Report: Trump invited to testify before New York grand jury
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify before a New York grand jury that has been investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to one of his lawyers. Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina confirmed Thursday that the Manhattan district...
Ex-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis censured after admitting she twisted the truth over 2020 election
Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who once described herself as part of an “elite strike force” fighting for Donald Trump, was formally censured by the Colorado Supreme Court after admitting to making 10 misrepresentations about the 2020 election. Ellis, who is from Colorado, agreed with a disciplinary judge that she repeatedly...
German police: 6 dead in Jehovah’s Witnesses hall shootingVideo
BERLIN — A former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses shot dead six people at a hall belonging to the congregation in the German city of Hamburg before killing himself after police arrived, authorities said Friday. Police said an unborn baby also died, without clarifying whether the baby’s mother was among...
Philadelphia state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta announces bid for auditor general
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta announced on Thursday he will be vying for the Democratic nomination for state auditor general in 2024. Standing outside the Pennsylvania Capitol, the 32-year-old Philadelphia lawmaker said he is running to take back the office that had been in Democratic hands for 24 years until 2020...
Ex-GOP Ohio speaker, lobbyist guilty in $60M bribery schemeVideo
COLUMBUS — Former state House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges were convicted Thursday in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history. A jury in Cincinnati found the two guilty of conspiracy to participate in...
Former Pa. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar to join Pitt as visiting scholar
Former Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is joining the University of Pittsburgh as a visiting scholar and adjunct professor, campus officials announced Thursday. She will work in Pitt’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security and also teach as an adjunct in the university’s School of Law. Boockvar’s work will...
Biden to seek more than $2.8B from Congress for cancer fight
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is asking Congress for more than $2.8 billion in the federal budget he’s sending to Capitol Hill on Thursday to help advance his cancer-fighting goals. More than half of the money, $1.7 billion, would go to the Department of Health and Human Services to support...
Apology letter found after American citizens killed in Mexico
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico — A letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel blamed for abducting four Americans and killing two of them condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through...
How much do Pa. government workers make? More are seeing $200K+ pay
From candy to cars, the price of everything is going up — and that includes government salaries. PennLive’s annual roundup of six-figure earners in Pennsylvania state government attracts a lot of attention — and criticism. Now, with membership in this once-exclusive “club” growing so large — approaching 12,000 employees in...
Anxiety, fear fill West Virginia transgender-health clinic
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The tiny clinic where physicians prescribe hormones and other medications to transgender teenagers shares the same campus where West Virginia kids travel to receive treatments for rare cancer, heart surgery and other health care difficult to get anywhere else. In a rural state purported to have the...
Volunteers in mountain towns dig out snow-stuck Californians
LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. — After a blizzard swept through Southern California mountains, 79-year-old Alan Zagorsky found himself shut inside his home with snow blocking the door and stairways leading out. He and his wife had enough food to get through the 10 days until volunteers finally arrived Wednesday to help...
Senate OKs Shapiro picks for attorney general, police chief
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s nominees for attorney general and state police commissioner won unanimous approval from Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday — a smooth landing for his top two public safety appointees. Michelle Henry, a career prosecutor from Bucks County before becoming Shapiro’s top deputy at the attorney...
Indonesia landslide death toll hits 30; dozens still missing
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Rescue workers recovered more bodies buried under tons of mud following a landslide that crashed onto a hilly village on Indonesia’s remote Natuna islands, bringing the death toll to 30, officials said Thursday. The landslide, triggered by torrential downpours, plunged down surrounding hills on Monday, burying 30...
Russian missile barrage slams into cities across Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia unleashed “a massive rocket attack” that hit critical infrastructure and residential buildings in 10 regions of Ukraine, the country’s president said Thursday, with officials reporting at least six deaths in the largest such nighttime attack in three weeks. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the barrage that came...
Friend warned police Americans feared missing in Mexico
LAKE CITY, S.C. — The frantic effort to rescue four Americans taken captive in Mexico in a kidnapping that left two dead came after a woman traveling with the group contacted police when they did not return to the U.S. side as expected. Cheryl Orange, who did not cross into...
Norfolk Southern CEO ‘sorry,’ but avoids specifics at Senate hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern’s CEO earnestly apologized before Congress on Thursday for last month’s fiery hazardous materials train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and pledged millions of dollars to help the local town recover. But he stopped short of fully endorsing tougher safety regulations or specific commitments to pay for...
Jaded with education, more Americans are skipping college
JACKSON, Tenn. — When he looked to the future, Grayson Hart always saw a college degree. He was a good student at a good high school. He wanted to be an actor, or maybe a teacher. Growing up, he believed college was the only route to a good job, stability...
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell hospitalized after fall
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was hospitalized after tripping at a local hotel, a spokesman for the senator said. The Kentucky senator, who’s 81, was attending a private dinner in Washington on Wednesday when he tripped. He was admitted to a hospital for treatment, spokesman Doug Andres said....
A hearing on covid’s origins spurs call for rules to curb risky virus researchVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s top infectious disease official urged lawmakers during a hearing on the origins of the covid-19 pandemic to ban research that enhances a pathogen’s ability to spread or cause disease. Robert Redfield, who served as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at...
Attorneys deliver opening statements in sexual assault trial of suspended Somerset County DA
SOMERSET — Attorneys on both sides of suspended Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas’ sexual assault case delivered opening statements Wednesday about the night of Sept. 19, 2021. Prosecutors said Thomas pursued a Windber woman for months with inappropriate texts before walking into her apartment in September 2021, biting her...
JPMorgan sues former executive over Jeffrey Epstein relationship
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase sued its former executive Jes Staley on Wednesday, alleging that he aided in hiding Jeffrey Epstein’s yearslong sex abuse and trafficking in order to keep the financier as a client. The New York bank seeks to hold Staley personally liable for any financial penalties that...
Oldest reference to Odin discovered in Danish treasure
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Scandinavian scientists say they have identified the oldest-known inscription referencing the Norse god Odin on part of a gold disc unearthed in western Denmark in 2020. Lisbeth Imer, a runologist with the National Museum in Copenhagen, said the inscription represents solid evidence of Odin being worshipped as...
Report: 6-year-old won’t be charged after shooting Virginia teacher
RICHMOND — Authorities in the Virginia city where a 6-year-old shot and wounded his teacher will not seek criminal charges against the child, the local prosecutor told NBC News on Wednesday, in a decision that was anticipated by legal experts. But Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn said his office...
Prescription weight loss drugs: What to know
WeightWatchers’ acquisition of a telehealth company is just the latest commercial push into the market for a new generation of medications that promise significant weight loss. WeightWatchers will introduce its 3.5 million members to drugs that have been touted on social media by celebrities. These injected medications mimic the action...
Jill Biden calls on men to support women fighting for rights
WASHINGTON — Jill Biden on Wednesday praised a group of women from around the world, including those who have been protesting against Iran’s leaders, for showing courage while fighting for their rights and called on men to “be partners” with women and support them in their cause. “As much as...
