Man caught with 9 pounds of heroin in 2016 sentenced to 6½ years in prison
A native of the Dominican Republic who was caught with 9 pounds of heroin in 2016 but escaped back to his homeland only to be extradited was sentenced this week for his crimes. Habys Omar Meran, 38, was sentenced to 6½ years in federal prison for possession of drugs with...
Navy sailor formerly stationed in Norfolk found guilty of attempted espionage
NORFOLK, Va. — A Navy chief was convicted of attempted espionage last week in a San Diego military court after he was accused of providing classified documents to a foreign contact while stationed in Norfolk and Japan. Chief Fire Controlman Bryce S. Pedicini was found guilty of attempted espionage, failure...
Sharks ‘adapting their movements and routines,’ great white researchers discover
Do great white sharks change their behaviors in different environments, or do the apex predators follow the same routines regardless of location? Researchers recently set out to solve this shark puzzle, as they reportedly discovered great white behaviors by attaching smart tags and cameras to their fins. Great whites adapt...
‘You never think something you are doing is going to take off’: Greensburg Night Market returns for 6th season
When Jessica Hickey launched the Greensburg Night Market in 2019, 28 vendors lined half a block of South Pennsylvania Avenue. Starting its sixth season Thursday, the night market series has expanded to feature food trucks, live music and more than 150 food, beverage, art and craft vendors. Each market —...
Arizona indicts 18 in case over 2020 election, including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows
PHOENIX — An Arizona grand jury has indicted former Donald Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani along with 16 others in an election interference case. The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Donald Trump beat Joe Biden...
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war growsVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests. At the University of Texas at Austin, hundreds of local and state police — including...
Biden pardons 11 people and shortens the sentences of 5 others convicted of non-violent drug crimes
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has granted clemency to 16 people who were convicted of nonviolent drug crimes, issuing pardons to 11 men and women and commuting the sentences of five other people in the latest use of his clemency power to address racial disparities in the justice system. Biden...
Former Wisconsin college chancellor fired over porn career is fighting to keep his faculty post
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s top official has taken the first steps toward removing a faculty member who was earlier fired from his job as chancellor over his fledgling porn career. The former chancellor, Joe Gow, said Wednesday that interim Chancellor Betsy Morgan filed three charges against...
Pennsylvania redesigned its mail-in ballot envelopes amid litigation. Some voters still tripped up
HARRISBURG — A form Pennsylvania voters must complete on the outside of mail-in ballot return envelopes has been redesigned, but that did not prevent some voters from failing to complete it accurately for this week’s primary, and some votes will not count as a result, election officials said. The primary...
Canadian family receives wrong body after father died on Cuban vacation
LAVAL, Quebec — A family in Quebec is searching for answers after discovering that their father’s remains didn’t make it to Canada from Cuba, where he died while on vacation, and instead received the remains of another man. Funerals for Faraj Allah Jarjour were scheduled for Sunday and Monday. Instead,...
USDA to limit added sugars in school meals nationwide for first time ever
U.S. students will soon see reduced added sugars in school meals nationwide as part of an overhaul of the nation’s nutrition standards announced Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture. As part of the agency’s nutrition makeover, added sugars — sugars and syrups added to foods or beverages when processed or...
Ohio lawmakers negotiate to assure Biden makes the state’s fall ballot
COLUMBUS — Republican legislative leaders in Ohio say they are negotiating with Democrats to assure President Joe Biden appears on the state’s November ballot, but the exact shape of the solution remains murky. GOP Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman told reporters Wednesday that productive discussions are under way between both...
Some Nikki Haley voters are hanging on to her candidacy and, like her, refuse to endorse Trump
HARRISBURG — When Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign, she refused to endorse Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination — and apparently so did some of her supporters in Pennsylvania. Haley won almost 17% of Pennsylvania’s primary vote Tuesday, or 1 in 6...
Investigator says Trump, allies were part of Michigan election scheme despite not being charged
DETROIT — A state investigator testified Wednesday that he considers former President Donald Trump and his White House chief of staff to be uncharged co-conspirators in a scheme to claim that he had won Michigan in the 2020 election, despite Democrat Joe Biden’s clear victory. Trump and Mark Meadows were...
Arizona House advances a repeal of the state’s near-total abortion ban to the Senate
PHOENIX — A proposed repeal of Arizona’s near-total ban on abortions won approval from the state House Wednesday after two weeks of mounting pressure on Republicans over an issue that has bedeviled former President Donald Trump’s campaign to return to the White House. Three Republicans joined in with all 29...
Biden signs bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anywayVideo
WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden showed off his putting during a campaign stop at a public golf course in Michigan last month, the moment was captured on TikTok. Forced inside by a rainstorm, he competed with 13-year-old Hurley “HJ” Coleman IV to make putts on a practice mat. The...
100-year-old British D-Day veteran dies before he can honor fallen comrades one more timeVideo
LONDON — British army veteran Bill Gladden, who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore through his ankle a few days later, wanted to return to France for the 80th anniversary of the invasion so he could honor the men who didn’t come home. It was...
About 1 in 4 U.S. adults over 50 say they expect to never retire, an AARP study finds
WASHINGTON — About one-quarter of U.S. adults over age 50 say they expect to never retire and 70% are concerned about prices rising faster than their income, an AARP survey finds. About 1 in 4 have no retirement savings, according to research released Wednesday by the organization that shows how...
IUP students ready to crunch their competition in lettuce-eating contest
Student clubs on college campuses have their defining attributes, and the group that Ava Moriarity and her friends started at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is no exception. In fact, it even has a distinguishing sound: It’s the crunch of fresh iceberg lettuce being devoured at breakneck speed by undergraduates who...
Podcast: What Summer Lee’s win over Bhavini Patel in Democratic primary means for the general election
In this episode, a look at the aftermath of the high stakes Pennsylvania District 12 congressional contest between Democrats, Bhavini Patel and incumbent Summer Lee. Political reporter Ryan Deto joins Zac Gibson again to dissect the primary results and provide some insight into the profiles of these candidates. They discuss...
Supreme Court appears skeptical that state abortion bans conflict with federal health care law
WASHINGTON — Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday that state abortion bans after their sweeping ruling overturning Roe v. Wade violate federal healthcare law, though some also questioned the effects on emergency care for pregnant patients. The case marks the first time the Supreme Court has considered the implications...
Airlines will now be required to give automatic cash refunds for canceled and delayed flightsVideo
The Biden administration issued final rules Wednesday to require airlines to automatically issue cash refunds for things like delayed flights and to better disclose fees for baggage or canceling a reservation. The Transportation Department said airlines will be required to provide automatic cash refunds within a few days for canceled...
She was too sick for a traditional transplant. So she received a pig kidney and a heart pump
NEW YORK — Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart. Lisa Pisano’s combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional transplant, and...
Biden signs a $95B war-aid measure with assistance for Ukraine, Israel and TaiwanVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed into law into law Thursday a $95 billion war-aid measure that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that also includes a provision that would force social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in U.S. The announcement marks an end to...
Pa. auditor general’s race to pit a state rep against incumbent
A Philadelphia Democratic state lawmaker got past his primary challenger on Tuesday, positioning him to take on incumbent GOP state Auditor General Timothy DeFoor in the Nov. 5 election. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who also won a primary contest for re-election to his House seat, bested Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley,....
