Trump silent on abortion as 2024 campaign pushes forward
DAVENPORT, Iowa — No elected Republican has done more to restrict abortion rights in the U.S. than Donald Trump. But in the early days of the 2024 presidential contest, no Republican has worked harder to avoid the issue than the former president. Far more than his GOP rivals, Trump is...
China’s Xi makes 1st Moscow visit as Putin wages Ukraine war
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for a three-day visit that shows off Beijing’s new swagger in world diplomatic affairs and offers a welcome political lift for Russian President Vladimir Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for him on war crimes charges related...
Central Pa. school board rejects ‘Addams Family’ musical
A Central Pennsylvania school board last week voted against allowing high school students to perform “The Addams Family” musical next year, according to WITF. School directors debated for about 30 minutes before the majority concluded that the musical promotes bad values and is inappropriate for families, the news outlet reported....
Opponents of Saturday deer opener cite negative economic, social impacts
A few years ago, Randy Santucci’s deer hunting season would begin at a leisurely pace once Thanksgiving was over. “People would start trickling into camp on Saturday, we’d do a campfire Saturday night, my brother would fly in from South Carolina with a bunch of dove breasts from hunting, and...
Slippery Rock’s incoming president says university is well-positioned for success
The woman poised to become Slippery Rock University’s next president said she passionately believes that education is fundamental to success in life. “It changes lives,” said Karen Riley, whose career in education has spanned nearly four decades. Currently the provost of Regis University in Denver, Riley, 60, began her career...
Source: Lawyer invited to testify before Trump grand jury
WASHINGTON — A lawyer who previously advised Michael Cohen, the key government witness in the hush money payment investigation into Donald Trump, has been invited to appear Monday before a Manhattan grand jury that is considering potential charges against the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter....
DA leading Trump case says rhetoric won’t intimidate office
NEW YORK — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is standing firm against Donald Trump’s increasingly hostile rhetoric, telling his staff that the office won’t be intimidated or deterred as it nears a decision on charging the former president. Bragg sent an internal memo late Saturday hours after Trump unleashed a...
5 Connecticut children, ages 8-17, dead after New York car crash
SCARSDALE, N.Y. — Five children from Connecticut, ranging in age from 8 to 17, were killed in a fiery early morning crash Sunday on a New York highway, police said. Police believe the vehicle was being driven by a 16-year-old boy when it veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway in...
Florida may ban girls’ period talk in elementary grades
TALLAHASSEE — Legislation moving in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics in elementary grades. The bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Stan McClain would restrict public school instruction on human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases and related topics to grades 6 through 12. McClain...
Miami Beach sets spring break curfew after 2 fatal shootingsVideo
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Miami Beach officials imposed a curfew beginning Sunday night during spring break as a result of two fatal shootings and rowdy, chaotic crowds that police have had difficulty controlling. The city said in a news release the curfew would be from 11:59 p.m. Sunday until 6...
Some Trump rivals rally to his side as possible charges loom
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Top Republicans, including some of Donald Trump’s potential rivals for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, rushed to his defense Saturday after Trump said he is bracing for possible arrest. “The idea of indicting a former president of the United States is deeply troubling to me as...
Higher cancer rates found in military pilots, ground crews
WASHINGTON — A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and for the first time has shown that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick. The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for...
How to shop for new insurance if you lose Medicaid coverage
Medicaid coverage will end for millions of Americans in the coming months, and it will push many into unfamiliar territory: the health insurance marketplace. States will start cutting people from the government-funded plans when they no longer qualify based on income, a process that has been paused since shortly after...
Millions of dead fish wash up amid heat wave in Australia
CANBERRA, Australia — Millions of fish have washed up dead in southeastern Australia in a die-off that authorities and scientists say is caused by depleted oxygen levels in the river after recent floods and hot weather. Residents of the Outback town of Menindee in New South Wales state complained of...
Mysterious streaks of light seen in the sky over California
Mysterious streaks of light were seen in the sky in the Sacramento area Friday night, shocking St. Patrick’s Day revelers who then posted videos on social media of the surprising sight. Jaime Hernandez was at the King Cong Brewing Company in Sacramento for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration when some...
North Korea launches missile into sea amid U.S. – South Korea drills
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The North’s continuation of missile tests showed its determination not to back...
Russia’s Putin makes surprise trip to occupied Mariupol
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the occupied port city of Mariupol, his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September and a show of defiance after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges. Putin arrived in Mariupol...
Supervisor in Tyre Nichols’ death retired before firing
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis police supervisor on scene when Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by officers retired the day before a hearing to fire him, according to documents filed to revoke his law enforcement certification. Lt. DeWayne Smith was identified Friday in records obtained by media outlets as...
Bank failures: Anger in Congress, but division on what to do
WASHINGTON — Bills were filed, hearings were planned and blame was cast as Congress reacted this past week to the abrupt failure of two banks. A look at what lawmakers are saying and planning as the fallout continues from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Quick legislative...
Pro-Moscow voices tried to steer Ohio train disaster debate
WASHINGTON — Soon after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in Ohio last month, anonymous pro-Russian accounts started spreading misleading claims and anti-American propaganda about it on Twitter, using Elon Musk’s new verification system to expand their reach while creating the illusion of credibility. The accounts, which parroted Kremlin...
Trump says he expects to be arrested, calls for protest
NEW YORK — Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that his arrest is imminent and issued an extraordinary call for his supporters to protest as a New York grand jury investigates hush money payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Even as Trump’s lawyer and spokesperson said...
Supreme Court honors legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose death ahead of the 2020 election led to a conservative shift on the Supreme Court, was remembered Friday during ceremonies at the high court as a legendary champion for women’s rights. Speaking just two days after what would have been the justice’s 90th...
‘I’M BACK!’: Trump returns to Facebook after reinstatement
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump has returned to Facebook after a more than two-year ban. “I’M BACK!” Trump posted on the site weeks after his personal account was reactivated. Trump, who is running his third campaign for the White House, also shared an old video clip in which...
EPA tells states not to block waste from Ohio derailment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered states to stop blocking contaminated waste from a fiery train derailment in Ohio from being sent to hazardous waste storage sites around the nation. A handful of politicians and states have sought to block shipments from East Palestine, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin...
Officials discussing security in case of Trump indictment
NEW YORK — Law enforcement officials in New York are making security preparations for the possibility that Donald Trump could be indicted in the coming weeks by a Manhattan grand jury and appear in a courtroom in an investigation examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with...