Senators approve withholding their own pay during government shutdowns
WASHINGTON — Senators unanimously approved a resolution Thursday to withhold their pay during government shutdowns, an attempt to make federal closures financially painful for lawmakers after a string of record-breaking impasses in the past year. The bipartisan support for the measure comes at a time when federal closures have become...
Election HQ: Voter guide for 2026 Primary Day in Western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has a closed primary system in which Republicans and Democrats can only vote for candidates in their respective parties. Primary winners earn their party’s nomination to run for the office in November. The state has an online tool to let voters find their polling place by entering their address...
Trump administration will join a prayer gathering criticized for promoting Christian nationalism
President Donald Trump and several top administration officials are joining with a cast of mostly conservative Christian clergy this Sunday on the National Mall in Washington for a prayer gathering billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God” upon America’s 250th birthday. But some critics call...
Postal Service releases special edition bald eagle stamps for America’s 250th
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — For America’s 250th birthday, the U.S. Postal Service is releasing special edition stamps featuring one of the nation’s icons: the bald eagle. The stamps unveiled Thursday at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota, showcase the bird across five major life stages, from a fuzzy hatchling...
Kouri Richins, author of a children’s book on grief, gets life sentence for killing her husband
PARK CITY, Utah — A Utah mother who published a children’s book about grief after the death of her husband will serve a life sentence for his murder without the possibility of parole, a judge ruled Wednesday. Kouri Richins was convicted in March of aggravated murder for lacing her husband...
Some parents don’t want their kids to use tech at school. But districts are pushing back
ARDMORE, Pa. — For high school senior Aliyah Pack, getting distracted during school is the norm. Kids in her Pennsylvania school district use iPads starting in kindergarten, switch to Chromebooks in second grade and get their own MacBooks in eighth grade. Aliyah has ADHD, and finds it difficult to concentrate...
Man known for racially derogatory livestreams charged with attempted murder after Tennessee shooting
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A man who goes by “Chud the Builder” and livestreams himself saying racially derogatory statements to Black people in public settings was arrested and charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, authorities said. Dalton Eatherly, 28, and an unidentified man were...
Trump insists US-China relations are in a good place despite differences as he wraps up Beijing trip
BEIJING — As President Donald Trump wraps up his whirlwind visit to China on Friday, he’s insistent that relations between the world’s two biggest powers are good and getting better despite deep differences on Iran, Taiwan and more. Trump started his last day in Beijing by insisting in a social...
Howard Lutnick backs away from his Epstein ‘blackmail’ claim in interview with House committee
WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in an interview with House lawmakers, backed away from a previous claim that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had blackmailed people. Lutnick agreed to sit for an interview with the House Oversight Committee last week after the release of case files on Epstein contradicted...
Former private prison executive David Venturella will become ICE’s acting leader
David Venturella, a former executive at a private prison operator, will serve as the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Trump administration says, after the agency’s current leader steps down at the end of the month. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said late Tuesday...
Officials say $1.3 billion in Medicaid money to California will be deferred over suspicions of fraud
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday announced new steps in the Trump administration’s initiative to root out fraud in federal health programs, including a $1.3 billion deferral in Medicaid funding to California. “How long are people going to pay into programs if they know that that money doesn’t...
Remains of 2nd American soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered
CASABLANCA, Morocco — The remains of the second U.S. Army soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered, the Army said Wednesday, ending a multinational search operation that deployed air, naval and artificial intelligence assets. The soldier was identified as Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington of Taveres,...
Netanyahu’s secret visit to UAE during Iran war leads to a breakthrough, his office contends
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-US war with Iran, further strengthening ties with a Gulf nation that normalized relations with Israel in 2020, his office said Wednesday. Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a...
Museum’s ‘Knight Rider’ replica car got a speeding ticket. It hasn’t gone anywhere in years
It’s a mystery on the streets of New York City. What traffic law violator with unpaid fines is driving a black Pontiac Trans Am that looks like the car with the talking computer from the 1980s TV series “Knight Rider,” and even has the same license plate? Officials at an...
Fetterman casts deciding vote against limiting Trump’s war in Iran
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, on Wednesday cast the deciding vote against the latest effort to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to attack Iran — the seventh such time he’s broken with his party since the war began but the first time that Republican deflections made his vote decisive. The...
Expected closure of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is no accident given timing, environmentalists say
ORLANDO, Fla. — Environmental groups say that the timing of the expected closure of an immigration detention center in the middle of the Florida Everglades, likely in the next month or two, is no accident because it will come as their lawsuit challenging its existence returns to a federal judge...
Man arrested for making ‘politically violent’ threats to Pa. lawmakers online, police say
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Twenty Pennsylvania legislators were allegedly threatened online by a Lebanon County man who police say posted a...
Locked in tight GOP runoff, Texas Sen. John Cornyn offers bill to name interstate for Trump
WASHINGTON — In today’s Texas Republican politics, the road to President Donald Trump’s heart might just run down a Texas highway. Sen. John Cornyn unveiled legislation this week to rename a future interstate across Texas as “I-47,” honoring President Donald Trump as the nation’s 47th president. The move comes as...
Senate confirms Trump pick Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve, following Powell
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, bringing new leadership to the world’s most powerful central bank at a fraught moment for the global economy. Warsh was confirmed Wednesday in a largely party-line vote. His nomination had been thrown into doubt...
Foreigners with World Cup tickets won’t have to pay bonds to enter U.S., Trump administration tells AP
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from certain countries pay as much as $15,000 in bonds if they are confirmed World Cup ticket holders, the State Department told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The department imposed the bond requirement last year for countries that...
Memphis residents claim harassment, arrest and abuse by Trump-ordered Memphis Safe Task Force
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four Memphis residents are suing U.S. and Tennessee officials, saying they have been harassed, arrested and physically mistreated for engaging in First Amendment protected activities by observing and recording law enforcement agents in their city. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court targets the Memphis Safe Task...
South Carolina Supreme Court overturns Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions in deaths of wife and son
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the murder convictions and life sentence of disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh in the shooting deaths of his wife and younger son. In a unanimous ruling, the justices said the conduct by the court clerk “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” by...
Gallery: Around the world or close to home, the world in focus on May 13, 2026
Scenes from around the world and close to home, frame by frame. This photo gallery highlights the people, places, and moments at the heart of it all. It’s more than a look at Western Pennsylvania. It’s a view of the wider world....
King Charles III lays out U.K. government agenda as Starmer’s job hangs in the balance
LONDON — King Charles III laid out on Wednesday the British government’s legislative program for the coming year or so, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer fought to remain in power following rising discontent within his Labour Party. In a speech to lawmakers laced with all the pomp that accompanies the...
Trump offers platitudes while Xi warns of possible confrontation during China summitVideo
BEIJING — President Donald Trump told Xi Jinping on Thursday that “it’s an honor to be your friend,” even as his Chinese counterpart offered warnings about avoiding a possible clash between the two nations during their much-watched bilateral meeting. The stark contrast in tone underscored just how far apart the...
