‘Those lost lives can help prevent future lost lives’: Western Pa. schools are rethinking security, experts say
Door locks. Secure entrances. Ballistic window film. Security cameras. Metal detectors. As threats and incidents of violence become more common at schools across the country, educators are seeking out building upgrades to enhance student safety. But to school safety and security expert Aaron Skrbin, talking is the more important first...
Georgia ends early voting with record 4 million votes cast
ATLANTA — Early voting ended in Georgia with a record 4 million ballots cast before Election Day, a huge turnout featuring many first-time voters, women and voters over 50 years old. Nearly 3.8 million people voted in person during three weeks of early voting, including a crush of 292,000 voters...
Jury convicts former Kentucky officer of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during deadly raid
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal jury on Friday convicted a former Kentucky police detective of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during a botched 2020 drug raid that left her dead. The 12-member jury returned the late-night verdict after clearing Brett Hankison earlier in the evening on a charge that...
Biden declares major disaster area in southeast New Mexico due to historic flooding
ROSWELL, N.M. — President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster area in southeast New Mexico after historic flooding killed two people and forced the rescue of more than 300 last month. The declaration announced Friday makes federal funding available to residents in Chaves County, where 5.78 inches (about 14.7...
Georgia judge rejects GOP lawsuit trying to block counties from accepting hand-returned mail ballots
ATLANTA — A Georgia judge on Saturday rejected a Republican lawsuit trying to block counties from opening election offices on Saturday and Sunday to let voters hand in their mail ballots in person. The lawsuit only named Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes most of the city of Atlanta...
Trump will rally backers every day until the election in North Carolina, a swing state he won twice
GASTONIA, N.C. — Donald Trump will rally supporters in North Carolina every day until Tuesday’s election, a flurry of late activity in the only swing state that he won in both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. Even as Trump looks to expand the electoral map and project strength with trips...
NYC declares a drought watch and asks residents to conserve water
NEW YORK — New York’s mayor urged residents to take shorter showers, fix dripping faucets and otherwise conserve water, issuing a drought watch Saturday after a parched October here and in much of the United States. A drought watch is the first of three potential levels of water-saving directives, and...
2 Ohio officers charged with reckless homicide in death of man in custody after crash arrest
CANTON, Ohio — Prosecutors in Ohio have announced reckless homicide charges against two police officers in the death of a man who was handcuffed and left face down on the floor of a social club in Canton while telling officers he couldn’t breathe. Stark County prosecutor Kyle Stone told reporters...
Israeli military official says Israeli forces capture senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon
BATROUN, Lebanon — An Israeli military official said Saturday that Israeli naval forces captured a senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon. The operation took place in the northern Lebanese town of Batroun, the official said without providing the name of the person they detained. Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese authorities said...
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy urges allies to act before North Korean troops reach the front
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged its allies to stop “watching” and take steps before North Korean troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield, and the country’s army chief warned that his troops are facing “one of the most powerful offensives” by Moscow since the all-out war started...
At U.N. summit, historic agreement to give Indigenous groups voice on nature conservation decisions
CALI, Colombia — After two weeks of negotiations, delegates on Saturday agreed at the United Nations conference on biodiversity to establish a subsidiary body that will include Indigenous peoples in future decisions on nature conservation, an important development that builds on a growing movement to recognize the role of Indigenous...
New State Board of Higher Education names its executive director
The newly created State Board of Higher Education, tasked with re-imaging oversight of Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities, has named Kate Shaw as executive director. Shaw is deputy secretary for Higher Education within the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She has a decades-long career in government, the private sector and in academia...
Western Pennsylvania’s importance in presidential election evident in both Harris, Trump coming Monday
Pittsburgh will be the center of the American political universe the night before Election Day, when both candidates for president hold Downtown rallies less than 2 miles from one another. And you thought Steelers traffic was bad. Former President Donald Trump will be at PPG Paints Arena. But just a...
Israel pummels Lebanon and Gaza, killing dozens in fresh waves of airstrikes
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel launched dozens of intense airstrikes across Lebanon’s northeastern farming villages on Friday, killing at least 52 people and wounding scores more, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported. In central Gaza, Palestinians recovered the bodies of 25 people killed in a barrage of Israeli aerial attacks that began...
Creative ‘I Voted’ stickers branch out beyond the familiar flag design
CONCORD, N.H. — Whether scenic or slightly sinister — angry werewolf, anyone? — the designs on the front of “I Voted” stickers are attracting a lot of attention this year. But have you ever considered the back of your Election Day souvenir? “Garment-safe adhesive, it’s incredibly important,” said Janet Boudreau,...
Early voting reaches such heights that some Georgia polls may be Election Day ‘ghost town’
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Flags telling people to “Vote Here” fluttered in not only English, but Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese at the Mountain Park Activity Building as a steady stream passed through its doors to cast their ballots in the 2024 election. One by one, the voters who turned...
Voters view one another across partisan divide with increasing animosity
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden tried to explain this week that he doesn’t really think Donald Trump’s supporters are “garbage,” but that doesn’t mean that other people don’t believe the label occasionally fits. “I would say that some of them are garbage,” said Samantha Leister, 32, who went to see...
Harris team warns CEOs that Trump is a threat to economy, while Trump says tariffs can drive growth
WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris ’ campaign is actively warning business leaders that Donald Trump has a pattern of disregard for democracy and the rule of law that would threaten U.S. economic growth — a closing argument designed to show the possible consequences for companies and workers if he returns to...
AP-NORC poll finds skepticism of nationwide election tallies, especially among Republicans
WASHINGTON — The nation’s deep partisan divisions extend to trust in the vote tallies for this year’s election, as a new poll finds that Republicans are much more skeptical than Democrats that ballots will be counted accurately. Voters generally show more distrust toward nationwide voting results compared to the tallies...
Pennsylvania challenge of Elon Musk’s $1M-a-day voter sweepstakes moves back to state court
PHILADELPHIA — A legal fight over Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes is back in state court in Pennsylvania, a loss for the billionaire, after a federal judge said Friday that he doesn’t have jurisdiction. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner wants to keep his fight to shut down the giveaways...
Supreme Court allows Pennsylvania to count contested provisional ballots, rejecting Republican plea
DOYLESTOWN— The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an emergency appeal from Republicans that could have led to thousands of provisional ballots not being counted in Pennsylvania as the presidential campaigns vie in the final days before the election in the nation’s biggest battleground state. The justices left in place a...
Japan’s Mount Fuji snowless for longest time ever
For the longest time on record, Japan’s Mount Fuji has been without snow. As of Halloween, the country’s tallest mountain was still without snow. This marks the longest period on record, The Weather Channel reported. The volcano’s snowcap begins forming on Oct. 2 on average, The Guardian said. Last year,...
Roof collapse at Serbian railway station kills at least 13
NOVI SAD, Serbia — A concrete roof above the entrance of a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed Friday, killing at least 13 people, with more feared buried under the rubble. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that three people were rescued and hospitalized with serious...
Georgia county says more than 3,000 absentee ballots being mailed late just days before election
MARIETTA, Ga. — Election officials in Georgia’s third-largest county said they’re late in mailing more than 3,000 absentee ballots to voters just a few days before the election. Election officials in Cobb County north of Atlanta were using U.S. Postal Service express mail and UPS overnight delivery in an effort...
Donald Trump will again hold his final campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich.
DETROIT — For the third straight presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump will hold his final rally before polls open on Election Day in Grand Rapids, according to a spokesperson for his campaign. The revelation points to the former president’s continued emphasis on the battleground state of Michigan. In both...
