Federal judge throws out Florida law blocking treatment for transgender children
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a 2023 Florida law that blocked gender-affirming care for transgender minors and severely restricted such treatment for adults, calling the statute unconstitutional. Senior Judge Robert Hinkle said the state went too far when it barred transgender minors from being...
‘It was gaslighting’: Students upset over Pittsburgh Technical College closure
Bryce Bladen of Gettysburg didn’t mince words Tuesday about having moved across state to pursue a degree in graphic design at Pittsburgh Technical College — a degree he suddenly must finish elsewhere. “It was gaslighting,” the 20-year-old said of what turned out to be dubious reassurances. For months, college leaders...
TribLive app: How to get the most out of your experience
The TribLive app offers the latest news, weather and sports from throughout Western Pennsylvania, but it also allows users to personalize their experience. Upon installing the free app, users will receive a prompt to subscribe to news alerts directly on their phones. You can select “All” or pick from 18...
Manhattan DA and Trump prosecutor set to appear before Congress on July 12, AP source says
WASHINGTON — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is scheduled to testify before Congress on July 12, a day after former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money trial, according to a person familiar with the matter. Bragg is set to appear before the House Select Committee on weaponization alongside...
Pamela Smart, serving life, accepts responsibility for her husband’s 1990 killing for the 1st time
CONCORD, N.H. — Pamela Smart, who is serving life in prison for plotting with her teenage student to have her husband killed in 1990, accepted full responsibility for his death for the first time in a videotaped statement released Tuesday as part of her latest sentence reduction request. Smart, 56,...
Michigan couple, attorney announced as winners of $842.4 million Powerball jackpot
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A mid-Michigan couple and a lawyer from the west side of the state were announced Tuesday as winners of an $842.4 million Powerball lottery jackpot from a ticket purchased on New Year’s Day. The Breakfast Club lottery club opted for a cash lump sum of...
NYC bird group drops name of illustrator and slave owner Audubon
NEW YORK — The conservationist group known as NYC Audubon has changed its name to NYC Bird Alliance to distance itself from the pro-slavery views of ornithologist and illustrator John James Audubon, the organization announced. The name change, which was formalized by a June 5 membership vote, follows similar moves...
Dirt bike riders fire at least 41 shots at man on Pa. sidewalk, killing him
Police are looking for a group of men on dirt bikes who shot and killed a man in Philadelphia on Monday. The incident happened at about 8 p.m. at the corner of Potter and Huntingdon streets in the city’s Kensington neighborhood, according to 6ABC and NBC10. Six people could be...
Pakistani army kills 11 militants in raid in the northwest following bombing that killed 7 soldiers
DERA ISLAMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout, killing 11 in an overnight operation in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the restive northwest, authorities said on Tuesday. The intelligence-based raid was in retaliation to Sunday’s roadside bombing that killed seven soldiers in the...
Chinese police say a suspect is in custody in the stabbing of 4 U.S. college instructors
BEIJING — Chinese police have detained a suspect in a stabbing attack on four instructors from Iowa’s Cornell College who were teaching at a Chinese university in the northeast city of Jilin, officials said Tuesday. Jilin city police said a 55-year-old man surnamed Cui was walking in a public park...
A dog helped his owner get rescued after a car crash in a remote, steep ravine in Oregon
BAKER COUNTY, Ore. — A dog has helped his owner get rescued after a car crash in a steep ravine in mountainous northeastern Oregon, authorities said. A man was driving with his four dogs on a remote U.S. Forest Service road on June 2 when he crashed into a ravine...
3 Nixon justices helped end his presidency. Will the 3 Trump appointees force him to stand trial?
WASHINGTON — Fifty years ago, three of the justices Richard Nixon appointed to the Supreme Court joined in an 8-0 decision in the Watergate tapes case that effectively ended his presidency, ruling only 16 days after hearing the case. Nixon resigned from office just over two weeks later. Now, three...
President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is convicted of all 3 felonies in federal gun trial
WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. Hunter Biden, 54, stared straight...
Justice Alito questions possibility of political compromise in secret recording
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is heard questioning whether compromise between the left and right is possible in a conversation posted on social media Monday. The conservative justice is also heard agreeing with a woman who says the United States should return “to a place of godliness.” The...
Macron hopes to contain far right in national elections after it surged in EU vote. It’s a risky bet
The surge of the far right in France in elections for the European Parliament was widely expected. What came next was not. French President Emmanuel Macron called for a snap legislative election, saying he could not ignore the new political reality after his pro-European party was handed a chastening defeat...
Details of proposed Pa. higher education board tucked into legislation
A new state Board of Higher Education as proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro would consist of 15 voting members, one from each sector of postsecondary education, plus government, business, labor and student representatives. Details are contained in twin pieces of legislation introduced Monday by Sen. Jay Costa Jr. , D-Forest...
Key Bridge collapse: Baltimore shipping channel fully reopens after more than 2 monthsVideo
BALTIMORE — The Port of Baltimore’s shipping channel, in its entirety, is open for business as of Monday evening. The navigable waterway had been at least partially blocked since March 26, when the 984-foot container ship Dali lost power and crashed into one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s support...
African elephants call each other by unique names, new study showsVideo
WASHINGTON — African elephants call each other and respond to individual names — something that few wild animals do, according to new research published Monday. The names are one part of elephants’ low rumbles that they can hear over long distances across the savanna. Scientists believe that animals with complex...
Pennsylvania schools would get billions more under Democratic plan passed by the state House
HARRISBURG — A Democratic-sponsored proposal to boost public school funding by billions in the coming years and impose stricter rules on cyber-charter schools passed the Pennsylvania House on Monday in a test of political will as lawmakers haggle over the state budget. The bill responds to a report issued in...
Donald Trump completes mandatory presentencing interview after less than 30 minutes of questioning
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s mandatory presentencing interview Monday ended after less than a half-hour of routine and uneventful questions and answers, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. The former president...
Cyber charter changes that could save public schools $530M may be in this year’s budget
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’s public school districts could save roughly $530 million annually if the legislature makes long-sought changes to how cyber charters are funded. Democratic...
Pennsylvania Senate passes bill to outlaw the distribution of deepfake material
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Monday approved legislation that would outlaw the distribution of salacious or pornographic deepfakes, with sponsors saying it will eliminate a loophole in the law that had frustrated prosecutors. The bill was approved unanimously and was sent to the House. It comes as states are...
Alzheimer’s drug that can slow disease gets backing from FDA advisers
WASHINGTON — A closely watched Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment’s expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease. A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug’s...
Sen. John Fetterman and wife in Maryland car crash
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and his wife, Gisele Fetterman, were in a car crash on a Maryland interstate Sunday morning. They were evaluated at a hospital “out of an abundance of caution” but avoided serious injury, Fetterman’s office said. Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock, was westbound on Interstate 70 shortly...
Jurors in Hunter Biden’s gun trial begin deliberating whether he’s guilty of federal firearm charges
WILMINGTON, Del. — Jurors in Hunter Biden’s gun trial began deliberating Monday to decide whether the president’s son is guilty of federal firearms charges over a revolver he bought when prosecutors say he was addicted to crack cocaine. He is charged with three felonies in the case that has laid...
