Hamas releases 3rd group of hostages as part of truce deal while Netanyahu visits Gaza
JERUSALEM — The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in a third set of releases under a four-day truce that the U.S. said it hoped would be extended. Some hostages were...
Donald Trump draws cheers in Nikki Haley’s backyard at Clemson-South Carolina football game
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump used college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while trying to upstage his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf at the Clemson-South Carolina football game. The former president and...
Congolese Nobel laureate kicks off presidential campaign with promise to end violence, corruption
GOMA, Congo — Congolese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege kicked off his campaign for president in next month’s election on Saturday, promising to tackle corruption and the violent conflict ravaging communities in the country’s east. The 68-year-old renowned medical doctor told a crowd of supporters in Bukavu city...
Ecuador’s newly sworn-in president repeals guidelines allowing people to carry limited drug amounts
QUITO, Ecuador — Less than 48 hours into his term, Ecuador President Daniel Noboa on Friday repealed controversial guidelines established by the country’s left a decade ago that eliminated penalties for people found carrying illegal drugs under certain amounts. Noboa’s decision fulfilled a campaign promise to fight drug trafficking. Consequences...
Flight data recorder recovered from Navy plane that overshot runway near Honolulu
KANEOHE, Hawaii — The flight data recorder of a large Navy plane that overshot a runway and ended up in the water near Honolulu last week has been recovered as the military continues to plan for the aircraft’s removal. The Navy’s Aircraft Mishap Board is investigating on scene at Marine...
Attorney: Derek Chauvin’s family has received no updates after prison stabbing
MINNEAPOLIS — An attorney for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, said Saturday that Chauvin’s family has been kept in the dark by federal prison officials after he was stabbed in prison. The lawyer, Gregory M. Erickson, criticized the lack of transparency by the...
Rep. George Santos says he expects to be kicked out of Congress as expulsion vote looms
New York — Rep. George Santos has said he expects to be expelled from Congress following a scathing report by the House Ethics Committee that found substantial evidence of lawbreaking by the New York Republican. In a defiant speech Friday sprinkled with taunts and obscenities aimed at his congressional colleagues,...
Tens of thousands march in London calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza
LONDON — Tens of thousands of people turned out on central London’s streets Saturday for a pro-Palestinian march calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. At least five people were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred, police said. The National March for Palestine in central London was the latest...
Pope Francis has a hospital checkup after coming down with the flu
ROME — Pope Francis went to the hospital Saturday for tests after he came down with the flu, but the results ruled out any respiratory problems, the Vatican said. Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, underwent a CAT scan, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said....
Ukraine’s military says Russia has launched its largest drone attack since the start of the invasion
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia on Saturday morning launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting the capital city for over six hours, military officials said. “Kyiv was the main target,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his Telegram...
The debate over Ukraine aid was already complicated. Then it became tangled up in U.S. border security
WASHINGTON — As war and winter collide, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged during a recent visit to Washington that the days ahead “will be tough” as his country battles Russia while U.S. support from Congress hangs in the balance. President Joe Biden’s nearly $106 billion aid...
Freed Israeli, Palestinian prisoners returned
AL BIREH, West Bank — A bus carrying nearly three dozen Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank early Sunday, following Hamas’ release of 13 Israelis and four foreigners in the second round of swaps under a cease-fire deal. Hundreds of people greeted the International Committee of...
Donald Trump will look to upstage Clemson grad Nikki Haley at her alma mater Clemson’s football rivalry game
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Donald Trump is using a college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while potentially upstaging his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf. The former president and current front-runner for the 2024...
Penn Township approves preliminary land development plan for independent living facility
Penn Township commissioners voted last week to approve the preliminary land development plan for an independent living facility proposed for Harrison City-Export Road. The 119-unit facility was proposed by contractor Concordia of Monroeville for 21 acres of land behind the Westmoreland Country Club. Commissioners tabled the vote Oct. 18, primarily...
Thousands rally in Italy over violence against women after woman’s killing that outraged the country
ROME — Tens of thousands took to the streets of Italy’s main cities Saturday to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, just as an Italian man suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend was extradited from Germany. The slaying of 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin, allegedly at the...
Ex-officer Derek Chauvin, convicted in George Floyd’s killing, stabbed in prison, AP source says
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, was stabbed by another inmate and seriously injured Friday at a federal prison in Arizona, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The attack happened at the Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, a medium-security prison that...
Florida man accused of threatening Thanksgiving mass shooting on NYC subway
A Florida man’s social media posts threatening a mass shooting on the New York City subway landed him in jail, authorities said Friday. Pinellas Park resident Robert Trout III, 19, posted a video of himself brandishing guns, and wrote: “If you’re from New York City, do not take the train...
Sandy Hook families offer Alex Jones two ways out of bankruptcy
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims’ families proposed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wind up his bankruptcy by paying creditors at least $85 million over 10 years or undergo an orderly liquidation. The Sandy Hook families, along with an official committee of Jones’ creditors, argued in court papers Wednesday the 11-month-long...
Sea turtle nests break records on U.S. beaches, but global warming threatens their survival
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Just as they have for millions of years, sea turtles by the thousands made their labored crawl from the ocean to U.S. beaches to lay their eggs over the past several months. This year, record nesting was found in Florida and elsewhere despite growing concern...
Republican ex-federal prosecutor in Philadelphia to run for Pennsylvania attorney general
HARRISBURG — Former federal prosecutor Katayoun “Kat” Copeland will run for attorney general of Pennsylvania in 2024, she said this week. Copeland, a Republican, recently left her job in the U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia ahead of announcing her candidacy for attorney general, the state’s top law enforcement official. The...
Northampton County official resigns as software issues persist during election audit
Following an election process steeped in controversy and software bugs, Northampton County’s administrative director resigned Friday, a news release from County Executive Lamont G. McClure says. The release from the county states Charles M. Dertinger, the county’s director of administrative director for the past six years, says, while the 2020,...
FDA expands cantaloupe recall after salmonella infections double in a week
U.S. health officials recalled three more brands of whole and pre-cut cantaloupes Friday as the number of people sickened by salmonella more than doubled this week. Nearly 100 people in 32 states have gotten sick from the contaminated fruits. Arizona, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio have the highest number of...
California examines benefits, risks of using artificial intelligence in state government
LOS ANGELES — Artificial intelligence that can generate text, images and other content could help improve state programs but also poses risks, according to a report released by the California governor’s office this week. Generative AI could help quickly translate government materials into multiple languages, analyze tax claims to detect...
Andrew Cuomo accused of sexual harassment by former aide in new legal filing
ALBANY, N.Y. — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is being sued by a former aide who says Cuomo sexually harassed her while he was still in office. Cuomo’s former executive assistant Brittany Commisso filed the case against the ex-governor in state Supreme Court in Albany on Wednesday. The filing,...
Ohio voters just passed abortion protections. When and how they take effect is before the courts
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s new constitutional protections for abortion access and other reproductive rights take effect Dec. 7, a month after voters resoundingly passed them. How and when their impacts are felt remains unclear. Existing abortion-related lawsuits are moving again through the courts now that voters have decided the issue,...
