FBI to pay $22M to settle claims of sexual discrimination at training academy
WASHINGTON — The FBI has agreed to pay more than $22 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging female recruits were singled out for dismissal in training and routinely harassed by instructors with sexually charged comments about their breast size, false allegations of infidelity and the need to take contraception...
Harris trolls Trump at Vegas rally and LA fundraiser, says her crowds are ‘pretty big’
LAS VEGAS — Vice President Kamala Harris poked at Donald Trump over crowd sizes, his refusal to debate again and his privileged background on Sunday as she hauled in campaign cash in California and held a raucous rally at the same Nevada venue where the Republican nominee had appeared just...
Russia targets 11 Ukrainian regions as it steps up its drone attacks
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired missiles and drones at 11 regions of Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, in a 33rd consecutive night of aerial attacks behind the front line and set a new monthly record of drone barrages. In Kyiv, multiple explosions and machine gun fire could be...
Trump escalates attacks on Harris’ mental fitness and suggests she should be prosecuted
ERIE, Pa. — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his personal attacks on his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, on Sunday by repeating an insult that she was “mentally impaired” while also saying she should be “impeached and prosecuted.” Trump’s rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, took on similar themes as an event...
Supplies arrive by plane, by mule in North Carolina as Helene’s death toll tops 130Video
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Widespread devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene came to light Monday across the South, revealing a wasteland of splintered houses, crushed cargo containers and mud-covered highways in one of the worst storms in U.S. history. The death toll topped 130. A crisis was unfolding in western North...
Powerful typhoon lashing northern Philippine islands
MANILA, Philippines — A powerful typhoon was lashing the northernmost islands of the Philippines Monday, prompting officials to evacuate villagers, shut down schools and inter-island ferries and warn of “potentially very destructive” damage to coastal villages. Typhoon Krathon was last tracked over the coastal waters of Balintang island off the...
Israel begins ground offensive against Hezbollah in southern LebanonVideo
JERUSALEM — Israeli ground forces crossed into southern Lebanon early Tuesday, marking a significant escalation of an offensive against Hezbollah militants and opening a new front in a yearlong war against its Iranian-backed adversaries. The incursion follows weeks of heavy blows by Israel against Hezbollah — including an airstrike that...
Interstate closed outside Atlanta as residents evacuate because of a chemical plant fireVideo
CONYERS, Ga. — Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated while others were told to shelter in place Sunday to avoid contaminants from a chemical plant fire that sent dark, billowing gray smoke into the air. Interstate 20 was shut down in both directions in the area, the Georgia Department...
Israeli airstrikes kill dozens across Lebanon as Hezbollah confirms a 7th top commander was killedVideo
JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed dozens of people on Sunday as the Hezbollah militant group sustained a string of deadly blows to its command structure, including the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah confirmed Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of the militant group’s Central Council, was...
Backyard bee watchers, photographers help discover multiple new species in Pa.
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. Discovering bees requires patience, a discerning eye, and lots of tools. Over 16 months, Kevin Thomas, a participant in a citizen...
‘It wasn’t as trashy as I’ve seen it’: Luke Bryan clean-up crews leave little sign of Farm Tour stop in South Huntingdon
Passersby Sunday morning would have no idea the Cunningham family farm in South Huntingdon swelled to crowds of 18,000 people to see country music artist Luke Bryan the night before. Luke Bryan’s annual Farm Tour turned the once quiet 90-acre farm into a sea of RVs, school buses, cornhole boards...
Some Republicans distance themselves from Trump’s latest attack on Harris’ mental fitnessVideo
WASHINGTON — Republicans on Sunday sought to distance themselves from Donald Trump’s latest insults of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris during a rambling weekend rally in Wisconsin in which he called her “mentally disabled.” Trump escalated his personal attacks on the vice president during what was billed as a speech on...
Supplies, emergency workers rushed to North Carolina while Florida digs out from Helene’s damageVideo
PERRY, Fla. — The U.S. Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and the widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became clear to officials who warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild. North Carolina...
Ianni’s Pizzeria in Delmont suffers ‘significant damage’ from fire
The Ianni’s Pizzeria location in Delmont suffered extensive damage in a fire early Sunday morning. Crews from Delmont, White Valley, Murrysville, Slickville, Claridge and Forbes volunteer fire departments were dispatched to the restaurant shortly before 4 a.m., according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. The fire departments worked to put...
Biden and Harris call the Israeli strike killing Hezbollah’s Nasrallah a ‘measure of justice’
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — The Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah was a “measure of justice” for victims of a four-decade “reign of terror,” President Joe Biden said Saturday. The comments came after Lebanon’s Hezbollah group confirmed earlier Saturday that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in...
Jimmy Carter at 100: A century of changes for a president, the U.S. and the world since 1924
Already the longest-lived of the 45 men to serve as U.S. president, Jimmy Carter is about to reach the century mark. The 39th president, who remains under home hospice care, will turn 100 on Tuesday, Oct. 1, celebrating in the same south Georgia town where he was born in 1924....
After a chaotic Congress, lawmakers head home to ask voters: How about another term?
WASHINGTON — Congress is off for the campaign season, as lawmakers from one of the most chaotic and unproductive legislative sessions in modern times try to persuade voters to keep them on the job. The House Republicans led the tumult — painstakingly electing their speaker in a bitter public feud...
Hezbollah confirms its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Hezbollah group confirmed on Saturday that its leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day. A statement said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.” Hezbollah vowed to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in...
A rare condor hatched and raised by foster parents in captivity will soon get to live wild
By all accounts, Milagra the “miracle” California condor shouldn’t be alive today. But now at nearly 17 months old, she is one of four of the giant endangered birds who will get to stretch their wings in the wild as part of a release this weekend near the Grand Canyon....
Urban communities that lack shade sizzle when it’s hot. Trees are a climate change solution
DETROIT — Along a busy road in west Detroit, there’s little respite from the sun for residents stopping for gasoline, attending places of worship or bringing children to daycare. But a budding canopy of trees planted this year will change the look and feel of this corridor. Detroit and other...
Tips for shopping for Medicare Advantage plans
Shopping season for Medicare coverage is about to begin. With it comes the annual onslaught of TV ads and choices to consider. People eligible for the federal government’s Medicare program will have from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 to sign up for 2025 Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run...
Medicare Advantage shopping season arrives with a dose of confusion and some political implications
Thinner benefits and coverage changes await many older Americans shopping for health insurance this fall. That’s if their plan is even still available in 2025. More than a million people will probably have to find new coverage as major insurers cut costs and pull back from markets for Medicare Advantage...
At least 52 dead and millions without power after Helene’s deadly march across southeastern U.S.
PERRY, Fla. — Massive rains from powerful Hurricane Helene left people stranded, without shelter and awaiting rescue Saturday — as the cleanup began from the tempest that killed at least 52 people, caused widespread destruction across the U.S. Southeast and left millions without power. Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big...
Abortion a top election issue for nearly half of state voters, Spotlight PA poll shows
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 — Abortion is a top issue for nearly 50% of Pennsylvania voters when considering who to pick for president this November, a new Spotlight...
Jews and Catholics warn against Trump’s latest loyalty test for religious voters
Former President Donald Trump recently reissued his loyalty test to religious Americans, declaring that he can best protect their freedoms while preemptively blaming members of certain faiths should he lose the presidential election in November. Jews and Catholics can vote for him and ace the test, but those who don’t,...
