Liberals seek ouster from Wisconsin judicial ethics panel of Trump lawyer who advised fake electors
MADISON, Wis. — Liberals are calling for former President Donald Trump’s Wisconsin lawyer to step down from a state judicial ethics panel, saying he is unsuitable due to his role advising the fake Republican electors who admitted to taking part in an effort to overturn the 2020 election. Jim Troupis,...
EU hits Russia’s diamond industry with new round of sanctions over Ukraine war
BRUSSELS — The European Union said Monday that it has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia over its war against of Ukraine, targeting the lucrative diamonds industry, more than 140 officials and organizations, and closing loopholes that Moscow has used to bypass previous punitive measures. It’s the 12th round of sanctions...
European Union investigating Musk’s X over possible breaches of social media law
LONDON — The European Union on Monday made Elon Musk’s online platform X the first tech company to face an investigation under Europe’s tough new regulations designed to clean up social media and protect people from toxic online content. “Today we open formal infringement proceedings against X” under the Digital...
Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples that must not resemble marriage
ROME — Pope Francis formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, the Vatican announced Monday, a radical shift in policy that aimed at making the church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage. But while the Vatican statement was heralded by some as a step toward...
Some Trump fake electors from 2020 haven’t faded away. They have roles in how the 2024 race is run
VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. — Nearly two years after he signed documents attempting to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 loss in Nevada, Jim Hindle thanked everyone gathered in a historic Nevada boomtown’s commission chambers and asked them to bear with him while he learned how to oversee elections in rural Storey County....
Senate border security talks grind on as Trump invokes Nazi-era ‘blood’ rhetoric against immigrants
WASHINGTON — Time slipping, White House and Senate negotiators struggled Sunday to reach a U.S. border security deal that would unlock President Joe Biden’s request for billions of dollars worth of military aid for Ukraine and other national security needs before senators leave town for the holiday recess. The Biden...
In Israel, U.S. defense secretary is expected to press for a more targeted approach in Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was expected to press Israel to wind down major combat operations in Gaza on a visit Monday, in the latest test of whether the U.S. can leverage its unwavering support for the offensive to blunt its devastating impact on Palestinian civilians....
Police say driver accidentally struck parked SUV in Biden’s motorcade near campaign headquarters
WILMINGTON, Del. — Wilmington police say a 46-year-old driver believed to be drunk accidentally plowed into a parked SUV that was guarding President Joe Biden’s motorcade Sunday night while the president was leaving a visit to his campaign headquarters. The president and first lady Jill Biden were unharmed. While Biden...
Cardinal is convicted of embezzlement in big Vatican financial trial, sentenced to 5½ years
VATICAN CITY — A Vatican tribunal on Saturday convicted a cardinal of embezzlement and sentenced him to 5½ years in prison in one of several verdicts handed down in a complicated financial trial that aired the city state’s dirty laundry and tested its justice system. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the first...
Pope Francis’ 87th birthday closes out a big year of efforts to reform the church, cement his legacy
ROME — Pope Francis turned 87 on Sunday, closing out a year that saw big milestones in his efforts to reform the Catholic Church as well as health scares that raise questions about his future as pope. Francis celebrated his birthday with cake during a festive audience with children Sunday...
As 2023 holidays dawn, face masks have settled in as an occasional feature of the American landscape
NEW YORK — The scene: A crowded shopping center in the weeks before Christmas. Or a warehouse store. Or maybe a packed airport terminal or a commuter train station or another place where large groups gather. There are people — lots of people. But look around, and it’s clear one...
Israel faces new calls for truce after killing of hostages raises alarm about its conduct in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s government faced calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies on Sunday after a series of shootings, including the mistaken killing of three Israeli hostages, fueled global concerns about the conduct of the 10-week-old war in Gaza. Israeli protesters are urging...
‘It’s not just a class thing’: Penn-Trafford adds hour to annual telethon, aims for $55,000 total
When Penn-Trafford High School’s video production class hosted its first telethon benefiting Make-A-Wish in 2017, the live production was 3 1⁄2 hours long. With about five hours of content planned for Thursday’s broadcast, the students and their teacher, Steve Vinton, have to piece together each minute. “We’re getting to the...
