War, hostages, antisemitism: A somber backdrop to this year’s Passover observances
Passover is a major Jewish holiday, celebrated over seven or eight days each year, commemorating the exodus of ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recounted in the Bible. To many Jews, it symbolizes freedom and the birth of a Jewish nation. This year, for many Jews, the holiday’s mood...
Morning sickness? Prenatal check-ups? What to know about new rights for pregnant workers
Pregnant employees have the right to a wide range of accommodations under new federal regulations for enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that, supporters say, could change workplace culture for millions of people. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency in charge of enforcing the law, adopted an expansive view...
Mojave desert tortoise officially joins California’s endangered list
The California Fish and Game Commission has formally recognized the Mojave desert tortoise as endangered. The designation, granted Thursday, is the latest in a long series of steps to try to protect the dwindling population of the desert creature, which biologists say is heading toward extinction. The tortoise was designated...
House passes billions in aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle. Next is the Senate
WASHINGTON — The House swiftly approved $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a rare Saturday session as Democrats and Republicans banded together after months of political turmoil over renewed American support for repelling Russia’s invasion. With overwhelming support, the $61 billion in aid...
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
DENVER — A girl who wrote to God in her diaries, a boy with learning disabilities who was just learning to like who he was and a teen who would spend every free minute fishing were among the 13 victims of the Columbine High School shooting remembered during a vigil...
Moscow says 50 Ukrainian drones shot down as attacks spark fires at Russian power stations
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine launched a barrage of drones across Russia overnight, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Saturday, in attacks that appeared to target the country’s energy infrastructure. Fifty drones were shot down by air defences over eight Russian regions, including 26 over the country’s western Belgorod region close...
Senate passes a reauthorization of key U.S. surveillance program just after a midnight deadline
WASHINGTON — Barely missing its midnight deadline, the Senate voted early Saturday to reauthorize a key U.S. surveillance law after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data nearly forced the statute to lapse. The legislation approved 60-34 with bipartisan support...
Donald Trump will use his weekend reprieve from the courtroom to campaign in North Carolina
WILMINGTON, N.C. — On a weekend reprieve from the courtroom, former President Donald Trump will campaign Saturday in North Carolina as he juggles legal troubles and his rematch against President Joe Biden. Trump’s evening stop in the coastal city of Wilmington marks his first rally since his criminal hush money...
U.S. military will begin plans to withdraw troops from Niger
DAKAR, Senegal — The United States will begin plans to withdraw troops from Niger, U.S. officials said Saturday, in what experts say is a blow to Washington and its allies in the region in terms of staging security operations in the Sahel. The planned departure comes as U.S. officials said...
Israeli airstrike in Gaza’s south kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory. Israel’s war against the Islamic militant group Hamas has...
Man who set himself on fire outside the courthouse where Trump is on trial dies of his injuries
NEW YORK — The man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said. The New York City Police Department told the Associated Press early Saturday that the man was declared dead by...
Record numbers in the U.S. are homeless. Can cities fine them for sleeping in parks and on sidewalks?
WASHINGTON — The most significant case in decades on homelessness has reached the Supreme Court as record numbers of people in America are without a permanent place to live. The justices on Monday will consider a challenge to rulings from a California-based appeals court that found punishing people for sleeping...
Former Pittsburgh radio host Larry O’Brien, known via ‘O’Brien & Garry’ show, dies at 81
Pittsburgh radio host Larry O’Brien, who comprised half of the popular morning duo “O’Brien & Garry” for 20 years, has died. “He was a funny, bright man, and he kept up on Pittsburgh sports until the very end,” his wife, Winkie O’Brien, said from their home in Hilton Head, S.C....
Oklahoma City bombing still ‘heavy in our hearts’ on 29th anniversary, federal official says
OKLAHOMA CITY — Federal officials are resolved never to allow a terrorist attack like the Oklahoma City bombing happen again, Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Caitlin Durkovich told survivors and loved ones of the 168 people killed in the April 19, 1995, bombing Friday. “What happened here in Oklahoma still rests...
Man lights self on fire outside Trump trial courthouse in NYC
NEW YORK — A Florida man set himself on fire in a park across from Manhattan Criminal Court Friday where former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial continues, according to a report. Court officers and cops monitoring the press outside raced over to help put out the fire, which erupted...
FAA investigating after it says a flight told to cross a runway where another was starting takeoff
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate after a flight at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was instructed to cross a runway where another flight was starting its takeoff, the agency said. A JetBlue flight was starting its takeoff roll on runway 4 at the airport in Arlington,...
What we know about the shooting of an Uber driver in Ohio and the scam surrounding it
It was a common scam that ended with an uncommon outcome, tragically in an Ohio driveway. William J. Brock fatally shot an Uber driver because he wrongly assumed she was part of a scheme to extract $12,000 in supposed bond money for a relative, authorities said this week. Lo-Letha Hall...
PennWest presidential search narrowed down to 3 candidates
The search for a leader who can quell enrollment and financial woes at Western Pennsylvania’s largest state-owned university has narrowed to three people. Still in the running for the presidency of Pennsylvania Western University are: • Jon Anderson, provost and vice president for academic affairs/professor at Southern Utah University (Cedar...
Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom
WASHINGTON — One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North...
Podcast: Franklin Regional stabbings: 10 years later with reporters Renatta Signorini and Megan Swift
Before the start of classes on the morning of April 9, 2014, Alex Hribal, a 16-year-old sophomore, went room to room with an 8- to 10-inch knife in each hand, slashing and stabbing 20 students and security guard. Everyone survived. TribLive’s Zac Gibson spoke with reporters Renatta Signorini and Megan...
U.S. attempts a new military deal with Niger in a last ditch effort to stay
DAKAR, Senegal — The United States is attempting to create a new military agreement with Niger that would allow it to remain in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials told The Associated Press Friday. The officials, who spoke on condition...
5 Japanese workers in Pakistan escape suicide blast targeting their van; Pakistani bystander dies
KARACHI, Pakistan — A suicide bomber targeted a van carrying Japanese nationals in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Friday, police said. The Japanese nationals escaped unharmed but officials later said one bystander was killed. Initially, police said the van was heading to an industrial area where the five Japanese...
Ukraine, Israel aid advances in rare House vote as Democrats help Republicans push it forward
WASHINGTON — With rare bipartisan momentum, the House pushed ahead Friday on a foreign aid package of $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian support as a robust coalition of lawmakers helped it clear a procedural hurdle to reach final votes this weekend. Friday’s vote produced a seldom-seen outcome...
Biden’s new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender sports rule still on hold
The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration. The new provisions are part of a revised Title IX regulation issued by the Education Department, fulfilling a campaign pledge by...
Final jurors seated for Trump’s hush money case, with opening statements set for Monday
NEW YORK — The final jurors were seated Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, and an appellate judge rejected the former president’s latest bid to halt the case as a hectic day in court set the stage for opening statements to begin Monday. The panel of New Yorkers who...
