unravel the tangle of Epstein documents
When sifting through the seemingly endless collection of documents in the Epstein files gets to be too much and Ellie Leonard needs a break, she takes a walk outside. Then it’s back to the computer. The New Jersey mother of four is among hundreds of citizen-journalists, or sleuths, absorbed by...
FBI director invites fresh scrutiny over travels with appearance at U.S. men’s hockey team celebration
WASHINGTON — When the American men’s hockey team retreated to their locker room to celebrate their Winter Olympics gold medal win, they were joined by a special guest from the United States: FBI Director Kash Patel. For some supporters of the embattled law enforcement official, it was a patriotic, good-natured...
Summer Lee to deliver State of the Union response for progressive Working Families Party
The Working Families Party has picked U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, to deliver its response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. “I’m going to elevate the voices of the people in my district and across the country who are angry, scared and fed up...
Illegal gold mining surges into new parts of Peru’s Amazon, threatening rivers and lives
BOGOTA, Colombia — Illegal gold mining is spreading into new parts of Peru’s Amazon, advancing along remote rivers and into Indigenous territories as experts warn of a widening environmental and public health crisis that could cause irreparable damage. The surge marks a new phase for one of the Amazon’s most...
Rob Reiner’s son pleads not guilty to murder in the killing of his parents
LOS ANGELES — Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, acclaimed director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. Nick Reiner’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene, entered the plea on his behalf as he stood behind glass in an...
Trial begins for Utah mom accused of killing husband then writing a children’s book about grief
PARK CITY, Utah — A murder trial is underway for a Utah mother of three who published a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of killing him. Kouri Richins, 35, faces a slew of felony charges for allegedly killing her husband, Eric Richins, with...
What to know about the killing of the powerful cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful cartel leader and one of the United States’ most wanted fugitives, notching a major victory while cartel members responded with a wave of violence across the country. The killing Sunday of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes...
Judge blocks release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump classified documents case
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request...
After Supreme Court rebuke, Democrats call for government to refund billions in Trump tariff money
WASHINGTON — A trio of Senate Democrats is calling for the government to start refunding roughly $175 billion in tariff revenues that the Supreme Court ruled were collected because of an illegal set of orders by President Donald Trump. Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne...
State Department orders nonessential U.S. diplomats to leave Lebanon as tensions with Iran soar
WASHINGTON — The United States has ordered nonessential diplomats and their family members to leave Lebanon, a State Department official said Monday, as tensions over Iran rise with the threat of a potentially imminent military strike. The official said a continuous assessment of the regional security environment determined it was...
Israeli settlers torch and deface a West Bank mosque during Ramadan
TELL, West Bank — Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Monday, spray-painting offensive phrases and setting a fire, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs. Worshippers arriving for the day’s first prayers found the damage and a smoldering fire that spewed black smoke...
Mexico fears more violence after army kills leader of powerful Jalisco cartel
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Several Mexican states canceled school on Monday, with local and foreign governments warning their citizens to stay inside after widespread violence erupted following the army’s killing of the powerful leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho” was the boss...
How Trump will use his State of the Union address to sell skeptical midterm voters on his plans
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday is likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will give to voters in November’s elections for control of the House and the Senate. The president and his party appear vulnerable, with polls showing much of...
Department of Homeland Security suspends Global Entry as the partial government shutdown drags on
DALLAS — The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that the Global Entry program would be shut down as long as the partial government shutdown remains in effect. The announcement comes after the department said Saturday night that it planned to shut down both Global Entry and the Transportation Security...
Trump’s big speech will be delivered to a changed nation and a Congress he has sidelined
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will stand before Congress on Tuesday to deliver the annual State of the Union address to a suddenly transformed nation. One year back in office, Trump has emerged as a president defying conventional expectations. He has executed a head-spinning agenda, upending priorities at home, shattering...
As antisemitism rises and strife over Israel continues, Josh Shapiro turns toward his Jewish faithVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of teenagers from more than a dozen countries, many standing on their chairs in a cavernous convention hall, screamed and cheered as Josh Shapiro took the stage. Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor still may be unknown among many Americans outside his home state, but here at BBYO, the world’s...
Millions are stuck at home due to blizzard warnings and travel shutdowns in northeastern U.S.
NEW YORK — A massive snowstorm pummeled the northeast United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns, and school and business closures. The storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow in parts of the...
Penn Township art shop celebrates 25 years
Carrie Schramm is all in for another quarter century operating her Penn Township craft shop. In October, the Crafty Shack, located along Harrison City-Export Road, will reach its 25th year in business. It offers community members a space to paint ceramics, make pottery, paint canvases, create mosaics and decorate stepping...
Mexican army kills leader of powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel during an operation to capture him
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho, ” on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts. Oseguera Cervantes was...
Photos from the closing ceremony of Milan Cortina Olympics
MILAN — This photo gallery features highlights from the closing ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympics....
Shapiro signs proclamation of disaster emergency ahead of winter storm
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a proclamation of disaster emergency Sunday afternoon as another major snowstorm is headed for the state, he announced in a press conference. Parts of Philadelphia and its suburbs, and north toward Allentown and the Poconos, could see record-breaking snowfall totals of up to 2 feet...
Blizzard warnings cascade across East Coast with winter storm’s approach
NEW YORK — Snow and rain began falling Sunday across parts of the East Coast, the first jabs of an intense winter storm expected to wallop the region through the day and overnight, with blizzard alerts and weather warnings buzzing in communities from Maryland to Massachusetts. The National Weather Service...
NASA will return its moon rocket to the hangar for more repairs before astronauts strap in
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Grounded until at least April, NASA’s giant moon rocket is headed back to the hangar this week for more repairs before astronauts climb aboard. The space agency said Sunday it’s targeting Tuesday for the slow, four-mile trek across Kennedy Space Center, weather permitting. NASA had barely...
