Inflation gives pay raise gift to top Pennsylvania officials
HARRISBURG — Inflation is gift-wrapping another big salary increase for hundreds of Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials in 2023, including boosting rank-and-file lawmakers and district judges into six-figure territory. For many of these positions, it’s the biggest increase since the 1990s, when lawmakers passed legislation to...
Indonesian rescuers search through rubble of quake; 268 dead
CIANJUR, Indonesia — Indonesian rescuers used jackhammers, circular saws and sometimes their bare hands Tuesday to shift the rubble of flattened buildings as they searched for the dead and missing from an earthquake that killed at least 268 people. With many missing, some remote areas still unreachable and more than...
‘Stock up on blankets’: Ukrainians brace for horrific winter
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine could face rolling blackouts through March because Russian airstrikes have caused “colossal” damage to the power grid, officials said. To cope in the harsh winter, authorities are urging Ukrainians to stock up on supplies and evacuate hard-hit areas. Sergey Kovalenko, the CEO of private energy provider...
Gathering again? Tips for a safe and healthy Thanksgiving
For families who settled for smaller gatherings and remote blessings during the height of the pandemic, this Thanksgiving looks like the return of the big bash. More folks are getting together this year, with the American Automobile Association predicting holiday travel will be nearly back to prepandemic levels. If that’s...
Thanksgiving might bring changes in holiday-travel habits
The Thanksgiving travel rush was back on this year, as people caught planes in numbers not seen in years, setting aside inflation concerns to reunite with loved ones and enjoy some normalcy after two holiday seasons marked by COVID-19 restrictions. Changing habits around work and play, however, might spread out...
‘It’s the reflex’: Veteran helped disarm gunman at gay clubVideo
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — When army veteran Rich Fierro realized a gunman was spraying bullets inside the club where he had gathered with friends and family, instincts from his military training immediately kicked in. First he ducked to avoid any potential incoming fire, then moved to try to disarm the...
Benninghoff to step down from Pa. House Republican leadership
More fall-out from the tumultuous 2022 election cycle hit Pennsylvania’s General Assembly Monday with the news that current House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County, will not seek a Republican leadership position for the 2023-24 term. For state House Republicans, that means at least two of the current top three...
Rage and sadness as Colorado club shooting victims honored
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Hundreds of people, many holding candles and wiping away tears, gathered in a Colorado Springs park to honor those killed and wounded when a gunman opened fire on a nightlife venue that for decades was a sanctuary for the local LGBTQ community. Monday night’s vigil came...
Taylor Swift ticket trouble could drive political engagement
Some of Taylor Swift’s fans want you to know three things: They’re not still 16, they have careers and resources and, right now, they’re angry. That’s a powerful political motivator, researchers say. Look what Ticketmaster made them do. It started Nov. 15, when millions crowded a presale for Swift’s long-awaited...
Man wanted in connection with Uniontown shooting arrested in West Mifflin, sheriff’s office says
Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday arrested a Fayette County man wanted in connection with a shooting last week in Uniontown. The sheriff’s office said Ramon Williams III, 24, of Uniontown, had been at large since Nov. 14. Authorities said Williams had been involved in a shooting in which one...
Mechanicsburg woman found guilty for role in Jan. 6 riot
A District of Columbia jury has found a Mechanicsburg woman accused of aiding in the theft of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s laptop guilty on some charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. But the jury did not come to a consensus whether or not Riley Williams, 23, aided...
Twitter reinstates Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Elon Musk’s Twitter has reinstated the personal account of far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, which was banned in January for violating the platform’s COVID misinformation policies at the time. Greene’s reinstatement comes after Musk over the weekend reinstated the account of former President Donald Trump, who was banned in the...
Judges in Pa. can now dismiss charges against people ‘incompetent’ to stand trial, but flaws remain
This story is a collaboration between Spotlight PA and the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, published as part of a Pittsburgh Media Partnership project. Sign up for Spotlight PA’s free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has corrected a decades-old flaw in state law that left severely mentally...
Sheetz lowers price for unleaded 88 to $1.99 a gallon for Thanksgiving week
Sheetz convenience stores will sell unleaded 88 gas for $1.99 a gallon during the Thanksgiving 2022 weekend. The deal is available at Sheetz locations that have unleaded 88. The deal is good from Nov. 21 to Nov. 28. According to Sheetz, unleaded 88 fuel is approved by the U.S. Environmental...
Congressman Conor Lamb to join personal injury law firm after leaving office
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, said Sunday he plans to join a personal injury law firm after leaving office next year — though the move could be temporary. Lamb, 38, has served in Washington for more than four years but opted not to seek reelection. He said on Twitter...
Sewickley native Josh Green elected as Hawaii’s next governor
HONOLULU — Lt. Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, on Tuesday defeated Republican former Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona to be Hawaii’s next governor and vowed to tackle the state’s most stubborn problems. “Tonight is the first day of that new era where our leaders must start doing more to listen, to...
Strong quake topples houses in Indonesia’s Java; at least 162 dead
CIANJUR, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake killed at least 162 people and injured hundreds on Indonesia’s main island on Monday. Terrified residents fled into the street, some covered in blood and debris. Many of the dead were public-school students who had finished their classes for the day and were taking...
Ukraine urges civilians to leave liberated areas for winter
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities have started evacuating civilians from the recently-liberated areas of the Kherson region and the neighboring province of Mykolaiv, fearing that damage to the infrastructure is too severe for people to endure the upcoming winter, officials said Monday. Residents of the two southern regions, regularly shelled...
NASA capsule buzzes moon, last big step before lunar orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Orion capsule reached the moon Monday, whipping around the back side and passing within 80 miles on its way to a record-breaking lunar orbit. The close approach occurred as the crew capsule and its three test dummies were on the far side of the moon....
Patrons in gay club shooting hit gunman with his own weapon
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — As bullets tore through a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and wounding many more, one patron who’d been partying moments before rushed into action, grabbing a handgun from the suspect, hitting him with it and pinning him down until police arrived just minutes...
Idaho police investigating stabbing deaths ask for patience
BOISE — Authorities investigating the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students as they slept in a house near campus asked for patience Sunday after a week passed with no arrests and residents of this small college town remain on edge and concerned about their safety. Authorities at a...
Lawmakers urge action after report of other high court leak
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said his panel is reviewing “serious allegations” in a report that a former anti-abortion leader knew in advance the outcome of a 2014 Supreme Court case involving health care coverage of contraception. The report Saturday in The New York Times followed...
Trump’s growing GOP challengers revive fears of 2016 repeat
LAS VEGAS — Memories of the tumultuous 2016 Republican primary hung over the Las Vegas ballroom this weekend during the first major gathering of the party’s potential contenders for the 2024 nomination. No fewer than 10 White House prospects stepped onto the stage to pitch their plans to fix the...
Parts of New York dig out after potentially ‘historic’ snowfall
NEW YORK — Parts of New York finally caught a break Sunday after a storm spent days dumping a potentially record-setting amount of snow on cities and towns east of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Many businesses in the hardest-hit areas remained closed, but highways reopened and travel bans in...
GOP sees slight Latino vote gains, painful candidate losses
MIAMI — Republicans had placed hopes on a roster of Latina candidates around the country as they looked to make gains with Latino voters in a midterm election that some had predicted would yield sweeping GOP victories. The verdict was mixed. While Republican House candidates made modest inroads among Latino...
