European fake art network involving Banksys, Warhols, Modiglianis uncovered in Italy
ROME — Italian authorities say a network of European art forgers who painted fake Warhols, Banksys and Picassos and then tried to sell them to unsuspecting buyers with the help of complicit auction houses has been dismantled. Thirty-eight people have been placed under investigation, including six in Spain, France and...
Israeli strikes hit Beirut suburbs and kill 31 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, medics say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, including 11 at a makeshift cafeteria in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone, medics said. In Lebanon, warplanes struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday after the military warned people to evacuate...
Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
WASHINGTON — All that’s left is for President-elect Donald Trump to put his name on it — if he wants. Trump won the White House in large part because of voters’ frustration with high prices and a sense that the United States needs major changes. But when he enters office...
A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
SAN DIEGO — Donald Trump’s first picks for immigration policy jobs spent the last four years angling for this moment. Stephen Miller and Thomas Homan had critical roles in the first Trump administration and are unapologetic defenders of its policies, which included separating thousands of parents from their children at...
Judge set to rule on whether to scrap Trump’s conviction in hush money case
NEW YORK — A judge is due to decide Tuesday whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush money case because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. New York Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s historic trial, is now tasked with deciding whether...
35 dead as a driver hits a crowd at sports center in a southern Chinese city
BANGKOK — A driver killed 35 people and severely injured another 43 when he deliberately rammed his car into people exercising at a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, police said Tuesday. Police had detained a 62-year-old man at the sports center in the southern Chinese city...
Congress returns to unfinished business and a new Trump era
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to a changed Washington as President-elect Donald Trump’s hard-right agenda is quickly taking shape, buoyed by eager Republican allies eyeing a full sweep of power on Capitol Hill while Democrats are sorting out what went wrong. Even as final election results are still being tallied, the...
Penn Township to host info session on zoning change amid resident concerns
Penn Township will host an informational meeting this month to explain a series of potential zoning changes. Meant to encourage economic development in the township, the proposed changes include Harrison-City Export Road, Mellon Road near Bushy Run Corporate Park and near the intersection of Route 130, Pleasant Valley Road and...
Hoarding disorder can drive families and communities apart. An Irwin nonprofit can help
This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Sign up for free here. Cindy’s home has so much stuff that she can’t use certain areas. Boxes form...
Democrat Ruben Gallego wins Arizona U.S. Senate race against Republican Kari Lake
PHOENIX — Democrat Ruben Gallego has been elected Arizona’s first Latino U.S. senator, defeating Republican Kari Lake and preventing Republicans from further padding their Senate majority. Gallego’s victory continues a string of Democratic successes in a state that was reliably Republican until Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. Arizona...
South Carolina lab recaptures 5 more escaped monkeys but 13 are still loose
YEMASSEE, S.C. — Employees at a South Carolina compound that breeds monkeys for medical research have recaptured five more animals that escaped last week from an enclosure that wasn’t fully locked. As of Monday afternoon, 30 of the 43 monkeys that made it outside the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee...
Trump planning to choose Marco Rubio to lead State Department in historic first
President-elect Donald Trump plans to tap U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, making him the first Latino to helm the State Department, according to a source familiar with the plans. Trump’s selection of Rubio, born in Miami to Cuban parents, is expected to assuage fears among GOP...
Black cheerleader at Cumberland Valley made to act like a ‘pet’ as white teammates took videos, lawsuit says
A competitive cheer team from a Pennsylvania high school was staying in a Florida hotel to compete in a national competition when a freshman cheerleader received a knock on her door. It was a teammate telling her to come to another room where other members had gathered during the February...
Haiti’s main airport shuts down as gang violence surges and a new prime minister is sworn inVideo
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s international airport shut down on Monday after gangs opened fire at a commercial flight landing in Port-Au-Prince, prompting some airlines to temporarily suspend operations as the country swore in a new interim prime minister who promised to restore peace. The Spirit Airlines flight headed from Fort...
McCormick to go to Washington for Senate orientation over Schumer objections
Republican Dave McCormick said Monday he is off to Washington, D.C. for freshman orientation at the U.S. Senate, even as the chamber’s Democratic leaders are withholding an invitation while waiting for the remaining votes to be counted in Pennsylvania. The Associated Press Friday declared McCormick the winner in an upset...
Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony
CHURCH CREEK, Md. — Revered abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war, was posthumously awarded the rank of general on Monday. Dozens gathered on Veterans Day at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Maryland’s Dorcester County...
Fire crews on both coasts battle wildfiresVideo
RINGWOOD, N.J. — Fire crews battled small wildfires across the Northeast U.S. on Monday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee over the weekend and postponed Veterans Day plans. A quarter-inch of rain fell overnight from Sunday into Monday in a forest area...
Indiana man found guilty of murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teenage girlsVideo
DELPHI, Ind. — A former drugstore worker in the small Indiana community of Delphi was found guilty of murder on Monday in the killings of two teenage girls who vanished during an afternoon hike. Jurors convicted Richard Allen of two counts of murder and two additional counts of murder while...
How did Pa. Dems keep the state House during a red wave? Meet Frank Burns
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Democrats have clung to their one-vote majority despite a statewide wave of GOP wins that...
Biden and Harris are appearing together for the first time since she lost the election to Trump
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday made their first joint appearance since her election loss when they observed Veterans Day together by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Biden honored the service and sacrifice of America’s...
Trump names Lee Zeldin to lead EPA, Stephen Miller to be deputy chief of policy
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build out his future administration with loyal supporters. Trump, in a statement, said Zeldin, who mounted a failed bid for governor of New York in 2022, would...
When to catch the last supermoon of the year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Better catch this week’s supermoon. It will be a while until the next one. This will be the year’s fourth and final supermoon, looking bigger and brighter than usual as it comes within about 225,000 miles (361,867 kilometers) of Earth on Thursday. It won’t reach its...
Trump chooses New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as ambassador to United Nations
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Rep. Elise Stefanik to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement Monday announcing his pick. Stefanik, 40, who serves as House Republican Conference Chair, has...
Gallery: Photos from Steelers’ win over the Commanders
The Pittsburgh Steelers rallied and held on for a win against the Washington Commanders on Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. Quarterback Russell Wilson lofted a picturesque 32-yard fade pass to wide receiver Mike Williams for the go-ahead touchdown with 2 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in a 28-27 comeback...
Round 2 in the Trump-vs-Mexico matchup looks ominous for Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Mexico is facing a second Donald Trump presidency, and few countries can match its experience as a target of Trump’s rhetoric: There have been threats to close the border, impose tariffs and even send U.S. forces to fight Mexican drug cartels if the country doesn’t do more...
