Pennsylvania courts get lawsuits over ballot-counting in Senate contest headed toward a recount
HARRISBURG — Republicans went to court in Pennsylvania on Thursday amid vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick, as the campaigns prepare for a recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions. The lawsuits ask courts not to allow counties to...
Gallery: Photos from Nov. 14, 2024
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region — and the world — with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
7 people are killed in Pakistan when a militant’s car bomb accidentally explodes
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A powerful car bomb accidentally detonated at the house of a Pakistani Taliban militant in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least two children and five suspected militants, police said. The explosion took place before dawn in the city of Mir Ali in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when...
Suicides in the U.S. military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend
WASHINGTON — Suicides in the U.S. military increased in 2023, continuing a long-term trend that the Pentagon has struggled to abate, senior defense officials said. The increase is a bit of a setback after the deaths dipped slightly the previous year. Officials said both the number of suicides and the...
U.S. wholesale inflation picks up slightly in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices in the United States rose last month, remaining low but suggesting that the American economy has yet to completely vanquish inflationary pressure. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.2% from...
Food prices worried most voters, but Trump’s plans likely won’t lower their grocery bills
Americans are fed up with the price of food, and many are looking to President-elect Donald Trump to lower their grocery bills. Trump often railed on the campaign trail against hefty price increases for bacon, cereal, crackers and other items. “We’ll get them down,” he told shoppers during a September...
Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with Sandy Hook families’ backing
The satirical news publication The Onion was named the winning bidder for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax. The purchase would turn over...
2 charged in connection with orange spray attack on Stonehenge monuments
LONDON — Two environmental activists have been charged over the spraying orange paint powder at the Stonehenge monuments in southwest England in June, police said Thursday. Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 22, have been charged with “destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument, and intentionally or recklessly causing a...
The Leonid meteor shower peaks as the supermoon wanes
WASHINGTON — It’s a treat to see a supermoon. But that bright glowing orb will still be almost full when the Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend, likely obscuring all but the brightest meteors in most locations. The Leonids are known for their high-speed meteors, which can travel at up...
Matt Gaetz once faced a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department he could now lead
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, was once embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department he’s been tapped to lead, and has been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including sexual misconduct. That probe effectively ended...
1 million migrants in the U.S. rely on temporary protections that Trump could target
NEW YORK — Maribel Hidalgo fled her native Venezuela a year ago with a 1-year-old son, trudging for days through Panama’s Darien Gap, then riding the rails across Mexico to the United States. They were living in the U.S. when the Biden administration announced Venezuelans would be offered Temporary Protected...
Trump’s mainstream picks for top foreign policy posts could reassure allies — and worry China
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is famously unconventional, but he made conventional picks for his two top foreign policy positions. That could be reassuring to American allies, while China and Iran have reasons to be wary. Trump on Wednesday announced his choice of Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state....
Trump issues early challenge to GOP Senate with defiant nominations
WASHINGTON — Just hours after Republican Sen. John Thune was elected as the incoming Senate majority leader on Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump presented him with one of his first tests — an announcement that he intends to nominate controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general. The Florida Republican is one...
Liberals pressure Senate Democrats to confirm more Biden judges while they can
WASHINGTON — Demand Justice, a progressive organization focused on the judiciary, is set to bombard Capitol Hill with a message for the closing weeks of the 118th Congress: Do “whatever it takes” to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees as a second Donald Trump presidency looms. The Republican president-elect’s victory and...
Gaetz pick shows value Trump places on loyalty — and retribution — as he returns to Washington
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has had few defenders in Congress as reliable as Matt Gaetz, who has thundered at one prosecutor after another for perceived bias against the president-elect and emphatically amplified the Republican’s rallying cry that the criminal investigations into him are “witch hunts.” That kinship was rewarded Wednesday...
Republicans win 218 U.S. House seats, giving Donald Trump and the party control of government
WASHINGTON — Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party’s sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump. A House Republican victory in Arizona, alongside a win in slow-counting California earlier Wednesday, gave the GOP the 218 House victories...
FBI: Investigation into Chinese hacking reveals ‘broad and significant’ spying effort
WASHINGTON — A federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks has revealed a “broad and significant” cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans who work in government and politics, the FBI said Wednesday. Hackers affiliated with Beijing have compromised the networks of “multiple” telecommunications...
Prosecutor failed to show that Elon Musk’s $1M-a-day sweepstakes was an illegal lottery, judge says
PHILADELPHIA — The $1 million voter sweepstakes linked to billionaire Elon Musk was allowed to continue through Election Day because Philadelphia’s top prosecutor failed to show that it was an illegal lottery, a judge said in a new opinion. District Attorney Larry Krasner had filed suit last month to try...
Gov. Shapiro gives ‘wait and see’ response to Trump pledge to begin mass deportations
Gov, Josh Shapiro said Wednesday he will hold off until hearing President-elect Donald Trump’s plan on mass deportations before determining how he will respond. “Let’s wait and see,” Shapiro said after remarks at an economic development event at a machine construction company in Dillsburg. Shapiro’s comments come as post-Trump election...
Special counsel Jack Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a court Wednesday to pause prosecutors’ appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump in light of the Republican’s presidential victory. Smith’s team has been evaluating how to wind down the classified documents and the federal 2020 election interference...
Casey-McCormick race heads to automatic recount
Pennsylvania’s hard-fought U.S. Senate race is being extended potentially another two weeks. With the contest between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican businessman Dave McCormick within 0.5 percentage point, the race is legally required to go to automatic recount under Pennsylvania law, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Wednesday....
Philadelphia mass transit users face fare hikes of more than 20% and possible service cuts
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s mass transit system has proposed an across-the-board 21.5% fare increase that would start New Year’s Day as well as severe service cuts that would take effect next summer. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority announced its plans on Tuesday and scheduled a Dec. 13 public hearing on them....
Trump says he will nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to be attorney general
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as U.S. attorney general, a surprising and highly controversial pick that could set up a confirmation battle in the Senate as the congressman continues to battle accusations of illicit drug use and sex trafficking. At a...
Trump picks ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, Rubio for Secretary of State
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress and presidential candidate, to serve as director of national intelligence, continuing to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities complimentary to his own, rather than long-term professionals in their requisite fields. “As a...
Birth control and abortion pill requests have surged since Trump won the election
Hours after Donald Trump was elected president for the second time, Dr. Clayton Alfonso had two messages from patients seeking to replace their IUDs. Over the next few days, three women inquired about getting their tubes tied. All of them said the election was the reason they were making these...
