Weekend weather could make partial eclipse tough to watch in Western Pa.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania professor Kenneth Coles had only one word to sum up the forecast for Saturday’s partial eclipse: dismal. “Clouds and rain is what they’re calling for right now,” Coles said. “But if we get a hole in the clouds — and we’re always hopeless optimists about that...
Man admits stealing ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers from museum in 2005, but details remain mystery
MINNEAPOLIS — A man charged in the museum heist of a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in the “The Wizard of Oz” pleaded guilty Friday in a deal that could keep him out of prison due to his failing health, but only cleared up some of the...
Ford recalls over 238,000 Explorers to replace axle bolts that can fail after U.S. opens investigation
DETROIT — Ford is recalling more than 238,000 Explorers in the U.S. because a rear axle bolt can fail, potentially causing a loss of drive power or allowing the SUVs to roll away while in park. The recall comes after U.S. safety regulators opened an investigation into the problem after...
Teacher dies, 2 wounded in stabbing in France; antiterror police investigating
PARIS — A man armed with a knife killed a teacher at the high school in northern France he once attended and critically wounded another teacher and a security guard Friday, authorities said, an attack being investigated as potential terrorism amid soaring global tensions over the war between Israel and...
7 killed, 16 injured as a van overloaded with migrants crashes in southern Germany
BERLIN — A van packed with migrants crashed at a highway junction in southern Germany on Friday after the driver accelerated to avoid a police check, killing seven people and injuring 16, authorities said. A police patrol noticed the overloaded vehicle on the A94 highway east of Munich at about...
Biden is talking about green energy and jobs in Pennsylvania again. Will his message break through?
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is returning to Pennsylvania to use the critical battleground state again as a backdrop for some of his favorite political themes, championing steep increases in public works spending and detailing how bolstering green energy can spur U.S. manufacturing. This time, he’ll be in Philadelphia to...
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...