Forgoing traditional Christmas celebrations to travel is becoming more common
Melinda Cody of Allegheny Township has implemented a Christmas strike, and she’s never been happier. For decades, Cody — a wife and mother of two adult children — prepped, baked, cooked, decorated, shopped, organized and wrapped gifts, providing a traditional Christmas experience for her family with all the expected holiday...
Local potters build sense of community with mug exchange
More than 30 potters from Westmoreland, Allegheny and Somerset counties gathered in Clair Witkowski’s Ligonier home this month, each holding a unique ceramic mug that would be exchanged with another. The mug exchange was organized by Witkowski and Marine Ruth, volunteers at the Greensburg Art Center in Hempfield, to build...
Pittsburgh police probe Northview Heights infant’s death
Pittsburgh police are investigating the death Saturday of a newborn. First responders were dispatched Friday around 11:36 p.m. to the boy’s home in the 600 block of Mt. Pleasant Road in the Northview Heights neighborhood for a report of an infant in distress. The 5-day-old baby, Jah’Shawn O. Martin, was...
$148 million damages verdict adds to Rudy Giuliani’s financial woes as he awaits his criminal trial
A criminal trial awaits Rudy Giuliani in Georgia. He is an alleged unnamed co-conspirator in a federal indictment against Donald Trump. And now he’s been ordered to pay a sum he surely cannot afford. The $148 million verdict in a defamation case brought by two former Georgia election workers marks...
Confederate memorial to be removed in coming days from Arlington National Cemetery
ARLINGTON, Va. — A Confederate memorial is to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia in the coming days, part of the push to remove symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military-related facilities, a cemetery official said Saturday. The decision ignores a recent demand from more than 40...
As Trump threatens to repeal Obamacare, these ‘insurance godmothers’ are signing Florida Latinos up
MIAMI — Salsa music blares from the food court in a rundown Miami shopping center as Latinos head to a kiosk and an office showing signs for ” Obamacare,” where they hope to renew their health coverage plans before the year ends. It’s areas near this mall where former Democratic...
Latino Democrats shift from quiet concern to open opposition to Biden’s concessions in border talks
WASHINGTON — Prominent Latinos in Congress looked on quietly, at first, privately raising concerns with the Biden administration over the direction of border security talks. Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was on the phone constantly with administration officials questioning why the Senate negotiations did not include any meaningful consideration...
Netanyahu says Israel is as ‘committed as ever’ to war after soldiers mistakenly killed 3 hostages
JERUSALEM — Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, military officials said Saturday, in Israel’s first such acknowledgement of harming any hostages in its war against Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin...
With Iowa’s caucuses a month away, Trump urges voters to hand him a blowout
CORALVILLE, Iowa — Donald Trump was uncharacteristically serious when he implored an audience in eastern Iowa to carry him to a blowout in next month’s Republican caucuses. “The margin of victory is very important, it’s just very important,” Trump told about 1,000 people attending a Wednesday rally aimed at organizing...
Philly City Council bars hospitals from carrying out ‘medical deportations’ of undocumented immigrants
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia City Council enacted what immigration advocates say is a landmark law to stop so-called medical deportations, in which hospitals spirit seriously ill, undocumented patients out of the country to deeply uncertain futures. Critics call it international patient dumping, an attempt by health systems to avoid the cost...
Arizona’s governor sending National Guard to border to help with migrant influx
PHOENIX — Arizona’s governor Friday ordered the state’s National Guard to the border with Mexico to help federal officials manage an influx of migrants. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said she issued the executive order because “the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep...
Tesla driver to pay $23K in restitution for 2019 crash that killed 2
LOS ANGELES — A Tesla driver will pay more than $23,000 in restitution for the deaths of two people during a 2019 car crash in a Los Angeles suburb, a decision announced the same day the automaker recalled nearly all vehicles sold in the U.S. Wednesday’s court hearing wrapped up...
