U.S. Olympic and Paralympic officials put coach on leave after AP reports sexual abuse allegations
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee placed an employee on administrative leave Thursday after the Associated Press reported that one of its coaches was accused of sexually abusing a young biathlete, causing her so much distress that she attempted suicide. Rocky Harris, USOPC chief of sport and athlete services, sent...
Bird strike disables jetliner engine, forces emergency landing at JFK airport
NEW YORK — A bird strike involving an American Airlines jetliner disabled one of the plane’s two engines shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, forcing the flight to turn around and land at John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said Friday. No one was injured in the incident...
Back trouble and brain fog bothered suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, his posts show
After Luigi Mangione made the difficult decision to undergo spinal surgery last year for chronic back pain, he became a proponent of the procedure that changed his life for the better. He repeatedly posted on Reddit about his recovery and offered words of encouragement for people with similar conditions, telling...
Biden commutes sentence of controversial Pa. judge in Kids for Cash scandal
President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of a former judge in Northeast Pennsylvania who gained notoriety for a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks. That commutation was part of a larger move from Biden, who commuted sentences for about 1,500 people who were released...
Some in seafood industry see Trump as fishermen’s friend, but tariffs could make for pricier fish
PORTLAND, Maine — The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is likely to bring big changes for one of the oldest sectors of the U.S. economy — seafood — and some in the industry believe the returning president will be more responsive to its needs. Economic analysts paint a more...
A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list
A nonprofit leader who supports at-risk New Orleans youth. A social worker who fosters animals. A counselor and recovery coach who volunteers at organizations that fight sexual assault and domestic violence. They are among the roughly 1,540 people whose sentences were commuted or who were pardoned by President Joe Biden...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Dec. 13
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
American who says he crossed into Syria on foot is free after 7 months in detentionVideo
DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday said he was detained after crossing into the country on foot seven months ago on a Christian pilgrimage. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus...
McDonald’s employee who called 911 in CEO’s shooting eligible for a reward, but it will take time
PHILADELPHIA — More than 400 tips were called into the New York Police Department’s Crime Stoppers tip line during the five-day search for a masked gunman who ambushed and fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week. NYPD officials said about 30 of those tips were useful as information about...
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
WASHINGTON — IRS leadership on Thursday announced that the agency has recovered $4.7 billion in back taxes and proceeds from a variety of crimes since the nation’s tax collector received a massive glut of funding through Democrats’ flagship tax, climate and health law in 2022. The announcement comes under the...
U.S. senator says mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey region should be ‘shot down, if necessary’Video
TOMS River, N.J. — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns them. “We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis...
Israeli airstrikes kill 28 in Gaza, including 7 children, health officials say
Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman, hours after the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in...
Some breast cancer patients can avoid certain surgeries, studies suggest
Some early breast cancer patients can safely avoid specific surgeries, according to two studies exploring ways to lessen treatment burdens. One new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examines whether removing lymph nodes is always necessary in early breast cancer. Another in the Journal of the American...
Trump invites China’s Xi to his inauguration even as he threatens massive tariffs on Beijing
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month — extending a diplomatic olive branch even as Trump threatens to levy massive tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on Thursday that Trump invited Xi,...
South Korea’s Yoon defends martial law as an act of governance and vows to ‘fight to the end’
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree as an act of governance and denied rebellion charges, vowing Thursday to “fight to the end” in response to attempts to impeach him and intensifying investigations into last week’s dramatic move. The main opposition Democratic...
Trump named Time’s Person of the Year, rings New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has been recognized for the second time by Time magazine as its Person of the Year. To mark the event, Trump rang the opening bell Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. The honors for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback...
Legislation aims to address post-traumatic stress among first responders
In February 2023, Sardis Volunteer Fire Company Chief Joe Paiano Jr. entered a burning house in Salem Township to rescue an 11-year-old boy. The boy was among three people pulled from the fire, but he died of his injuries a few days later. The incident affected Paiano in a way...
Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The commutations announced Thursday...
American who says he crossed into Syria by foot is free after 7 months in detention
DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus...
East Coast storm makes a mess at ski resorts as strong winds cause power outages
PORTLAND, Maine — Colder weather began to return Thursday after a storm that swept up the East Coast delivered a blow to New England, packing powerful gusts that knocked out power along with a deluge of rain and warming temperatures that washed away snow and dampened ski resorts. An atmospheric...
Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing could return to New York on a governor’s warrant
PHILADELPHIA — The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO plans to fight extradition to New York to face murder charges, but officials hope to get him back with what’s called a governor’s warrant. The process could happen quickly or take more than a month. New York Gov. Kathy...
Hannah Kobayashi, missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search, is found safe
LOS ANGELES — Hannah Kobayashi, the missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search and a missing persons investigation in Los Angeles, has been found safe, police said Wednesday. Kobayashi vanished last month in Los Angeles. She missed her connecting flight and planned to explore the city the next...
Arguments over whether Luigi Mangione is a ‘hero’ offer a glimpse into an unusual American moment
Is he a hero? A killer? Both? About the same time the #FreeLuigi memes featuring the mustachioed plumber from “Super Mario Brothers” mushroomed online this week, commenters shared memes showing Tony Soprano pronouncing Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan, a hero. There were the...
FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign at end of Biden’s term in January
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray told bureau workers Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job. Wray said...
Fetterman joins Truth Social and says a pardon is ‘appropriate’ for Trump’s hush money case
Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) joined Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump’s social media platform, on Tuesday and his first order of business on the site was to call for a pardon for Trump in his New York hush money case. “The Trump hush money and Hunter Biden cases were both...
