Trump’s Cabinet picks prepare for Senate confirmation hearings
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees will begin testifying before the U.S. Senate next week as Republicans rush to install the new Cabinet soon after the Jan. 20 inauguration. Several of Trump’s picks have caused consternation on Capitol Hill, perhaps none more so than former Fox News host Pete Hegseth...
Another 14-year-old arrested with a gun at Georgia’s Apalachee High School after deadly shooting
WINDER, Ga. — A 14-year-old student has been arrested after bringing a gun on Wednesday to Apalachee High School, the same Georgia high school where a shooting in September killed two teachers and two students and wounded others. The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said school resource officers arrested the boy...
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he spoke with Trump about clerk before hush-money filingVideo
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito spoke with President-elect Donald Trump about a former law clerk the day before Trump went to the high court in a push to delay the sentencing in his New York hush-money case, the justice said Wednesday. Alito said he took the call Tuesday...
Virginia man accused of stockpiling 150 homemade bombs must stay in jail until trial, judge rules
NORFOLK, Va. — A Virginia man accused of stockpiling the largest number of finished explosives in FBI history and using President Joe Biden’s photo for target practice must stay in jail until trial, a federal judge ruled, writing that he has “shown the capacity for extreme danger.” Brad Spafford, 36,...
Feds’ suit claims Pennsylvania city’s ‘at-large’ election system is biased against Hispanic voters
The U.S. Justice Department wants a judge to declare that a Pennsylvania city’s method of electing council members citywide instead of by districts has illegally diluted the political power of its growing Hispanic population, arguing in a lawsuit that Hazleton is violating the federal Voting Rights Act. A complaint filed...
Ex-police officer and Proud Boys member gets 14 months in prison for joining Capitol attack
WASHINGTON — A former police officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol with fellow members of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 months in prison for joining the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Donald Trump supporters, court records show. Nathaniel Tuck and...
West Virginia care facility staff members charged in death of patient left in scalding hot bathtub
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two staff members at a northern West Virginia long-term care facility have been charged in the death of a patient who was left in a scalding hot bathtub a year ago, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said Wednesday. Registered nurse Delilah Clyburn-Hill and certified nursing assistant Kylah Beard...
Russian missile attack in southern Ukraine kills at least 13 civilians, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — A daytime Russian missile attack on the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least 13 civilians and injured about 30 others Wednesday, officials said. Footage posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel showed civilians lying in a city street littered with debris. They were being...
Body of Israeli hostage found in Gaza, possibly alongside his son’s remains, army says
JERUSALEM — Israeli soldiers recovered the body of a 53-year-old hostage in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza, the military said Wednesday, and the army was determining if another set of remains belongs to the man’s son. The discovery of Yosef AlZayadni’s body comes as Israel and Hamas are considering...
Egypt unveils ancient rock-cut tombs and burial shafts in Luxor
CAIRO — Egypt unveiled several discoveries near the famed city of Luxor on Wednesday, including ancient rock-cut tombs and burial shafts dating back 3,600 years. They were unearthed at the causeway of Queen Hatshepsut’s funerary temple at Deir al-Bahri on the Nile’s West Bank, according to a statement released by...
Justice Department says it plans to release only part of special counsel’s Trump report for now
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it will release special counsel Jack Smith’s findings on Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep under wraps for now the rest of the report focused on the president-elect’s hoarding of classified documents at...
Gallery: Photos from Jan. 8, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Trump wants to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Can he do that?
President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would move to try to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” a name he said has a “beautiful ring to it.” It’s his latest suggestion to redraw the map of the Western Hemisphere. Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada...
JetBlue passenger suddenly opens exit door as flight is taxiing for takeoff at Boston airport
BOSTON — A person on board a plane at Boston Logan International Airport that was taxiing for takeoff suddenly opened an exit door and was quickly restrained by other passengers, authorities said. The JetBlue passenger was expected to face charges and be arraigned Wednesday, Massachusetts State Police spokesperson Tim McGuirk...
Why Greenland? Remote but resource-rich island occupies a key position in a warming world
Remote, icy and mostly pristine, Greenland plays an outsized role in the daily weather experienced by billions of people and in the climate changes taking shape all over the planet. Greenland is where climate change, scarce resources, tense geopolitics and new trade patterns all intersect, said Ohio University security and...
Pope Francis names 1st woman to head major Vatican office, choosing Italian nun
ROME — Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church’s religious orders. The appointment marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more...
Affordable Care Act insurance coverage hits record enrollment but an uncertain future awaits under Trump
WASHINGTON — A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. Never have so many people enrolled in health care coverage through...
U.S. Justice Department accuses 6 major landlords of scheming to keep rents high
DENVER — The U.S. Justice Department is suing several large landlords for allegedly coordinating to keep Americans’ rents high by using both an algorithm to help set rents and privately sharing sensitive information with their competitors to boost profits. The lawsuit arrives as U.S. renters continue to struggle under a...
Trump asks Supreme Court to block sentencing in his hush money case in New York
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to call off Friday’s sentencing in his hush money case in New York. Trump’s lawyers turned to the nation’s highest court Wednesday after New York courts refused to postpone the sentencing by Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s...
Former FBI informant will be sentenced for bogus bribery claim about President Biden and son Hunter
WASHINGTON — Prosecutors will ask a judge on Wednesday for six years in prison for a former FBI informant whose bogus story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes became central to Republicans’ impeachment effort. Alexander Smirnov will be sentenced in Los Angeles federal court after pleading...
Hollywood Hills fire breaks out as deadly wildfires burn out of control across Los Angeles areaVideo
LOS ANGELES — A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles’ most iconic spots as firefighters battled to get under control three other major blazes that killed five people, put 100,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged the city from the...
Pa. Sen. John Fetterman the lone Democratic co-sponsor on GOP-led Laken Riley immigration billVideo
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is the first Senate Democrat to sign onto a Republican-led bill that would require federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants arrested for theft-related crimes. The bill, passed Tuesday in the House, is slated to come up for a Senate vote on Friday. In addition to...
Hawaii law enforcement ask lawmakers for staff and money to crack down on illegal fireworks
HONOLULU — Hawaii authorities on Tuesday asked lawmakers for money to hire eight people and pay for a $2 million expansion of a forensic lab to crack down on the persistent rampant smuggling of illegal fireworks like those that killed four people and injured about 20 more at a Honolulu...
Girl Scouts announce retirement of 2 fan-favorite cookie flavors
The Girl Scouts have gone cookie cutter. In a bittersweet statement issued Tuesday, the Girl Scouts of the USA revealed two fan-favorite treats, the S’mores and Toast-Yay!, will be discontinued at the end of 2025. That means cookie-lovers have just one year left to stock up before the sweet snacks...
Exxon Mobil Corp. sues California attorney general for defamation over plastic recycling claims
SAN FRANCISCO — Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a federal defamation lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups, months after Bonta sued the oil and gas giant alleging that it deceived the public for half a century by promising the plastics it produced would be recycled. The...
