Sen. John Fetterman to pen political memoir with ‘Friday Night Lights’ author
Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s unconventional political career, along with his many personal battles, sounds like the stuff of Shakespeare. Now, it will be a book that the hoodie-wearing Democrat is planning to write, with the help of “Friday Night Lights” author Buzz Bissinger. All this is according to a...
An ice storm bears down on the Pacific Northwest as East and South battle bitter cold
PORTLAND, Ore. — Residents of the Pacific Northwest suffered more misery as an ice storm bore down Wednesday, threatening to topple towering trees, turn mountain highways treacherous and zap power in bitterly cold temperatures. Much of the region was under an ice storm warning through the morning, promising only to...
‘This will be a game-changer’: Duquesne University opens medical college
Students in the inaugural class of Duquesne University’s medical college will learn the intricacies of human anatomy through the time-tested method of dissecting cadavers. But they also will slip on a high-tech headset with eyewear and instantly see before them a hologram of the human body. They can walk around...
Top House Democrats endorse Rep. Summer Lee in contested primary
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, is gathering some major support ahead of her contested spring primary, as she hopes to hold on to her seat during what is likely to be an expensive and competitive election. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, endorsed Lee on Wednesday, her highest...
How watermelon imagery, a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians, spread around the planet
Over the past three months, on banners and T-shirts and balloons and social media posts, one piece of imagery has emerged around the world in protests against the Israel-Hamas war: the watermelon. The colors of sliced watermelon — with red pulp, green-white rind and black seeds — are the same...
Judge threatens to boot Donald Trump from courtroom over loud talking as E. Jean Carroll testifies
NEW YORK — Donald Trump was threatened with expulsion from his Manhattan civil trial Wednesday after he repeatedly ignored a warning to keep quiet while writer E. Jean Carroll testified that he shattered her reputation after she accused him of sexual abuse. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan told the former president...
Hostages and residents in Gaza are set to receive medicines as Israel-Hamas war rages on
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas was en route to Gaza on Wednesday after France and Qatar mediated the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a weeklong cease-fire in November. The medicines arrived in Egypt and were on...
Lawmakers announce bipartisan effort to enhance child tax credit, revive tax breaks for businesses
WASHINGTON — The chairmen of the top tax policy committees in Congress announced a bipartisan agreement Tuesday to enhance the child tax credit and revive a variety of tax breaks for businesses, a combination designed to attract support from lawmakers of both political parties. The roughly $78 billion in tax...
Shooter who killed 5 people at Colorado LGBTQ+ club intends to plead guilty to federal hate crimes
DENVER — The shooter who killed five people and endangered the lives of over 40 others at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs plans to plead guilty to new federal charges for hate crimes and firearm violations under an agreement that would allow the defendant to avoid the death penalty,...
Pennsylvania lawmakers seek to tame the ‘wild, wild west’ nature of artificial intelligence in elections
A proposed bill that is drawing bipartisan support in the Pennsylvania Legislature would ban the misuse of artificial intelligence in political campaigns and establish fines for violations. State Rep. Tarik Khan, a Philadelphia Democrat, and several colleagues, including one GOP member, issued a co-sponsorship memo for their bill on Dec....
Alex Murdaugh faces uphill battle for new murder trial as judge limits permissible evidence
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh faces a steep uphill battle in his push for a new murder trial after a state judge on Tuesday limited witness questioning and set a high burden of proof surrounding accusations that the court clerk tampered with the jury during last year’s sensational proceedings. Even...
Wrestler Hulk Hogan helps rescue teenage girl trapped after Florida car crash
TAMPA, Fla. — Retired wrestler Hulk Hogan and a friend rescued a teenage girl who was trapped in an overturned vehicle after a crash in Florida, according to Hogan’s social media posts. Hogan said on the social media platform X that he used a ball point pen to puncture the...
