Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach
ATLANTA — A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to overhaul elections in the U.S., siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional. Trump’s March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone...
The stars and stripes fly, in photos, as Flag Day approaches
More than 75 years after Flag Day became U.S. law, the stars and stripes grab our gaze these days in constant portraits of how Americans see their country’s promise — sometimes dotted along historic graves of military veterans, draped upside down over a protester, or painted on a barn. Flag...
Air India’s sole crash survivor narrates his escape
NEW DELHI — The lone passenger who survived the Air India crash that killed 241 people onboard couldn’t believe he was alive when he opened his eyes, surrounded by flames, debris and charred bodies. The British national of Indian origin, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, was headed to London when the flight crashed...
What to know about Israel’s major attack on Iran
JERUSALEM — Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Friday, drawing their long-running shadow war into the open conflict in a way that could spiral into a wider, more dangerous regional war. The strikes set off explosions in the capital of Tehran as Israel said it was targeting Iranian...
Republican enthusiasm for Musk cools after his feud with Trump, a new AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — Tech billionaire Elon Musk has lost some of his luster with Republicans since his messy public falling-out with President Donald Trump last week, a new survey finds. Fewer Republicans view Trump’s onetime government efficiency bulldog “very favorably” compared with April, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC...
Hempfield brings back annual summer concert series with CCR tribute
The 1960s and ’70s hits of American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival will echo throughout the amphitheater in Hempfield Park on Sunday, as the township’s annual summer concert series returns. The “Amp Up Your Summer” concert series was launched in 2019 to expand on the township’s annual Community Days, a...
Truck driver convicted in the fatal shooting of an Amish woman in her Crawford County home
MEADVILLE — A jury convicted a 53-year-old truck driver Thursday of shooting to death a pregnant Amish woman inside her rural Pennsylvania home early last year. Shawn Christopher Cranston was charged a few weeks after Rebekah Byler, 23, was found dead in the living room of her rural Spartansburg home....
Appeals court temporarily blocks judge’s ruling to return control of National Guard to CaliforniaVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them there following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids. The court said it would...
Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear and missile sites, prompting Iranian drone-strike retaliation
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel attacked Iran early Friday in strikes that took out top military officers and hit nuclear and missile sites, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since...
Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish
WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Internal Revenue Service, giving the beleaguered agency he once sought to abolish a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year’s tax filing season....
Officers sue to compel Congress to install a Jan. 6 riot memorial at Capitol
WASHINGTON — Two of the police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from a mob of Trump supporters filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to compel Congress to follow one of its own laws and install a memorial to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The officers claim the failure to...
U.S. House votes to pull $1.1B in funding for NPR, PBS
The U.S. House voted Thursday afternoon to slash nearly $1.1 billion in federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports local NPR and PBS stations such as Pittsburgh’s WESA-FM radio and WQED-TV. The Rescissions Act, which also would cancel $8.3 billion in foreign aid spending, passed the Republican-led...
Sens. Fetterman, McCormick team up on bill to bring federal energy office to Pittsburgh
U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick have introduced bipartisan legislation to move a Department of Energy office to Pennsylvania. The bill would move the department’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh. In a joint statement, McCormick said it makes sense for the...
Trump admits immigration crackdown hurting farmers, hotelsVideo
President Donald Trump on Thursday admitted his immigration crackdown is hurting farms and hotels that rely heavily on undocumented immigrants for low-wage labor. As immigration protests spread from Los Angeles to other cities, Trump said he would consider tweaking his harsh mass deportation policy to spare the crucial agriculture and...
House approves Trump’s request to cut funding for NPR, PBS and foreign aid
WASHINGTON — The House narrowly voted Thursday to cut about $9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress as President Donald Trump’s administration looks to follow through on work by the Department of Government Efficiency when it was overseen by Elon Musk. The package targets foreign aid programs and the...
Sen. Padilla forcefully removed from Kristi Noem’s news conference on immigration raids and handcuffedVideo
LOS ANGELES — Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles and handcuffed by officers as he tried to speak up about immigration raids that have led to protests in California and around the country. Video shows...
Monroeville manufacturing company expands with state backing, aims to grow industry in region
Mike Gunniers has a plan to expand his Monroeville-based automated systems company — Premier Automation — into a manufacturing hub for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The product of Gunniers’ vision, Premier Labs, a 70,0000-square-foot corporate venture studio in Murrysville, was introduced Thursday. It will focus on helping innovation and manufacturing startups, President...
JetBlue flight from Chicago rolls off runway and into grass in Boston
BOSTON — A JetBlue flight landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport rolled off the runway and into the grass on Thursday, an airport spokesperson said. No one on JetBlue flight 312 was injured, but the runway remained closed Thursday afternoon and a ground stop on all flights was in effect....
Pennsylvania House passes bill to end Sunday hunting ban
Opening up more Sundays to hunting in Pennsylvania is one step closer to reality. The state House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Bill 1431 that would completely lift the prohibition on Sunday hunting. The 131-72 vote sends the proposal to the state Senate for consideration on the way toward...
Gov. Abbott deploys over 5,000 Texas National Guard troops ahead of planned No Kings protests
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday he has ordered the deployment of more than 5,000 Texas National Guard troops, along with more than 2,000 state police, to help local law enforcement manage protests against President Donald Trump and the ongoing federal immigration raids. Abbott’s announcement did not...
Most U.S. adults say Trump’s military parade is not a good use of money, a new AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — As Washington prepares for a military parade this weekend to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, a new survey finds that U.S. adults are more likely to approve than disapprove of President Donald Trump’s decision to hold the festivities, which officials have said will cost tens...
Hamas says it killed 12 Israeli-backed fighters that Israeli-supported group says were aid workers
CAIRO — A unit of Gaza’s Hamas-run police force said it killed 12 members of an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia after detaining them early Thursday. An Israel-supported aid group, however, said the dead were its aid workers, eight of whom were killed when Hamas attacked their bus. It was not immediately...
Iran announces a new nuclear enrichment site after UN watchdog censure
VIENNA — Iran said it has built and will activate a third nuclear enrichment facility, ratcheting up tensions with the U.N. on Thursday immediately after its atomic watchdog agency censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. “The Islamic Republic...
Trump signs measure blocking California’s ban on new sales of gas-powered cars
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a resolution on Thursday that blocks California’s first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The state quickly announced it was challenging the move in court, with California’s attorney general holding a news conference to discuss the lawsuit before Trump’s signing...
Maryland mom charged with killing 3-year-old daughter, lying about abduction: police
A Maryland woman is facing charges after police said she killed her 3-year-old daughter and then said that the girl had been abducted at gunpoint. Darrian Randle, 31, is charged with first-degree and second-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death of a minor, false reporting and other related offenses. Maryland...
