As Guatemalan kids sit in planes on tarmac, judge orders they stay in the U.S., for now
HARLINGEN, Texas — With migrant children waiting on tarmacs to be sent to their native Guatemala, a federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the flights, siding with attorneys for the children who said the government was breaking laws and sending their clients to potential peril. The extraordinary drama played out...
Iran-backed Houthis raid UN food and children’s agencies in Yemen, detain employee
CAIRO — The Iran-backed Houthis on Sunday raided offices of the United Nations’ food and children’s agencies in Yemen’s capital, detaining at least one U.N. employee, officials said, as the rebels tighten security across Sanaa following the Israeli killing of their prime minister and several Cabinet members. Abeer Etefa, a...
Penn Township moves forward amended rezoning proposal
Commissioners moved forward a rezoning plan Penn Township has eyed in recent years to diversify the municipality’s tax base. The areas for the proposed changes were identified in a 2023 economic development study. The first phase of the rezoning, which the township has worked through in recent months, is in...
Hempfield Area student recognized for saving boy at drive-in theater
Hempfield Area junior Jacob Shepler didn’t have much time to react when he saw a vehicle poised to run over his sister’s friend at the Evergreen Drive-In. The 17-year-old went with his gut reaction. “I just jumped in front of it,” the Hempfield resident said, “and I started waving my...
Greensburg, Hempfield area welcome mental health nonprofit, Fla. restaurant franchise, coffee shop
Former mental health counselor Stephen Kuniak is no stranger to parents who are concerned that their child plays too many hours of video games. Much to the surprise of most parents, Kuniak, a professor and Greensburg resident, believes video games can actually foster positive mental health among children — if...
Palestinian president’s office urges U.S. to reinstate his visa ahead of key UN meetings
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian president’s office on Saturday urged the U.S. government to reverse its unusual decision to revoke his visa, weeks before he was meant to appear at the U.N.’s main annual meeting and an international conference about creating a Palestinian state. The 27-nation European Union asked...
Taking a dip Labor Day weekend? Swimmers face fecal contamination at beaches along U.S. coastline
OGUNQUIT, Maine — Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip might be out of the question: Many of the beaches will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination. Beaches from Crystal River, Florida, to...
A walk through a Smithsonian museum reveals American genius and cruelty as Trump presses for change
WASHINGTON — In an afternoon’s walk through ground zero of Americana — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History — objects around every corner invite one question: What could possibly be more American than this? There’s the enormous Star-Spangled Banner in all its timeworn glory, Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The...
Federal judge issues order blocking Trump effort to expand speedy deportations of migrants
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out speedy deportations of undocumented migrants detained in the interior of the United States. The move is a setback for the President Donald Trump’s efforts to expand the use of the federal expedited removal statute to quickly...
Minneapolis shooting reignites debate over gun control and prayer
Thoughts and prayers. The invocation appears like a litany after every mass shooting — and the backlash is just as inevitable. As if the slaughter of children amid screams and shattered stained glass wasn’t cause enough for grief, American opinion makers were convulsed once again this week in a debate...
Trump is cutting 500-plus jobs at Voice of America and its parent agency despite legal challenges
WASHINGTON — The agency that oversees Voice of America and other government-funded international broadcasters is eliminating jobs for more than 500 employees, a Trump administration official said. The move could ratchet up a monthslong legal challenge over the news outlets’ fate. Kari Lake, acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for...
Hempfield resident’s donation to WCCC will support students in skilled trades, allied health
After a 43-year career in highway construction, Hempfield resident Bob Miner Jr. wants to give back to the skilled trades industry and his lifelong home, Westmoreland County. Miner, 70, started the Robert Miner Family Foundation in 2023 alongside his wife and daughter after selling his company, Donegal Construction. The foundation...
EPA fires employees who publicly criticized agency policies under Trump
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump. “Following a thorough internal investigation, EPA supervisors made decisions on an individualized basis,” an EPA spokeswoman said Friday in a statement....
Florida man in Batman pajamas helps police catch burglar
A Florida man wearing Batman pajamas helped Cape Coral cops catch an early morning burglar. Officers at the Cape Coral Police Department were responding to a burglary in progress about 2 a.m. Wednesday when they located their suspect, who was already being detained by a local man dressed as the...
Missouri is next to answer Trump’s call for redrawn map that boosts GOP in 2026
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo — Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe said Friday that he is calling Missouri lawmakers into a special session to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts as part of a growing national battle between Republicans and Democrats seeking an edge in next year’s congressional elections. Kehoe made the announcement...
Appeals court finds Trump’s sweeping tariffs unconstitutional but leaves them in place for now
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump had no legal right to impose sweeping tariffs but left in place for now his effort to build a protectionist wall around the American economy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Trump wasn’t legally...
South Side woman to host Penn Township fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
As an engineering manager for QAI Aerospace, Ashley Sieber isn’t short on stories from flight paramedics whose aircraft receive services from the White Oak-based aviation company. Cystic fibrosis — a genetic disease that impacts the lungs, pancreas and other organs — is sometimes a part of those stories. That’s why...
Appeals court blocks Trump administration from ending legal protections for 600,000 Venezuelans
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States, saying plaintiffs are likely to win their claim the Republican administration’s actions were unlawful. A three-judge panel...
Sunblock, charcoal … and Powerball? Holiday weekend lottery drawing worth $1 billion
DETROIT — This could buy a lot of Labor Day weekend sunblock: Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $1 billion, the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history. Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The...
AI Apocalypse? Why language surrounding tech is sounding increasingly religious
TORONTO — At 77 years old, Geoffrey Hinton has a new calling in life. Like a modern-day prophet, the Nobel Prize winner is raising alarms about the dangers of uncontrolled and unregulated artificial intelligence. Frequently dubbed the “Godfather of AI,” Hinton is known for his pioneering work on deep learning...
Trump revokes Secret Service protection for former VP Harris, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a senior White House official on Friday. Former vice presidents typically get federal government protection for six months after leaving office, while ex-presidents do so for life. But another person familiar with...
Death toll from Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City rises to 7 and infections hit 114
NEW YORK — New York City health officials have discovered a seventh death linked to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Central Harlem, where more than 100 people have been diagnosed with the ailment. The latest death was announced Thursday. Officials said they had concluded the death of a person with...
What to know about the U.S. warships sent to South America and the reaction in Venezuela
WASHINGTON — The United States is boosting its maritime force in the waters off Venezuela to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels with the expected arrival of more vessels next week, an action that will undoubtedly fuel more speculation among Venezuelans, their government and its political opposition. The U.S....
U.S. offers military funeral honors to Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is offering military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was killed at 35 by an officer in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Babbitt was a U.S. Air Force veteran from California who was shot dead wearing a Trump campaign flag...
Mystery surrounds $1.2 billion Army contract to build huge detention tent camp in Texas desert
WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump’s administration last month awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to build and operate what it says will become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex, it didn’t turn to a large government contractor or even a firm that specializes in private prisons. Instead,...
