Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police sayVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers approached a home to serve a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm, police said. Some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighborhood Monday afternoon...
Philips will pay $1.1 billion to resolve U.S. lawsuits over breathing machines that expel debris
Medical device maker Philips, one of Westmoreland County’s largest employers, said Monday it will pay $1.1 billion to settle hundreds of personal injury lawsuits in the United States over its defective sleep apnea machines, which have been subject to a massive global recall. The Dutch manufacturer did not admit any...
Less alcohol, or none at all, is one path to better health
It’s wine time. Beer Thirty. Happy hour. Five o’clock somewhere. Maybe it’s also time to rethink drinking? Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that. “Drinking less is a great way to be healthier,” said Dr. Timothy...
French media: Actor Gérard Depardieu is in custody for questioning on sexual assault allegations
PARIS — French media are reporting that actor Gérard Depardieu is in police custody for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien reported that the 75-year-old actor was summoned Monday morning by Paris police and...
Have you heard the one about Trump? Biden tries humor on the campaign trail
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former president’s thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders. Like a comic honing his routine, the Democratic president has...
Israel-Hamas war protesters and police clash on Texas campus, Columbia University begins suspensions
NEW YORK — Protesters and police clashed Monday at the University of Texas in a confrontation that resulted in dozens of arrests, and Columbia University began issuing suspensions as colleges around the U.S. begged pro-Palestinian demonstrators to clear out tent encampments as commencement ceremonies approach. From coast to coast, demonstrators...
Ahead of visit to Israel, Blinken presses Hamas to accept new proposal for Gaza cease-fire
JERUSALEM — The United States stepped up pressure for a cease-fire deal in Gaza on Monday as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators. Israeli airstrikes killed 26 people in Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah,...
Trump meets Ron DeSantis seeking to tap ex-rival’s donor connections
Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met on Sunday to discuss the possibility of tapping DeSantis’ donor network, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Miami meeting is a sign of rapprochement between the former president and his one-time opponent after a period of rocky relations, heightened...
Putin likely didn’t order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, U.S. official says
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination. While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions...
Police officer hiring in U.S. increases in 2023 after years of decline, survey shows
PHILADELPHIA — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to a historic exodus of officers, a survey shows. More sworn officers were hired in 2023 than in...
3 Louisiana officers wounded by gunfire in standoff with shooting suspect, police sayVideo
KENNER, La. — Three Louisiana police officers were wounded by gunfire Sunday in a standoff with a man suspected of shooting three other people in the past week, authorities said. The injured officers were taken to a hospital after being shot Sunday morning at a home in Kenner, about 15...
Senators wary of sending National Guard to quell campus protestsVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators dismissed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s suggestion to send the National Guard to college campuses to quell growing protests against the war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel. “I don’t know if you need to call in the National Guard, maybe you just call in the...
Tornadoes kill 4 in Oklahoma; governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid power outagesVideo
SULPHUR, Okla. — Tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma have flattened buildings across one rural town, killing at least four people, causing widespread power outages and leaving a trail of destruction, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday. Nearly 30,000 people remained without power after tornadoes began late Saturday night. The damage was...
Thousands of employees at federal contractors do not have whistleblower protections despite 2013 law
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. As she read the memo explaining why she was being fired, Kierra Varcos felt her cheeks burn and blood pound in her ears. She had...
Chants of ‘shame on you’ greet guests arriving for White House correspondents’ dinner
WASHINGTON — An election-year roast of President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner Saturday butted up against growing public discord over the Israel-Hamas war, with large protests outside the event condemning Biden’s handling of the conflict and the Western news’ media coverage...
Blinken bound for Saudi Arabia in latest Middle East visit
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for his seventh Middle East trip since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, setting off a war in Gaza that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and threatened to widen into a regional conflict. Fresh...
Tick-borne virus in Massachusetts ‘can invade central nervous system’
BOSTON — A confirmed case of the tick-borne Powassan virus has been reported in the Bay State, according to officials who are warning residents to take precautions against the disease. The Sharon Health Department has confirmed the town’s first case of Powassan virus — which, like Lyme disease, is transmitted...
O.J. Simpson’s death certificate confirms his cause of death, lawyer says
LOS ANGELES — O.J. Simpson’s death certificate released this week confirms he died of prostate cancer at his home in Las Vegas, his attorney told the Times. Attorney Malcolm LaVergne said Saturday the Clark County, Nev.-issued death certificate “just confirms what I think most people widely suspected anyway — it...
Texas power prices signal grid stress in another long, hot summer
A surge in Texas power prices for August suggests another summer of heavy electricity demand — and potential grid strain — to meet air conditioning needs. Traders start looking at prices months in advance to gauge the outlook for demand. Already, in mid-April, August power prices for Dallas soared to...
Lawyer: Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after his return to New York from upstate jail
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction. Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after...
Residents begin going through rubble after Nebraska, Iowa tornadoes
OMAHA, Neb. — Residents began sifting through the rubble Saturday after a tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Neb., demolishing homes and businesses as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slamming an Iowa town. The Friday night tornadoes wreaked havoc in the Midwest, causing a building to...
How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat
SAN FRANCISCO — If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form? Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social...
Point Park, Pitt 2024 grads relish triumphs over pandemic-era troubles
Marley Parker began her studies four years ago at Point Park University living out of a hotel room Downtown — a comfortable enough space just a few blocks off campus, although light years from a normal freshman experience. Housed there temporarily by her university to reduce dorm occupancy amid a...
Charges revealed against former Trump aide, 4 lawyers in Arizona fake electors case
PHOENIX — Authorities revealed Friday the charges filed against an ex-aide of former President Donald Trump and four attorneys in Arizona’s fake elector case, but the names of former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani remained blacked out. The Arizona attorney general’s office released a copy...
United Methodists endorse change that could give regions more say on LGBTQ, other issues
United Methodist delegates have overwhelmingly endorsed a constitutional amendment seen by advocates as a way of defusing debates over the role of LGBTQ people in the church by giving rule-making autonomy to each region of the international church. Delegates voted 586-164 on Thursday for the “regionalization” proposal on the third...
