White House insiders to talk about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6
WASHINGTON — Matthew Pottinger was a journalist in China, concerned about the country’s drift toward authoritarianism, when he decided — at age 31 — to enlist in the U.S. Marines after the invasion of Iraq. “Our form of government is not inevitable,” Pottinger recalled thinking during an interview two years...
Senators propose changes to electors law after Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators agreed Wednesday on proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act, the post-Civil War-era law for certifying presidential elections that came under intense scrutiny after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. Long in the...
You can own a dinosaur skeleton — and other prehistoric stuff — for the right priceVideo
Despite every child gazing in wonder and/or terror at the world-famous Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, they will never be able to buy it and put it in their house. But for the right price, they might be able to afford his cousin. An exhibition-ready,...
Pennsylvania certifies primary election in 64 of 67 counties
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania has certified the results of primary elections from 64 of 67 counties, leaving out three counties in a growing legal dispute over whether to count mail-in ballots on which the voter didn’t handwrite a date, state officials said Wednesday. Certification of the remaining three counties — Berks,...
Secret Service tells House committee it’s still seeking lost Jan. 6 textsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service has failed so far to provide Congress with any substantial new agency text messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, but assures the House committee investigating last year’s Capitol attack it will continue searching for the lost material. Secret Service Communications Chief Anthony Guglielmi...
Indiana Republicans propose banning abortion with exceptions
INDIANAPOLIS — Leaders of Indiana’s Republican-dominated Senate on Wednesday proposed banning abortion with limited exceptions — a move that comes amid a political firestorm over a 10-year-old rape victim who came to the state from neighboring Ohio to end her pregnancy. The proposal will be taken up during a special...
Judge refuses to lift restrictions for Mechanicsburg woman accused of stealing Pelosi’s laptop at Capitol riot
A Cumberland County woman accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol will continue to be confined to her home and must wear an ankle monitor leading up to her trial, according to a judge’s ruling. Riley Williams, 23, of Mechanicsburg, previously filed...
Biden announces modest climate actions; pledges more to comeVideo
SOMERSET, Mass. — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced modest new steps to combat climate change and promised more robust action to come, saying, “This is an emergency and I will look at it that way.” The president stopped short, though, of declaring a formal climate emergency, which Democrats and...
Who are the richest people in Pennsylvania? Here’s a look at the Keystone State’s 17 billionaires
Pennsylvania’s richest people made their fortunes in different ways: food, drink, sports, finances and more. Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s billionaires lists 2,668 people with a collective worth of $12.7 trillion in 2022. America has the most representatives on that list, with 735 billionaires, including the top-ranked individual, Elon...
NASA aiming for late August test flight of giant moon rocket
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — On the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, NASA announced Wednesday it’s shooting for a late August launch of its giant, new moon rocket. NASA will attempt the more than month-long lunar test flight with three mannequins, but no astronauts, as early as Aug....
Donald Trump and family attend Ivana Trump’s funeral in NYC
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump paid respects to his first wife, Ivana Trump, joining their three children Wednesday at a funeral Mass for the 1980s style icon and businesswoman who helped him build an empire that launched him to the presidency. “A very sad day, but at the...
Secret memo links citizenship question to apportionment
Trump officials tried to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census in a move experts said would benefit Republicans despite initial doubts among some in the administration that it was legal, according to an investigative report released Wednesday by a congressional oversight committee. The report offers a smoking gun...
Giuliani ordered to testify in Georgia 2020 election probe
ATLANTA — A judge in New York has ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear next month before a special grand jury in Atlanta that’s investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 general election in Georgia. New York Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber on...
How canine heart disease was tied to grain-free dog food
In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, acting on input from a group of veterinary researchers, began investigating whether the increasing popularity of grain-free dog foods had led to a sudden rise in a potentially fatal heart disease in dogs, dilated cardiomyopathy. Four years later, the FDA has found...
Uvalde schools look to fire Chief Arredondo after shooting
UVALDE, Texas — Facing massive public pressure, Uvalde’s top school official has recommended the firing of the school district police chief who was central to the botched law enforcement response to the elementary school shooting nearly two months ago that killed two teachers and 19 students. The South Texas city’s...
Mega Millions jackpot skyrockets to $660M
The Mega Millions jackpot has skyrocketed to an estimated $660 million after nobody claimed the jackpot Tuesday night. If it’s claimed, the jackpot would be the third-largest ever awarded by Mega Millions. The jackpot Tuesday was $555 million. The next drawing is Friday. The winning numbers Tuesday were 2, 31,...
‘The mouth of a bear’: Ukrainian refugees sent to Russia
NARVA, Estonia — For weeks Natalya Zadoyanova had lost contact with her younger brother Dmitriy, who was trapped in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Russian forces had bombed the orphanage where he worked, and he was huddling with dozens of others in the freezing basement of a building...
Explainer: Can Europe live without Russian natural gas?
BERLIN — Europe faced an energy crisis even before the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany went offline for regular maintenance. Government officials are bracing for the possibility that the key pipeline won’t restart Thursday as scheduled, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin is using energy for political leverage...
Trump, Pence rivalry intensifies as they consider 2024 runs
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence is becoming increasingly brazen in his willingness to counter former President Donald Trump. The two will hold dueling rallies in Arizona on Friday as they stump for rival candidates who offer dramatically different visions of the Republican Party in a critical battleground...
Trump-backed Cox wins Maryland governor primary over Hogan’s pick
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Dan Cox, a far-right state legislator endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won the Republican primary for Maryland governor on Tuesday, defeating a moderate rival backed by outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan. Cox will face the winner of the highly competitive Democratic primary in the November general election....
Sesame Place apologizes after Black girls snubbed at paradeVideo
A Sesame Street-themed amusement park has apologized and promised more training for its employees after a video showing a costumed character waving off two 6-year-old Black girls during a parade went viral online. The nine-second video, posted to Instagram on Saturday by Jodi Brown, the mother of one of the...
Army cuts force size amid unprecedented battle for recruits
WASHINGTON — The Army is significantly cutting the total number of soldiers it expects to have in the force over the next two years, as the U.S. military faces what a top general called “unprecedented challenges” in bringing in recruits. Army officials on Tuesday said the service will fall about...
New York police officer suspended after handcuffing EMT at hospitalVideo
A police investigator in western New York has been suspended after he handcuffed an emergency medical technician in a hospital emergency room after she bumped his vehicle while unloading a patient from an ambulance. The suspension was announced by city police Monday, a week after EMT Lekia Smith was handcuffed...
U.S. House passes same-sex marriage bill in retort to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday to protect same-sex and interracial marriages amid concerns that the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade abortion access could jeopardize other rights criticized by many conservative Americans. In a robust but lopsided debate, Democrats argued intensely and often personally in...
Georgia fake electors seek to quash election probe subpoenas
ATLANTA — A group of Republican fake electors from Georgia are fighting subpoenas to testify before a special grand jury in an investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally interfered in the 2020 election in the state. All 11 signed a certificate declaring falsely that then-President Donald...