Assad’s fall in Syria is a ‘fundamental act of justice,’ but also ‘a moment of risk,’ Biden says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East. Biden spoke at the White House hours after rebel...
Syrian prime minister says government is still functioning but foreign and domestic challenges loom
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees crossed in from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future. But there were already...
Lara Trump steps down as RNC co-chair and addresses speculation about Florida Senate seat
Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as she considers a number of potential options with her father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House. Among those possibilities is replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump tapped to be the next secretary...
Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he is appointing one of his defense attorneys in the New York hush money case as counselor to the president. Alina Habba, 40, defended Trump earlier this year, also serving as his legal spokesperson. Habba has been spending time with...
Gaza health officials say latest Israeli airstrikes kill at least 14 including children
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 14 people including children Sunday, Palestinian health officials said, while the bombing of a hospital in northern Gaza wounded a half-dozen patients. Israel’s military continues its latest offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza, whose remaining...
Clintons urge voters agitated by today’s politics to remain involved in public service
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. The former president urged audience members in a packed theater...
Trump says U.S. should stay out of fighting in Syria as opposition forces gain
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military should stay out of the fast-escalating conflict in Syria, where a dramatic rebel offensive reached the capital and threatened the rule of Syria’s Russian- and Iranian-allied president. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” Trump declared on social media. As world...
Trump says he can’t guarantee tariffs won’t raise U.S. prices and promises swift immigration action
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect, in a wide-ranging...
The hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s elusive killer yields new evidence, but few answers
NEW YORK — Police don’t know who he is, where he is, or why he did it. As the frustrating search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer got underway for a fifth day Sunday, investigators reckoned with a tantalizing contradiction: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an...
Biden adds to the nation’s list of national monuments during his term. There’s an appetite for more
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt did in 1906 what Congress was unwilling to do through legislation: He used his new authority under the Antiquities Act to designate Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first national monument. Then came Antiquities Act protections for the Petrified Forest in Arizona, Chaco...
Trump calls for immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and says a U.S. withdrawal from NATO is possible
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office. “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and...
Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media say
DAMASCUS, Syria — Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media said Sunday, hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule. Thousands of Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory...
Taiwan reports 14 Chinese warships, 4 balloons near the island
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China sent 14 warships, seven military aircraft and four balloons near Taiwan between Saturday and Sunday, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, as Beijing ramps up pressure on the island it claims as its own. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the...
Syrian government appears to have fallen in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family
BEIRUT — The Syrian government appeared to have fallen early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a lightning rebel offensive. The head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said President Bashar Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead...
Stolen ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ are auctioned for $28 million
MINNEAPOLIS — A pair of iconic ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” and stolen from a museum nearly two decades ago sold for a winning bid of $28 million at auction Saturday. Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or...
Penn State trustees pass almost 85% of measures without a single dissenting vote
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. When...
Jury awards $310 million to parents of teen killed in fall from Orlando amusement park ride
ORLANDO, Fla. — The parents of a 14-year-old Missouri boy who fell to his death from an Orlando amusement park ride in 2022 have won a $310 million verdict against the attraction’s Austrian builder. Late Thursday, the Orange County jury ordered that the manufacturer Funtime pay $155 million each to...
Elon Musk funded a super PAC comparing Trump’s position on abortion to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s
Elon Musk was the sole funder of a super PAC formed less than a month before the election that focused on advertising intended to convince voters that Donald Trump ‘s stance on abortion was akin to that of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A group titled RBG PAC,...
Jury gets OK to consider lesser charge in NYC subway chokehold case, dismisses manslaughter charge
NEW YORK — The judge overseeing the trial of a man accused of using a deadly chokehold on an unruly New York subway passenger dismissed the top charge in the case on Friday at prosecutors’ request, allowing jurors to consider a lesser count after they deadlocked on whether Daniel Penny...
USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus
The U.S. government on Friday ordered testing of the nation’s milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows. Raw or unpasteurized milk from dairy farms and processors nationwide must be tested on request starting Dec. 16, the Agriculture Department said. Testing will...
CNX Resources to acquire Apex, gain 36K acres in Westmoreland County
Natural gas company CNX Resources Corp. will expand into Westmoreland County in a $505 million deal. CNX announced this week it will acquire Pine-based Apex Energy II LLC — a move that will add about 36,000 acres in Westmoreland County to CNX’s scope. It will also earn CNX 8,600 acres...
Trump offers a public show of support for Hegseth and says he believes he can be confirmed
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday offered a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice to lead the Defense Department, whose confirmation by the Senate is in doubt as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat....
1st rioter tried on Jan. 6 charges gets reduced prison sentence after Supreme Court decision
WASHINGTON — A Texas man who was the first rioter to go on trial for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was resentenced Friday to nearly seven years in prison after he delivered an angry, profane rant to the judge who agreed to modestly reduce his original...
Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the U.S.
A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
Is it legal to pass a working snow plow in Pennsylvania? Here’s what state guidelines say
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spends roughly $171 million preparing major roads for winter weather each season, and plows play a large role in keeping the commonwealth’s bridges and highways clear of snow and ice. According to agency estimates, PennDOT used 2,238 plow trucks, 396 rental trucks and 235 anti-icing...
