Pa. House committee to consider bill setting electric vehicle fee to start at $125
Pennsylvania’s electric vehicle owners would pay an annual fee to help make up for lost gas tax revenue that goes toward maintaining the state’s roads and bridges under a bill to receive consideration by a legislative committee Monday. The legislation, sponsored by the House Transportation Committee Chairman Ed Neilson, D-Philadelphia,...
Espionage scandal rocks Austria, laying bare alleged Russian spying operations across Europe
VIENNA — Austria faces its biggest espionage scandal in decades as the arrest of a former intelligence officer brings to light evidence of extensive Russian infiltration, lax official oversight and behavior worthy of a spy novel. Egisto Ott was arrested March 29. The 86-page arrest warrant, obtained by The Associated...
Trump declines to endorse a national abortion ban and says it should be left to the states
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump said he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, in a video released Monday declining to endorse a national ban after months of mixed messages and speculation. “Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights,”...
Huge crowds await a total solar eclipse in North America. Clouds may spoil the viewVideo
MESQUITE, Texas — Millions of spectators along a narrow corridor stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada eagerly awaited Monday’s celestial sensation — a total eclipse of the sun — even as forecasters called for clouds. The best weather was expected at the tail end of the eclipse in...
Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God’s plan for human life. The Vatican’s doctrine office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page declaration that has been in the...
Palestinians returning to Khan Younis after Israeli withdrawal find an unrecognizable city
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Streams of Palestinians filed into the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday to salvage what they could from the vast destruction left in the wake of Israel’s offensive, a day after the Israeli military announced it was withdrawing troops from the area. Many...
Total anticipation: Sunny skies that greeted visitors may be fleeting as eclipse day arrives in Erie
ERIE — If only the solar eclipse happened on a day like Sunday, the people crammed into Erie’s hotels would be able to rest easy. It was almost nothing but clear skies Sunday afternoon in northwest Pennsylvania, completely ideal conditions as visitors and natives prepared for Erie’s once-in-a-lifetime astronomical phenomenon....
Eclipse weather forecast: Clouds could spoil view along much of the path
If you’re in Vermont, Maine and Canada, you’re in luck. But for the rest of the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse, it could be dicey weather-wise. Clouds are forecast for much of the eclipse route through the U.S. with some possible patches of clear skies in some spots, according...
Israel pulling some troops from southern Gaza. Now the plan is to clear Hamas from RafahVideo
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military announced Sunday it had withdrawn its forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, wrapping up a key phase in its ground offensive against the Hamas militant group and bringing its troop presence in the territory to one of the lowest levels since the six-month...
Penn State trustee scolded for making ‘spectacle’ in push to name football field after Joe Paterno
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our north-central Pa. newsletter, Talk of the Town, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. STATE COLLEGE — Leaders of Penn State’s Board of Trustees recently admonished...
Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, a study finds
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval program is meant to give patients early access to promising drugs. But how often do these drugs actually improve or extend patients’ lives? In a new study, researchers found that most cancer drugs granted accelerated approval do not demonstrate such benefits within...
2 women who say abortion restrictions put them in medical peril feel compelled to campaign for Biden
WASHINGTON — A Texas woman who went into premature labor, developed sepsis and nearly died and a Louisiana woman who said restrictive abortion laws prevented her from getting medical help for a miscarriage are now campaigning for President Joe Biden as the Democrat highlights how women’s health is being affected...
Victims of Montana asbestos pollution that killed hundreds take Warren Buffett’s railroad to court
LIBBY, Mont. — Paul Resch remembers playing baseball as a kid on a field constructed from asbestos-tainted vermiculite, mere yards from railroad tracks where trains kicked up clouds of dust as they hauled the contaminated material from a mountaintop mine through the northwestern Montana town of Libby. He liked to...
Winning Powerball jackpot ticket worth $1.3 billion sold in Portland, Oregon
DES MOINES, Iowa — A Powerball player in Oregon won a jackpot worth more than $1.3 billion on Sunday, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months. The single ticket — revealed following a delay of more than three hours to the drawing — matched all six...
Democrats lean into border debate as it shapes contest for control of Congress
WASHINGTON — With immigration shaping the elections that will decide control of Congress, Democrats are trying to outflank Republicans and convince voters they can address problems at the U.S. border with Mexico, embracing an issue that has traditionally been used against them. The shift in strategy, especially from Democrats running...
East Coast earthquakes aren’t common, but they are felt by millions. Here’s what to know
DALLAS — East Coast residents were jolted Friday by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, with weak rumblings felt as far away as Baltimore and the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. No life-threatening injuries or major damage have been reported. Here’s what to know about earthquakes on the East Coast....
Anonymous users are dominating right-wing discussions online. They also spread false information
NEW YORK — The reposts and expressions of shock from public figures followed quickly after a user on the social platform X who uses a pseudonym claimed that a government website had revealed “skyrocketing” rates of voters registering without a photo ID in three states this year — two of...
New York City’s skyscrapers are built to withstand most earthquakes
NEW YORK — The ground rumbled Friday beneath New York City, home to famous skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center. Though buildings that can reach above 100 stories might seem especially vulnerable to earthquakes, engineering experts say skyscrapers are built with enough flexibility to withstand...
For families of hostages, it’s a race against time as Israel’s war reaches 6-month mark
JERUSALEM — It’s the last wish of a dying mother, to be with her daughter once more. But six months into Israel’s war against Hamas, time is running out for Liora Argamani, who hopes to stay alive long enough to see her kidnapped daughter come home. “I want to see...
Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian city of Kharkiv kill 6, wound 11
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces overnight attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles, killing at least six people and wounding 11 more in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, officials said Saturday. Governor of the Kharkiv region Oleh Syniehubov said missile strikes on the city damaged residential buildings, a gas station, a...
House to take up bill to reauthorize crucial U.S. spy program as expiration looms
WASHINGTON — The House is set to consider a bill next week that would reauthorize a surveillance program U.S. officials consider vital to national security but that critics say raises privacy concerns. The action comes shortly before the program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, expires...
Donald Trump demands new judge days before start of hush-money criminal trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump is demanding a new judge just days before his hush-money criminal trial is set to begin, rehashing longstanding grievances with the judge in a long-shot, eleventh-hour bid to disrupt and delay the case. Trump’s lawyers — echoing his recent social media complaints —...
Faculty union of state university system overwhelmingly votes to ratify labor contract
The union representing 5,000 state university faculty and coaches across Pennsylvania voted overwhelmingly to ratify a four-year labor agreement, union representatives announced Friday. Of the members of Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties who voted, 96% were in favor of the deal. The deal now goes to Pennsylvania’s...
Donald Trump to hold rally in Lehigh Valley next week
Former President Donald Trump is set to return to the Lehigh Valley next weekend for a campaign rally as he seeks a second term in the White House. A rally has been scheduled for the Schnecksville Fire Hall on Old Packhouse Road in North Whitehall Township at 7 p.m. April...
Biden urges Egypt, Qatar leaders to press Hamas on agreement for Israeli hostages
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday wrote to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, calling on them to press Hamas for a hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior administration official, one day after Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a...
