Some want to grant temporary House speaker more power as Republican gridlock stalls Congress
WASHINGTON — When Rep. Patrick McHenry took the House speaker’s gavel for the first time, he slammed it down with such force at adjournment that it gained viral internet attention as the defining image of a House in turmoil. But since his abrupt appointment as speaker pro tempore last week...
Palestinians flee northern Gaza after Israel orders 1 million to evacuate as ground attack looms
JERUSALEM — Palestinians fled in a mass exodus Friday from northern Gaza after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate to the southern part of the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground invasion in retaliation for the surprise attack by the ruling Hamas militant group nearly a...
Shooting at Philadelphia airport garage kills 1 police officer and wounds another
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed and a second officer was wounded when they confronted people breaking into a car at Philadelphia International Airport, police said. A person who was brought to a hospital privately and died there may have been involved in the Thursday night...
GOP’s Steve Scalise ends his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win gavelVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win the gavel. Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door meeting late Thursday of his decision. Next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while Republicans try to...
1 officer convicted, 1 acquitted in death of Elijah McClain
BRIGHTON, Colo. — Jurors convicted a Denver-area police officer Thursday and acquitted another of charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became a rallying cry in protests over racial injustice in policing. Aurora police officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide...
Pennsylvania counties tell governor, lawmakers it’s too late to move 2024’s primary election date
HARRISBURG — Counties in Pennsylvania have told Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers that it is too late to move up the state’s 2024 presidential primary date if counties are to successfully administer the election. In a letter, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said there is no longer enough...
U.S., Qatar agree to prevent disbursal of recently unfrozen Iranian funds as Israel-Hamas war ragesVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Qatar have reached an agreement that the Qataris will not act on any request from Tehran for the time being to access $6 billion in Iranian funds that were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap last month, a U.S. official said Thursday. The move,...
Florida judge scolds prosecutors as she delays hearing for co-defendant in Trump classified documents case
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A judge on Thursday scolded federal prosecutors in the classified documents case against Donald Trump as she postponed a hearing to determine if the lawyer for one of the former president’s co-defendants had a conflict of interest. U.S District Judge Aileen Cannon admonished prosecutors for “wasting...
Man arrested after 5 drug task force officers were shot and wounded in MinnesotaVideo
PRINCETON, Minn. — Five drug task force officers were shot and wounded Thursday while serving a search warrant near the Minnesota city of Princeton and a suspect was arrested, authorities said. Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said at a news conference that the officers announced their arrival at the suspect’s...
Redistricting case has historic connection to South Carolina campaign
In the 19th Century, Black Civil War hero Robert Smalls of South Carolina lost reelection to the House after the state legislature redrew his district to dilute the voting power of Black citizens. Now, nearly 150 years later, his great-great-grandson, Michael B. Moore, is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge...
Wisconsin Republican leader won’t back down from impeachment threat against Supreme Court justice
MADISON, Wis. — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly refused to back down Thursday from possibly impeaching a newly elected liberal state Supreme Court justice over her refusal to step aside in a redistricting case, even after two former conservative justices advised him against the unprecedented move. Assembly Speaker Robin...
PennWest interim president says new university has hit ‘enrollment floor,’ will rebound
PennWest University charges the same tuition and recruits heavily from the same region as fellow state-owned institutions Slippery Rock University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, yet PennWest’s enrollment plunged again while its two peers have grown. In an interview with the Tribune-Review, PennWest leaders, including interim President R. Lorraine “Laurie”...
A new indictment charges Sen. Menendez with being an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors have rewritten their indictment against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife to charge them with conspiring to have him act as an agent of Egypt and Egyptian officials. The superseding indictment, filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, accuses Menendez of...
Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024 as inflation moderates
WASHINGTON — Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, far less than this year’s historic boost and reflecting moderating consumer prices. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, means the average recipient will receive more than $50 more every month beginning in January, the...
Trump’s criticism of Israel’s Netanyahu draws strong condemnation from GOP rivals
MIAMI — Several of former President Donald Trump ‘s Republican rivals denounced him on Thursday for lashing out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days after Hamas’ deadly attack, a rare moment in which multiple competitors directly criticized the GOP front-runner. Trump at a rally Wednesday night said Netanyahu “let...
25 years after Matthew Shepard’s death, LGBTQ+ activists say equal-rights progress is at risk
It’s been 25 years since Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, died six days after he was savagely beaten by two young men and tied to a remote fence to meet his fate. His death has been memorialized as an egregious hate crime that helped fuel the...
Israel orders the evacuation of 1.1 million people from northern part of Gaza, the U.N. says
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military on Friday directed the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 people — about half of the territory’s population — within 24 hours, a U.N. spokesman said. This could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military has not yet confirmed...
U.S. jobless claims remain at historically low 209,000, a sign of continuing labor market strength
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at historically low levels in another sign that the U.S. job market remains strong in the face of higher interest rates. Unemployment claims stayed at 209,000 for the week ending Oct. 7, the Labor Department...
Syria says Israeli airstrikes hit airports in Damascus and Aleppo, damaging their runways
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes on Thursday hit the international airports of the Syrian capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways and putting them out of service. State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying that no one...
Nominated to be House speaker, Steve Scalise is left searching for GOP votes to win the gavel
WASHINGTON — Having won the nomination to be the next House speaker, Rep. Steve Scalise is heading straight into a familiar Republican problem — skeptical GOP colleagues are reluctant to give their support, denying him the majority vote needed to win the gavel. On Thursday, the House will open at...
$1.73 billion Powerball jackpot goes to lucky lottery player in California
ST. LOUIS — A player in California won a $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot Wednesday night, ending a long stretch without a winner of the top prize. The winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball 10. Before someone won the giant prize, there had been 35 consecutive...
Westmoreland, Allegheny emergency units practice hazard response with Norfolk Southern’s ‘safety train’
More than 100 Westmoreland and Allegheny County first responders spread across the Norfolk Southern train yard in North Versailles for a safety training Wednesday night. Members of the counties’ emergency response and hazmat units, wearing neon vests and jackets, surrounded Norfolk Southern’s “safety train,” a nine-part train used to simulate...
Social media is awash in misinformation about Israel-Gaza war, but Elon Musk’s X is the most egregious
While Twitter has always struggled with combating misinformation about major news events, it was still the go-to place to find out what’s happening in the world. But the Israel-Hamas war has underscored how the platform now transformed into X has become not only unreliable but is actively promoting falsehoods. Experts...
Late schoolteacher with affinity for W&J College gives record $50 million gift
Anica Donnan Rawnsley taught school as a young adult, and while she never attended Washington & Jefferson College, she developed an affinity for the place early on through family members who enrolled there and graduated. Now, months after her passing, she has made gift of approximately $50 million to W&J...
Biden says the FTC’s proposed ban on junk fees will help families and ‘honest’ businesses
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a proposed rule by the Federal Trade Commission to ban any hidden and bogus junk fees, which can mask the total cost of concert tickets, hotel rooms and utility bills. Biden has made the removal of these fees a priority of his...
