A Southern California man pleads not guilty to setting a fire that exploded into a massive wildfire
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — A California man has pleaded not guilty to starting a fire that authorities said ballooned into a massive wildfire and forced the evacuation of thousands of homes. Online court records show Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, entered the plea from jail in a video arraignment Tuesday in...
Florida will launch criminal probe into apparent assassination attempt of Trump, Gov. DeSantis says
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida law enforcement officials will launch their own criminal investigation into the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that will run parallel to the federal probe, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday. The governor said Florida prosecutors will pursue the most serious charges available...
Arizona tribe fights to stop lithium drilling on culturally significant lands
PHOENIX — Members of an Arizona tribe are trying to persuade a federal judge to extend a temporary ban on exploratory drilling for a lithium project near lands they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries. Leaders of the Hualapai Tribe and supporters appeared Tuesday in U.S. District...
FBI investigating suspicious packages sent to election officials in more than 12 states
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The FBI and U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday were investigating suspicious packages that have been sent to or received by elections officials in more than 10 states, but there were no immediate reports that any of the packages contained hazardous material. The latest packages were sent...
Senate Republicans again block legislation to guarantee women’s rights to IVFVideo
WASHINGTON — Republicans have blocked for a second time this year legislation to establish a nationwide right to in vitro fertilization, arguing that the vote is an election-year stunt after Democrats forced a vote on the issue. The Senate vote was Democrats’ latest attempt to force Republicans into a defensive...
Florida sheriff fed up with school shooting hoaxes posts boy’s mugshot to social mediaVideo
TALLAHASSEE — A Florida sheriff fed up with a spate of false school shooting threats is taking a new tactic to try get through to students and their parents: he’s posting the mugshot of any offender on social media. Law enforcement officials in Florida and across the country have seen...
Harris says woman’s death after delayed abortion treatment shows consequences of Trump’s actions
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that the death of a young Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill shows the consequences of Donald Trump’s actions. Amber Thurman’s death, first reported Monday by ProPublica, occurred just...
Report: Railroads, regulators must address the dangers of long trains
OMAHA, Neb. — As freight trains have grown ever longer, the number of derailments related to the forces created when railcars push and pull against each other also increased, so the National Academies of Sciences said Tuesday in a long-awaited report that regulators, Congress and the industry should reexamine the...
Penn State taps consultant to assess academic programs
Penn State University has hired a consultant to help determine “if it is teaching the right courses in the right places,” given shifting enrollments and employer demand. Hanover Research, headquartered in Arlington, Va., is expected to begin work in early October on the university’s Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR)...
Casualties in Myanmar push Southeast Asia’s death toll from Typhoon Yagi past 500
BANGKOK — Floods and landslides in Myanmar triggered by last week’s Typhoon Yagi and seasonal monsoon rains have claimed at least 226 lives, with 77 people missing, state-run media reported Tuesday. The new figures push the total number of dead in Southeast Asia from the storm past 500. The accounting...
Instagram teen accounts to be made private
Accounts for any Instagram users under 16 will now be made private, Meta announced Tuesday. Users will now need a parent’s approval to change the restricted settings, called “Teen Accounts” — which filter out offensive words and limit who can contact the account, NPR reported. The changes are being made...
Hezbollah hit by a wave of exploding pagers and blames Israel. At least 9 dead, thousands injuredVideo
BEIRUT — Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine people — including an 8-year-old girl — and wounding several thousand, officials said. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to...
Gallery: Photos from Sept. 17, 2024
Here is a selection of photos from Western Pa., around the country and world, for Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024....
Judge orders Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to be jailed in sex trafficking and racketeering charges
NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs presided over a sordid empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to keep his victims in line, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday. The music mogul pleaded not guilty, standing to speak, after...
Man charged with murder over crossbow attack near London that killed 3 women
LONDON — A man appeared in a London court on Tuesday charged with killing three women in a knife and crossbow attack near London in July. Kyle Clifford, 26, faces three murder charges over the deaths of 61-year-old Carol Hunt and her daughters Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25....
Facebook owner Meta bans Russia state media outlets over ‘foreign interference’
LONDON — Meta said it’s banning Russia state media organization from its social media platforms, alleging that the outlets used deceptive tactics to amplify Moscow’s propaganda. The announcement drew a rebuke from the Kremlin on Tuesday. The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said late Monday that it will...
Bill Gates calls for more aid to go to Africa and for debt relief for burdened countries
NEW YORK — The billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates thinks the richest governments should increase their support for African countries that have been overshadowed by development funding increasingly going toward the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine as well as support for refugees around the world in...
Instagram makes teen accounts private as pressure mounts on the app to protect children
Instagram is introducing separate teen accounts for those under 18 as it tries to make the platform safer for children amid a growing backlash against how social media affects young people’s lives. Beginning Tuesday in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia, anyone under under 18 who signs up for Instagram...
U.S. retail sales ticked up last month in sign of ongoing consumer resilience
WASHINGTON — Americans spent a bit more at retailers last month, providing a small boost to the economy just as the Federal Reserve considers how much to cut its key interest rate. Retail sales ticked up 0.1% from July to August, after jumping the most in 18 months the previous...
5 things to know about the apparent assassination attempt on Trump
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump wasn’t harmed by Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt as he golfed near his Florida club. But the second attack on his life in barely two months is likely to further unsettle an election cycle already marked by upheaval. The man suspected in...
Not-so-great expectations: Students are reading fewer books in English class
Chris Stanislawski didn’t read much in his middle school English classes, but it never felt necessary. Students were given detailed chapter summaries for every novel they discussed, and teachers played audio of the books during class. Much of the reading material at Garden City Middle School in Long Island was...
Elon Musk has often inflamed politically tense moments, raising worries for U.S. election
NEW YORK— Hours after an apparent attempt on Donald Trump’s life over the weekend, Elon Musk took to his social platform X to post a thinking emoji and a comment that “no one is even trying to assassinate” the Democratic president and vice president. In the midst of anti-Muslim riots...
Democrats run unopposed to fill 2 state House vacancies in Philadelphia
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia voters on Tuesday will fill two vacant state House seats in special elections, and in both cases a Democratic candidate is the only person on the ballot. Keith Harris is seeking to replace Rep. Donna Bullock, while Andre Carroll is in line to succeed Rep. Stephen Kinsey....
Sen. Josh Hawley releases whistleblower info showing ‘pattern of negligence’ by Secret Service
The second assassination attempt on Donald Trump sparked calls from President Joe Biden and lawmakers to bolster the Secret Service protection for the former president with either more resources, strategic changes or more agency oversight. On Monday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., issued a report based on information he says he’s...
Postal Service insists it’s ready for a flood of mail-in ballots
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy assured state election officials in a letter released Monday that he’ll work with them to handle their warnings of problems with election mail delivery during the primary season, while insisting that the Postal Service will be ready for the flood of mail-in ballots ahead of...
