Palestinian student at Columbia is released after arrest at citizenship interview
BURLINGTON, Vt. — A judge on Wednesday released a Palestinian student at Columbia University who led protests against Israel’s war in Gaza and was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship. Immigration authorities have arrested and detained college students from around the country since the...
Roberts might hold key Supreme Court vote over first publicly funded religious charter school
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts appears to hold the key vote over whether the Supreme Court will allow the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school in Oklahoma. Roberts was the only justice whose vote seemed in doubt after the court heard more than two hours of arguments Wednesday...
Philly judge faces ethics complaint over role in wife’s cheesesteak shop
A Philadelphia judge’s role in a cheesesteak shop owned by his wife has prompted a panel to allege he’s violated the state’s ethics rules. The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board filed a complaint this week against Common Pleas Judge Scott DiClaudio over Shay’s Steaks, a high-end cheesesteak restaurant that opened more...
Prosecutor says officer killed in gunman’s Pennsylvania hospital attack was hit by fire from police
YORK — An officer killed while responding to a Pennsylvania hospital siege was struck by a shotgun blast fired by police that also hit an armed man holding hostages, a prosecutor disclosed at a news conference Wednesday. The attacker and West York Patrolman Andrew W. Duarte were killed in the...
Costly cyber charter tuition is consuming tens of millions of new state dollars for poor Pa. schools
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 — A surge of taxpayer money approved last year to help students in Pennsylvania’s poorest schools is being used by dozens of districts to...
Trump lawyers are ‘playing dumb’ on order to bring Abrego Garcia home, Maryland AG says
BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said attorneys under President Donald Trump are “playing dumb” regarding the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. “The pressure needs to continue to be on the administration to, in fact, facilitate — as is the meaning of...
Pakistan says it has ‘credible intelligence’ India will attack within days
ATTARI, India — Pakistan said Wednesday it had “credible intelligence” that India is planning to attack it within days, as soldiers exchanged gunfire along borders and Pakistanis heeded New Delhi’s orders to leave the country following last week’s deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India’s moves to punish Pakistan after accusing...
U.S., Ukraine sign economic deal after Trump presses Kyiv to pay back for help in repelling Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — The U.S. and Ukraine announced on Wednesday an economic agreement after a weekslong press by President Donald Trump on Ukraine to compensate Washington for billions in military and economic assistance to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video posted to...
Vietnam celebrates 50 years since war’s end with focus on peace and unity
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — Vietnam on Wednesday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States and the formation of its modern nation with a military parade and a focus on a peaceful future. The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked...
A town refuses to give up the school’s Native American mascot — and gets Trump’s support
MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. — As a high school hockey player, Adam Drexler wore his Massapequa Chiefs jersey with pride. But as the Chickasaw Nation member grew up and learned about his Indigenous roots, he came to see the school’s mascot — a stereotypical Native American man wearing a headdress — as...
Despite a slew of broken car mirrors, Massachusetts residents take woodpecker invasion in stride
ROCKPORT, Mass. — Rockport residents have a history of fighting off invaders, but not this time. During the War of 1812, townsfolk in the tiny fishing village hurled rocks at British soldiers using their stockings as slings. Now, they’re slinging trash bags and towels over the side mirrors of their...
About that hug … Whitmer risks backlash from Democrats as she embraces Trump in Michigan
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — First came their much-analyzed Oval Office moment. Next, their subject-to-interpretation hug. The two interactions between President Donald Trump and a sometime antagonist, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, reflect the Democratic governor’s efforts to move past last year’s hard-fought campaign and find common ground with the Republican president...
Photo gallery: Storms whip through Pittsburgh region knocking out trees, wires, power
Severe thunderstorms raced across Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening, downing trees, re-routing traffic and causing widespread power outages. See photos from around the region. Related: • Man electrocuted in South Side Slopes as storms with 70 mph wind down trees, wires, knock out power...
Wisconsin high court suspends Milwaukee judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities
MADISON — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended a judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities. The FBI took Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan into custody on Friday morning at the county courthouse. She faces federal charges of concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest...
Trump dismisses Biden nominees to Holocaust Memorial Council, including Doug Emhoff
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has dismissed many of former President Joe Biden’s nominees to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, including Doug Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris. Emhoff, who is Jewish and who led the Biden administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism, criticized Trump’s action, saying,...
For some Americans, the end of the Vietnam War after Saigon fell 50 years ago is still deeply felt
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Vietnam War greatly impacted U.S. society from the passage of the War Powers Resolution that restricts the president’s ability to send troops into extended combat without congressional approval to the cementing of college campuses as centers of student activism. Millions of U.S. troops fought in Vietnam....
World’s largest rubber duck to return to Western Pa. this summer
Back in September 2013, an unusual sight settled on the shores of the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh: a several-story-
tall rubber duck, brought to Pittsburgh for a three-week engagement during the Pittsburgh Festival of Firsts. It drew thousands of visitors and was the talk of the town that autumn. But now,...
Hegseth boasts about ending ‘woke’ program on women and security. Trump signed it into law
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted on social media Tuesday that he had dismantled a program supporting women on security teams, an initiative that he called “woke” but actually was signed into law by his boss, President Donald Trump. In a post on the social platform X, Hegseth called...
White House and Amazon go back and forth over tariff pricing on website
White House officials have blasted a reported proposal by Amazon — which the company has denied — to begin including information on its website about the amount of tariffs being applied to goods it sells. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who stepped in to respond to a question directed...
UPS to cut 20,000 jobs, close some facilities as it reduces amount of Amazon shipments it handles
UPS is looking to slash about 20,000 jobs and close more than 70 facilities as it drastically reduces the amount of Amazon shipments it handles. The package delivery company said Tuesday that it anticipates making the job cuts this year. It anticipates closing 73 leased and owned buildings by the...
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hits off New Zealand
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has hit off the west coast of New Zealand. There is no tsunami warning. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake occurred shortly after 1 a.m. local time. It was 187 miles southwest of Invercargill, New Zealand, and six miles under the sea....
Former school athletic director gets 4 months in jail in racist AI deepfake case
BALTIMORE — A former high school athletics director accused of using artificial intelligence to create a racist and antisemitic deepfake of a Maryland principal has been sentenced to four months in jail as part of a plea deal for disrupting school operations. Dazhon Darien, 32, accepted the deal Monday in...
Trump to offer automakers some relief on 25% tariffs, after worries they could hurt U.S. factories
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will sign executive orders Tuesday to relax some of his 25% tariffs on autos and auto parts, the White House said, a significant reversal as the import taxes threatened to hurt domestic manufacturers. Automakers and independent analyses have indicated that the tariffs could raise prices,...
Spain and Portugal focus on the cause of the huge blackout after power is almost fully restored
MADRID — The cause of Spain and Portugal’s widespread blackouts remained a mystery Tuesday, with some isolated disruption remaining after power was largely restored to both countries. One of Europe’s most severe blackouts grounded flights, paralyzed metro systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula on...
Liberals won the election in Canada. Here’s what to know and what comes next
TORONTO — The Liberal Party has won the federal election in Canada, culminating a process marked by U.S. President Donald Trump threats on a trade war and of making the country the 51st American state. With this result, the Liberal Party’s leader and current prime minister, Mark Carney, will remain...
