Millions struggle to pay AC bills in heat waves. Federal aid reaches only a fraction
DENVER — Bobbie Boyd is in a losing battle against near triple-digit temperatures in northwest Arkansas. Her window air conditioner runs nonstop and the ballooning electric bill carves about $240 out of her $882-a-month fixed income. So the 57-year-old cuts other necessities. Boyd eats one meal a day so her...
The end-call button on your iPhone could move soon. What to know about Apple’s iOS 17 change
NEW YORK — Hanging up that phone call? The location of Apple’s red end-call button is set to slightly move with upcoming iOS 17 updates to the phone app, so be wary of your thumb’s muscle memory. As iPhone users know, the “End” button currently sits prominently away from other...
Singer and songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, subject of ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ documentary, dies at 81
DETROIT — Sixto Rodriguez, who lived in obscurity as his music career flamed out early in the U.S. only to find success in South Africa and a stardom he was unaware of, died Tuesday in Detroit. He was 81. Rodriguez’s legacy would take off back home after the singer and...
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, falls at home and goes to hospital, but scans are clear
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress, fell in her home and went to a hospital, her office said on Wednesday. The 90-year-old California Democrat, who has faced mounting concerns about her health and her ability to perform the duties of a senator, “briefly went to...
High ocean temps are harming the Florida coral reefVideo
LAYTON, Fla. — Steps away from the warming waters of Florida Bay, marine biologist Emily Becker removed covers from the dozens of water-filled tanks under her watchful eye. Nestled in seawater carefully maintained at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) lay hundreds of pieces of coral — some a...
Kidnappers in Haiti release American nurse, her young daughter nearly 2 weeks after their abduction
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Kidnappers in Haiti released a U.S. nurse and her daughter Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they were snatched at gunpoint from the campus of a Christian-run school near Port-au-Prince, underscoring the severe security risks for visitors to a capital city largely controlled by gangs. The July 27...
Donald Trump wants his election subversion trial moved out of Washington, but it won’t be easy
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and his legal team face long odds in their bid to move his 2020 election conspiracy trial out of Washington, arguing the Republican can’t possibly get a fair trial in the overwhelmingly Democratic nation’s capital. Criminal defendants routinely try to have their cases moved to increase...
Wild mushrooms suspected of killing 3 who ate a family lunch together in Australia
SYDNEY — Australian police on Wednesday were trying to figure out how three people died and a fourth became critically ill after apparently eating wild mushrooms at a family lunch. Homicide detectives have been investigating the case. Police have interviewed the woman who they say cooked the meal at her...
Harris says new rule means ‘thousands of dollars’ for workers on federal construction projects
PHILADELPHIA — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced changes to labor rules that could give higher wages to construction workers on federal projects. In a speech in Philadelphia, Harris said the Labor Department has provided the first update in decades to the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, a law that...
Mega Millions player in Florida wins $1.58 billion jackpot, the third largest prize in U.S. history
Someone in Florida won a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night, ending a stretch of lottery futility that had stretched for nearly four months. A Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach sold the winning ticket, according to the Florida Lottery. The winning numbers drawn were: 13 19 20 32...
Hardware, electrical stores adapt to federal light bulb legislation
Jim Zink is not sure what to do with his remaining stock of incandescent light bulbs. Federal rules that took effect Aug. 1 prohibit the sale of most bulbs patented over a century ago by Thomas Edison. Now, Zink — owner of Hummell Brothers lighting store in Jeannette — is...
Voters in Ohio reject GOP-backed proposal that would have made it tougher to protect abortion rights
COLUMBUS — Ohio voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution, setting up a campaign this fall that will become the nation’s latest referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide protections last year. The...
Riverfront brawl brings unwelcome attention to historic civil rights city in AlabamaVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Three white boaters in Alabama’s capital city will be charged with misdemeanor assault for a riverfront brawl with a Black boat captain that drew nationwide attention, with more charges likely to come, police said. Videos of the incident, which circulated widely on social media, have proven crucial...
