Politics Election category, Page 68
Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding
NEW YORK — When President Donald Trump canceled $400 million in funding to Columbia University over its handling of student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, much of the financial pain fell on researchers a train ride away from the school’s campus, working on things like curing cancer and studying...
Dan Goughnour wins big in state House race, positioning Dems to reclaim majority
Democrats are poised to reclaim control of the Pennsylvania House as McKeesport police officer Dan Goughnour rolled to a commanding victory Tuesday night in a special election to fill a vacancy in the chamber. The chamber has been gridlocked, with 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans, since the January death of...
Fetterman, McCormick to hold event in Downtown Pittsburgh, drawing criticism from some on left
Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman and their wives are holding a public event this weekend in Downtown Pittsburgh where the McCormicks will discuss their new book and participate in a discussion with the Fettermans about mentorship. McCormick is a Republican from Pittsburgh, Fetterman a Democrat from Braddock....
Trump signs order seeking to overhaul U.S. elections, including requiring proof of citizenship
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive action to overhaul elections in the U.S., including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day. The order says the U.S. has failed “to...
Norwin School Board candidates face hearing on petition challenges
Three Norwin School Board candidates should be removed from the May 20 primary ballot, according to legal challenges filed by two opponents. Westmoreland County Judge Harry Smail is scheduled to hear challenges Wednesday to the nominating petitions of Alex Detschelt, a current school board member seeking a nomination on the...
Self-professed ‘DOGE person’ Frank Bisignano gets his confirmation hearing to lead Social Security
WASHINGTON — Frank Bisignano, a self-professed “DOGE person,” faces questions about whether the Trump administration plans to privatize Social Security as he appears before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday for his hearing to serve as commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Bisignano, a Wall Street veteran and one-time defender...
Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick for Israel ambassador, tries to distance from past Palestinian rhetoric
WASHINGTON — Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, attempted to distance himself Tuesday from his past controversial statements about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people, pledging on Capitol Hill to “carry out the president’s priorities, not mine.” “I am not here to articulate...
Greenlanders unite to fend off the U.S. as Trump seeks control of the Arctic island
NUUK, Greenland — Lisa Sólrun Christiansen gets up at 4 a.m. most days and gets to work knitting thick wool sweaters coveted by buyers around the world for their warmth and colorful patterns celebrating Greenland’s traditional Inuit culture. Her morning routine includes a quick check of the news, but these...
Transgender Americans aim to block Trump’s passport policy change
BOSTON — When Ash Lazarus Orr went to renew his passport in early January, the transgender organizer figured it would be relatively routine. But more than two months on, Orr is waiting to get a new passport with a name change and a sex designation reflecting who he is. The...
TV Talk: Streaming, TV respond to shifting political winds
At any moment, entertainment programming may reflect the culture or it may lead the culture. Sometimes it does both simultaneously to advance the industry’s ultimate goal: making money. The 1998 premiere of NBC’s “Will & Grace,” a show with two lead gay characters, broke new ground in the broadcast prime-time...
Trump to nominate acting CDC director Susan Monarez for the position, White House official says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will nominate Susan Monarez, the acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a longtime federal staffer, to the permanent position, a White House official confirmed Monday. Trump abruptly withdrew the nomination of his first pick, David Weldon, earlier this month....
Trump officials texted war plans to a group chat in a secure app that included a journalistVideo
WASHINGTON — Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday. The National...
Powerful interests poured $18M into top Pa. lawmakers’ campaign coffers
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. HARRISBURG — Power plant operators, gambling magnates, charter school backers, and trade unions are among the interests that gave almost $18 million to Pennsylvania’s top...
Judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive information at U.S. agencies
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing people’s private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction in a case filed last month by a coalition...
Trump criticizes his portrait hanging in Colorado Capitol
President Donald Trump has taken aim at a portrait of himself hanging in Colorado’s Capitol. He’s demanding that it be taken down. Unveiled in 2019, the portrait was painted in oil by the Colorado-based artist Sarah Boardman, the New York Times reported. It depicts the president in a dark suit...
AOC trades barbs with Fetterman, apologizes to Conor Lamb
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York reached out publicly to apologize to fellow Democrat and former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb. In a post on the social media platform X, AOC tweeted a response to Lamb’s post critiquing Democrat Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. Lamb, of Mt. Lebanon, lost to Fetterman...
Rosie O’Donnell wrote apology letter to Irish PM after his Trump meeting
Comedian Rosie O’Donnell revealed she wrote an apology letter to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin after her name came up during his meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House. O’Donnell, 63, moved to Ireland after Trump was reelected as president. The two have famously feuded for years. During...
Emboldened Trump signals long court fight to expand power
President Donald Trump has ramped up his fight with the judiciary as he racks up losses in court over his administration’s efforts to reshape the U.S. government and its approach on everything from immigration to federal spending. Two months into his term, Trump is already fighting more than 150 lawsuits...
Second lady Usha Vance to visit Greenland as Trump talks up U.S. takeover
WASHINGTON — Second lady Usha Vance plans a trip to Greenland, the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of American ally Denmark that President Donald Trump has suggested the United States should take control over. Vance will leave on Thursday and return Saturday, according to her office. Vance and one of her three...
2 veteran Hempfield Area school board members decide not to seek reelection
Hempfield Area school board will see at least two new faces next year, as veteran members Paul Ward and Diane Ciabattoni are opting not to run for reelection. Board President Jerry Radebaugh and Vice President Scott Learn will seek another term, according to Westmoreland County records. The former Westmoreland County...
3 candidates vie for state House in Mon Valley special election race
A special election in the Mon Valley will determine control of the state House. The chamber has been gridlocked, with 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans, since the January death of state Rep. Matt Gergely, D-McKeesport. Gergely had represented the 35th Legislative District for just under two years. Looking to fill...
Some protest Musk’s DOGE efforts while others celebrate them outside North Hills Tesla dealer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has too much power as he advises President Donald Trump and spearheads efforts to slash the size of the federal government through his DOGE Service, Isaac Elias said Saturday. It’s the reason Elias, 43, of Baden in Beaver County, helped organize a series of protests outside...
Legal experts weigh whether Trump has triggered constitutional crisis
President Donald Trump has long sought to flex the power of the presidency. Now that he is, some scholars say, Trump’s vision of a muscular executive branch has forced the nation into a constitutional crisis — or at least brought it to the brink of one. Erwin Chemerinsky, a leading...
Trump sketches the start of a roadmap for winding down the Education Department
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday began sketching a roadmap for dismantling the Education Department, with other agencies taking over responsibility for federal student loans and programs serving students with disabilities. The executive order Trump signed Thursday to do away with the department did not offer a timeline or...
Trump’s call to dismantle Education Department shows Republican rightward lurch and his grip on GOP
WASHINGTON — A little more than 23 years ago, Republican President George W. Bush sat at a desk at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, and signed a law that would vastly expand the role of the Education Department and transform American schooling. On Thursday, his Republican successor, President Donald...
