Thousands of endangered tortoises are rescued in Madagascar after their sanctuary is flooded
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A community in southern Madagascar has pulled together to save thousands of critically endangered tortoises swept away from their sanctuary and left swimming for their lives in floods this month caused by a tropical cyclone. The 12,000 radiated and spider tortoises that were housed at...
Afghan refugees urge Pakistan to ease visa regime after Trump pauses U.S. resettlement programs
ISLAMABAD — Afghan refugees on Friday appealed to Pakistan’s premier to ease a visa regime on humanitarian grounds after President Donald Trump paused the U.S. refugee programs. Many Afghans whose visas have either expired or will expire soon fear arrest and deportation. “We don’t know exactly when the pause of...
The legal weed debate is starting up again in Pa.
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 — No one in the Pennsylvania Capitol is prepared to say if this is the year the state will legalize marijuana. But that hasn’t...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Jan. 24
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
Saudi crown prince says kingdom intends to invest $600 billion in U.S. during call with Trump
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip. Trump’s 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a...
Pete Hegseth told senator he paid $50,000 to woman who accused him of 2017 sex assault
WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017, according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained. The written answers were provided to Massachusetts Democratic...
Head of West Virginia gun lobby appointed to replace lawmaker-elect arrested for making threats
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of West Virginia’s largest gun-lobbying group has been appointed to fill the seat of a lawmaker-elect who was ousted while confined to his house on charges related to terroristic threats against his colleagues. Ian Masters, a Gerrardstown lawyer and president of the West Virginia Citizens...
FEMA faces shakeup under Trump while it wrestles with disasters on both coasts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is preparing to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been on the frontlines of responding to recent wildfires in California and last year’s hurricane in North Carolina. He spoke at length about the issue with congressional Republican leaders on Tuesday, discussing whether the...
Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban charged with arson
MADISON, Wis. — Prosecutors charged a Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to burn down a congressman’s office because he was upset with the federal TikTok ban with multiple counts on Wednesday, including arson. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney filed a complaint against 19-year-old Caiden...
Trump orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records
DALLAS — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which has fueled conspiracy theories for decades. The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of...
Trump revokes protections for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top Iran aide
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first administration. A congressional staffer and a person familiar with...
Senate confirms John Ratcliffe to lead CIA, giving Trump his 2nd Cabinet memberVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA,...
Hempfield Area renews contracts for assistant superintendents
Hempfield Area’s assistant superintendents will remain in their roles for another three years following a contract extension approved by the school board Tuesday night. Assistant superintendent of elementary education Kimberlie Rieffannnacht has been in the role since 2020. Her predecessor, Matthew Conner, has served as assistant superintendent of secondary education...
Man who took a U.S. Capitol tour with a gun in his possession is arrested, police say
WASHINGTON — A man who entered the U.S. Capitol with a handgun in his possession and took a tour of the building faces weapons charges, police said Thursday. The 27-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested Tuesday after Capitol police officers found him leaving the Library of Congress and walking toward his...
Purdue Pharma and owners to pay $7.4 billion in settlement to lawsuits over the toll of OxyContin
Members of the family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, and the company itself, agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion in a new settlement to lawsuits over the toll of the powerful prescription painkiller, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday. The deal, agreed to by Purdue Pharma,...
Judge sides with Penn State after professor alleges he was not promoted due to discrimination
A federal judge sided with Penn State last week in a lawsuit brought by a tenured associate professor at a commonwealth campus who claimed he was wrongfully denied a promotion, granting the university’s request to rule in its favor as a matter of law. U.S. Circuit Judge D. Michael Fisher’s...
More Americans file for unemployment benefits last week, continuing claims highest in 3 years
Jobless claims applications ticked up modestly last week, but the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in more than three years. Applications for jobless benefits rose by 6,000 to 223,000 for the week ending January 18, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts were expecting...
Thai LGBTQ+ couples register marriages as law gives them equal status
BANGKOK — LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand made Thursday a life-changing occasion, registering their marriages legally on the first day a law took effect granting them the same rights as heterosexual couples. The enactment of the Marriage Equality Act makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia and the third place...
Gallery: Photos from Jan. 23, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Saudi crown prince says kingdom intends to invest $600B in U.S. over next 4 years
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump earlier put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip. Trump’s...
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde says she’ll continue to pray for Trump, who lashed out at her over viral sermon
WASHINGTON — The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Diocese of Washington, said Wednesday that she will continue to pray for President Donald Trump, hours after he lashed out at her over a sermon. “I don’t consider him an enemy,” Budde told The Associated Press. “I believe we...
A blooming plant that reeks of gym socks and rotting garbage has thousands lining up for a whiff
SYDNEY — The rare unfurling of an endangered plant that emits the smell of decaying flesh drew hundreds of devoted fans to a greenhouse in Sydney on Thursday where they joined three-hour lines to experience a momentous bloom —- and a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage. Tall, pointed...
Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship
SEATTLE — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional” during the first hearing in a multi-state effort challenging the order. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour repeatedly interrupted a Justice Department lawyer to ask how he could consider the...
Aerial attack helps firefighters maintain the upper hand on a huge fire north of Los Angeles
CASTAIC, Calif. — Overnight water drops helped stop the spread of a huge wildfire churning through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and firefighters battled to increase containment as dangerous winds whipped up again Thursday. The Hughes Fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day had...
Immigrant detention beds may be maxed out as Trump moves to deport ‘millions and millions’
SANTA FE, N.M. — President Donald Trump’s inauguration-day executive orders and promises of mass deportations of “millions and millions” of people will hinge on securing money for detention centers. The Trump administration has not publicly said how many immigration detention beds it needs to achieve its goals, or what the...
