EU set to move ahead on Ukraine membership bid with conditions
The European Union’s executive arm will meet later Tuesday to finalize a decision on whether to recommend formally opening Ukraine’s membership talks, with expectations of a positive outcome for Kyiv but with conditions attached. The European Commission will likely recommend that member states open formal negotiations upon the completion of...
NATO freezes a Cold War-era security pact after Russia pulls out, raising questions on arms control
BRUSSELS — NATO member countries that signed a key Cold War-era security treaty froze their participation in the pact on Tuesday just hours after Russia pulled out, raising fresh questions about the future of arms control agreements in Europe. Many of NATO’s 31 allies are parties to the Treaty of...
Gov. Shapiro signs bill repealing ban on religious garb worn by teachers
Public school teachers in Pennsylvania will soon be allowed to wear jewelry or clothing bearing a religious emblem or symbol while on the job. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill Monday that repeals a section of the state’s school code from 1949 that penalized a teacher for such religious displays...
Ex-Philadelphia labor leader on trial on federal charges of embezzling from union
PHILADELPHIA — Longtime former Philadelphia labor leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty is on trial on embezzlement charges, accused of having stolen from the union he led for nearly three decades. Dougherty and others are accused of having embezzled more than $650,000 from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical...
House GOP prepares stopgap bill to avert Nov. 18 shutdown
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are preparing a temporary spending bill to avert a Nov. 18 government shutdown and could vote on it this week, lawmakers said after leaving a meeting with newly installed Speaker Mike Johnson. One option would create two new “funding cliff” dates of Dec. 7 and Jan....
‘Mom, there’s a fire!’: Point Park student makes frantic call when scooter catches fire in off-campus apartment
There are phone calls home to mom that college students never want to make. And then there’s the one placed early Saturday by Point Park University sophomore Aidan McFarlane, 19, barefoot, barely awake and frantic, as he realized his battery-powered electric scooter was ablaze in his studio apartment. Billowing smoke...
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sued by book publisher for breach of contract
NEW YORK — Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is being sued by his publisher for contradicting his book’s claim about the 2020 election. All Seasons Press alleges that sworn testimony by Meadows undermined “The Chief’s Chief,” in which he wrote that the election was stolen from former...
2nd police officer acquitted in death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neck hold, given ketamine
BRIGHTON, Colo. — A second Denver-area police officer was acquitted Monday in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neck hold and injected with ketamine after being stopped by police as he walked home from a convenience store. The jury found Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard not...
Carnegie Mellon receives $25M gift for computational biology from trustee and wife
Carnegie Mellon University has received a $25 million gift from longtime Trustee Ray Lane and his wife, Stephanie, to support the institution’s Computational Biology Department. Carnegie Mellon President Farnam Jahanian announced the gift in a note to campus Monday afternoon. He called it a “monumental investment” in an expanding area...
Trump has edge in Pa. polling a year from election, but a Trump conviction would boost Biden
With the 2024 presidential election a year away, a poll of battleground states shows former President Donald Trump with a lead over President Joe Biden in Pennsylvania in a potential rematch of 2020, though Trump’s legal trials could have an effect on the race. Trump has a 4 percentage point...
Broadcast, audio companies will be eligible for Pulitzer Prizes, for work on digital sites
NEW YORK — The Pulitzer Prizes, considered the premier award for print journalists, are opening eligibility to broadcast and audio companies that also offer digital news sites. But the work these companies can submit for prize consideration must primarily be written journalism, the Columbia University-based Pulitzer Prize Board said on...
Hezbollah and Hamas’ military wings in Lebanon exchange fire with Israel; tension rises along border
RMEISH, Lebanon — The military wing of Palestinian group Hamas said Monday it fired rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, triggering Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese side of the border. The Qassam Brigades said in a statement its militants fired 16 rockets on the town of Nahariya and the southern...
