Biden, Xi to announce deal for China to crack down on fentanyl
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are set to announce an agreement that would see Beijing crack down on the manufacture and export of fentanyl, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially delivering the U.S. president a major victory. Under the deal — which is...
Nearly 2 dozen toddlers sickened by lead linked to tainted applesauce pouches, CDC says
U.S. health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in children after at least 22 toddlers in 14 states were sickened by lead linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce. Children ages 1 to 3 were affected, and at...
Report: Fulton County defendant Jenna Ellis says she was told Trump was ‘not going to leave’ White HouseVideo
ATLANTA — Jenna Ellis, the former Trump campaign attorney who recently struck a plea deal in Fulton County, reportedly told prosecutors she was informed in the weeks following the 2020 election that the then-president was “not going to leave” the White House despite his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The...
Officials exhume body of Mississippi man buried without his family’s knowledge
RAYMOND, Miss. — The body of a Mississippi man who died after being hit by a police SUV driven by an off-duty officer was exhumed Monday, months after officials failed to notify his family of his death. At a news conference, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, local leaders and family...
Maryanne Trump Barry, the former president’s older sister and a retired federal judge, dies at 86
NEW YORK — Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge and former president Donald Trump ‘s oldest sister, has died at age 86 at her home in New York. Until her retirement in 2019, Barry was a senior judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a level below...
Escaped murderer charged with burglary and theft while on the run for 2 weeks
A convicted murderer who escaped from a southeastern Pennsylvania prison earlier this year and eluded a massive two-week search before he was recaptured is now facing new theft, burglary and other charges in connection with alleged crimes committed while he was on the run. Danilo Cavalcante, 34, convicted of the...
New Jersey man accused of spraying officers with chemical irritant in Capitol riot makes 1st court appearance
A New Jersey man accused of spraying police officers with a chemical irritant in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol made an initial federal court appearance Monday and was ordered held without bail until trial. The FBI released photos at the U.S. District Court hearing in Trenton, saying they...
The Supreme Court says it is adopting a code of ethics, but it has no means of enforcement
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday adopted its first code of ethics, in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, but the code lacks a means of enforcement. The policy, agreed to by all nine justices, does not appear to...
International student enrollment rebounds to nearly pre-pandemic levels, report says
International enrollment at colleges nationwide has rebounded to almost pre-pandemic levels, with last year’s 12% enrollment jump representing the biggest annual increase in four-plus decades, a new report shows. The report released Monday by the New York-based nonprofit Institute of International Education puts the U.S. head count at about 1.06...
Michigan man pleads guilty to making violent threats against Jews
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 19-year-old Michigan man pleaded guilty Monday to using social media to make violent threats against Jewish people last summer. Seann Pietila, who has been in custody since June, was accused of using Instagram to spread neo-Nazi ideology, discuss plans to kill people and compliment mass...
Natural gas commodities market, milder weather predictions could ease winter heating costsVideo
Members of the natural gas industry, both locally and nationally, are predicting a decline in winter heating bills in 2024 based on the current commodities market as well as the long-range winter forecast. “I think you’re looking at increased production and lower demand overall,” said Columbia Gas spokesperson Lee Gierczynski....
Ex-Prime Minister David Cameron makes shock return to U.K. government as foreign secretary
LONDON — Former British Prime Minister David Cameron made an unexpected return to high office on Monday, becoming foreign secretary in a major shakeup of the Conservative government that also saw the firing of divisive Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Cameron, who led the U.K. government between 2010 and 2016 and...
U.S. conducts airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in Syria, retaliating for attacks on U.S. troops
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military conducted airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria involving Iranian-backed groups, hitting a training location and a weapons facility, according to the Pentagon and U.S. officials. It marks the third time in a bit more than two weeks that the U.S. has retaliated against the...
Bird flu reports increasing in U.S.; flocks culled in effort to reduce spread
Avian flu has reappeared in U.S. flocks for the first time since April. In an online report updated Wednesday by the USDA, 15 states in the past 30 days have reported at least one confirmed infected flock. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a flock of more than 47,300...
Biden sees hopeful signs for his reelection in Democrats’ 2023 wins. Others in his party are worried
WASHINGTON — Surrounded by dozens of Democratic donors at a glass art gallery space in Chicago last week, President Joe Biden urged them to look beyond negative poll numbers and feel assured their donations were not being wasted. Then Biden joked to the crowd: “I could still screw up.” The...
Donald Trump Jr. lauds dad’s real estate exploits as ex-president’s civil fraud trial begins defense
NEW YORK — Donald Trump Jr. returned to court Monday as something of a character witness for his father’s real estate empire, waxing exuberantly about the former president’s “incredible vision” and portfolio of “great, iconic projects” at the New York civil fraud trial now threatening his company’s future. The namesake...
Biden’s initial confidence on Israel gives way to the complexities and casualties of a brutal war
WASHINGTON — In the early days and hours after the horrific Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden spoke with stark declarations and unqualified support for the longtime U.S. ally. Now, a month on, that unambiguous backing has given way to the complexities and haunting casualties...
Battles force Palestinians out of hospitals in Gaza, leaving patients, babies and medics stranded
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Battles around hospitals have forced thousands of Palestinians to flee from some of the last shelters in northern Gaza while stranding critically wounded patients, including newborns, and their caregivers with dwindling supplies and no electricity, health officials said Monday. The Israeli military has urged Palestinians...
‘Something to learn, an adventure’: 3 Irwin brothers, business owners add coffee shop to repertoire
Brothers Chris, Nick and Mike Juricich have spent their entire lives in the restaurant business and have no intention of changing it. The brothers, who reside in Irwin, co-own Ginny’s Neighborhood Pizza Joint in Murrysville, Parkside Creamery ice cream shop in Trafford and Mr. Squeegy window cleaners in North Huntingdon....
Penn Township set to vote on plan for independent living facility
Penn Township commissioners will vote this week on a 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 Westmoreland Country Club, near the Bella Victoria housing plan. Commissioners tabled the...
Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott announces he is dropping out of the 2024 race
Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott announced late Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, about two months before the start of voting in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses. The South Carolina senator, who entered the race in May with high hopes, made the surprise announcement on Fox News Channel’s...
Capitol rioter plans 2024 run as a Libertarian candidate in Arizona’s 8th congressional district
PHOENIX — Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, apparently aspires to be a member of Congress. Online paperwork shows the 35-year-old Chansley filed a...
Joe Biden wants to complete his goals on civil rights, taxes, and social services if he’s reelected
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has a simple reelection pitch to voters — let him “finish the job.” So what does that mean? What’s left for him to get done? Unlike Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination who has been releasing videos and statements detailing...
Heavy fighting rages near main Gaza hospital and people trapped inside say they cannot flee
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Health officials and people trapped inside Gaza’s largest hospital rejected Israel’s claims that it was helping babies and others evacuate Sunday, saying fighting continued just outside the facility where incubators lay idle with no electricity and critical supplies were running out. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...
House Republicans look to pass two-step package to avoid partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his proposal on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2. The approach is unusual for a stopgap spending bill. Usually, lawmakers extend funding...
