Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to require anti-abortion group video, or comparable, in public schools
NASHVILLE — Tennessee would become the latest state to require public school students to watch a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group, or something comparable, under legislation that is headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. The GOP-dominated Senate passed the legislation Thursday, with the five Democrats...
No Labels abandons third-party campaign after trying to recruit a centrist presidential candidate
NEW YORK — The No Labels group said Thursday it will not field a presidential candidate in November after strategists for the bipartisan organization failed to attract a high-profile centrist willing to seize on the widespread dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump. “No Labels has always said we...
80-year-old American tourist killed in elephant attack during game drive in ZambiaVideo
HARARE, Zimbabwe — A bull elephant charged a truck that an 80-year-old American was riding in with other tourists on a game drive in a Zambian national park, flipping over the vehicle and killing her, a safari company said. The attack injured five others on March 30 in the vast...
Judge denies Trump bid to dismiss classified documents prosecution
WASHINGTON — A federal judge refused Thursday to throw out the classified documents prosecution against Donald Trump, turning aside defense arguments that a decades-old law permitted the former president to retain the sensitive records after he left office. Lawyers for Trump had cited a 1978 statute known as the Presidential...
Harrisburg couple sues Catholic school after teacher cuts Black girl’s hair in class
The parents of an 8-year-old Harrisburg girl who lost a 20-inch section of hair when a teacher cut it off without their permission have filed a lawsuit against St. Margaret Mary Catholic school. The lawsuit, filed by Julia and Darin Smith in January against the school at 826 Herr Street,...
Summer Lee is Pennsylvania’s most progressive representative in Congress and its only Democrat facing a primary fight
NORTH IRWIN — U.S. Rep. Summer Lee stood with Republican and Democratic elected officials in Westmoreland County, holding an oversized check symbolizing federal dollars to rebuild a bridge, where behind her there was instead, a gaping hole. “We’re not just delivering asphalt and concrete,” Lee said in the small town...
Biden tells Israel’s Netanyahu future U.S. support for war depends on new steps to protect civiliansVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that future U.S. support for Israel’s Gaza war depends on the swift implementation of new steps to protect civilians and aid workers. Biden and Netanyahu ‘s roughly 30-minute call just days after Israeli...
Border Patrol must care for migrant children who wait in camps for processing, a judge says
WASHINGTON — Migrant children who wait in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border for the Border Patrol to process them are in the agency’s custody and are subject to a long-standing court-supervised agreement that set standards for their treatment, a judge ruled. The issue of when the children are officially...
New rule strengthening federal job protections could counter Trump promises to remake the government
WASHINGTON — The government’s chief human resources agency issued a new rule on Thursday making it harder to fire thousands of federal employees, hoping to head off former President Donald Trump’s promises to radically remake the workforce along ideological lines if he wins back the White House in November. The...
Lawsuit challenges Alabama restrictions on absentee ballot help
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Civil rights organizations and other groups filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new Alabama law that criminalizes certain types of assistance with absentee ballot applications. The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and other groups are plaintiffs in the lawsuit that says...
Free blue checks are back for some accounts on Elon Musk’s X — not everyone is happy about it
NEW YORK — Elon Musk’s social platform X has begun restoring complimentary blue checks for some of its users, the latest unexpected shift to cause a lot of confusion on the platform. For years, Twitter’s blue checks mirrored verification badges that are common on social media, largely reserved for celebrities,...
President Macron says France and its allies ‘could have stopped’ the 1994 Rwanda genocide
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron says France and its allies “could have stopped” the 1994 Rwanda genocide and “lacked the will to do so.” Macron’s office said in a statement that the French president will release a video on social media on Sunday as Rwanda commemorates the 30th anniversary...
Rights group says Israeli strike on Gaza building killed 106 in apparent war crime
JERUSALEM — Human Rights Watch says an Israeli attack on a Gaza apartment building in October killed at least 106 civilians, including 54 children. The New York-based rights group says its investigation, published Thursday, found no evidence that the attack targeted any militant activity inside the building, making it an...
EPA awards $20 billion in green bank grants for clean energy projects nationwide
DETROIT — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday awarded $20 billion in federal green bank grants to eight community development banks and nonprofit organizations to use on projects combating climate change in disadvantaged communities and helping Americans save money and reduce their carbon footprints. The money could fund tens of...
ALS drug will be pulled from U.S. market after study showed patients didn’t benefit
WASHINGTON — The maker of a drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease that recently failed in a large study said Thursday it will pull the medicine from the market, acknowledging it didn’t help patients with the deadly neurological condition. Amylyx Pharmaceuticals announced it will voluntarily halt sales and marketing of the...
Oklahoma prepares to execute man convicted of 2002 double slaying
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma is preparing to execute a man convicted of shooting and killing two people in Oklahoma City more than two decades ago. Michael Dewayne Smith, 41, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday after his conviction and death sentence for the slayings of Janet Moore, 41,...
Powerball jackpot jumps to $1.23 billion after another drawing without a big winner
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Powerball jackpot has increased to an estimated $1.23 billion after another drawing without a big winner Wednesday night. The numbers selected were: 11, 38, 41, 62, 65 and the Powerball 15. The jackpot, which now ranks as the eighth-largest in U.S. lottery history, has been...
Family, friends recall dedication of World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza reverberated around the world, as friends and relatives mourned the losses of those who were delivering food to besieged Palestinians with the charity World Central Kitchen. Killed were three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, an American Canadian dual citizen...
Testing found this recalled medicine can have a deadly bacterial contamination
MIAMI — A drug used to treat a form of pneumonia has been recalled after testing found it might be as deadly as the infection it’s supposed to treat. AvKARE recalled one lot of Atovaquone Oral Suspension after third-party testing discovered a potential Bacillus cereus contamination in the medicine. As...
Key Bridge collapse could be largest-ever financial maritime loss
BALTIMORE — The deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could rival or beat the maritime industry’s largest-ever financial loss, with insurance claims expected to reach $1 billion or more. “It’s going to be a big claim, and the big number there is the potential cost to rebuild the...
Texas state attorney tells court state immigration law maybe went ‘too far’
WASHINGTON — A Texas state attorney told a federal appeals court that the state may have gone “too far” in passing a law that allows state officials to effectively deport immigrants, part of oral arguments Wednesday in the federal government’s push to block the law. The state has asked the...
FCC plans to restore net neutrality repealed by Trump administration
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it plans to vote later this month to restore the principle of net neutrality adopted during the Obama administration but repealed under Donald Trump. “After the prior administration abdicated authority over broadband services, the FCC has been handcuffed from acting to...
Judge rejects Donald Trump’s request to delay hush-money trial until Supreme Court rules on immunity
NEW YORK — A judge on Wednesday rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial until the Supreme Court rules on presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases — spurning another of the former president’s ploys to put off the historic...
Months ahead of the presidential election, Nebraska’s GOP governor wants a winner-take-all system
OMAHA, Neb. — With only months to go before what is shaping up to be a hotly contested presidential election, Nebraska’s Republican governor is calling on state lawmakers to move forward with a “winner-take-all” system of awarding Electoral College votes. “It would bring Nebraska into line with 48 of our...
DA plans to seek death penalty against man charged with killing 3 relatives in suburban Philadelphia
FALLSINGTON — Pennsylvania authorities said Wednesday they plan to pursue the death penalty against a man charged with killing his stepmother, sister and the mother of his children before officials say he fled in a stolen vehicle to New Jersey, where he was arrested last month. Andre Gordon Jr. appeared...
