Harris raised a massive $310 million in July, as she looks to reset November’s race against Trump
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris ’ campaign announced Friday that it raised $310 million last month, an eyepopping sum showing that donors who once seemed spooked about the prospects for November’s election with President Joe Biden are now offering mountains of cash to boost his former No. 2. The...
Trump is making his 2024 campaign about Harris’ race, whether Republicans want him to or not
NEW YORK — Donald Trump has found tremendous success from the very first moment he stepped onto the presidential stage by stoking racial animus. Democrats expressed new outrage this week at the former president’s derisive and false charge that Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian heritage,...
Few Americans trust the Secret Service after a gunman nearly killed Trump, an AP-NORC poll finds
Most Americans have doubts about the Secret Service’s ability to keep presidential candidates safe after last month’s attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life, a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. Only around 3 in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident that the...
Things to know about the largest U.S.-Russia prisoner swap in post-Soviet history
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Russia on Thursday completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, a deal involving 24 people, many months of negotiations and concessions from other European countries who released Russians in their custody as part of the exchange. Here are some things to know: Who...
Turkey blocks access to Instagram. It’s in response to removal of posts on Hamas chief, reports say
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s communications authority blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on Friday, the latest instance of a clampdown on websites in the country. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, which regulates the internet, announced the decision early Friday but did not provide a reason. Yeni Safak...
3 newly freed Americans are back on U.S. soil after a landmark prisoner exchange with Russia
WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free. Gershkovich, Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, a...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Aug. 2
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Donald Trump, Kamala Harris have a quiet day scheduled on the campaign trail Friday
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump’s campaign schedules are sparse Friday, as both candidates prepare for larger events over the weekend and next week. Harris had no campaign event appearances scheduled Friday, bringing a break in a week that has brought the presumed Democratic presidential nominee to...
Florida governor declares state of emergency as coming heavy rain might cause ‘major disaster’
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for much of the state, excluding South Florida, ahead of a disturbance that might strengthen into a tropical depression. Forecasters are warning to expect heavy rain and floods even if the storm fails to form into a depression. DeSantis signed an executive...
Third-party candidates file to run for president, U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — More than a dozen third-party candidates for president, U.S. Senate and three statewide offices filed paperwork ahead of Thursday’s deadline to get on November’s general election ballot in Pennsylvania, raising the possibility that they could play spoiler in high-stakes and close races in the battleground state. Pennsylvania is...
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker sees no justice in 9/11 prisoner plea deal
For more than 20 years, former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker has been a conduit for information and healing for the families of the 33 passengers of United Flight 93, all of whom were killed on Sept. 11, 2001 in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. In many ways, Schweiker...
Pennsylvania’s long-running dispute over dates on mail-in voting ballots is back in the courts
HARRISBURG — A technical requirement that Pennsylvania voters write accurate dates on the exterior envelope of mail-in ballots was again the subject of a court proceeding on Thursday as advocates argued the mandate unfairly leads to otherwise valid votes being thrown out. A five-judge Commonwealth Court panel heard about two...
Wisconsin judge refuses GOP request to pause absentee voting ruling sought by disabled people
MADISON — A judge refused Thursday to put on hold his ruling that allows disabled people in Wisconsin to be emailed absentee ballots at home in November’s presidential election in the closely watched battleground state. Republicans asked the judge to not enforce his ruling while their appeal is pending. But...
Pennsylvania man accused of beheading father in their home is competent to stand trial, judge rules
DOYLESTOWN — The man accused of beheading his father in their suburban Philadelphia home early this year and posting a video of the severed head online is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Thursday. The decision by Judge Stephen Corr came after a five-hour hearing in which prosecutors and...
West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice in fight to keep historic hotel amid U.S. Senate campaign
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is in a fight to keep his iconic Greenbrier hotel. A legal notice announcing a public auction for the luxury resort near White Sulphur Springs due to unpaid debts was publicized in the West Virginia Daily News...
GOP senators reject legislation that would expand child tax credit, restore business tax breaksVideo
WASHINGTON — A bill to expand the child tax credit and restore some tax breaks for businesses failed to advance Thursday in the Senate as Republicans largely opposed the measure, arguing they would be in position to get a better deal next year. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dared Republicans...
Who’s in the prisoner swap between Russia and the West?
TALLINN, Estonia — One spent over 5½ years behind bars in Russia while other, higher-profile detainees were released ahead of him. Another was jailed for only a few months. They include journalists, veteran political activists and those simply opposed to the war in Ukraine. The youngest is 19, the oldest...
Myspace celebrates its 21st birthday. Do we still need it?
Happy 21st birthday to Myspace. On this day in 2003, the first social media platform was launched. It’s now a platform for music sharing. Even alongside the launch of Facebook, Myspace overtook Google and Yahoo Mail in 2006 — becoming America’s most visited website, according to Hitwise data, TechRadar reported....
Inmate sentenced to over 4 years in prison killing of Boston gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — An inmate was sentenced to more than four years Thursday for his role in the 2018 fatal bludgeoning of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger in a troubled West Virginia federal prison. Massachusetts gangster Paul J. DeCologero was sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to an...
Federal protections of transgender students are in effect where courts haven’t blocked them
New federal protections for transgender students at U.S. schools and colleges took effect Thursday with muted impact because judges have temporarily blocked enforcement in 25 states and hundreds of individual colleges and schools across the country. The regulation also adds protections for pregnant students and students who are parents, and...
Appeals court upholds Trump’s gag order as he again presses judge to bow out of hush money case
NEW YORK — Two months after his felony conviction, Donald Trump still isn’t allowed to say everything he wants about his historic hush money criminal case. After a New York appeals court upheld his gag order on Thursday, he won’t be for a while. The state’s mid-level appellate court denied...
Hezbollah leader says war with Israel has entered ‘new phase’ after killings of top militant figures
BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s leader warned Thursday that the conflict with Israel has entered a “new phase,” as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli airstrike this week in Beirut. Meanwhile in Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader prayed over the body...
Mpox cases have surged by 160% in Africa so far this year, but few treatments and vaccines available
BANGUI, Central African Republic — African health officials said mpox cases have spiked by 160% so far this year, warning the risk of further spread is high given the lack of effective treatments or vaccines on the continent. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report...
Trump draws thousands to Harrisburg rally only weeks after Western Pa. shooting: ‘I’m thrilled to be back’
Former President Donald Trump returned to Pennsylvania on Wednesday for a campaign rally in Harrisburg, unleashing a stream of attacks on the presumptive Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. It marked the first time since the July 13 attempt on his life during a rally at a fairgrounds in Butler...
Proposed U.S. rule would ban airlines from charging parents additional fees to sit with their children
The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing a new rule that would ban airlines from charging parents more to sit with their young children. Under the proposal, released Thursday, U.S. and foreign carriers would be required to seat children 13 or younger next to their parent or accompanying adult for...
