Putin foe Alexei Navalny is buried in Moscow as thousands attend under a heavy police presence
Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell Friday to opposition leader Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow after his still-unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony. Navalny was buried at a cemetery in the snowy southeastern outskirts of the capital after a short...
On the Rio Grande, 300 miles apart, Biden and Trump try to use immigration to election advantage
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — On the banks of the same Rio Grande but 300 miles apart, President Joe Biden and GOP challenger Donald Trump on Thursday surveyed the U.S.-Mexico border and tussled from a distance over who is to blame for the nation’s broken immigration system and how to fix it....
Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira expected to plead guilty in federal case
BOSTON — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, is expected to plead guilty in his federal case, according to court papers filed Thursday. Prosecutors asked the judge to schedule a change of plea hearing, but no...
Missouri Republicans try to remove man with ties to KKK from party ballot
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Republican Party on Thursday denounced a GOP candidate for governor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, saying party officials will go to court if necessary to remove him from the ticket. Southwestern Missouri man Darrell Leon McClanahan, who has described himself as “pro-white,”...
Court worker serving an eviction notice and an officer were fatally shot in Missouri, police say
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A court employee and a police officer were fatally shot Thursday after the court process server tried to serve an eviction notice at a home in Missouri, authorities said. A second officer was critically injured, but is expected to survive, police said. Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman...
Federal prosecutors seek July trial for Trump in classified documents case
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are requesting a trial on July 8 for former President Donald Trump on charges that he illegally retained and concealed classified documents. Defense lawyers say no trial should be conducted this year but proposed August 12 as an alternative possibility. The dueling proposals were submitted Thursday...
Wildfire scorching the Texas Panhandle has grown to the largest in state historyVideo
STINNETT, Texas — A dusting of snow covered a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned out homes in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, giving firefighters brief relief in their desperate efforts to corral a blaze that has grown into the largest in state history. The Smokehouse Creek...
Authorities capture car theft suspect who fled police outside Philadelphia hospital in Johnstown
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia car theft suspect who fled from police outside a hospital earlier this week has been captured in Western Pennsylvania, federal authorities said. Alleem Bordan, 29, was taken into custody at 2 p.m. Thursday at a home in Johnstown in Cambria County, more than 200 miles from...
House lawmakers grill Lloyd Austin over secretive hospitalizationVideo
WASHINGTON — Members of the House Armed Services Committee interrogated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday on the delay in notifying Congress and the president about his secretive hospitalization, in his first appearance before lawmakers since the episode initially roiled Capitol Hill in early January. Lawmakers sought to pin down...
Slain pregnant Amish woman had cuts to her head and neck, police say
SPARTANSBURG — Search warrant filings for the Pennsylvania home where a pregnant Amish woman was killed this week said she appeared to have suffered cutting wounds to her neck and head. Two identical search warrants were issued at the request of state police regarding the Monday slaying of Rebekah A....
Judge blocks Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants who illegally enter U.S.
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge on Thursday blocked a new Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S., dealing a victory to the Biden administration with a broad rejection of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s immigration enforcement effort. U.S. District Judge...
Writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawyers urge judge to reject Trump’s request to postpone $83.3M jury award
NEW YORK — Lawyers for E. Jean Carroll urged a judge Thursday to reject former President Donald Trump’s efforts to avoid posting security to secure an $83.3 million defamation award won by the writer, saying his promises to pay a judgment his lawyers predict will be overturned on appeal are...
Congress approves short-term extension to avoid shutdown, buy more time for final spending agreement
WASHINGTON — Congress passed another short-term spending measure Thursday that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22, avoiding a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise kick in Saturday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden...
Sen. Casey questions Wendy’s intent with dynamic pricing plans
Fast-food giant Wendy’s has come under fire this week for its plan to implement dynamic pricing at its restaurants. Now the move is drawing concerns from Pennsylvania politicians. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, sent a letter to Wendy’s CEO on Wednesday raising issues about their plans for dynamic — or...
Palestinian deaths in Gaza pass 30,000 as witnesses say Israeli forces fire on crowd waiting for aid
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City on Thursday, witnesses said. More than 100 people were killed, bringing the death toll since the start of the Israel-Hamas war to more than 30,000, according to health officials. Hospital officials initially...
What is Super Tuesday? Why it matters and what to watchVideo
The biggest day of this year’s primary campaign is approaching as 15 states, along with American Samoa, vote in contests known as Super Tuesday. The elections are a crucial moment for President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who are the overwhelming front-runners for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, respectively....
Pennsylvania sets up election security task force ahead of 2024 presidential contest
HARRISBURG — Law enforcement agencies, civil defense officials and election administrators have begun meeting in Pennsylvania to coordinate how they will identify and fight election threats with the presidential contest just eight months away in the battleground state, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said Thursday. Shapiro created the Pennsylvania Election Threats...
About as many abortions are happening in the U.S. monthly as before Roe was overturned, report finds
The number of abortions performed each month is about the same as before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion more than a year and a half ago, a new report finds. The latest edition of the #WeCount report conducted for the Society...
Judge orders Trump off Illinois primary ballot but puts ruling on hold
CHICAGO — A Cook County judge ruled the Illinois State Board of Elections must take former President Donald Trump’s name off the state’s March 19 primary ballot Wednesday. But she placed her order on hold until Friday to allow an appeal. Judge Tracie Porter issued her decision after a group...
Federal prison director tells senators about staffing ‘crisis’
WASHINGTON — Senators zeroed in on chronic staffing problems in the federal Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday, as the head of the agency said the system faces a “crisis” in recruiting and retaining employees. Long-standing staffing shortages were among the problems cited in a scathing watchdog report this month that...
Sen. Casey bill seeks to fight shrinkflation at grocery stores
Sen. Bob Casey is fighting supermarket shrinkflation. The Pennsylvania Democrat introduced a bill Wednesday that opposes the practice of shrinking everyday consumer goods such as cereal, potato chips, laundry detergent and toilet paper. The Shrinkflation Prevention Act targets corporations Casey, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, said are deceiving...
Republicans block Senate bill to protect nationwide access to IVF treatments
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have blocked legislation that would protect access to in vitro fertilization, objecting to a vote on the issue Wednesday even after widespread backlash to a recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that threatens the practice. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican, objected to a request...
Officials describe how gunman killed 5 relatives and set Delaware County house on fireVideo
EAST LANSDOWNE — Four of the five family members found dead in a house fire near Philadelphia were fatally shot by an adult male relative who also killed himself after setting fire to the home, authorities said Wednesday. The youngest victim, a 10-year-old boy, was not shot but died of...
Congressional leaders reach tentative deal to prevent a government shutdown
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders reached a tentative agreement Wednesday to prevent a government shutdown for now, days before an end-of-the-week deadline that risked shuttering some federal operations, according to two people familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it. Under the new plan being finalized, Congress would temporarily...
Supreme Court, moving quickly, will decide if Trump can be prosecuted in election interference case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he interfered with the 2020 election and set a course for a quick resolution. The justices’ order maintains a hold on preparations for a trial focused on Trump’s efforts to...
