Pressure rises on Israel to pause fighting and ease siege as battles intensify near Gaza City
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops battling Hamas militants encircled Gaza City on Thursday, the military said, as the Palestinian death toll rose above 9,000. U.S. and Arab leaders raised pressure on Israel to ease its siege of Gaza and at least briefly halt its attacks in order to...
Republicans confront Tommy Tuberville over military holds in extraordinary showdown on Senate floorVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican senators angrily challenged Sen. Tommy Tuberville on his blockade of almost 400 military officers Wednesday evening, taking over the Senate floor for more than four hours to call for individual confirmation votes after a monthslong stalemate. Tuberville, R-Ala., stood and objected to each nominee — 61 times...
House rejects effort to censure Rashida Tlaib over the Palestinian-American’s rhetoric about Israel
WASHINGTON — The House late Wednesday rejected an effort to censure Democratic Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, scrapping a Republican attempt to condemn the only Palestinian-American in Congress over her recent rhetoric around the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. A measure to move forward with a censure resolution of Tlaib, a punishment one...
Florida judge indicates she may delay Trump trial on charges he hid classified documents at Mar-a-Lago
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida indicated Wednesday that she may delay the start of the classified documents trial of Donald Trump, pointing to the other criminal cases the former president is facing as well as the mounds of evidence his attorneys need to review. Trump’s trial...
3 students found stabbed inside Los Angeles high school, suspect remains at large
LOS ANGELES — Three students were found stabbed inside a Los Angeles high school Wednesday morning and the suspect remained on the loose, authorities said. The stabbings were reported shortly before 11 a.m. and prompted a lockdown at Van Nuys High School in the city’s San Fernando Valley, authorities said....
Report: NYC student homelessness reaches record high of 119,320 children
The number of homeless students in New York City public schools reached a record high last year, with roughly one in nine schoolchildren lacking a stable place to call home. A jaw-dropping 119,320 students slept in shelters or the overcrowded homes of friends and extended family — a 14% increase...
NYC student homelessness reaches record high of 119,320 children, report says
The number of homeless students in New York City public schools reached a record high last year, with roughly one in nine schoolchildren lacking a stable place to call home. A jaw-dropping 119,320 students slept in shelters or the overcrowded homes of friends and extended family — a 14% increase...
Cornell University student arrested for antisemitic death threats
A 21-year-old junior at Cornell University was arrested Tuesday for making online threats to Jewish students, federal authorities said. Patrick Dai was charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications after his disturbing messages put the Ithaca, N.Y., campus on high alert last weekend. Dai posted...
It’s time to buy health insurance through the marketplace. Experts suggest doing your research first
It’s time to pick health coverage for next year on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, and experts caution against focusing your choice on price alone. In order to prevent thousands of dollars in financial surprises, buyers should know what a plan covers, how it works and what costs you...
The mayors of five big cities seek a meeting with Biden about how to better manage arriving migrants
WASHINGTON — The mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York are pressing to meet with President Joe Biden about getting federal help in managing the surge of migrants they say are arriving in their cities with little to no coordination, support or resources from his administration. The...
Westmoreland County students tour Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, prepare for design challenge
Madison Labuda likes to learn how things work. When Mt. Pleasant Area High School’s gifted program announced an opportunity to tour Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity and participate in a design challenge, she could not pass it up. “To be here and tour (the airport) and learn how all...
House rejects effort to expel New York Rep. George Santos
WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos easily survived a vote Wednesday to expel him from the House as most Republicans and 31 Democrats opted to withhold punishment while both his criminal trial and a House Ethics Committee investigation proceed. The effort to kick Santos out of the House was led by...
Collapse of Kentucky plant being demolished at abandoned mine leaves 1 worker dead, another trapped
INEZ, Ky. — One man has died after he and a coworker were trapped beneath tons of concrete and steel when an 11-story building being demolished collapsed at an abandoned eastern Kentucky mine’s coal preparation plant. The building at Martin Mine Prep Plant in Martin County collapsed around 6:30 p.m....
Pennsylvania court permanently blocks effort to make power plants pay for greenhouse gas emissions
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania cannot enforce a regulation to make power plant owners pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, a state court ruled Wednesday, dealing another setback to the centerpiece of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight global warming. The Commonwealth Court last year temporarily blocked Pennsylvania from becoming...
Why was Maine shooter allowed to have guns? Questions swirl in wake of massacre
LEWISTON, Maine — A history of mental illness. An array of weapons. Numerous run-ins with police. But he was still able to own guns and commit the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history. One week later, many in Lewiston and nationwide are asking: Why did he have guns at all?...
Storied football rivalry in Maine takes on extra significance in wake of shooting
LEWISTON, Maine — The city of Lewiston takes another tentative step in its recovery from Maine’s worst mass shooting, as high school football returns Wednesday. Known as the “Battle of the Bridge,” the game features cross-river rivals Lewiston High School and Edward Little High School in Auburn. Friday’s game between...
Pa. bill to double security funding for nonprofits protecting hate crime victims passes House
State funding for nonprofits that serve vulnerable populations may double after a bill passed the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday. HB 1772 passed with the bipartisan support and backing from Pittsburgh-area lawmakers. It would increase total funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program from $5 million to $10 million. The grant...
Working the polls cleared up Jay Schneider’s 2020 suspicions. Now he’s taking charge as a judge of elections
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. In 2022, when the judge of elections at Jay Schneider’s township polling place asked him to...
Cleanup is done on a big Kansas oil spill on the Keystone system, the company and EPA sayVideo
TOPEKA, Kan. — The operator of the Keystone pipeline system has finished cleaning up a massive December 2022 oil spill, and the creek affected by it is flowing naturally again, the company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency say. Pipeline operator TC Energy promised to continue monitoring the site along...
First snow of season hits Western Pennsylvania
Snow hit parts of Western Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning. It began overnight on Halloween. Much of the snow was north of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in places such as Butler and Mercer counties, as well as Westmoreland County to the east. National Weather Service meteorologists had predicted an accumulation of...
Eric Trump testifies he wasn’t aware of dad’s financial statements, but emails show some involvement
NEW YORK — Eric Trump, one of two sons entrusted to run Donald Trump’s real estate empire, swore Thursday that he was never involved with or aware of financial statements that New York state lawyers say fraudulently puffed up the ex-president’s wealth and the worth of the family business. But...
With flowers, altars and candles, Mexicans are honoring deceased relatives on the Day of the Dead
SANTA MARÍA ATZOMPA, México — Ana Martínez is eager to welcome her deceased loved ones back home. Martínez and others in southern Mexico’s Oaxaca state wait with anticipation for Day of the Dead celebrations every Nov. 1, when families place homemade altars to honor their dearly departed and spend the...
U.S. infant mortality rate rose last year — CDC says it’s the largest increase in 2 decades
NEW YORK — The U.S. infant mortality rate rose 3% last year — the largest increase in two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. White and Native American infants, infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier had significant death rate increases. The CDC’s...
After weeks in besieged Gaza, some foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians are allowed to leave
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli ground troops have advanced to “the gates of Gaza City” in heavy fighting with militants, the military said Wednesday, as hundreds of foreign nationals and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza after more than three weeks under siege. The news came...
State House approves funding for Pitt, Penn State, 2 others — but with a stipulation the universities are balking at
The state House passed legislation Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans quickly hailed as progress toward ending a monthslong stalemate over this year’s appropriations to the University of Pittsburgh and other state-related institutions. But at least one potential glitch has developed — a big one. The House, where Democrats hold a...
