Appeals court reinstates gag order that barred Trump from maligning court staff in NY fraud trial
NEW YORK — A New York appeals court Thursday reinstated a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting about court personnel after the former president repeatedly disparaged a law clerk in his New York civil fraud trial. The one-sentence decision came two weeks after an individual appellate judge put...
Global leaders pay tribute to Henry Kissinger, but his record also draws criticism
TOKYO — Global leaders paid tribute to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Thursday, but there was also sharp criticism of the man who remained an influential figure decades after his official service as one of the most powerful diplomats in American history. Kissinger, who died Wednesday at...
With generous benefits, Pa. lawmakers could be second best compensated in nation
The base salary of Pennsylvania’s 253 state legislators is the third highest in the nation behind New York and California, but when benefits are added, it likely pushes them into second place. Legislators are eligible for lifetime medical benefits and retirement benefits unlike their counterparts in California but still trail...
GOP Rep. George Santos warns his expulsion from Congress before conviction would set a precedentVideo
WASHINGTON — A defiant Rep. George Santos is refusing to resign and warned on Thursday that his expulsion from Congress before being convicted in a court of law would establish a precedent that “is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body.” The first-term Republican...
Biden administration proposes biggest changes to lead pipe rules in more than 3 decades
Most U.S. cities would have to replace lead water pipes within 10 years under strict new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency as the Biden administration moves to reduce lead in drinking water and prevent public health crises like the ones in Flint, Michigan and Washington, D.C. Millions of...
DeSantis and Newsom will face off in a Fox News event featuring 2 governors with White House hopes
WASHINGTON — California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis are meeting in a nationally televised event on Thursday night that will feature two young, high-profile leaders with presidential aspirations who may have to wait for future cycles to realize them. Newsom, 56, has talked about eventually...
Study says U.S. is ill-prepared to ensure housing for growing number of older people
PHOENIX — Michael Genaldi’s road to homelessness began early this year when a car slammed into the rear of his motorcycle, crushed three of his ribs, and left him in a coma for over a month. The 58-year-old lost his job as a machine operator, then his home, and he...
Haley and DeSantis are relying more on outside campaign groups with time running out to stop Trump
DES MOINES, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley are increasingly outsourcing central parts of their campaigns, drawing on the growing urgency of Donald Trump opponents to find a single alternative to the former president. Struggling to energize his campaign, DeSantis this week privately...
Israeli military confirms release of 8 more Israeli hostages from captivity in Gaza Strip
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas freed eight Israeli hostages Thursday in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners under a last-minute deal to extend their cease-fire in Gaza by another day. But any further renewal of the truce, now in its seventh day, could prove more daunting since...
Holiday celebration slated to ‘start the season’ in Scottdale with house tour, vendors, parade
Scottdale’s holiday celebration will take on a new meaning this weekend as the borough continues to mark its 150th anniversary. Start the Season day, slated for Saturday, will feature a vintage house tour, vendor markets and a parade, said Tom Zwierzelewski, president of the Scottdale Historical Society. “We’re working on...
With GOP ‘failing’ to win over Pa. voters on mail-in ballots, conservative group launches ambitious plan
Frustrated by state and national Republican efforts to tout mail-in voting, a conservative Pennsylvania group is launching an initiative to personally reach half a million likely GOP voters in 2024. Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania CEO Cliff Maloney, a Delaware County native and national Republican operative, on Wednesday announced the Pennsylvania...
Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford, dies at 100Video
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100. With his gruff yet commanding presence...
Faculty union files labor complaint against Pitt, alleging it is stalling contract talks
Still without a contract two years after forming, the union representing 3,000 faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh has filed an unfair labor practice complaint, accusing Pitt of prolonging the contract talks. The United Steelworkers asserts in a filing before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board that Pitt is engaging...
Charges dismissed against 3 emergency management supervisors in 2020 death
WAYNESBURG — A judge has dismissed all charges against three Western Pennsylvania emergency management supervisors who had been accused of obstructing an investigation into an emergency dispatcher accused of failing to send an ambulance to the rural home of a woman who died of internal bleeding about a day later....
GOP considers holding formal vote to authorize Biden impeachment as White House questions legitimacyVideo
WASHINGTON — Republicans are considering holding an official House vote next month to authorize their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden as the party looks to formalize a process that has yet to yield any direct evidence of wrongdoing by the president. GOP leaders floated the possibility of a vote during...
Man charged with shooting 3 Palestinian college students accused of harassing ex-girlfriend in 2019
The man charged with shooting three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont last weekend was accused several years ago of harassing an ex-girlfriend in New York state, but no charges were ever filed, according to a police report. Jason J. Eaton’s ex called police in Dewitt, N.Y., a town...
Canada says Google will pay $74 million annually to Canadian news industry under new online law
TORONTO — Canada’s government said Wednesday it reached a deal with Google for the company to contribute $100 million Canadian dollars annually to the country’s news industry to comply with a new Canadian law requiring tech companies to pay publishers for their content. The agreement removes a threat by Google...
Senate Majority Leader Schumer warns that antisemitism is on the rise as he pushes for Israel aid
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who is the highest-ranked Jewish elected official in the U.S., warned Wednesday that antisemitism in the United States has reached levels unseen in generations and called on his fellow Democrats to clearly condemn it. Schumer’s remarks during a nearly-45 minute speech...
Memphis couple to remove references to Michael Oher being adopted as part of legal battle
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A lawyer for the Memphis couple who took in former NFL player Michael Oher when he was in high school said Wednesday that references to Oher being their adopted son will be removed from the couple’s websites and public speaking materials as part of their legal battle...
Inheritance money in dispute after death of woman who made millions off sale of T-rex remainsVideo
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — For years, the massive mostly-intact dinosaur skeleton that came to be known as Sue the T-rex was at the center of a legal battle. The latest dispute involves who inherits what’s left of the money created by the sale of Sue. Fossil hunters discovered the skeleton...
5 journalists were shot in 1 day in Mexico, officials confirm
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president said Wednesday that two of four news photographers who were shot Tuesday are in serious condition, as prosecutors confirmed that a fifth journalist was shot and wounded the same day. The four photojournalists were shot near a military barracks in the southern Guerrero state after...
6-planet solar system in perfect synchrony has been found in the Milky Way
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered a rare in-sync solar system with six planets moving like a grand cosmic orchestra, untouched by outside forces since their birth billions of years ago. The find, announced Wednesday, can help explain how solar systems across the Milky Way galaxy came to be....
U.S. moves to protect wolverines as climate change melts their mountain refuges, threatens extinction
BILLINGS, Mont. — The North American wolverine will receive long-delayed threatened species protections under a Biden administration proposal released Wednesday in response to scientists warning that climate change will likely melt away the rare species’ snowy mountain refuges and push them toward extinction. Across most of the U.S., wolverines were...
Biden targets GOP Rep. Boebert in her district in a fresh political attack on Republicans
DENVER — President Joe Biden will try to turn Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado into the embodiment of Republican opposition to his agenda as he visits her congressional district Wednesday. The trip comes as Biden struggles with low approval ratings while he prepares for a likely 2024 rematch against former...
Consumer Reports: Electric vehicles less reliable, on average, than conventional cars and trucks
DETROIT — Electric vehicles have proved far less reliable, on average, than gasoline-powered cars, trucks and SUVs, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports, which found that EVs from the 2021 through 2023 model years encountered nearly 80% more problems than did vehicles propelled by internal combustion engines. Consumer...
