Trump is returning to Minnesota with Midwesterner Vance to try to swing Democrat-leaning state
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Donald Trump is taking his campaign back to Minnesota, a state that has favored Democrats but that the former president thinks could be in his reach this year. Trump is set to hold a rally Saturday night in St. Cloud, Minnesota, this time bringing along his...
Wreckage of schooner that sank in 1893 found in Lake Michigan
ALGOMA, Wis. — Marine archaeologists have discovered the wreckage of a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in the late 1800s. The Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association announced this month that its searchers found the Margaret A. Muir in 50 feet (15.2 meters) of water off Algoma, Wisconsin, on May 12....
California’s largest wildfire explodes in size as fires rage across U.S. West
California’s largest active fire exploded in size on Friday evening, growing rapidly amid bone-dry fuel and threatening thousands of homes as firefighters scrambled to meet the danger. The Park Fire’s intensity and dramatic spread led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp Fire, which burned out of...
Life and death in the heat. What it feels like when Earth’s temperatures soar to record highs
BENI MELLAL, Morocco — In the unrelenting heat of Morocco’s Middle Atlas, people were sleeping on rooftops. Hanna Ouhbour needed refuge too, but she was outside a hospital waiting for her diabetic cousin who was in a room without air conditioning. On Wednesday, there were 21 heat-related deaths at Beni...
‘Gen Z feels the Kamalove’: Youth-led progressive groups hope Harris will energize young voters
CHICAGO — ” Brats for Harris.” ” We need a Kamalanomenon. ” ” Gen Z feels the Kamalove.” In the days since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Gen Z voters jumped to social media to share coconut tree and “brat summer” memes...
Franklin Regional grad takes over Independence concussion management programVideo
When Alex Fleming was helping the Franklin Regional Panthers football team win the PIAA’s 2005 AAA championship, he wasn’t thinking much about concussion protocol. But as the 2007 Franklin Regional graduate moved on to Davidson College — where he played football while pursuing a biology degree before earning his medical...
Inside Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s support for private school vouchers
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 — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is being eyed as a potential Democratic vice presidential nominee, but with that attention has come intense scrutiny of...
The best and worst uniforms spotted at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremonyVideo
The pomp and circumstance of the 2024 Paris Olympics was on display Friday during the opening ceremony. The Parade of Nations promenade provided an opportunity for 205 nations to present their flags — and specially-made national uniforms to match. The opening ceremony kicked off this year’s games on the Seine...
6,300 University of Pittsburgh staffers gain chance to join Steelworkers union
For University of Pittsburgh staff who watched as 3,400 faculty colleagues gained collective bargaining rights a few years back, what’s coming in the mail soon represents their own moment of choice. The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board will oversee another union election at Pitt. This time, it’s for 6,300 staff. Ballots...
Trump welcomes Netanyahu to Mar-a-Lago, mending relationship with key political ally
WASHINGTON — A beaming Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to their first face-to-face meeting in nearly four years Friday, patching up a political alliance important to both men that had broken down when the Israeli leader offended Trump by being one of the first to congratulate Joe...
Judge takes final step to overturn Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A judge issued a final order Friday to overturn a Florida law pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that attempted to limit diversity and race-based discussions in private workplaces. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker previously ruled the law is unconstitutional. That decision was upheld by an appeals...
People flee Idaho town through tunnel of fire and smoke as Western wildfires spread
Lightning strikes have sparked fast-moving wildfires in Idaho, prompting the evacuation of multiple communities, including one in which a man drove past a building and trees engulfed in flames as a tunnel of smoke rose over the roadway. Videos posted to social media include a man who said he heard...
Autopsy findings confirm Sonya Massey, Black woman shot by deputy, died from gunshot wound to head
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Autopsy findings released Friday on Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman fatally shot in her Illinois home by a now-fired sheriff’s deputy charged in her death, confirm that she died from a gunshot wound to the head. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon had previously disclosed initial findings...
Social media users call for Netflix boycott after co-founder’s donation to Kamala Harris’ campaign
Netflix is facing online backlash following the $7 million donation its co-founder Reed Hastings made toward Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential election campaign, Variety reported. Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 and served as CEO for 25 years before stepping down, according to Variety, and this is the largest single campaign...
Agreement with Russia is ‘deal with the devil,’ adviser to Ukrainian president says
KYIV, Ukraine — Signing an agreement with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine would amount to signing a deal with the devil, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as pressure mounts on the country to seek an end to more than two years of fighting. A...
Sunken treasure: Is the champagne nestled in a 19th-century shipwreck still fit for a toast?
WARSAW, Poland — Is the 19th century Champagne on the bottom of the Baltic Sea still fit for a toast? A team of Polish divers has discovered the wreckage of an old sailing ship loaded “to the brim” with luxury goods including porcelain items and about 100 bottles of Champagne...
Paris Olympics off to rough start, with sabotaged trains and weather dampening mood before opening
PARIS — The Paris Olympics were getting off to a rough start Friday, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s flagship high-speed rail network and cloudy skies and forecast rains over the French capital ahead of its sprawling, ambitious opening ceremony. On a day of utmost importance for France and...
Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris, giving her expected but crucial support
ATLANTA — Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats. The endorsement, announced Friday morning in a video showing Harris accepting a...
Trump announces 1st Pennsylvania rally since assassination attempt
Former President Donald Trump has announced his first rally in Pennsylvania since the July 13 assassination attempt at a rally in Butler Township. Trump will return to the state for a July 31 rally at the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg. Trump sustained an injury to his ear after shooter...
Casey: State Dept., Biden silence on Marc Fogel’s Russian imprisonment is intolerable
WASHINGTON — The State Department isn’t doing enough to bring Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel home, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, told TribLive. “I believe the administration’s outreach to and communication with the family has been unacceptable. They simply haven’t done enough of it,” Casey said. Fogel, 62, was sentenced to...
Trump won’t commit to debate until Harris formally nominated
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s campaign refused to commit to a debate with Kamala Harris after the Democratic candidate challenged the Republican nominee to show up to a previously scheduled face-off. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said Thursday night that debate plans “cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee.”...
‘El Mayo’ Zambada, historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and son of ‘El Chapo’ arrested in U.S.
WASHINGTON — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said. A leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside Joaquín “El...
Gabrielle Giffords stumps for Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania as campaign for running mate takes shape
PHILADELPHIA — Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was grievously wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district, took to the campaign trail Thursday for Vice President Kamala Harris, as Harris’ nascent presidential campaign gets off the ground and a parallel campaign to be Harris’ running mate takes...
House Republicans vote to rebuke Kamala Harris over administration’s handling of border policy
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are moving quickly to emphasize Vice President Kamala Harris’s role in the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. border with Mexico, passing a resolution Thursday that condemns her performance in the job. The resolution, which is purely symbolic, echoes an attack line that Republican Donald Trump...
‘I always need the first day of Steelers training camp off’: Fans flock to Saint Vincent as practices begin
It doesn’t take a trained eye to see that Jaime Lucchetti is a diehard Steelers football fan. Her arms, legs and collarbone are decorated with 30 tattoos of Pittsburgh players’ faces, team logos and iconic phrases such as former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s 2018 huddle call, “dilly dilly.” It took her...
