Israel battles militants in Gaza’s main cities, with civilians still trapped in the crossfire
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants in Gaza’s two largest cities on Monday, with civilians still trapped in the fighting even after hundreds of thousands have fled to other parts of the besieged territory. Israel has pledged to keep fighting until it removes Hamas from power, dismantles...
Trump says he won’t testify again at his New York fraud trial. He claims he has nothing more to say
NEW YORK — Donald Trump said Sunday he has decided against testifying for a second time at his New York civil fraud trial, posting on social media a day before his scheduled appearance that he “very successfully & conclusively” testified last month and saw no need to do so again....
Biden invites Zelenskyy to the White House amid a stepped-up push for Congress to approve more aidVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has invited Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the White House on Tuesday as the U.S. administration steps up the pressure on Congress to provide billions more in aid to Kyiv in its war with Russia. The visit is intended “to underscore the United States’ unshakeable...
Elon Musk restores X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones
Elon Musk has restored the X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, pointing to a poll on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that came out in favor of the Infowars host who repeatedly called the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax. It poses new uncertainty for...
Military-themed brewery wants to open in a big Navy town. An ex-SEAL is getting in the way
NORFOLK, Va. — A former U.S. Navy SEAL who says he shot Osama bin Laden is at the center of a much different fight in Virginia, where plans for a military-themed brewery are drawing opposition over his alleged racist and homophobic remarks. Robert J. O’Neill has a small ownership stake...
Tennessee residents clean up after severe weekend storms killed 6 and damaged neighborhoodsVideo
NASHVILLE — Central Tennessee residents and emergency workers cleaned up Sunday from severe weekend storms and tornadoes that killed six people and sent more to the hospital while damaging buildings, turning over vehicles and knocking out power to tens of thousands. Officials confirmed that three people, including a toddler, died...
Crews battle blaze at Loyalhanna Township home
Six fire departments worked to put out a blaze that caused significant damage to a Loyalhanna Township home Sunday morning. Emergency personnel were dispatched to the single-story home on Louise Street around 7:35 a.m., said Bill McClelland, assistant fire chief for Saltsburg Volunteer Fire Department. Slickville fire officials arrived first...
Penn Township artist decorates yard with concrete sculptures
Drivers on Sleepy Hollow Road in Penn Township often slow to a stop when they see the concrete sculptures in Mark Milliron’s front yard. Milliron, who has lived on the road for nearly 40 years, has come to expect questions and curiosity about the human-like figures, especially when he is...
3 dead, nearly 2 dozen injured as tornado tears through Tennessee
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Three people are dead, including a child, and nearly two dozen were being treated at a local hospital after a tornado tore through the middle of Tennessee on Saturday, officials said. Police and firefighters in Clarksville were responding to reports of damage in the northern part of...
NRA has surprising defender in free speech case before the Supreme Court: the ACLU
NEW YORK — In a case of politics making strange bedfellows, the National Rifle Association will be represented by frequent nemesis the American Civil Liberties Union in an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. The New York-based civil liberties group confirmed Saturday it will provide legal representation for the gun-rights...
Liz Magill, University of Pennsylvania president, resigns as antisemitism testimony draws backlash
PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania’s president has resigned amid pressure from donors and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing during which she was unwilling to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy. The departure of Liz...
New U.S. aid for Ukraine seems out of reach as GOP ties it to border security
WASHINGTON — A deal to provide further U.S. assistance to Ukraine by year-end appears to be increasingly out of reach for President Joe Biden. The impasse is deepening in Congress despite dire warnings from the White House about the consequences of inaction as Republicans insist on pairing the aid with...
Police fatally shoot man who officers say charged them with knives in West Texas
LUBBOCK, Texas — Officers investigating a domestic disturbance fatally shot a man who they said ran at them with knives in West Texas, police said Saturday. Manuel Guillen, 34, died at a hospital following the shooting in Lubbock Friday night, police spokesperson Amber Edwards said. Edwards said the officers were...
Who is the Texas mother of 2 seeking an abortion?
AUSTIN, Texas — Kate Cox, a mother of two in Texas, became pregnant again in August but soon after learned devasting news: Her baby has a fatal condition and is likely to either be stillborn or die shortly after birth. The tragic circumstances have thrust Cox, 31, into the center...
Consumer product agency issues warning on small magnetic balls linked to deaths
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning about the danger of high-powered, pea-sized magnets found in toys, announcing one company’s recall of a set containing them and saying it is aware of seven deaths linked to their ingestion. The federal agency estimated ingestion of the magnets led to 2,400...
U.S. support for Israeli war increasingly strained amid civilian casualties
As Israel widens its war in Gaza, now in its third deadly month, Biden administration officials are struggling to shore up support for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu even as it appears to ignore U.S. advice and Arab anger worldwide mounts. In New York at the United Nations and in...
Dozens of animals taken from Virginia roadside zoo amid investigation
NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. — More than 100 animals — living and dead — have been taken from a roadside zoo in western Virginia, according to court documents, as part of what state authorities are calling a criminal investigation. One search warrant executed Wednesday at the Natural Bridge Zoo in Rockbridge...
Thousands descend on NYC for Santa-themed bar crawl SantaCon
NEW YORK — Here come Santa Clauses. Again. Throngs of people dressed as jolly Old St. Nick descended on New York City for the annual SantaCon charity pub crawl on Saturday. The booze-fueled stroll, which included no shortage of Grinches, elves and other Christmas-themed costumes, kicked off at 10 a.m....
Peek inside Joe Biden’s campaign fundraisers, where big money mingles with old jokes in swanky homes
LOS ANGELES — If you’re a Democrat with money to burn and friends in high places, you can spend thousands on tickets to a fundraiser with President Joe Biden. If not, keep reading to see what you’re missing. With an election year around the corner, Biden is accelerating his fundraising...
Turkey’s Erdogan accuses West of ‘barbarism’ and Islamophobia in war in Gaza
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a speech on human rights Saturday to accuse the West of “barbarism” for its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia. “Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity,”...
Israel presses ahead with bombarding Gaza, including areas it told Palestinians to evacuate to
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land it had told Palestinians to evacuate to in the territory’s south. The strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding...
EU strikes deal to regulate ChatGPT, AI tech in landmark act
The European Union reached a hard-fought deal on what is poised to become the most comprehensive regulation of artificial intelligence in the Western world. Thierry Breton, the bloc’s internal market chief, said the deal strikes a balance between fostering innovation and protecting the rights of people and companies. “We spent...
Stabbing at Newark, N.J., hospital leaves 3 medical workers wounded
A stabbing incident at the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey left two nurses and one medical resident wounded Friday, following a domestic dispute with visitors in the hospital’s pediatric ICU. Hospital officials said the three staff members suffered lacerations and were rushed to the onsite emergency department...
Fox News pushes back against reporter’s lawsuit claiming he was fired for challenging Jan. 6 coverage
WASHINGTON — Fox News pushed back Friday against a former reporter’s lawsuit saying he was targeted and fired for challenging false claims about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The network argued Jason Donner had not shown he faced illegal discrimination. The nation’s capital bans discrimination...
Senators introduce legislation to protect fans from ‘dramatically overpriced’ event tickets
A bipartisan group of senators Thursday introduced legislation that seeks to address flaws in the live-event ticketing system in the U.S. and increase protections for customers. The much-awaited bill, dubbed the Fans First Act, would increase transparency in ticket sales, protect concertgoers from “fake or dramatically overpriced tickets” and go...
