West Virginia, Idaho asking Supreme Court to review rulings allowing transgender athletes to compete
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia and Idaho are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review rulings that blocked the enforcement of state laws prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in sports. “If the Supreme Court takes this up, it will determine the fate of women’s sports across the entire country for...
Watch: Biden speaks at press conference
President Joe Biden will hold a news conference Thursday, the key event in a monumental week during which the Democratic incumbent is fending off calls for him to step aside as the party’s presumptive nominee following a shaky debate performance. Biden is scheduled to take questions from the White House...
Trump lawyers press judge to overturn hush money conviction after Supreme Court immunity ruling
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers are urging the judge in his New York hush money case to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. The former president’s lawyers wrote in papers made public Thursday that prosecutors rushed...
Pennsylvania lawmakers pass nearly $48B budget almost 2 weeks late
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers ground through a flurry of votes Thursday to approve a budget deal, nearly two weeks into the new fiscal year after being slowed by disagreements during closed-door negotiations over Democrats’ push for more public schools aid. The $47.6 billion plan for the fiscal year that started...
Pennsylvania’s electric vehicle owners soon will have to pay fees of $200+ per year
A bill that would establish a new annual fee for owners of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to offset the loss of gas tax revenue on those vehicles is headed to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The new fee, which Shapiro is expected to enact, is seen as a way to...
Here’s how to watch Biden’s news conference as he tries to quiet doubts after his poor debate
President Joe Biden will hold a news conference Thursday, the key event in a monumental week during which the Democratic incumbent is fending off calls for him to step aside as the party’s presumptive nominee following a shaky debate performance. It’s just the type of event that many political watchers...
Lawsuit filed against Hershey, Walgreens and others in a case of teen who died after eating spicy chip as part of online challenge
BOSTON — A lawsuit was filed Thursday against Hershey, Walgreens and several others in the case of a Massachusetts teen who died after he participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge that was widely promoted on social media. Harris Wolobah, a 10th grader from the city of Worcester, died Sept....
Lawsuit filed in case of teen who died after eating spicy chip as part of online challenge
BOSTON — A lawsuit was filed Thursday against Hershey, Walgreens and several others in the case of a Massachusetts teen who died after he participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge that was widely promoted on social media. Harris Wolobah, a 10th grader from the city of Worcester, died Sept....
Houston utility says 500K customers still won’t have electricity next week as Beryl outages persist
AUSTIN, Texas — About 500,000 customers still won’t have electricity into next week as wide outages from Hurricane Beryl persist and frustration mounts over the pace of restoration, an official with Houston’s biggest power utility said Thursday. Jason Ryan, executive vice president of CenterPoint Energy, said power has been restored...
House rejects GOP effort to fine Attorney General Garland for refusal to turn over Biden audio
WASHINGTON — The House rejected a GOP effort Thursday to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 a day until he turns over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case as a handful of Republicans resisted taking an aggressive step against a sitting Cabinet official. Even if...
Biden says during news conference he’s going to ‘complete the job’ despite calls to bow outVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden used his closely watched news conference Thursday to deliver a forceful defense of his foreign and domestic policies and batted away questions about his ability to serve another four years, declaring: “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job.”...
Sale of U.S. Steel kicks up a political storm, but Pittsburgh isn’t Steeltown USA anymore
PITTSBURGH — Generations of Pittsburgh residents have worked at steel mills, rooted for the Steelers or ridden the rollercoaster at Kennywood amusement park, giving them a bird’s eye view of the massive Edgar Thomson Works, the region’s last blast furnace. Now, Steeltown USA’s most storied steel company, U.S. Steel, is...
IRS collects milestone $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth taxpayers
WASHINGTON — The IRS announced Thursday that it has collected $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats — a milestone meant to showcase how the agency is making use of the money it received as part of the Biden administration’s signature climate, health care, and tax package signed...
Demand for rare elements used in clean energy could help clean up abandoned coal mines in Appalachia
MOUNT STORM, W.Va. — Down a long gravel road, tucked into the hills in West Virginia, is a low-slung building where researchers are extracting essential elements from an old coal mine that they hope will strengthen the nation’s energy future. They aren’t mining the coal that powered the steel mills...
U.S. inflation cools again, potentially paving way for Fed to cut interest rates soon
WASHINGTON — Inflation in the United States cooled in June for a third straight month, a sign that the worst price spike in four decades is steadily fading and may soon usher in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. In a better-than-expected report, consumer prices declined 0.1% from May...
Biden’s press conference will be a key test for him. But he’s no master of the big rhetorical moment
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has a fresh opportunity Thursday to try to prove to the American public that he’s capable of serving another four years after his shocking debate flop threw the future of his presidency into doubt. But Biden is not known as a master of the big...
Biden says pressure on him is driven by elites. Voters paint a more complicated picture
SAGINAW, Mich. — Considering her choices in this year’s rapidly approaching presidential election, Rochelle Jones thinks both major party candidates should step aside. “They just need to get somebody that’s going to run this country right, that don’t have any health issues, that care about us people,” the 39-year-old culinary...
Trump wants Black and Latino support. But he’s not popular with either group, poll analysis shows
WASHINGTON — As he prepares to accept the Republican nomination for the third time, Donald Trump has promised new efforts to expand his coalition — and, in particular, to win over more of the nonwhite voters who largely rejected him during the 2020 election. But an AP analysis of two...
South Korea to deploy laser weapons to intercept North Korean drones
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Thursday it will begin deploying laser weapons systems designed to intercept North Korean drones, which have caused security concerns in the South in recent years. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said that it will deploy at least one anti-air laser weapons system...
China tells NATO not to create chaos in Asia and rejects label of ‘enabler’ of Russia’s Ukraine war
BEIJING — China accused NATO on Thursday of seeking security at the expense of others and told the alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia, a reflection of its determination to oppose strengthening ties between NATO members and Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines....
‘It’s hell outside’: Sizzling heat wave in parts of southern and central Europe prompts alerts
BELGRADE, Serbia — Weather alerts, forest fires, melting pavement in cities: A sizzling heat wave has sent temperatures in parts of central and southern Europe soaring toward 104 degrees in some places. From Italy to Romania, authorities warned people to be cautious, drive carefully if going on holiday, drink plenty...
Bull on the loose wanders around York County before being captured
An escaped Texas Longhorn has been making the rounds in York County near Fishing Creek. A press officer with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation confirmed that the bull had been sighted on the department’s video cameras near exit 36 of I-83. Video of the animal was captured and posted to...
Mexico will build passenger train lines to U.S. border in an expansion of its debt-laden rail projects
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s massive, debt-fueled passenger rail building program is not going to end with the administration of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but will instead double, he said Wednesday. López Obrador said his successor, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, is planning to build three passenger train lines running from...
Ukraine is on an ‘irreversible’ path to NATO. But only after war with Russia ends
WASHINGTON — Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to NATO membership, the military alliance said Wednesday in a final agreement from its summit, advancing assurances that Ukraine will be allowed to join the Western coalition but only after its war with Russia ends. In another boost for Ukraine, the U.S.,...
Astronauts confident Boeing space capsule can safely return them to Earth, despite failures
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two astronauts who should have been back on Earth weeks ago said Wednesday that they’re confident that Boeing’s space capsule can return them safely, despite a string of vexing breakdowns. NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule early last...
