Trump is raising expectations heading into the Iowa caucuses. Now he has to meet them
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — When Donald Trump launched his 2024 presidential campaign after a disappointing midterm election for Republicans, his trajectory was something of a mystery. But seven days before Iowa’s kick-off caucuses, his standing among the GOP faithful is hardly in doubt. Voters, campaign operatives and even some of...
White House infrastructure czar Landrieu leaving job and expected to make case for Biden reelection
WASHINGTON — White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu is leaving his post after two years and is expected to help push publicly for President Joe Biden’s reelection. The Democratic president tasked the former New Orleans mayor with setting up a system to invest more than $1 trillion over the coming...
Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear forms PAC to support candidates across the country
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who defeated Donald Trump-backed rivals twice in Republican-leaning Kentucky, announced the formation of a federal political action committee on Monday to support candidates across the country as he seeks to broaden his influence beyond the Bluegrass State. Beshear launched a PAC called In...
U.S. fighter jets to fly over Bosnia in a sign of support to the country as Serbs call for secession
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Two U.S. fighter jets are set to fly over Bosnia on Monday in a demonstration of support for the Balkan country’s integrity in the face of increasingly secessionist policies of the Bosnian Serb pro-Russia leader Milorad Dodik. The U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons will fly as...
Alaska Airlines’ decision not to ground Boeing jet despite warning signs comes under scrutiny
PORTLAND, Ore. — The decision by Alaska Airlines to stop flying one of its planes over the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii due to warnings from a cabin-pressurization system — yet keep flying it over land — is raising questions about whether the jet should have been in the air at...
Palestinians flee from central Gaza’s main hospital as strike kills Hezbollah commander in Lebanon
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Medics, patients and displaced people are fleeing from the main hospital in central Gaza as the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants draws closer, witnesses said Monday. Losing the facility would be another major blow to a health system shattered by three months of...
‘Here I am 3 years later, loving it’: Live Casino Pittsburgh hosts free dealer school
When Frank McClain left his 30-year career in the floral industry because of burnout, he did not expect he would become a table games dealer at Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield. But when the casino hosted its first dealer school in August 2020, McClain could not pass up the opportunity....
Canceled flights are piling up as Alaska, United are stuck without their grounded Boeing jetsVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Alaska Airlines and United Airlines grounded all of their Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners again on Sunday while they waited to be told how to inspect the planes to prevent another inflight blowout like the one that damaged an Alaska jet. Alaska Airlines had returned 18 of...
Defense secretary remains hospitalized as details emerge about delays in notification, even to BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remained in the hospital Sunday as more details emerged about key decision-makers, even President Joe Biden, being kept in the dark for days that the Pentagon chief had been in the intensive care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Pentagon’s failure to...
Congressional leaders announce an agreement on spending levels, a key step to averting shutdown
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on overall spending levels for the current fiscal year that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month. The agreement largely hews to spending caps for defense and domestic programs that Congress set as part of a bill to suspend...
Colorado police investigating apparent altercation with U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband
SILT, Colorado — An investigation is being conducted into an apparent altercation between U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband Jayson Boebert at a restaurant, police in Silt, Colorado, confirmed Sunday. It’s unclear what happened on Saturday, but Boebert’s campaign released a statement Sunday in which she said she “didn’t...
Winter storms dump snow on both coasts as icy roads make for hazardous travelVideo
BOSTON — A major winter storm bringing heavy snow and freezing rain to some communities spread across New England on Sunday, sending residents scurrying for their shovels and snowblowers to clear sidewalks and driveways. Winter storm warnings and watches were in effect throughout the Northeast, and icy roads made for...
A lot is riding on Astrobotic moon lander set for launch Monday on new Vulcan Centaur
While United Launch Alliance is gunning for its first successful launch of the new Vulcan Centaur rocket early Monday, NASA and commercial company Astrobotic have their own high hopes for success for the moon-bound payload. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lunar lander will become the first mission to fly under NASA’s...
