Pope names 21 new cardinals, significantly increasing the pool who will one day elect his successor
ROME — Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor. They include a man who will be the oldest cardinal — Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a...
A strike on a mosque kills 19 as Israel bombards northern Gaza and southern Lebanon
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region. Israel is still...
Hurricane Milton growing stronger as it blows toward Florida’s Tampa Bay region
MIAMI — People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Hurricane Milton is intensifying rapidly and will likely be a major hurricane before slamming midweek into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast. While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area...
A year into the Israel-Hamas war, students say a chill on free speech has reached college classrooms
WASHINGTON — As a junior at George Washington University, Ty Lindia meets new students every day. But with the shadow of the Israel-Hamas war hanging over the Washington, D.C., campus, where everyone has a political opinion, each new encounter is fraught. “This idea that I might say the wrong thing...
Trump returns to Butler in front of 20,000, reflecting on the assassination attempt and honoring Comperatore
Former President Donald Trump returned to Butler County on Saturday, fulfilling a pledge and providing over 20,000 of his supporters with a spectacle of patriotism and showmanship, as well as honoring the victims of the Trump rally shooting that occurred on that same ground less than three months earlier. Security...
2 Westmoreland schools recognized by Special Olympics for inclusive programming
Two Westmoreland County schools were recognized by the Special Olympics for offering inclusive programming for students of all abilities. Mt. Pleasant and Hempfield Area high schools are two of 11 schools in the state to receive national recognition for their Unified Champion Schools programs — where students in special and...
Biden pledged to campaign hard for Harris. So far, he’s been mostly a no-show
WASHINGTON — On the last day of August, President Joe Biden was asked about his fall campaign plans. He promised a Labor Day appearance in Pittsburgh and said he would be “on the road from there on.” Biden did campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris on Labor Day, but he...
Don’t fall for fake dentists offering veneers and other dental work on social media
WASHINGTON — If you have stained or chipped teeth, you might be considering veneers, customized teeth coverings that can restore a photogenic smile without more extensive dental work. But dentists warn that these pricey cosmetic enhancements are at the center of a worrisome online trend: unlicensed practitioners without proper training...
A week after Helene hit, thousands still without water struggle to find enough
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene brought devastation to western North Carolina, a shiny stainless steel tanker truck in downtown Asheville attracted residents carrying 5-gallon containers, milk jugs and buckets to fill with what has become a desperately scare resource — drinking water. Flooding tore through the...
Tropical Storm Milton forms in Gulf of Mexico, could intensify as a hurricane threatening Florida
MIAMI — A storm system that was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico earlier Saturday has strengthened into Tropical Storm Milton, with forecasters warning it could intensify into a hurricane headed to Florida next week. Tropical Storm Milton is about 220 miles (355 kilometers) north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, the National...
Israel expands its bombardment in Lebanon as thousands flee widening war
MASNAA BORDER CROSSING, Lebanon — Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon on Saturday, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with a dozen airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters. Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian...
Attempts to cross the English Channel on small boats leave 4 migrants, including a child, dead
PARIS — French authorities said four migrants, including a 2-year-old child, died Saturday in two separate incidents as they attempted to cross the English Channel toward Britain. France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau deplored a “terrible tragedy” on X, saying that the child “was trampled to death in a boat.” “The...
Harris heads to North Carolina to survey Helene’s aftermath 1 day after Trump visited
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris visited North Carolina on Saturday as the state recovers from Hurricane Helene, arriving there one day after a stop in the state by Republican Donald Trump, who is spreading false claims about the federal response to the disaster. The vice president was greeted...
Exiting chancellor of Pa.’s state-owned universities encouraged by enrollment numbers
Enrollment across Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities appears essentially flat this fall versus last — an elusive milestone for a system now 30% smaller after 13 consecutive yearly declines since 2010, Chancellor Daniel Greenstein said. The State System of Higher Education expects to release official numbers early next week. Greenstein told...
Colorado judge who sentenced election denier Tina Peters to prison receives threats
A rural Colorado county courthouse beefed up security Friday after threats were made against staff and a judge who sentenced former county clerk Tina Peters to nearly nine years behind bars and admonished her for her role in a data breach scheme catalyzed by the lie that the 2020 election...
Man fatally shoots 81-year-old wife at a Conn. nursing home
CROMWELL, Conn. — A man fatally shot his 81-year-old wife and then took his own life at a Connecticut nursing home Friday, according to a company official. The woman, who had been a resident of Apple Rehab in Cromwell for three years, was shot in her room, said Michael Landi,...
North Carolina distributing Benadryl, EpiPens as yellowjackets swarm from Helene flooding
Deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina also has disrupted the underground nests of yellowjackets, bees and other insects, causing them to swarm and sting people struggling to recover from the storm. It’s caused such a surge in requests for medication to protect people allergic to stings that...
Hempfield to reevaluate high school library following resignation of librarian
Hempfield Area High School is reevaluating how to use its library space, district officials said. The high school’s librarian submitted a letter of resignation a few weeks ago, working her last shift Friday. But the district is holding off on hiring a new full-time employee for the position. With sights...
‘What’s in the rug?’: Woman’s videos go viral after discovery in yard
Viral TikTok videos showing a rug unearthed in a Columbus, Ohio, woman’s backyard sparked a police investigation and fueled social media speculation about the possibility of a buried body. However, the search ended Friday afternoon with no evidence of anything suspicious, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Katie Santry, who was digging...
U.S. launches air attacks on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military struck a number of Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday, going after weapons systems, bases and other equipment belonging to the Iranian-backed rebels, a U.S. official confirmed. U.S. aircraft and ships struck Houthi strongholds, according to the official. The exact number of targets was not...
Health department cites violations at Point Park dining hall after student newspaper report
Images appearing in Point Park University’s student newspaper this week show unsanitary conditions that the publication says it found in the Downtown campus’s dining facility inside Lawrence Hall. One of the photos published Wednesday in The Globe depicts a red pepper “appearing to be moldy in the salad bar.” Another...
U.S. arranges flights to bring Americans out of Lebanon as others seek escape
WASHINGTON — U.S.-arranged flights have brought about 350 Americans and their immediate relatives out of Lebanon this week during escalated fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, while thousands of others still there face airstrikes and diminishing commercial flights. In Washington, senior State Department and White House officials met Thursday with two...
Supreme Court leaves in place EPA rule aimed at reducing emissions of planet-warming gas methane
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court left in place Friday an environmental regulation aimed at reducing the oil and gas industry’s emissions of methane, a key contributor to climate change. Republican-led states and industry groups had filed emergency appeals asking the high court to pause the Biden administration rule. They argue...
Supreme Court will hear Ohio woman’s claim she lost out on jobs because she is straight
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is taking up the case of an Ohio woman who claims she suffered sex discrimination in her employment because she is straight. The justices on Friday agreed to review an appellate ruling that upheld the dismissal of the discrimination lawsuit filed by the woman, Marlean...
Mexico’s new president promises to resume fight against climate change
MEXICO CITY — In her first days as Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum made a point of distancing herself from the fossil fuel reliance promoted by her predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and vowed to resume an energy transition that he halted. “We are going to boost renewable...
