Idaho lawmakers move to restore ‘natural definition’ of marriage, bring back same-sex ban
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho House committee will consider a formal statement asking the U.S. Supreme Court to end same-sex marriage nationwide and allow the state to restore its ban on such unions. State Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, proposed the measure that calls the 2015 decision from the nation’s highest...
Democrat elected speaker of tied Pennsylvania House after GOP candidate bows out
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday returned Democratic Speaker Joanna McClinton to lead the chamber for the new session after the Republican floor leader bowed out to resolve a deadlock. Democrats won 102 seats in November, a single-vote majority, but one of their members was absent from swearing-in day after...
Dangerously strong wind forces Biden to cancel event announcing new national monuments
LOS ANGELES — Dangerously strong wind forced President Joe Biden to cancel a trip Tuesday to the Eastern Coachella Valley, where he was to announce the creation of two new national monuments in California that will honor Native American tribes. Winds began gaining strength across Southern California as forecasters warned...
LGBTQ+ rights group reports progress at U.S. companies despite conservative backlash
NEW YORK — A national rights group said Tuesday that more U.S. companies are providing strong benefits and protections to LGBTQ+ employees despite an ongoing effort by conservative activists to get high-profile brands to stop participating in the organization’s annual workplace report card. The education arm of the Human Rights...
Judge temporarily blocks release of special counsel report on Trump cases amid simmering court fight
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the public release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on investigations into Donald Trump as an appeals court weighs a challenge to the disclosure of a much-anticipated document just days before the president-elect reclaims office. The ruling from U.S. District Judge...
Biden administration set to announce ‘substantial’ final weapons package for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is set to announce a massive, final weapons aid package for Ukraine as part of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Germany on Thursday to meet with representatives of about 50 partner nations who have come to Ukraine’s defense since Russia invaded nearly three years...
Trump won’t rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security. Speaking to reporters less than two weeks...
U.S. says Sudanese rebel force has committed genocide, and it imposes sanctions on the group’s leaders
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Tuesday it has determined that Sudan’s paramilitary group and its proxies are committing genocide in the country’s civil war and that it has imposed sanctions on the group’s leader and affiliated companies. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the conflict,...
Jimmy Carter is back in Washington, where he remained an outsiderVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly 44 years after Jimmy Carter left the nation’s capital in humbling defeat, the 39th president returned to Washington for three days of state funeral rites starting Tuesday. Carter’s remains, which had been lying in repose at the Carter Presidential Center since Saturday, left the Atlanta campus Tuesday...
Suspect in NYC subway burning told police ‘that’s me’ when shown video, transcript says
NEW YORK — The man accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway told detectives, “Oh, damn, that’s me,” when he saw video of the attack but said he couldn’t remember anything, according to a transcript released Tuesday. The interview was made public shortly after...
Many structures already destroyed in Pacific Palisades wildfire, California governor saysVideo
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters scrambled to corral a fast-moving wildfire in the Los Angeles hillsides dotted with celebrity homes as a fierce windstorm hit Southern California on Tuesday, fanning the blaze seen for miles as scores of residents abandoned their cars and fled on foot to safety with roads blocked....
UN says over 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year as gangs rampage
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — More than 5,600 people were reported killed in Haiti last year as a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya struggles to contain rampant gang violence, officials said Tuesday. The number of killings increased by more than 20% compared with all of 2023, according to the U.N. Human Rights...
U.S. job openings rise unexpectedly to 8.1 million in November, a sign the labor market is resilient
WASHINGTON — U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has cooled overall. Openings rose to 8.1 million in November from 7.8 million in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier...
Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Greenland after his father said the U.S. should own the Danish territory
The eldest son of President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Greenland on Tuesday for a private visit that heightened speculation that the incoming U.S. administration could seek to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory. The Danish state broadcaster reported that Donald Trump Jr.’s plane landed in Nuuk, capital of the...
2 bodies found in the landing gear of JetBlue plane at Florida airport
Two bodies were found in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue aircraft at a South Florida airport, the latest security breach involving the nation’s aviation system, authorities said. The bodies were discovered in the wheel well area during a routine post-flight inspection on Monday night at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International...
U.S. dockworkers threaten to strike against automation, creating economic uncertainty
WASHINGTON — Vowing to stop machines from taking their jobs, 45,000 U.S. longshoremen are threatening to go on a strike that would shut down ports on the East and Gulf coasts and could damage the American economy just as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. If the standoff...
Strong earthquake kills at least 126 people in western China near Mount Everest
BEIJING — A strong earthquake shook a high-altitude region of western China and areas of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses, littering streets with rubble and killing at least 126 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region. Rescue workers climbed mounds...
Why more frequent cold blasts could be coming from global warming
Frigid air that normally stays trapped in the Arctic has escaped, plunging deep into the United States for an extended visit that is expected to provoke teeth-chattering but not be record-shattering. It’s a cold air outbreak that some experts say is happening more frequently, and paradoxically, because of a warming...
Jean-Marie Le Pen, French far-right leader, dies at 96
PARIS — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, has died. He was 96. Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally as the party is now known, confirmed...
U.S. transfers 11 Guantanamo detainees to Oman after more than 2 decades without charge
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Monday it had transferred 11 Yemeni men to Oman this week after holding them for more than two decades without charge at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The transfer was the latest and biggest push by the Biden administration in its final...
Gallery: Photos from a snowy day Jan. 7, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025....
Biden tells New Orleans mourners they are not alone as he honors victims of attack
NEW ORLEANS — President Joe Biden told mourners in New Orleans on Monday that they are not alone as he paid tribute to victims of the deadly New Year’s attack and channeled the pain felt by their loved ones. Biden made the remarks at St. Louis Cathedral in the city’s...
Snow doesn’t mean postponements for W.Pa. school districts, although some still opt to cancel
Before snow started to fall Sunday night, many Western Pennsylvania school districts made the decision to cancel Monday’s classes or shift to remote instruction. Districts opting to use a flexible instruction day asked students to use computers to complete schoolwork from home. Students in districts that canceled classes enjoyed what...
What a new study does — and doesn’t — say about fluoride and its link to IQ
A new report linking fluoridated drinking water to lower IQ scores in children is sure to ratchet up the debate over a practice that’s considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. The report published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics synthesizes the results of dozens of research...
Pope names like-minded ally Cardinal McElroy as Washington archbishop
ROME — Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington, tapping one of his most progressively like-minded allies to head the Catholic Church in the U.S. capital at the start of Donald Trump’s second administration. At a press conference, McElroy said he...
