Former top aide to New York City’s mayor surrenders to DA’s office to face charges
NEW YORK — The former chief advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered Thursday to face corruption charges in the latest blow to the administration of a mayor under indictment amid investigations into multiple aides and allies. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who resigned Sunday from her role as one of...
Power grab by Republicans in N.C. becomes a referendum on democracy in the states
RALEIGH, N.C. — Democrats in North Carolina were celebrating big wins in the swing state after the November election, including victories in races for governor and other top statewide offices. But the political high didn’t last long. Republican lawmakers are stripping away some core powers of the newly elected officials...
Man accused in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing faces federal charge that’s eligible for death penalty
HOLLIDAYSBURG — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York by plane and helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of stalking and murder, which could bring the death penalty if he’s convicted. Luigi Mangione was held without bail following a Manhattan federal court appearance,...
Amazon workers strike at multiple facilities as Teamsters seek labor contract
Workers at seven Amazon facilities went on strike Thursday, an effort by the Teamsters to pressure the e-commerce company for a labor agreement during a key shopping period. The Teamsters say the workers, who authorized strikes in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a...
House rejects Trump-backed plan on government shutdown, leaving next steps uncertainVideo
WASHINGTON — The House rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown, as Democrats refused to accommodate his sudden demands and the quick fix cobbled together by Republican leaders. In a hastily convened evening vote punctuated...
California man who messaged Wisconsin shooter and planned own attack ordered to surrender guns
MADISON, Wis. — The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California who authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became...
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi MangioneVideo
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare’s CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law that allows for stiffer...
Former New Orleans priest, 93, sentenced to life in prison for raping boy decades ago
NEW ORLEANS — A judge sentenced a 93-year-old former Catholic priest Wednesday to spend the rest of his life behind bars for raping a teenage boy decades ago. Lawrence Hecker had pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree rape and aggravated kidnapping moments before jury selection was scheduled to begin in...
Invasive ‘murder hornets’ wiped out in the U.S., officials say
SEATTLE — The world’s largest hornet, an invasive breed dubbed the “murder hornet” for its dangerous sting and ability to slaughter a honey bee hive in a matter of hours, has been declared eradicated in the United States, five years after being spotted for the first time in Washington state...
Police investigating Baltimore County shooting, car crash that killed 1 and injured 9Video
TOWSON, Md. — Investigators in Baltimore County are looking into whether a shooting and related vehicle crash that left one person dead and nine injured Tuesday night are connected to a nearby homicide earlier this month. Officials said all 10 of the victims were found inside a flipped SUV that...
Russia announces development of free cancer vaccine amid skepticism
Russia said it has developed a cancer vaccine that will be distributed to Russian patients for free starting in early 2025 — but the news has drawn skepticism. Andrey Kaprin, the general director of the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health, announced the development on Dec....
Judge: Pardoning Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes for Capitol riot plot would be ‘frightening’
WASHINGTON — The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members said Wednesday that it would be “frightening” if the anti-government group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020...
House passes bill backed by Paris Hilton to reform youth treatment facilities
WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation Wednesday requiring more oversight of youth residential treatment facilities, a feat for hotel heiress Paris Hilton who has spent years lobbying lawmakers to regulate an industry marred by child abuse allegations. The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act gained overwhelming bipartisan support in the House...
Gov. Gavin Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the H5N1 bird flu virus moves from the Central valley to Southern California herds and federal officials confirmed flu in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with severe illness. This is the first case of severe illness caused by bird...
Government funding plan collapses as Trump makes new demands days before shutdownVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. Trump’s sudden entrance into the debate and new demands sent Congress spiraling...
New York man finds mastodon jaw while gardening in his backyard
SCOTCHTOWN, N.Y. — Scholars are hailing the discovery of a fossilized mastodon jaw discovered by a man who spotted two giant teeth while gardening at his upstate New York home this year. The mastodon jaw and some other bone fragments were found in late September in a backyard near Scotchtown,...
Florida pursues charge against suspect in Trump assassination attempt for a crash after his arrest
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida authorities announced Wednesday that they’re pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she obtained an arrest warrant for...
Pa. Electoral College meets, casts votes for Trump
HARRISBURG — The 2024 presidential election formally closed Tuesday in Pennsylvania with the Republican Party’s 19 certified electors casting their respective ballots in the Electoral College for President-elect Donald J. Trump. The official action, mirrored in statehouses across the U.S., precedes the scheduled joint session of Congress on Jan. 6...
Senate passes defense bill that will raise troop pay and aims to counter China’s power
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a defense bill Wednesday that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China’s growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion while also stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children of military members. The annual defense authorization...
Endangered whales found entangled in rope off Massachusetts, and 1 is likely to die
Two endangered whales have been spotted entangled in fishing gear off Massachusetts, and one is likely to die from its injuries, the federal government said. They are North Atlantic right whales, which number less than 400 and face existential threats from entanglement in gear and collisions with ships. An aerial...
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days. The decision by...
Supreme Court to hear arguments over law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if it’s not sold
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear arguments next month over the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok in the United States if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell it. The justices will hear arguments Jan. 10 about whether the law impermissibly restricts...
Gallery: Photos from Dec. 18, 2024
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
1 dead, 9 injured in Baltimore County shooting and fiery car crash
TOWSON, Md. — A shooting and related fiery car crash Tuesday night in a suburban area north of Baltimore killed one person and injured nine, police said. Gunshots were reported throughout a neighborhood near where the car ultimately crashed outside a funeral home that appeared to be closed at the...
What Americans think of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his health stances
WASHINGTON — The kids seen by Dolores Mejia around suburban Phoenix have been growing heavier in recent years. Their parents too, she says. Mejia, a 75-year-old retiree, says she’s also had her own weight struggles on the scale. That’s why Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to “Make America Healthy Again”...
