U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis censured at N.C. GOP convention for bipartisan work with Dems
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Delegates at the Republican convention in Greensboro voted Saturday to censure U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, the state party confirmed. The vote to censure the senior Republican senator from North Carolina took place on Saturday morning, ahead of speeches later in the day by former Vice President Mike...
Pa. Senate sends bill to House seeking DEP name change
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate voted along party lines to approve a bill proposing that a state agency drop “protection” from its moniker to become the Department of Environmental Services. For the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) name change to become official, Senate Bill 691 would need approval of both...
Heavy rains in northwest Pakistan leave 20 dead, 80 injured
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Heavy rains swept through Pakistan’s northwest on Saturday, causing several houses to collapse and leaving at least 20 people dead and 80 injured, authorities said. Rains and hail hit the Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, senior rescue officer Khateer Ahmed said, uprooting...
‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski found dead in prison cell
WASHINGTON — Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who retreated to a dingy shack in the Montana wilderness and ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died Saturday. He was 81. Branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI, Kaczynski died at the federal prison medical...
Police: Teen dead after 3 juveniles shot at New Castle playground
One of three three juveniles who were shot early Saturday morning at a playground in New Castle has died, according to authorities. The New Castle Police Department posted on its Facebook page that the shooting happened at Bollinger Playground “during a graduation celebration.” Police Chief Robert Salem confirmed to the...
Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in a federal court in Florida. But about a thousand miles away, part of Trump’s defense is well underway in a different venue — the halls of Congress, where Republicans have been...
Trump blasts federal indictment as ‘baseless’ at first events since charges were unsealed
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless” Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage and...
Man who told jurors he had ‘fun’ at the Capitol riot sentenced to 6 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A Virginia man who told his wife — and a federal jury — that he had “fun” at the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for attacking police as he stormed the building. Markus Maly’s prison sentence is significantly lower than the punishment...
Conneaut Lake Park owner wants to evict Hotel Conneaut operator
Conneaut Lake Park’s owner wants to oust the operator of its Hotel Conneaut for alleged lease violations. In a May 28 letter, Keldon Holdings LLC notified On the Lake Enterprises LLC to voluntarily vacate the Hotel Conneaut by June 12 or face formal eviction proceedings. Hotel Conneaut remains open and...
One of the 2 giant ducks in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflates
HONG KONG — One of the two giant inflatable ducks floating in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflated on Saturday, just a day after they were unveiled to revelers. Crowds of residents and tourists flocked in the scorching heat to the promenade near the government headquarters in Admiralty to snap photos...
5 killed in explosion at rocket and explosives factory in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey — An explosion at a rocket and explosives plant in Turkey caused a building to collapse on Saturday, killing all five workers inside, an official said. The explosion occurred at around 8:45 a.m. at the compound of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, on the outskirts of...
On doctor’s advice, Pope Francis to skip Sunday public blessing
ROME — Pope Francis, “wisely” following doctors’ advice, will skip Sunday’s customary public blessing to allow him to better heal after abdominal surgery earlier this week, his surgeon told reporters. Blood and imaging tests indicate that the 86-year-old pope’s recovery is proceeding in an “absolutely normal” manner, Sergio Alfieri, who...
Ex-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns as MP
Boris Johnson quit his seat in the U.K. Parliament, denouncing as a “kangaroo court” the panel of lawmakers investigating his behavior and attacking the policies of the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak. The former premier — who blames Sunak for the role he played in his own downfall last year...
Former Penn State student sentenced to prison for strangling a woman in residence hall
A former Penn State undergraduate who assaulted a fellow student was sentenced Friday to a minimum of five years in state prison on a charge of felony strangulation. Preston J. Brindle, 19, of Chester County also received a consecutive five years for a first degree misdemeanor for unlawful restraint and...
UN peacekeeper killed, 8 seriously injured in northern Mali attack
UNITED NATIONS — Attackers killed one U.N. peacekeeper and seriously injured eight others Friday in Mali’s northern Timbuktu region, an area where extremists continue to operate, the United Nations said. The peacekeepers, all from Burkina Faso, were part of a security patrol that was targeted first by an improvised explosive...
4 kids lost in the jungle for 40 days after plane crash found alive in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday that authorities found alive four children who survived a small plane crash 40 days ago and had been the subject of an intense search in the Amazon jungle that held Colombians on edge. The children were alone when searchers found them...
Pa. Turnpike to gradually eliminate paper towels at all 17 of its service plazas
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has a plan to become America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040. “Protecting the environment through sustainability has been a guiding principle,” Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said in a news release in April. As part of that plan, the turnpike plans to convert...
Beware of fake rental listing scams, Pa. Attorney General says
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office is warning of a growing number of scams in which fraudsters alter rental property listings to get personal information and money from their victims. In a warning issued this week, PA Attorney General Michelle Henry said that scammers are taking legitimate real estate listings but...
Judge in FTX bankruptcy rejects media challenge, says customer names can remain secret
DOVER, Del. — The names of individual customers of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading can be permanently shielded from public disclosure, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Friday. Following a two-day hearing, Judge John Dorsey rejected arguments from lawyers for several media outlets and for the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, which serves...
DeSantis faces balancing act in backing Trump, experts say
ORLANDO, Fla. — Given the chance to pounce, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is instead backing his rival Donald Trump, accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of partisan bias in charging the former president. For political analysts, DeSantis’ unwillingness to attack Trump over his legal problems showcases the influence Trump retains...
Backlash prompts Bishop Zubik to cancel Mass planned in solidarity with LGBTQ+ community
A Sunday Mass at Duquesne University’s chapel that had been planned in solidarity with LGBTQ+ Catholics was canceled at the request of Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik because of an angry backlash including threats, officials confirmed Friday. The Mass on the Catholic campus was arranged by Catholics for Change in...
Trump case assigned to judge who faced criticism over her ruling in his favor in Mar-a-Lago search
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The historic federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump has been assigned to a judge he appointed who faced blistering criticism over her decision to grant his request for an independent arbiter to review documents obtained during an FBI search of his Florida estate. A...
Donald Trump stored, showed off and refused to return classified documents, indictment says
MIAMI — Donald Trump improperly stored in his Florida estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map, according to a sweeping felony indictment that paints a damning...
Trump faces unprecedented legal peril, but will it hurt his standing with Republican voters?
DES MOINES, Iowa — In March, when Donald Trump became the first former president in U.S. history indicted on criminal charges, his reelection campaign saw a huge surge in donations. Even political rivals rushed to support him. There was no dent in his front-runner status after the state charges in...
Chief suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance pleads not guilty to extortion charges
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing teen’s mother. Van der Sloot was extradited to the United States on Thursday from Peru, where he...
