What Americans think about giving cash as holiday gifts
NEW YORK — Welcome to exhausted America 2025: Most adults are more than a little fine with doling out cash as gifts, and many plan to be asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to a new AP-NORC poll. About 6 in 10 Americans say cash or gift cards...
Caregivers in Pa. are celebrating a rare pay boost, but long-term funding issues linger
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Public funding for child care, home services for older adults, and disability support will increase under Pennsylvania’s...
Study finds humans were making fire 400,000 years ago, far earlier than once thought
LONDON — Scientists in Britain say ancient humans may have learned to make fire far earlier than previously believed, after uncovering evidence that deliberate fire-setting took place in what is now eastern England around 400,000 years ago. The findings, described in the journal Nature, push back the earliest known date...
Sen. Mark Kelly calls Pentagon investigation into his remarks a move to chill military dissentVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Tuesday that the Pentagon’s escalating investigation into his remarks urging troops to refuse unlawful orders is part of an effort to silence dissent within the military. “This is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members,...
JD Vance touts Trump record on economy during Lehigh Valley visit amid voter concerns
Vice President JD Vance touted the Trump administration’s economic record Tuesday at an address in the Lehigh Valley, highlighting jobs and inflation numbers, even as polls suggest a majority of Americans remain unsatisfied with the state of the U.S. economy. Vance, speaking before a crowd of hundreds at the Uline...
Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy. Trump’s escalation comes after...
MIT professor fatally shot at his home and police launched a homicide investigation
BROOKLINE, Mass. — A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot at his home near Boston, and authorities said Tuesday they had launched a homicide investigation. Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died...
House Speaker Mike Johnson rebuffs efforts to extend health care subsidies, pushing ahead with GOP plan
WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a GOP health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums millions of Americans will soon endure as pandemic-era tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year’s end. Speaker...
Pete Hegseth says he won’t publicly release video of boat strike that killed survivors in the Caribbean
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the Pentagon will not publicly release unedited video of a U.S. military strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack on a boat allegedly carrying cocaine in the Caribbean, as questions mounted in Congress about the incident and the overall buildup...
Trump plans prime-time address Wednesday but gives no hints on topic
President Donald Trump said he will deliver a prime-time speech from the White House on Wednesday night but gave no details on what the topic will be. “My fellow Americans: I will be giving an address to the nation tomorrow night,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “I look...
Trump expands travel ban and restrictions to include an additional 20 countries
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Tuesday it was expanding travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, doubling the number of nations affected by sweeping limits announced earlier this year on who can travel and emigrate to the U.S. The Trump administration included five more countries...
A photographer finds thousands of dinosaur footprints near Italian Winter Olympic venue
MILAN — A wildlife photographer stumbled upon one of the oldest and largest known collections of dinosaur footprints, dating back about 210 million years to the Triassic Period, high in an Italian national park near the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic venue of Bormio, officials announced Tuesday. The discovery in...
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Brian Glenn are getting married
NEW YORK — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is engaged to Right Side Broadcasting Network personality Brian Glenn. The pair announced their impending nuptials on social media with a photo showing the two enjoying dinner at a restaurant where the right-wing lawmaker showed off her new ring. “She said ‘yes,’”...
Investigators release video timeline of the Brown campus shooting suspect’s movementsVideo
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities on Tuesday released a new video timeline and a slightly clearer image of the man suspected in the Brown University shooting, though investigators provided no indication that they were any closer to zeroing in on his identity. Investigators have been canvassing Providence homes, yards and dumpsters...
Man who torched Gov. Shapiro’s residence sentenced for assaulting ex-wife, stepkids
The arsonist who threw two incendiary devices into the Governor’s Residence in April, saying he wanted to kill Gov. Josh Shapiro, has received a second sentence Tuesday on charges related to a 2023 domestic violence incident. Cody Balmer, 38, of Penbrook pleaded guilty to three counts of simple assault in...
Fans celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in Britain and beyond
LONDON — Fans of Jane Austen celebrated the acclaimed author’s 250th birthday on Tuesday with a church service in her home village, festive visits to her house and a virtual party for those paying tribute from afar. Thousands of enthusiasts around the world have already taken part in a yearlong...
11 firefighters, 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion
SALISBURY, N.C. — Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house fire explosion in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, officials said. Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said firefighters did not have life-threatening injuries but were getting treated for contusions, concussions and smoke inhalation following the fire...
Gallery: Photos from Dec. 16, 2025
From the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania to distant corners of the globe, TribLive’s Photo Adventure captures the world in motion — one frame at a time. Through the lenses of photographers near and far, these images tell stories of place, connection, and the beauty found in everyday life. It’s...
As ICE intensifies Minnesota surge, Republicans see Trump delivering on immigration promise
MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota has driven outrage among the state’s top Democratic officials, broad concern among progressive residents, and protests by activists and groups left unsettled as federal agents delve deeper into the state’s communities. For many Minnesota conservatives, it’s a chance to cheer on...
Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, criticizes Bondi and opines on Trump in Vanity FairVideo
WASHINGTON — Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and those in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair that sent the West Wing into...
Australian police say Bondi Beach mass shooting was inspired by Islamic State group
MELBOURNE, Australia — A mass shooting in which 15 people were killed during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State,” Australia’s federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said Tuesday. The suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24, authorities have said....
What to know about the search for the Brown University shooting suspect
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Police released new video and a description of a potential suspect and renewed their search for the shooter who killed two Brown University students and wounded nine others, a day after they released a person of interest in the case. Here’s a look at what to know...
Prosecutors will charge Rob Reiner’s son Nick with 2 counts of murder in killing of his parents
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors said Tuesday that Rob Reiner’s son Nick Reiner will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, which stunned their communities in Hollywood and Democratic politics, where both were widely beloved. Nick Reiner, 32, is suspected in the death of...
Zelenskyy says proposals to end the war in Ukraine could be presented to Russia within days
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says proposals being negotiated with U.S. officials for a deal to end the fighting in Russia’s nearly 4-year-old invasion of his country could be finalized within days, after which American envoys will present them to the Kremlin before possible further meetings in the...
Powerball jackpot soars to estimated $1.25 billion — 6th largest in game’s history
Powerball’s top prize soared to an estimated $1.25 billion after no one won the jackpot in Monday’s drawing. That’s the sixth-largest jackpot in the game’s history, and the second largest in 2025. Monday’s winning numbers were 23, 35, 59, 63, 68 and 2 on the Powerball. The lottery said ticket...
