Biden has pardoned his son Hunter. What does that mean?
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden had long pledged that he would not pardon his son, Hunter, who was set to be sentenced this month for gun and tax convictions. But on Sunday, the president did it anyway. The sweeping pardon covers not only Hunter Biden’s convictions in two cases in...
A court loss isn’t the end of the fight for stricter gun laws in Pa., advocates say
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. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has dealt a blow to Philadelphia and other municipalities’ efforts to pass stricter gun laws, but advocates say their...
Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family. The Democratic president had previously said...
Heavy snow, numbing temperatures keep parts of U.S. in a deep freezeVideo
LOWVILLE, N.Y. — Heavy snowfall and numbing temperatures kept parts of the U.S. in a deep freeze Sunday as the Thanksgiving holiday weekend drew to a close. Some snowmobilers and skiers reveled in the wintry conditions, while flinty fans prepared for the NFL game in Buffalo. In the remote Tug...
Trump names Massad Boulos, campaign liaison and family relative, as a senior adviser on Middle East
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Massad Boulos, a Lebanese American businessman who is the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. Boulos arranged Trump campaign efforts to engage the Arab American community in Michigan, organizing dozens...
Trump says he’ll nominate Kash Patel as FBI director to remake the agency. Here’s what happens next
President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning announcement that he will nominate Kash Patel as FBI director sets the stage for a fresh round of turbulence at a law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the homeland and investigating federal crimes. Patel, a steadfast Trump ally with plans to shake up the bureau, is...
DACA recipients worry their protection from deportation won’t last another Trump term
PHOENIX — Reyna Montoya was 10 when she and her family fled violence in Tijuana and illegally immigrated to the U.S. Growing up in Arizona, she worried even a minor traffic violation could lead to her deportation. She didn’t feel relief until 11 years later in 2012, when she received...
UN halts aid shipments through Gaza’s main crossing after looting. It blames the crisis on Israel
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday it is halting aid deliveries through the main cargo crossing into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip because of the threat of armed gangs who have looted recent convoys. It blamed the breakdown of law and order in large...
Thousands march in Serbia to mark 1 month since a roof collapse killed 15 people
NOVI SAD, Serbia — Thousands joined a protest march on Sunday in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad that marked one month since a concrete canopy outside of the city’s railway station collapsed, killing 15 people and injuring two. Protesters held a huge banner with a red handprint at...
Canada’s Trudeau returns home after Trump meeting without assurances that tariffs are off the table
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned home Saturday after his meeting with Donald Trump without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge...
Syrian insurgents are inside Aleppo in major setback for Assad as government forces regroup
BEIRUT — Thousands of Syrian insurgents fanned out inside Aleppo in vehicles with improvised armor and pickups, deploying to landmarks such as the old citadel on Saturday, a day after they entered Syria’s largest city facing little resistance from government troops, according to residents and fighters. Witnesses said two airstrikes...
Israeli strike in Gaza kills workers with World Central Kitchen charity
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people including employees of World Central Kitchen, and the charity said it was “urgently seeking more details” after Israel’s military said it targeted a WCK worker who had been part of...
Russian police raid Moscow nightclubs in LGBTQ+ crackdown
MOSCOW — Russian police raided several bars and nightclubs across Moscow on Saturday as part of the government’s crackdown on “LGBTQ+ propaganda,” state media reported. Smartphones, laptops and video cameras were seized, while clubgoers had their documents inspected by officers, Russia’s Tass news agency said, citing sources in law enforcement....
Trump and Republicans in Congress eye an ambitious 100-day agenda, starting with tax cuts
WASHINGTON — A tax break for millionaires, and almost everyone else. An end to the covid-19-era government subsidies that some Americans have used to purchase health insurance. Limits to food stamps, including for women and children, and other safety net programs. Rollbacks to Biden-era green energy programs. Mass deportations. Government...
As hunt begins, drought may be a factor in size of harvested deer, quality of antlers, meat
Despite being hunted each fall, deer find ways to survive. The months of dry weather likely will not affect hunting, according to state game officials. But processor Melinda Weimer has noticed a difference in the size and quality of antlers and the amount of quality meat Weimer Meats in Loyalhanna...
On the range with Pennsylvania’s professional farm sitters
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Linda Then and her wife Sandy have a lot of mouths to feed. There’s the Jersey steer, the burly Clydesdale, the...
Lake-effect snow heading for New York state could disrupt travel and football
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Black Friday was giving way to a white weekend in parts of New York state, with the first big snow of the season threatening to bury towns along lakes Erie and Ontario during a hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend. As flakes began flying Friday, forecasters warned...
3 people wounded in Black Friday shooting at mall in Little Rock, Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Three people were wounded in a shooting at an Arkansas mall on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, authorities said. Little Rock police called the shooting at Park Plaza an isolated incident rather than an active shooter situation. Chief Heath Helton...
Deputy kills shooter after being fired at in West Virginia, officials say
BOLT, W.Va. — A West Virginia sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a person Friday who fired at him as he was responding to a 911 call, authorities say. The individual who died wasn’t immediately identified by the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office, which released a statement about the shooting on Facebook....
FEMA to Florida cities hit by hurricanes: Rebuild higher or lose flood insurance
MIAMI — The Gulf of Mexico invaded thousands of homes on Florida’s west coast this year, and many will have to be gutted and rebuilt higher — some a full story off the ground. The process makes communities safer the next time a storm comes aground, but it’s expensive and...
China releases 3 Americans it imprisoned for years, and Beijing says US returned 4 people to China
WASHINGTON — Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China arrived back in the United States late Wednesday. Their release, announced earlier by the White House, was the result of a rare diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration. The Chinese government also announced Thursday...
Israelis are wary of returning to the north because they don’t trust the ceasefire with Hezbollah
KIBBUTZ MALKIYA, Israel — Dean Sweetland casts his gaze over a forlorn street in the Israeli community of Kibbutz Malkiya. Perched on a hill overlooking the border with Lebanon, the town stands mostly empty after being abandoned a year ago. The daycare is closed. The homes are unkempt. Parts of...
Wisconsin officials certify Trump’s victory in back-to-the-routine teleconference
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s election commission leader quietly certified Donald Trump ‘s victory on Friday, moving past the chaos that surrounded the 2020 election results in the battleground state. Commission Chair Ann Jacobs certified results that show Trump won the state with 1,697,626 votes compared to Democrat Kamala Harris’ 1,668,229...
As Trump’s lead in popular vote shrinks, does he really have a ‘mandate’?
In his Nov. 6 victory speech, President-elect Donald Trump claimed Americans had given him an ” unprecedented and powerful mandate.” It’s a message his transition team has echoed in the past three weeks, referring to his “MAGA Mandate” and a “historic mandate for his agenda.” But given that Trump’s lead...
Police: Armed man dies after being shot by Akron officer on Thanksgiving night
AKRON, Ohio — A police officer in Akron shot and killed an armed man after hearing gunshots on Thanksgiving night, authorities said. Police said in a news release that two patrol officers were in a parked police cruiser in the Sherbondy Hill neighborhood as they worked on a report from...
