1st missile strike at aerial object over Lake Huron missed
BRUSSELS — The first U.S. missile fired at an unidentified aerial object over Lake Huron missed the target and “landed harmlessly” in the water before a second one successfully hit, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. The acknowledgment by Gen. Mark Milley of the errant strike...
AP source: Biden to name Brainard to head Economic Council
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans on Tuesday to name Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard as the new director of his National Economic Council, making the Ph.D. economist a key point person for coordinating policy, talking with business leaders and negotiating with Congress. Biden also plans to nominate longtime...
TikTok ‘de-influencers’ want Gen Z to buy less — and more
NEW YORK— At a time when consumers are inundated with so-called social media influencers peddling the latest products online, a slew of TikTok users are leveraging their platforms to tell people what not to buy instead. The trend, called “de-influencing,” is a stark contrast to prior ones like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, when...
Photo gallery: Communities mourn slain McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski
The funeral for fallen McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski, 32, of McKeesport will be held at noon today at St. Albert the Great, Blessed Trinity Parish. Sluganski was shot and killed on Feb. 6 while responding to a domestic dispute between a man and his mother on Wilson Street. McKeesport...
Ohio proposal: Get parents’ OK for kids to use social media
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s governor wants the state to require parental consent for kids under 16 to get new accounts on TikTok, Snapchat and other social media platforms. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s two-year budget proposal would create a law that social media companies must obtain a parent’s permission for children...
$50M shrine to honor slain priest, 1st U.S. Catholic martyr
OKLAHOMA CITY — The birth of Stanley Francis Rother was by all accounts ordinary, aside from the weather. The Catholic farm boy came into the world during an Oklahoma dust storm. But in life — and in death — he was extraordinary. The 46-year-old priest, shot to death in Guatemala...
Pa. House bill would make it easier for formerly incarcerated to vote
From finding a job to securing a place to live, formerly incarcerated people face any number of challenges when they return to their hometowns and neighborhoods. And research shows that a steady job and access to opportunity are among the factors that play a key role in keeping someone from...
Nikki Haley announces presidential campaign, challenging Trump
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination. The announcement, delivered in a video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official,...
Amid ChatGPT outcry, some teachers are inviting AI to class
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Under the fluorescent lights of a fifth grade classroom in Lexington, Kentucky, Donnie Piercey instructed his 23 students to try and outwit the “robot” that was churning out writing assignments. The robot was the new artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, which can generate everything from essays and haikus...
Penn State to remain SAT/ACT optional for applicants
High school students applying for undergraduate spots at Penn State University through fall 2025 won’t have to take the SAT or ACT for admission, as the state’s flagship public institution is extending its test-optional policy once again. Penn State introduced the program in 2020 as a one-year pilot during the...
New Zealand declares emergency as Cyclone Gabrielle easesVideo
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The New Zealand government declared a national state of emergency Tuesday after Cyclone Gabrielle battered the country’s north, leaving widespread flooding and destruction. A firefighter was missing and another was rescued with critical injuries after they were caught in a landslide overnight near the country’s largest...
GOP launches probe into covid origins with letter to Fauci
WASHINGTON — House Republicans kicked off an investigation Monday into the origins of covid-19 by issuing a series of letters to current and former Biden administration officials for documents and testimony. The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight Committee and the subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic requested information from several...
Police seek motive of gunman who killed 3 at Michigan StateVideo
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The gunman who killed three students and wounded five at Michigan State University was a 43-year-old with a previous gun violation who fatally shot himself after an hourslong manhunt that ended in a confrontation with police miles from campus, officials said Tuesday. Investigators still were sorting...
Feds probe United plane’s December dip near ocean off Hawaii
Federal investigators are seeking more information about an incident in which a United Airlines plane dropped to within about 800 feet of the ocean surface after taking off from Hawaii. United says the pilots are getting additional training. The Boeing 777 dropped more than 1,400 feet before climbing again, according...
Mystery aerial objects raise questions about national security threatVideo
WASHINGTON — As U.S. Navy divers and salvage crews plucked pieces of downed aerial objects from the Arctic Sea to the kinder waters off South Carolina, the Biden administration on Monday was racing to learn what the latest mystery vessels were and who launched them. U.S. fighter jets shot down...
German ballet director suspended over feces attack on critic
BERLIN — A German newspaper critic had animal feces smeared on her face in the city of Hannover by a ballet director who apparently took offense at a review she wrote. The Hannover state opera house apologized for the incident and said Monday that it was suspending ballet director Marco...
Pandemic youth mental health toll unprecedented, data show
The pandemic took a harsh toll on U.S. teen girls’ mental health, with almost 60% reporting feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness, according to a government survey released Monday that bolsters earlier data. Sexual violence, suicidal thoughts, suicidal behavior and other mental health woes affected many teens regardless of race...
Gov. Ron DeSantis ponders ending AP classes for Florida studentsVideo
TALLAHASSEE — The feud between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the College Board over Florida rejecting the AP African American studies course escalated Monday with DeSantis threatening to drop the organization’s Advanced Placement classes from Florida high schools. “So this College Board, nobody elected them to anything. They’re just kind of...
Thousands apply, but fewer than 250 qualify for Gov. Wolf’s marijuana pardon
When announcing the marijuana pardon project earlier this year, Gov. Tom Wolf said it had the potential to help thousands of Pennsylvanians clear their records. But it has fallen well short of that goal. More than 3,500 applications were sent in for the program, aimed at wiping out low-level marijuana...
Biden fires Architect of the Capitol over alleged abuses
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has fired embattled Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton, who oversees the historic building that houses Congress and its expansive grounds, as pressure mounted for his removal following a scathing inspector general report of personal and management lapses. The White House said Monday that Blanton’s...
Turkey earthquake survivors seek hot meals as rescues wane
ADIYAMAN, Turkey — Thousands left homeless by a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria a week ago packed into crowded tents or lined up in the streets Monday for hot meals as the desperate search for survivors entered its last hours. Rescue teams that included Turkish coal miners and...
5 years after Parkland shooting, families cope through good works
PARKLAND, Fla. — After a gunman murdered 14 students and three staff members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School five years ago Tuesday, their families were left with a burning question: How do we go on with our lives while honoring our loved one’s memory? Most have answered by...
Russia pushes advance on Bakhmut, bolsters defenses in south
KYIV, Ukraine — Fierce battles raged outside Bakhmut as Russian forces pushed their advance on the eastern city with heavy shelling and infantry attacks, Ukraine’s presidential office said Monday, with at least five civilians killed and as many wounded in action across the war-torn country in the last 24 hours....
U-Haul driver’s ‘rampage’ in NYC leaves 8 hurt, police sayVideo
NEW YORK — A man driving a U-Haul truck swerved onto sidewalks and plowed into scooter riders in New York City on Monday, injuring multiple people before police were able to pin the careening vehicle against a building following a mileslong pursuit. At least eight people were hurt, two critically....
Study hints healthier school lunch can reduce obesity
A 2010 federal law that boosted nutrition standards for school meals may have begun to help slow the rise in obesity among America’s children — even teenagers who can buy their own snacks, a new study showed. The national study found a small but significant decline in the average body...