Coal miners in North Dakota unearth a mammoth tusk buried for thousands of years
BISMARCK, N.D. — The first person to spot it was a shovel operator working the overnight shift, eyeing a glint of white as he scooped up a giant mound of dirt and dropped it into a dump truck. Later, after the truck driver dumped the load, a dozer driver was...
U.S. sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Daniel Bermudez’s family had fled Venezuela and was headed to the U.S. to seek asylum when the freight train they were riding through Mexico was stopped by immigration officials. His wife tried to explain that her family had permission to go to the U.S. Instead, they...
Israel signals it has wrapped up major combat in northern Gaza as the war enters its 4th month
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military signaled that it has wrapped up major combat in northern Gaza, saying it has completed dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure there, as the war against the militant group entered its fourth month Sunday. Israel did not address troop deployments in northern Gaza going forward. Military spokesman...
11-year-old killed in Iowa school shooting was a joyful boy known as ‘Smiley,’ his mother says
DES MOINES, Iowa — Ahmir Jolliff dashed out of his home in Perry on Thursday morning, eager to see his friends on the first day back to school after winter break. It was vintage Ahmir — known as “Smiley” around his house — an 11-year-old whirlwind of cheerful activity. He...
Winter weather batters both U.S. coasts; Sierra snow shuts down I-80; East Coast storm into Monday
BOSTON — Winter weather battered both U.S. coasts Saturday as New Englanders braced for an even more potent mix of snow and freezing rain through the weekend and a Sierra Nevada storm packing heavy snow shut down a stretch of interstate and briefly knocked out power to tens of thousands...
Boeing faces new questions about the 737 Max after a plane suffers a gaping hole in its side
Boeing faces new scrutiny about the safety of its best-selling plane after federal officials announced the temporary grounding of some Boeing 737 Max planes on Saturday, following a harrowing flight in which an Alaska Airlines jetliner was left with a gaping hole in its side. The Federal Aviation Administration said...
Trump downplays Jan. 6 on the anniversary of the Capitol siege and calls jailed rioters ‘hostages’Video
NEWTON, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump, campaigning in Iowa Saturday, marked the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by casting the migrant surge on the southern border as the “real” insurrection. Just over a week before the Republican nomination process begins with Iowa’s...
Carnival begins in New Orleans with Phunny Phorty Phellows, king cakes, Joan of Arc parade
NEW ORLEANS — The countdown to Mardi Gras begins Saturday in New Orleans as Carnival season kicks off with dozens of costumed revelers and a brass band set to crowd onto a streetcar for a nighttime ride down historic St. Charles Avenue. Meanwhile, a walking club in the French Quarter...
Federal officials order grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners after plane suffers a blowout
Federal officials on Saturday ordered the immediate grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners until they are inspected after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage. The required inspections take around four to eight hours per aircraft and...
Woman in her 90s rescued alive 5 days after Japan’s deadly earthquake
WAJIMA, Japan — A woman in her 90s was pulled alive from a collapsed house in western Japan late Saturday, 124 hours after a major quake slammed the region, killing at least 126 people, toppling buildings and setting off landslides. The woman in Suzu city, Ishikawa Prefecture, had survived for...
Hezbollah, Israel trade heavy cross-border fire as Blinken seeks to prevent regional escalation
BEIRUT — Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah traded fire Saturday in one of the heaviest days of cross-border fighting in recent weeks, a day after the militia’s leader urged retaliation for the targeted killing, presumably by Israel, of a top Hamas leader in Lebanon’s capital. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said...
Elementary students invited to enter ‘Litter Hawk’ youth award program
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is accepting submissions through the end of January for its annual “Litter Hawk” Youth Award Program. Students in kindergarten through grade 4 are invited to submit a poster, fifth-graders can submit an essay and sixth-graders can submit a video. The theme for this year’s contest is “Open...