Don’t put that rhinestone emblem on your car’s steering wheel, U.S. regulators say
NEW YORK — U.S. regulators are warning drivers to steer clear of aftermarket decals used to embellish a car’s logo on the center of its steering wheel. Such metal or plastic emblems — which are typically adorned with rhinestones or other decorations and attached to the steering wheel with an...
‘Amtrak Joe’ Biden visits Delaware to promote $16 billion for passenger rail projects
BEAR, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden, arguably the nation’s biggest Amtrak fan, visited a train maintenance shop in his home state of Delaware on Monday to showcase more than $16 billion in federal investments for rail travel along the busy Northeast Corridor, saying of long-delayed improvements, “we’re finally getting...
Can a Floridian win the presidency? It hasn’t happened yet as Trump and DeSantis vie to be 1st
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida governor wins reelection by record numbers and later finds himself running as a party conservative in a crowded presidential primary. In New Hampshire, he tip-toes around the explosive abortion rights issue, discusses ongoing Israeli military operations, promises he’ll secure the Mexican border and warns that...
Abortion debate has dominated this election year. Here are Tuesday’s races to watch
WASHINGTON — The most-watched races in Tuesday’s off-year general election have all been dominated by the ongoing debate over abortion rights. From a reelection bid for governor in Kentucky to a statewide ballot measure in Ohio to state legislative elections in Virginia, access to abortion has been a frequent topic...
Father of July 4th parade shooting suspect pleads guilty to misdemeanors linked to son’s gun license
WAUKEGAN, Ill. — The father of a man charged in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors Monday in a case that centered on how his son obtained a gun license. Robert Crimo Jr. entered the plea as his trial was about...
Blinken wraps up frantic Mideast tour with tepid, if any, support for pauses in Gaza fighting
ANKARA, Turkey — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a grueling Middle East diplomatic tour on Monday in Turkey after only limited success in efforts to forge a regional consensus on how best to ease civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel intensifies its war against Hamas. In the...
U.S. senators seek answers from Army after reservist killed 18 in Maine
LEWISTON, Maine — Two senators from Maine asked the U.S. Army inspector general on Monday to provide a full accounting of interactions with a reservist before he killed 18 people and injured 13 others in the deadliest shooting in the state’s history. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus...
Why 1 survivor of domestic violence wants the Supreme Court to uphold a gun control law
WASHINGTON — Ruth Glenn knows from harrowing personal experience the danger of putting a gun in the hands of a violent spouse or partner, the issue at the heart of a case before the Supreme Court. On a beautiful June evening in 1992, Glenn was shot three times, twice in...
Mind-altering ketamine becomes new pain treatment, despite little research or regulation
WASHINGTON — As U.S. doctors scale back their use of opioid painkillers, a new option for hard-to-treat pain is taking root: ketamine, the decades-old surgical drug that is now a trendy psychedelic therapy. Prescriptions for ketamine have soared in recent years, driven by for-profit clinics and telehealth services offering the...
Trump lashes out from the witness stand at judge, NY attorney general as he testifies in fraud trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump vigorously defended his wealth and business on Monday, tangling from the witness stand with the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial and denouncing as a “political witch hunt” a lawsuit accusing him of dramatically inflating his net worth. Trump’s long-awaited testimony about property...
Climate activists smash glass protecting Velazquez’s Venus painting in London’s National Gallery
LONDON — Two climate change protesters smashed a protective glass panel covering a famous Diego Velázquez oil painting at London’s National Gallery, the group Just Stop Oil said Monday. The two activists targeted Velázquez’s “The Toilet of Venus,” also known as “The Rokeby Venus,” with small hammers. Photos showed the...
Israeli forces cut off north Gaza as Palestinian death toll from monthlong war passes 10,000
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory and pounded it with intense airstrikes overnight into Monday, setting the stage for an expected push into the dense confines of Gaza City and an even bloodier phase of the month-old war. Already,...
Election HQ: Western Pennsylvania voter guide to 2023 general election
General election day in Pennsylvania is Tuesday, Nov. 7. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote. The state has an online tool to let voters find their polling place by entering their address here. For more...