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson ends his 2024 campaign after 6th-place finish in Iowa caucuses
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson dropped his long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, ending a candidacy that was a throwback to an earlier era of the GOP but ultimately failed to resonate in a party now dominated by Donald Trump. Hutchinson’s exit came...
Suspect in Long Island’s Gilgo Beach serial killings is charged with the death of a 4th woman
NEW YORK — An architect charged in a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings was accused Tuesday in the death of a fourth woman, a Connecticut mother of two who vanished in 2007 and whose remains were found more than three years later along a New York...
Next Republican debate canceled after Nikki Haley says she’ll only participate if Donald Trump does
DES MOINES, Iowa — ABC News on Tuesday canceled the next Republican presidential debate after Nikki Haley said she wouldn’t participate unless former President Donald Trump takes part in it, leaving Gov. Ron DeSantis as the only candidate committed to Thursday’s event in New Hampshire. “We’ve had five great debates...
Chaotic wave of attacks, reprisals in Middle East fuel worries of a broader regional war
WASHINGTON — A barrage of U.S., coalition and militant attacks in the Middle East over the last five days are compounding U.S. fears that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza could expand, as massive military strikes failed to stall the assault on Red Sea shipping by Yemen-based Houthis. Even as...
Supreme Court declines to step into fight over bathrooms for transgender students
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday passed up a chance to intervene in the debate over bathrooms for transgender students, rejecting an appeal from an Indiana public school district. Federal appeals courts are divided over whether school policies enforcing restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students can use violate federal...
Evacuation underway for stranded tourists after multiple avalanches trap 1,000 people in China
BEIJING — Rescuers evacuated tourists on Tuesday from a remote skiing area in northwestern China where dozens of avalanches triggered by heavy snow have trapped more than 1,000 people for a week, state media said. The avalanches have blocked roads, stranding both tourists and residents in a village in Altay...
Trump glowers and gestures in court, then leaves to campaign as sex abuse defamation trial opensVideo
NEW YORK — Donald Trump shook his head in disgust Tuesday as the judge in his New York defamation trial told would-be jurors that an earlier jury had already decided the former president sexually abused columnist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. Trump left court before opening statements, jetting to...
Most Trump supporters in Iowa caucuses say they knew they’d support him all along
WASHINGTON — In some ways, Iowa’s Republican caucuses were practically over before they began, with Donald Trump cultivating a deep network of support over three presidential runs. About 7 in 10 Iowans who caucused for Trump on Monday night said they have known all along that they would support a...
Korean Air plane bumps parked Cathay Pacific aircraft at a Japanese airport but no injuries reported
TOKYO — A Korean Air plane carrying 289 people hit a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft while being pushed by a ground vehicle ahead of takeoff at northern Japan’s New Chitose Airport on Tuesday but caused no fire or injuries, fire and airline officials said. The incident happened only two weeks...
Iran strikes targets in northern Iraq and Syria as regional tensions escalate
IRBIL, Iraq — Iran fired missiles late Monday at what it claimed were Israeli “spy headquarters” near the U.S. Consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, and at targets linked to the extremist group Islamic State in northern Syria. Four civilians were killed and six injured after missiles hit...
‘Up and running’: Penn-Trafford creates 1st security camera policy, installs new devices
After purchasing more than 400 security cameras and seven door access systems in the fall, the Penn-Trafford School District has a policy to guide the use of its new technology. The school board voted this month to approve the district’s first security camera policy. “We really didn’t have a policy,...
Vivek Ramaswamy announces he’s suspending his presidential bid after a disappointing finish in Iowa
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Monday and endorsed former President Donald Trump after finishing a distant fourth in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses. Ramaswamy said he made the decision after determining there was no path forward for him in the race, “absent things...
New law aims to make guardianship a last resort in Pa., but some experts say it doesn’t go far enough
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — With little fanfare, Gov. Josh Shapiro in December signed into law a bill aimed at fixing long-standing problems within Pennsylvania’s vexing system for safeguarding adults...
