Prosecutors reveal a reason for Capitol rioter’s secretive sentencing: His government cooperation
A Pennsylvania man’s guilty plea and prison sentence for attacking police during the U.S. Capitol riot has remained under seal for months, but a court filing on Monday reveals a reason for the unusual secrecy: He cooperated with federal authorities after the Jan, 2021, siege. Prosecutors want to keep certain...
Pa. court says state-owned universities violated pact by cutting faculty without discussion beforehand
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court has issued a split opinion in a case with implications for faculty cuts imposed at 10 state-owned universities since 2021 and any future professor layoffs. In an opinion that partly affirmed an arbitrator’s earlier decision, the court said Friday that the State System of Higher Education failed...
Grizzly bear attack leaves 2 people dead in western Canada; park rangers kill the bear
CALGARY, Alberta — An attack by a grizzly bear has left two people dead in a national park in western Canada, and the bear was later killed by park rangers, officials said. The attack took place Friday in Banff National Park in Alberta Province. The Parks Canada agency received an...
Chicago woman, 104, skydives from plane, aiming for record as the world’s oldest skydiverVideo
OTTAWA, Ill. — A 104-year-old Chicago woman is hoping to be certified as the oldest person to ever skydive after making a tandem jump Sunday and landing 13,500 feet (4,100 meters) later at a northern Illinois airport. “Age is just a number,” Dorothy Hoffner told a cheering crowd moments after...
Forced kiss claim leads to ‘helplessness’ for accuser who turned to Olympics abuse-fighting agency
DENVER — When Kirsten Hawkes, a one-time elite fencer, reached out to her childhood coach for advice about starting her own fencing club, their meeting turned awkward right away. It began, she said, with an unwanted kiss on the lips when the two met at a bar during a fencing...
U.S. health officials propose using cheap antibiotic as ‘morning-after pill’ against STDs
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a morning-after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to try to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases. The proposed CDC guideline was released Monday, and officials will move to finalize it after a 45-day...
UAW union reaches a tentative contract agreement with Mack Trucks
The United Auto Workers union has reached a tentative contract agreement with Mack Trucks that covers about 4,000 workers in three states. Mack Trucks confirmed a tentative agreement on a five-year contract early Monday after the UAW announced the deal just before midnight Sunday. “The terms of this tentative agreement...
Nobel in medicine goes to 2 UPenn scientists whose work enabled creation of mRNA vaccines against covid-19
STOCKHOLM — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the development of mRNA vaccines against covid-19 and could be used in the future to create other shots. Katalin Karikó, a professor at Sagan’s University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University...
Trump seethes through the start of trial in New York lawsuit accusing him of lying about his wealth
NEW YORK — Aggrieved and defiant, former President Donald Trump spent a day in court Monday for the sometimes testy start of a trial in a fraud lawsuit that could cost him control of Trump Tower and other prized properties. “Disgraceful trial,” he declared during a lunch break, after listening...
Few Americans say conservatives can speak freely on college campuses, poll shows
WASHINGTON — Americans view college campuses as far friendlier to liberals than to conservatives when it comes to free speech, with adults across the political spectrum seeing less tolerance for those on the right, according to a new poll. Overall, 47% of adults say liberals have “a lot” of freedom...
California governor to name Laphonza Butler, former Kamala Harris adviser, to Feinstein Senate seat
LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom will name Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a spokesman in his office said Sunday. In choosing Butler, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to...
Attorney General Garland says in interview he’d resign if Biden asked him to take action on TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview that aired Sunday that he would resign if asked by President Joe Biden to take action against Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. But he doesn’t think he’ll be put in that position. “I am sure that that will not happen,...
Trump aims to lock down supporters in Iowa counties that he flipped from Democrats in 2016
OTTUMWA, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump will be in southeast Iowa on Sunday in the middle of a fall campaign push aimed at locking in supporters with large organizing events. As he has with his other recent travels to the leadoff caucus state, Trump will campaign in an area...
Matt Gaetz says he will seek to oust McCarthy as speaker this week. ‘Bring it on,’ McCarthy saysVideo
WASHINGTON — Rep. Matt Gaetz said Sunday he will try to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, from his leadership position this week after McCarthy relied on Democratic support to pass legislation that avoided a government shutdown. “Bring it on,” McCarthy responded. Gaetz, a longtime McCarthy nemesis, said...
Federal student loan payments are starting again. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK — Federal student loan borrowers will need to start making payments again this month after a three-year-plus pause due to the pandemic. You should expect a bill that lays out how much you have to pay each month at least 21 days before your due date. It’s likely...
Pennsylvania governor’s voter registration change draws Trump’s ire in echo of 2020 election clashes
HARRISBURG — Donald Trump has a familiar target in his sights: Pennsylvania’s voting rules. He never stopped attacking court decisions on mail-in ballots during the covid-19 pandemic, falsely claiming it as a reason for his 2020 loss in the crucial battleground state. Now, the former Republican president is seizing on...
Jimmy Carter turns 99 at home with Rosalynn, family
ATLANTA — Jimmy Carter has always been a man of discipline and habit. But the former president broke routine Sunday, putting off his practice of quietly watching church services online to instead celebrate his 99th birthday with his wife, Rosalynn, and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Plains. The gathering...
$1.04 billion Powerball jackpot tempts players to brave long odds
DES MOINES, Iowa — An estimated $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot will be up for grabs Monday night, tempting players to spend a couple dollars on a long shot at instant riches. The prize is the world’s ninth-largest lottery prize behind earlier drawings of Powerball and Mega Millions, the other nearly...
Does the 2010s stink bug invasion hold any spotted lanternfly lessons?
Tracy Leskey remembers when the brown marmorated stink bug became “explosively invasive” in the early 2010s. “We had significant crop losses, some homeowners had thousands trying to overwinter in their houses,” said Leskey, a research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Appalachian Fruit Research Station in West Virginia. Leskey...
Government shutdown averted with little time to spare as Biden signs funding before midnight
WASHINGTON — The threat of a federal government shutdown suddenly lifted late Saturday as President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open with little time to spare after Congress rushed to approve the bipartisan deal. The package drops aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed...
Donald Trump’s rivals search for paths to stop him as he blazes his own trail
DES MOINES, Iowa — Having stood out in two presidential debates, Nikki Haley has booked her largest venue in Iowa since launching her campaign. She’s hoping to fill a 600-person hall in a western Des Moines suburb on Saturday. That would be a huge number for most of her rivals....
On the brink of a federal shutdown, House passes a 45-day funding plan and sends it to Senate
WASHINGTON — On the brink of a federal government shutdown, the House on Saturday swiftly approved a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open as Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate. The...
The Flying Scotsman locomotive collided with another train in Scotland. Several people were injured
LONDON — Several people were injured after the Flying Scotsman, the historic steam locomotive that’s celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, was involved in a low-speed crash with another heritage train in the Scottish Highlands on Friday, authorities said. The National Railway Museum said the “shunting incident” took place at...
Pope Francis creates 21 new cardinals who will help him to reform the church and cement his legacy
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals at a ritual-filled ceremony Saturday, including key figures at the Vatican and in the field who will help enact his reforms and cement his legacy as he enters a crucial new phase in running the Catholic Church. On a crisp sunny...
Putin marks anniversary of annexation of Ukrainian regions as drones attack overnight
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday insisted that the residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed a year ago “made their choice — to be with their Fatherland.” In an address released in the early hours to mark the first anniversary of the annexation, Putin...
