More U.S. ships head toward Israel; 2,000 troops on heightened alert
WASHINGTON — Within hours of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond. On Tuesday, more ships and forces were heading toward Israel, and other troops in the U.S. were...
Pentagon releases footage of hundreds of ‘concerning’ aircraft intercepts by Chinese planes
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred in the past two years — more than the total number over the previous decade and part of a trend U.S. military officials called concerning. The...
Blast kills hundreds at Gaza hospital; Hamas and Israel trade blame, as Biden heads to Mideast
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — A massive blast rocked a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter Tuesday, killing hundreds of people, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military said the hospital was hit by a rocket misfired by...
Rite Aid’s bankruptcy plan stirs worries of new ‘pharmacy deserts’
Rite Aid’s plan to close more stores as part of its bankruptcy process could hurt access to medicine and care, particularly in some majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods and in rural areas, experts say. The drugstore chain said late Sunday that its voluntary Chapter 11 process will allow it to...
Trump returns to civil fraud trial as accountant testifies, key witness Michael Cohen postpones
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump returned to a New York City courtroom Tuesday to watch the civil fraud trial that threatens to disrupt his real estate empire, renewing his claims that the case is a baseless and politically targeted distraction from his 2024 campaign. After attending the trial’s...
GOP rejects Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on 1st ballot; more votes ahead
WASHINGTON — Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on Tuesday on the first ballot, as holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the majority needed to seize the gavel. More voting is expected as Jordan works to shore up support to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy for...
Israel bombs Gaza region where civilians were told to seek refuge, as mediators try to unlock aid
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza where it had told Palestinians to flee to ahead of an expected ground invasion, killing dozens of people on Tuesday in attacks it says are targeted at Hamas militants that rule the besieged territory. With no water, fuel or...
Reese’s $25,000 promotion may violate sweepstakes laws
Reese’s may be in violation of state and federal laws with its new sweepstakes offer currently advertised on packs of peanut butter cups. The promotion on two-cup packages reads “You could win $25,000” and, in smaller print, “See details inside.” But only after consumers have bought and opened a package...
India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, leaving it to Parliament
NEW DELHI — India’s top court on Tuesday refused to legalize same-sex marriages, passing the responsibility back to Parliament in a ruling that disappointed campaigners for LGBTQ+ rights in the world’s most populous country. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also urged the government to uphold the rights of the queer community...
Retail sales up a solid 0.7% in September as American consumers defy rising prices, interest rates
NEW YORK — Americans kept spending in September at a solid pace even as they grappled with higher prices and interest rates. Retail sales rose 0.7% in September, more than twice what economists had expected, and close to a a revised 0.8% bump in August, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday....
$1.4M speeding ticket surprised Georgia man before officials clarified the situation
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia man was left reeling after receiving a $1.4 million speeding ticket, but city officials say the figure was just a placeholder, not the actual fine. Connor Cato told WSAV-TV in Savannah that he received the citation after getting pulled over in September for driving 90...
Legal challenge to dethrone South Africa’s Zulu king heads to court
JOHANNESBURG — The battle for the throne of South Africa’s ethnic Zulu nation has reached the courts as a faction of the royal family seeks to dethrone the king after less than a year. The North Gauteng High Court in the capital Pretoria is hearing legal arguments this week in...
Man gets up to 5 years in prison for Bedford County crossbow death
A Northumberland County man has been sentenced in Bedford County court to spend 15 months to five years behind bars for fatally shooting another man with a crossbow in 2021. Alec Rhoads, 26, formerly of Mount Carmel, was sentenced last week after pleading no contest to one count of involuntary...
Long covid study links lingering virus with bowel-to-brain havoc
Covid may trigger complex biological reactions from the bowel to the brain, leading to persistent neurological symptoms in some people, according to a study that points the way toward a treatment. Viral vestiges in the gastrointestinal tracts of a subset of long-covidpatients may drive chronic inflammation that interferes with a...
Pennsylvania House tackles ‘bot’ problem that left Swifties ticketless for Eras Tour
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation that seeks to avoid the difficulty Taylor Swift fans encountered this year when they tried to buy tickets to her Eras Tour. By a vote of 193-10, the chamber sent to the Senate a bill that would make it illegal to...
Biden will travel to Israel amid concern that Israel-Hamas conflict could expand
TEL AVIV, Israel — President Joe Biden will travel to Jordan on Wednesday to meet with Arab leaders following his trip to Israel as concerns increase that the raging Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday evening that...
Settlement over Trump family separations at the border limits future separations for 8 years
SAN DIEGO — The federal government would be barred from immigration policies that separate parents from children for eight years under a proposed court settlement announced Monday that also provides families that were split under the Trump administration with temporary legal status and short-term housing aid. The settlement between the...
Penn State hires architect, construction managers for $700M renovation of Beaver Stadium
Penn State has awarded a contract for architectural work on its planned $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium to a firm versed in major sports construction projects, including on Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills stadium now being built. Monday’s announcements of hiring Populous to handle...
Pepper X marks the spot as South Carolina pepper expert scorches his own Guinness Book heat record
FORT MILL, S.C. — Ed Currie, the South Carolina hot pepper expert who crossbred and grew the Carolina Reaper that’s hotter than most pepper sprays police use to subdue unruly criminals, has broken his own world record with a pepper that’s three times hotter. Pepper X was publicly named the...
Blackthorne Investors files appeal against township’s vote on construction of new clubhouse
Blackthorne Investors is appealing a vote by Penn Township to deny construction of a new clubhouse in the Blackthorne Estates golf course community. The commissioners voted 4-1 on Aug. 16 against construction of a new facility, citing the possibility of increased traffic in a residential area near the proposed site....
GOP’s Jim Jordan shoring up support and peeling off detractors ahead of a House speaker vote
WASHINGTON — With a push by allies of Donald Trump, far-right firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan appeared Monday to be shoring up support to become U.S. House speaker, winning over reluctant Republicans who have few options left two weeks after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster. One by one, Jordan, the hard-charging Judiciary Committee...
Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford calls on autoworkers to end strike, says company’s future is at stake
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford on Monday called on autoworkers to come together to end a monthlong strike that he says could cost the company the ability to invest in the future. In a rare speech coming during contract talks in the company’s hometown of Dearborn,...
The Supreme Court orders makers of gun parts to comply with rules on ghost guns
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ordered two internet sellers of gun parts to comply with a Biden administration regulation aimed at ghost guns, firearms which are difficult to trace because they lack serial numbers. The court had intervened once before, by a 5-4 vote in August, to keep...
Proud Boys member pleads guilty to obstruction charge in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol
WASHINGTON — A Proud Boys member who joined others from the far-right group in attacking the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty on Monday to obstructing the joint session of Congress for certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. William Chrestman, 49, of Olathe, Kansas, also pleaded guilty to threatening to assault a...
LinkedIn cuts more than 600 workers, about 3% of workforce
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — LinkedIn said Monday it is laying off hundreds of employees amounting to about 3% of the social media company’s workforce. The Microsoft-owned career network is cutting about 668 roles across its engineering, product, talent and finance teams. “Talent changes are a difficult, but necessary and regular part...