In Penn Hills visit, Shapiro announces Universal Free Breakfast Program for Pa. public school students
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Penn Hills Elementary School on Tuesday to announce a new program to provide universal free breakfast to all public school students in Pennsylvania. The free-breakfast program was part of a $567 million increase in education funding for the state’s public school districts in the recently signed...
Eastern U.S. cleans up after deadly storms as New England braces for floodingVideo
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Crews across the eastern part of the nation worked Tuesday to clear downed trees and powerlines and restore electricity following severe storms that killed at least two people, cut power to more than a million customers at their peak, and forced thousands of flight delays and...
DeSantis replaces campaign manager as he resets faltering 2024 presidential bid
NEW YORK — Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is replacing his campaign manager as the Florida governor resets his sluggish presidential campaign. DeSantis is bringing on James Uthmeier, his chief of staff from his state office, to serve as his campaign manager, replacing Generra Peck, who led DeSantis’ reelection campaign...
Rudy Giuliani, under fire on multiple fronts, puts NYC apartment on market for $6.5 million
NEW YORK — Former mayor Rudy Giuliani has put his luxury apartment on the Upper East Side up for sale amid mounting legal woes, it emerged Tuesday — over two years after it was famously raided by the FBI. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom co-op apartment in the landmarked 45 East 66th...
Once Colombia’s most-wanted drug lord, kingpin known as Otoniel gets 45 years in U.S. prison
NEW YORK — For years, the man known as Otoniel was seen as one of the world’s most dangerous drug lords, the elusive boss of a cartel and paramilitary group with a blood-drenched grip on much of northern Colombia. On Tuesday, Dairo Antonio Úsuga was sentenced to 45 years in...
Judge blocks Colorado law raising age to buy a gun to 21
DENVER — A federal judge has blocked Colorado from enforcing a new law raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer issued a preliminary injunction Monday following a legal challenge by a gun rights group. In a ruling that frequently referenced a...
U.S. covid-19 hospitalizations rising again, but not like before
Here we go again: Covid-19 hospital admissions have inched upward in the United States since early July in a small-scale echo of the three previous summers. With an updated vaccine still months away, this summer bump in new hospitalizations might be concerning, but the number of patients is far lower...
New Aldi store to open next month in Hempfield
The new Aldi store in Hempfield Plaza is expected to open in September. The store is taking over a former Staples location at 6207 Route 30 in Hempfield. The office supply retailer closed March 10. “We are excited to provide local shoppers a revamped and refreshed Aldi store designed to...
Supreme Court reinstates regulation of ghost guns
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is reinstating a regulation aimed at reining in the proliferation of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers that have been turning up at crime scenes across the nation in increasing numbers. The court on Tuesday voted 5-4 to put on hold a ruling from a...
Pence says he’s now met polling, donor qualifications for 1st Republican debate
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former Vice President Mike Pence announced Tuesday he has qualified for the first Republican debate of the 2024 presidential cycle, securing the required number of donors with just two weeks until candidates gather in Milwaukee. According to his campaign, Pence has amassed 40,000 unique donors, checking off...
Biden makes Grand Canyon monument designation, citing Arizona tribal heritage, climate concernsVideo
TUSAYAN, Ariz. — Declaring it good “not only for Arizona but for the planet,” President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a national monument designation for the greater Grand Canyon, turning the decades-long visions of Native American tribes and environmentalists into reality. Coming as Biden is on a three-state Western trip,...
Soaring sales of diabetes drug Mounjaro, widely used for weight loss, sends Eli Lilly to new heights
INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly’s diabetes treatment Mounjaro, which is widely used for weight loss, raked in nearly $1 billion in second-quarter sales, or more than $200 million above what Wall Street had expected. Shares of the drugmaker soared 17% to an all-time-high Tuesday after Lilly said Mounjaro sales swelled more...
